Cheapest handgun you would trust for defense...

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My HiPoint c9 has 700 rounds through it and no jams or malfunctions. But, I know that some do have issues, usually due to the magazines. I haven't heard of any part actually breaking on a HiPoint, so it will continue to work even if there are some initial adjustments necessary.
 
Pinching every penny, but in a well thought out manner is my advice. For instance, buying a used gun that might need work may defeat the purpose and over run the budget. I would work hard and save $600.00. Then I would go to work and see what I could get. Maybe a friend is selling on old S&W 357 Mag revolver that has been collecting dust for $300.00. I always ask my cousin in the army, seems like he is surrounded by people that buy things and then need cash and sell things, my Dad bought a Browning Safari .30-06 for $400 through his connections, the rifle is beautiful and he gave it to me for a present! Maybe a friend is selling a .40 S&W because all the rest of his are 9mm and he is tired of the extra caliber... my point is, get the money to get something good and then go looking for the deal. It couldn't hurt.

Good luck.
 
Coyote3855 said:
I often carry a Kel-Tec PF-9 that's been reliable with Hornaday Critical Defense 115 grain ammunition, and over 250 rounds of FMJ practice ammo. My FFL got a "buy 4 get one free deal," so my cost was just over $200 two years ago. I absolutely trust my Russian Makarov, $120 but 20 years ago. One vendor had and may still have used/worn Bulgarian Maks for $200. I would trust one of those as all Makarovs seem to be bomb proof. There are good reviews of the reliability if not the fit and finish of the Rock Island Armory .38 Special revolver, but I cannot speak from experience.
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A Kel-Tec PF-9 worked pretty well on Trayvon Martin.
 
If you were (or are) pinching every penny, and want/need a handgun to defend self and family if such a sittuation should arise, what would it be?
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Just based on my own experience, I would hit up CDISales for the CZ 99. As I said, I got mine, ugly gun special, $195 + shipping ($20), + FFL.
20160513_164100.jpg


15 rd mag, chromed barrel, feeds any jhp ammo (and it's in 9mm, which is cheap).

It's a big pistol, with basically Sig design features (the decocker is also the slide release, and is ambidextrous, as is the mag release). The other side is the same condition, as you can see, the "ugly" part is the crappy frame finish (an enamel paint of some sort). The slide is nicely blued.

Compared to my Beretta for size.
20160513_164255.jpg
 
Last year I picked up a HiPoint .40 S&W for $75, and it has been reliable through a few hundred rounds. Mind you, even at $75 I dithered, but hey, a service-caliber pistol with a life-time warranty for $75? I'd trust it not to let me down in a pinch. Weekend before last I picked up a S&W 1903 Hand Ejector for $125- it was rough as hell but everything works; I would definitely trust that, though the caliber is less than ideal. Knowing what I know about guns and local gun stores I wouldn't have much trouble picking up something that will do for well under $200, and anything that goes 'bang' when the trigger is pulled would work for me.

If home defense were my main concern I can find 12-Gauge pump guns for $100- $125 all day long.
 
Good Ol' Boy said:
Price of the gun has nothing to do with it.
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Of course, it does. Deals on used guns notwithstanding. Cheap guns are made with cheap materials.

Not that expensive materials are any guaranty that that gun will work. The most expensive gun I ever

owned was a total piece of crap, and is thankfully gone. The cheaper ones are also gone.

I’m sorry but the fact that your Kel Tec has made it through a staggering 250 rounds is not inspiring me

to run out and pick one up. And your Taurus has a lifetime guarantee because it needs one.

I’m sorry, but it costs money to manufacture a quality firearm with quality materials. It just does.
 
S&W SD9VE for $246.99 + 12.99 S&H

https://shop.whittakerguns.com/product/ss-6615

This is the cheapest I've ever seen it...

I paid $241.43 total for the SAR B6P from Sportsman's Guide and the gun has been reliable and fairly accurate. I've put all sorts of ammo through it and I haven't had any malfunctions.

I purchased a Taurus Millennium G2 PT111 to throw in a GHB, on sale at Whittaker Guns for 184.99 + 12.99 S&H. It's not a great gun but its been reliable and I'm sure it will work well enough for self defense.
 
I have a Rossi M68, .38spc, 3" barrel, stainless. Picked it up in a pawn shop for $175. Near perfect condition and is as tight as my wife's S&W. It shoots great and is one of my regular carry guns.

