Looking for very cheap ccw

:banghead: It always kills me when someone ask about a ccw handgun on a budget you get someone that thinks if you can't spend $600 you might as well use a sharp stick. I can remember when I was lucky to afford a box of .22 shells little lone a$300 ccw pistol .If the ocassion arises that you need to defend your family a hipoint in you hand Is a he!! of a lot better than the glock you are saving to buy! I carry a keltec p-32 except when I'm going to a "high risk" area [bought it before the p3at was out] I don't think you would go wrong with a taursus 38 either, I have a taurus mod 94 22 snubbie I carry woods walking that fits the same holster as the model 85 38 spec. that is suprizingly accurate . sorry for the rant but it bugs me when some people can't understand alot of people only have so much money and that all they have.
Roy

a lot of mentions for a used S&W model 10 or 19. great guns, for sure.

but since you said you wanted as small as possible, i would recommend a model 36 or 60 if going the used smith route. you lose one round, of course, but they will be a bit easier to conceal. i am currently trying to talk my fiancee into letting me splurge on an excellent condition $345 used model 36 at the local gun shop despite our mounting wedding bills.

good luck!

I just bought a Taurus 85 Ultra-Lite .38 Special snubby for my wife for about $400 new. The steel ones are cheaper and you can get them used for less. Its a very nice little gun that is both concealable and reliable.

Cheap CCW? Surely you meant to say inexpensive...yes? (As one gets ready to jump out of the plane, "Hey, anybody got a cheap parachute I can use?" I would have to say the S&W 642 is the ticket for you. Inexpensive and dependable. Do yourself a favor, buy a Mika pocket holster and practice with both. Practice with wadcutters and carry Corbon DPX.

I have a Bersa Thunder .380 and got it new for $210. Good gun, ammo is a bit expensive though.

Or you can order from Bud's and get this S&W 9mm:
http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/13283

After shipped and transfer and rebate you're looking at about $290ish

the .380 doesn't provide enough velocity to CONSISTENTLY make a HP bullet work in a variety of target media. Stick with the 9mm or 38 spl. Don't budget shop for a gun meant to protect you and your family.

Ruger Speed Six

Taurus 85 series

Spend at least as much on ammo as you do your gun.

Best of Luck

I would have to say the S&W 642 is the ticket for you. Inexpensive and dependable.

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Yeah, except he's not likely to find one for much less than $350, which breaks his rules of $300, and that's even before he starts buying that first box of ammo or a holster. The gun he gets is likely going to need to cost closer to $200, and you can't get an inflated S&W for that, not without some serious luck.

What you're looking for is a pistol or revolver that is both reliable and with reputable stopping power, while remaining inexpensive. It's true that you're likely ot find more revolvers in this category, I think, but there are a fair number of newer pistols out on the market these days, too, as has been said.

If the ocassion arises that you need to defend your family a hipoint in you hand Is a he!! of a lot better than the glock you are saving to buy!

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My feelings EXACTLY. If you do not have a gun at all and only have a $300 budget (for whatever reason) many will say save your money and get XXXX gun ranging in the $500 to $1000 price range.

I say if you have a $300 budget and no gun, get a gun first with that $300 then start saving your money for the $500 to $1000 price range. There isn't anything that says you can't have both.

We know many people on this forum that have that $800+ 1911...then what do they do? They go out and buy a Kel-Tec for $250 anyways...the same one they told you not to buy and save your money to get the bigger $$$ price tag.

If I didn't own a rifle already I would say the same thing. If you are on a budget pick yourself up an SKS or Mosin first...then save your pennies for that AR-15.

Shotgun, get yourself a Moss 500 pump from Walmart for $200, then save your money for that sweet auto-loader you drool on when you go to Cabela's or Sportsman's Warehouse.

Everyone should have a sidearm, rifle, shotgun, and .22 rifle.

The "recommended" -
AR-15 $1000
Glock or other $600 (minimum 'recommended' price to save your money for)
Shotgun $500
Ruger 10/22 $200 (if you find on on sale)
Total - $2300

But you can get the same in
SKS $250
Kel-Tec $250
Moss 500 Walmart Rollback $200
Savage .22lr $100
Total - $800

THEN save your money to get the recommended and you've got a nice collection started already.

Ammo - Everyone says 1000 rounds on hand for each caliber MINIMUM. Well sometimes even 1000 rounds is hard to come up with on a tight budget. Go drop $20 a paycheck on ammo. Yes it's more expensive in the long run then buying in bulk, but some of us just can't afford to drop $200 even for 1000 rounds of 7.62X39.

Reloading of course can save money on some calibers but the initial investment is the same or even a little higher then just buying the ammo in the first place.

If money is no object by all means purchase those high $$$ firearms first. But many of us are on tight budgets and still manage to put together a respectable store of weapons.

Get the gun you can afford first, then start getting crazy with money. That's my opinion.

Texas, Don't know where you are in TX, but this is in THR for sale listings.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=265418

It's $315, which is a bargin. And these are great carry guns.

Tuckerdog1

I was in the same position when I got my first gun and I bought my ammo as I shot it. I quickly realized that I was going broke buying bullets, which is why my second gun was a .22LR pistol. I highly recommend that as a next move, because you can buy 200 rounds of high-quality CCI Mini-Mag .22LR ammunition for about $12. 100 rounds of Remington White Box .380 will run you $25. 9mm is a bit less than .380, but nothing will touch the economy of .22LR. When I go to the range, I generally put anywhere from 100 to 150 rounds through my .22 and only 50 through my .380. Doing that twice a month costs me $45 and that's buying retail as I go.

