Favorite budget firearm manufacturer?

Stoeger. Every thing I have owned from them has been a solid product.

Remington.

Give me a stainless "RR" SPS R700 in 7-08 topped with a rebuilt 15$ B&L 3-9(Ebay), Timney 512.

Cold bore,100 yds. run up through the mag as fast as I can work the bolt off an X bag. 145g RCBS silhouette mould,@25-2600 fps with Varget. First two went in the same hole,I called the 3rd "out". This was/is my EDC rig. And is about as low a budget as I got. And absolutely ZERO complaints.

New vs used , used is a cost saving also

And there seems to be a bunch of LEO GLock trade-ins right now, which where not fired (much) and less cabbage$$

And am I remembering correct, some S&W M&P series LEO trade-ins too

My favorite cheap guns are my H&R Handi-rifles and shotguns.
I really like the looks and simplicity of the design.
I have them in .204, .30-06, 12 ga, 12 ga rifled slug x 3

I’m a Taurus guy through and through. As far as auto loaders go anyways. Never had a chance yet to really try out any of their revolvers. But I bought a pt111 9mm about 4 years ago and honestly it’s my go to gun as far as handguns go. I’ve never had a failure to fire and with smaller handed people such as myself it fits and feels nice when your holdin it. The only issue I ever had with it is when I first bought it it was the first part of January and that weekend me and buddy from across the holler (who’s dad bought her a new turquoise glock .380 for Christmas) got out in my field and put the first couple boxes of shells through each of them. It was like 20 degrees out and I had forgot my shells in my truck the night before and due to them being cold as can be they didn’t always eject right but that was really more my fault then anything.

So in my opinion you can’t go wrong with a less costly gun. If it fires every time then cheap or not in my eyes it’s a good gun. Besides the most I’ve ever paid for any of my guns is about $350 I see no need in breaking the bank if a cheaper one does the same thing an expensive one does.

My first new to me handgun was an Erma Excam RX22...a ppk look alike .22 LR. It cost 129.oo in approx. 1983 and I shot the hell out of it plinking, and it carried many a mile hunting, backpacking, etc. I was very proficient with it, and was very comfortable with it as a ccw. I simply wore it out and retired it. I have many times considered a Walther PPK in .22, which are pretty affordable, but simply don't carry enough anymore to make it worthwhile...and have a Sig 938 in that place anyway.

Charter Arms. Their handguns are solid.

Borsalino and other Glock-Rockers:

Even though my collection hasn't included a Glock, testimony by a good friend, among others would give me total confidence in their reliability and ruggedness.

I bought a bunch of Taurus guns and shot them for decades before someone told me they were junk. Kidding aside I think Taurus did make some junk. Luckily it was after I had bought all mine. With the Concealed Carry Craze it was pumping out models that were inferior in QA and QC. Customer Service was as bad as it could be. A bad name takes a long time to rectify. From what I can see Taurus has gotten their act together. The G2 and the G2c are reliable accurate firearms. I enjoy shooting my Friends G2c and the TX22 is a real winner. They said it couldn't be done, but The Taurus TX22 left the Glock 44 in the dust. I bought two of them.

Depends what you mean by budget.

The EAA/SAR/Tanfoglio imports are generally pretty reasonable and good quality. My first ever handgun was a SAR B6P, and I liked it. Ended up trading it in for a Taurus PT92 which in turn sold to fund a CZ-75B. I definitely prefer the CZ over the B6P, but I wouldn't have any qualms about getting another B6P.

Taurus makes decent guns, BUT I would not recommend them as an only gun. My friend had to send his PT111 G2 in after it broke and seized up, took him 4 months to get it back and didn't have another handgun to use in the meantime. As long as you have another gun to use if you have to send the Taurus in, they're worth what you pay.

Rock Island Armrory is another one I recommend often, especially for their inexpensive revolvers (M200 and M206). Great customer service too. Their autoloaders are a good deal but not quite as cheap as the Tauruses and EAA/SAR/Tanfoglios that I've seen most of the time.

Never shot a Bersa or a Kahr, but hear good things for the price. Even Ruger and S&W have some good deals that approach the price range of the budget brands. Overall, it's a good time to be a gun buyer.

Had a Bersa - not bad at all. Somebody once told me that when you buy tires for your car or a gun get the best you can. I would rather save and buy a Glock than own 3 Hi Points or the like.

But I would rather have my ATI 45 Commander AND my Taurus 856 38 spl+p than a Glock.

I love my RIA 1911. When I was a kid Ruger was the cheap working mans gun with the Smith's and Colts being for the rich guys!