For someone on a tight budget, a used wheel gun in .38 could be an excellent choice. Effective caliber, very reliable, ammo is available everywhere, easy to use and care for. .357 wouldn't be a bad choice, but the guns tend to be more expensive.

The Mak suggestions are good (I have a PA63 that I like very much) but any auto will require an extra $100 or more of ammo to prove reliability.
 
My Ruger SR9e was under $300 OTD, LCPs are $200 and I got a Walther PPS 40 for $329 shipped a couple months ago.
 
If I could get a Keltec p11 I would, otherwise I would be looking for A- the cheapest revolver I could find, preferably in 38spl, or B-a new in the box Phoenix hp22. I know 22 is scary to carry, but in that little pistol as long as you run hot ammo it runs all day and shoots really well. It's a $125 gun and it's a lot smaller than option C- Hi Point C9
 
Browning said:
@MedWheeler

On the 9mm Mak ammo it's available on ammoseek.com for 0.19 cents a rd. That's way cheaper than what most .380 ACP is
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A few weeks ago I would have agreed. However, I am seeing locally 380ACP ammo at the same or lower price that 9mm. Not sure if the trend was started by one time sale or something that is a trend that will continue.
 
Tcruse said:
A few weeks ago I would have agreed. However, I am seeing locally 380ACP ammo at the same or lower price that 9mm. Not sure if the trend was started by one time sale or something that is a trend that will continue.
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If you look at the trends 9mm Kurz/.380 ACP has always been more expensive that the ammunition for the other 9mm's. Guess cause less of it gets sold to and used by shooters even with all these pocket pistols being sold. They just aren't getting shot as much.

So if you've seen .380 ammo locally for less I'd go local ammo sale until proven otherwise.

With Trump winning the election gun prices on some guns that were somewhat fear driven/with the potential to be affected by a new AWB will almost certainly go down. I'm not sure what that will do for the cost of ammo.
 
Got a S-W 64-5 (.38 spl), used, for $325.00. Also got a Ruger 9e (9mm), new, for $299.00. I've run 3,000 rds through these two guns without even one hiccup. :)
 
A few weeks ago I would have agreed. However, I am seeing locally 380ACP ammo at the same or lower price that 9mm. Not sure if the trend was started by one time sale or something that is a trend that will continue.
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If you look at the trends 9mm Kurz/.380 ACP has always been more expensive that the ammunition for the other 9mm's. Guess cause less of it gets sold to and used by shooters even with all these pocket pistols being sold. They just aren't getting shot as much.

So if you've seen .380 ammo locally for less I'd go local ammo sale until proven otherwise.
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I don't have any .380s, but my brother has a Bersa.

It would be nice to see the price of .380acp drop to 9mm range, as there are some well-made guns in that caliber. My preference of the Mak caliber guns in a practical vein lies in the fact that they are comparable, and 9x18 can be found cheaper.

If you happen upon a stash of reasonably priced 380 ammo, I'd again recommend CDI ... they have been listing some Berettas (84s and 85s) for decent prices. These are worn, but by all accounts are nice guns.
 
rskent said:
Of course, it does. Deals on used guns notwithstanding. Cheap guns are made with cheap materials.

Not that expensive materials are any guaranty that that gun will work. The most expensive gun I ever

owned was a total piece of crap, and is thankfully gone. The cheaper ones are also gone.

I’m sorry but the fact that your Kel Tec has made it through a staggering 250 rounds is not inspiring me

to run out and pick one up. And your Taurus has a lifetime guarantee because it needs one.

I’m sorry, but it costs money to manufacture a quality firearm with quality materials. It just does.
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The thing is that many of, if not most of the lower cost guns being listed by posters in this thread were in fact made to a high degree of quality.

Makarov's, CZ-52's and CZ-83's, Tokarev's, Hungarian PA-63's, Polish Radom P-64's, vintage S&W revolvers and the Turkish made CZ-75 clones (the majority of which are manufactured in Turkish military and police arsenals) and inspired pistols are or were all made to a very high standard. Many of the pistols are just considered obsolete because they've been replaced by other higher capacity pistols with better sights, lighter in weight, are capable of attaching a light and are just low in price because they're being sold as surplus. Others are factory over-run's to generate cash for that country or company, in some cases the pistol is still currently issued and is completely modern in design and materials. They're just less in price to produce because labor costs in Eastern Europe, Turkey and Brazil are considerably less then in North America, Europe or in Australia/New Zealand.