Last I checked Rossi snubs went for around $250 at academy, if there is one near you. The 4'' diamondback type ones can be had for $270.

Lots of good suggestions.


The blue steel Taurus 85 I got as a poor student and recent father is still serving me well some 15 years later, FWIW. Almost got a Bersa .380, for the record.

Makarov for steel, Kel Tec for polymer.

Maks are more expensive than they used to be, but I stll think you can pick up a Bulgarian for about 200.00. CDNN Sports on the web has brand new Kel Tecs for a little over 200.00 (199.99 to 229.99 I believe). The PF9 is their single stack 9mm, P3AT is the .380, and P32 is the .32 ACP. Kel Tecs are inexpensive, yes, but thousands of people trust and depend on them.

It always kills me when someone ask about a ccw handgun on a budget you get someone that thinks if you can't spend $600 you might as well use a sharp stick. I can remember when I was lucky to afford a box of .22 shells little lone a $300 ccw pistol .If the ocassion arises that you need to defend your family a hipoint in you hand Is a he!! of a lot better than the glock you are saving to buy!

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How very accurate. Elite-ism over common sense. I must be in deep doo-doo, cause I don't have a single weapon over $300! OK, I'm cheap! I'd rather buy more amo.

S&W .38 Spl Model 49 Bodyguard - NIB condition $250 - classic ccw
I don't think anyone will say this is under gunned.

Bersa .380 Thunder Duotone - $199 NIB Nov 06 - fits in jean pockets
Goes bang every time, fun to shoot, very accurate. Was an interesting post last fall on THR (that I could not find in searches today) about the damage a .380 JHP did to a feral pig. One shot stop, massive internal damage. Convincing argument about stopping power (or lack thereof) on the .380. Gee, could shot placement mean anything?

A dreaded Hi-Point Comp 9 - $105 NIB last year - definitely not ccw
Really fun to shoot, too big for ccw, but good glove box or house weapon. Got it to see which was more accurate: all the bad press from non-owners or good press from owners. Over 500 rounds, NO FTF/FTE, did I mention really fun to shoot? I do not want to play catch the projectile with this one either.

There are lots of good dependable weapons under $300. You don't need a minimum of $600/weapon to be well protected.

Bersa or Taurus I suppose. I'd get a knife as backup incase the gun fails and you need to come off with the shank.

I had a hi point 9 that I bought years ago when that was the only auto pistol I could afford It had over 5000 rounds when I let a friend have it .He needed a handgun because the man that shot him years ago gets out of prison soon and has made threats . he was broke so I let him have it. That the gun has NEVER failed to fire or cycle period! I have out shot people shooting 9mm pistols costing 6 times as much. I will pay top dollar for quality I won't pay top dollar to look cool
Roy

If you like revolvers, I'd recommend a S&W model 10 (that's my carry gun, btw).
If you prefer autos, get a Star BM.
If you prefer DA autos, get a Makarov.

All are excellent and usually priced under $200.

If you're set on a pocket pistol, one of those little makarov-type pistols might be the way to go. I can't remember what they're called, but they're made in Europe and fire the 9x18mm cartridge. Anybody know what I'm talking about?

Polish P64 or Hungarian P63 and both under $200 and are very concealable. They are the ones that use the 9x18 cartridge. Go to Surplus Rifle and they have some good info in the forums, they recommend a spring change for better functioning.
The Hi-Point would work, but isn't very concealable. I own a couple of Kel-Tecs and they are good guns for the money.

Another vote for the Bersa Thunder 380. You can usually find them for around $250 new.

I don't care what gun you buy or for how much you purchased it for. Any gun I purchase that I intend to carry goes to the range and must eat at least 500 rds of carry ammo w/o a single hiccup before I will trust it.

So far my Witness 45 has passed the test as well as my PT1911 and PT908.

It aint what I spent on a gun that earns my trust!

http://www.summitgunbroker.com

http://www.cdnninvestments.com/

http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/Handguns.html

http://www.kyimports.com/sw.htm#s&w

J frame Smiths for $319 at KY Imports.

I would opt for a good revolver. Most of these are Police trade ins. Some cop carried these guns for years and never felt unarmed.

"I just got in a fresh batch of 5906. They range from old frame guns with squair trigger guards for $289 to new frame guns with round trigger guards and night sites for $325. I am not getting many of these any more and they are not getting any cheaper. There is only 26 in this batch." Thats from Summit Gun Brokers. A high cap quality stainless 9mm for $289? You can't beat that.

I don't think you would be dissapointed in any of these guns. Good luck.

I have lots of really high end guns. BBQ guns. Old Smiths, Walthers, Sigs, H-K, engraved guns. A Wilson Master grade Govt Model. Guess whats in my waistband right now? A 3" S&W 65. No rust, as reliable as the sunrise, full house .357 Magnum power. A great gun is not based on price alone.

p3at.....it can use +P...cheap...small...light....relitively accurrate....life time warrentee.....gpr

get the taurus 85 there a slick little gun later when you can afford somthing differnt you can take turns with somthing else like a 9 or 45 auto and in the summer you can still use the 85 .