Some of the surplus and overrun pistols listed above I've shot the living crap out of simply because I was able to afford considerably more ammo because the price of the pistol was so low. No issues at all out of any of the ones I listed.

I haven't seen anyone in this thread list any 'Ring of Fire' pistols save for an AMT and which was pretty much the cream of the crop as far as the pistols produced in that locale are concerned.

So in my opinion its not quite as bad as you're making it. There are a multitude of reasons why some pistols of high quality are listed for less in price. Pistols priced for < $300 doesn't automatically = junk.

Q : Do I believe that any of the pistols listed above (CZ-52's, CZ-83's, Tokarev's, Turkish pistols like the Tri-Star C-100's ... etc) are the exact equal/modern equivalent to a Sig, a Walther, a CZ, a Browning, Glock, a Beretta, an H&K or most of the other current defensive pistol designs that cost 2 to 3 times as much or that those current and Western European and North American have no design features that give the shooter more options?

A : No, I totally don't. The current crop of pistols produced in the West are almost all using materials that make the pistol lighter, that recoil less, that make the sights easier to see, that in some cases allow a WML to be attached, that make the trigger a little less in weight and more crisp and sometimes more capable of functioning in more extreme conditions than the surplus or Eastern European or Turkish pistols are.

However like one poster stated very well : Many of the pistols listed get the individual in question armed right then with a reliable pistol. Right that very minute and the only delay might be if NICS delays them at the store after they fill out the 4473 (or they don't live in TX where having a CHL substitutes for the background check.

They aren't having to follow the suggestions of posters who are unquestionably in a better financial situation and wait to become armed (when those posters wouldn't wait themselves) until they can afford to purchase a more modern pistol at a later date. Sometimes people with very little in the way of cash need to arm themselves NOW.

That's especially important if the end-user in question lives in a high crime area and/or is potentially being stalked by a former intimate partner.

Just saying ... pistols which cost less than $300 aren't all junk.

Many times they're used, the design of the pistol and the materials used are somewhat dated and in some cases the finish isn't as good as a brand new Western manufactured pistol, but they'll work reliably and launch projectiles accurately.
 
rskent said:
Of course, it does.

I’m sorry, but it costs money to manufacture a quality firearm with quality materials. It just does.
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Easy to say when one has a good amount of expendable income. For folks on a very limited budget, quality does not always equate to dependable, just as "cheap" is a relative term. Go to a 1911 forum and folks claim that anything but a $1500 semi-custom is a "cheap" firearm and they would not trust their life to anything less. Coming home from Christmas at my brother's last Sunday, we past several vehicles full of kids and presents that my wife claimed she wouldn't trust to drive the 8 blocks she drives to work everyday. I asked her what else are they going to do? Just cause they can't afford a car like ours, they need to stay home and do nuttin? That's how I look at SD firearms. There are many inexpensive firearms out there that will probably perform just as well as those boutique custom jobbies when it comes down to the 1-3 shots needed at SD ranges, if and ever, needed. Again, if it has proven to be reliable, price is unimportant.
 
 
buck460XVR said:
Easy to say when one has a good amount of expendable income. For folks on a very limited budget, quality does not always equate to dependable, just as "cheap" is a relative term. Go to a 1911 forum and folks claim that anything but a $1500 semi-custom is a "cheap" firearm and they would not trust their life to anything less.
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Well, I think we can find something that we can trust for less than $1500.

Maybe a Smith & Wesson, or a XD, or a Glock, or a whatever. I think if you

look around you could even find a Sig cheaper than that.


There are a lot of guns at less than half of your price point, that most people

would think are quality firearms.
 
rskent said:
Well, I think we can find something that we can trust for less than $1500.

Maybe a Smith & Wesson, or a XD, or a Glock, or a whatever. I think if you look around you could even find a Sig cheaper than that.

There are a lot of guns at less than half of your price point, that most people would think are quality firearms.
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The thing is that's not the price point that's being discussed because the figure of $1500 wasn't mentioned in the OP.

For me, I think it would be the good ole Makarov or one of its cousins/clones. They seem to still be available for a little over 200 so I suppose around 250-275 once shipped and transferred. They are reliable, smallish, and fire a relatively useful round.
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Some posters (including myself) rounded that up to $300 out the door, but $25 is a little easier to scrounge up than an extra $1,225.
 
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