$300 and no gun at all, but...
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SniperJon
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Used 10/22...Probably run about 200 bucks and a single shot 12 gauge - 100ish
David E
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They are not very smart by doing so. It simply shows their priorities are not SD based......and there's nothing wrong with that as long as it's understood.
It would not be my first priority. My first priority would be a gun I can enjoy. I would rather take the miniscule risk of not having a CCW for the pure joy I get shooting a good rimfire rifle. And I could easily defend my house with a Ruger 10/22 although that may not be the gun I would pick.
danez71
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So... wait a minute. You're picking an underperforming weapon for its convenience rather than effectiveness, reliability, or versatility?
I think you've already given the most appropriate response to that.
I'd look at the taurus line and get either a revolver in 38 or a 9mm. I'm not a big Taurus fan but I've been around alot of people shooting them and they seem to be accurate and reliable enough. I would just stay away from their pocket type automatics. I've seen a few of them have feeding/ejecting problems. Overall I think taurus is fine for self defense. I don't know how well they would hold up for frequent target shooting though. My brother has a millenium pro in 9mm and it has been shot to death and still fires every time the trigger is pulled. IMHO $300 won't buy you a very nice used smith & wesson revolver or any of the top polymer framed 9mm pistols (glock, springfield, Beretta, etc)
David E
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Which was exactly my point.
A .22 is a great fun, versatile gun, but its not the best choice for defense. As long as that's recognized and the limitations are accepted, then fine.
I'm curious why you would choose a Taurus over a S&W model 10?
If I could have but one gun. I need a CCW daily so to stay within budget I would buy a S&W Model 10 with 4 in barrel.
But I would avoid fast food and sodas like the plague, and in no time at all I would have saved up enough for a used Remington 870.
I would then collect all of the used stuff laying around the house that was no longer needed, and have a Garage sale. I would run right down to my LGS and pick up a really nice old Winchester 69a for a great price.
Problem solved.
David E
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Underperforming how? I don't typically have to make a 300 yd shot. A rimfire rifle or shotgun would have trouble making that long of a shot, too. For what I do, a handgun is a better choice.
A key element for me!
A handgun with me is far more effective than a long gun somewhere else.
My handgun(s) are very reliable.
For ME, a handgun IS more versatile!
The OP asked a simple question: you own no guns, you have $300, what would you buy?
Many asked for qualifiers: for hunting? SD? SHTF?, etc. I actually posted that the OP purposely left that out, so YOU would decide what was most important to you. As such, there are no wrong answers. Then a poster argued the worn out "you use a handgun to fight your way back to the long gun you shouldn't have left in the first place" cliche. Aside from the fact that the cliche asserts you own 2 guns, (contrary to the OP) the cliche falls apart in 99% of plausible scenarios.
MY first gun would be a handgun. It's not a wrong choice, it's MY choice.
danez71
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Ahhh........
I'll just cut to the chase here.
I'm not sure how to word it... and I'm not directing this solely to you... but....
You've (and others) countered, found faults or deficiencies, and/or criticized several posts by others for THEIR choice of a rifle, shotgun, and 22s.
If you're going to make YOUR choice for YOU.... then respect THIER choice THEMSELVES.
The circular banter I referred to earlier is silly as there isn't "a" perfect gun for "all" people in "every" situation.
This isn't new info.... we all know this.
Out of that list, there are two I'd buy and three more I'd consider depending on the model. With all due respect, it's not an impressive list
David E
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Ahhhhhh......I'll just cut to the chase here......I said multiple times that there are no wrong answer here!
If someone makes an inaccurate statement, I might be compelled to point out the inaccuracy. If I said a .38 Special handgun was just as accurate and powerful as a rifle, then I'd expect someone to challenge me on that point.
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danez71
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Its obvious the benefits of the size of a pistol is high on YOUR list.
When some have stated their choice of some type of long gun, and have not made an inaccurate statement, why criticize their choice?
e_thunderburd
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Mossberg 500 Persuader. It will do anything you want, if you respect its limitations. It is essentially a musket.
David E
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Hondo 60
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I disagree, respondents are not staying under $300.
I've seen several replies saying they want a S&W or Ruger, but at today's prices, I don't see them at or under $300.
A used Taurus M85 or maybe a Rossi 357 just MIGHT fit the parameters.
Ed Ames
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I saw a usable used S&W revolver, a 1917 hand ejector, for under $300 in a shop just yesterday.
David E
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Used P-89's and P-95's seem to be easily found for under $300.
Bud's and J&G typically have used S&W Model 10's & 64's and such for $280 or so. Right now, Buds' shows a HB M-10 for $279.
Gunbroker always has Model 10's for less than $300, but you need to look for them.
They are available.
Saw a Ruger P83 yesterday at a local gun store for $299 so I could have picked it up for $250 probably. They also had several .22 semis for less than $150. I didn't see any "hunting" rifles for under $300 but plenty of old shotguns. A couple of Mosins for under $200 which is still too high for that rifle.
All in all I think, around here at least, there are plenty of options to consider based on your intended uses.
Edit: That was a Ruger P-89 not P-83
All in all I think, around here at least, there are plenty of options to consider based on your intended uses.
Edit: That was a Ruger P-89 not P-83
EdJennings
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If you shop around you might still find a S&W 5906 9mm for $300. Might be a bit scruffy at that price, but they are excellent guns and almost indestructable.
I live in an urban area and cannot agree LESS.
Okay, obviously you don't want to be attempting to do house-clearing with a 30 inch goose gun. Still, this attitude that any shotgun with a barrel longer than 14 inches is unsuited to home defense is absolutely silly.
Take a look at the shotguns we used in the trenches and were used by police departments for the past 80 years. Most of them were sporting 20 inch barrels, and people were clearing houses with them just fine. It has only been recently that people who routinely kick in doors in hostile houses have decided "if 18-20 inch long is good, then 12-14 inch is even better!"
While I fully agree that '14 inch is better!' the degree to which it is better in active house clearing is extremely small. And also, active house clearing is the ONLY roll where 12-14" inch is better. (Concealability isn't a roll...it's a trait)
Finally, when I think about 'home defense' I don't think about actively clearing my dwelling of potential hostiles, I think of getting people to the bedroom, one calls 911 while the other points gun at bedroom door from the furthest corner from it. In such a set-up barrel length doesn't come into play. The one place it MIGHT is leaving the master bedroom to collect children, and even then I'd rather have a 20" shotgun than a handgun.
a 20 inch shotgun can be used with slugs to hunt deer, it can with harder lead slugs be used for bear defense. It can be used with fun at the range blasting pumpkins. It works great for home defense. It works great for clearing a house (although yes, a 14 inch version would be slightly better), it can dispatch that skunk or raccoon that is likely rabid, and it can be used for hunting squirrel, rabbit, and the like. It can even be used to take bird on the wing even though it doesn't point and flow quite so naturally as a nice 28 inch barrel would.
As far as being able to 'secret' a handgun better than an 18 inch shotgun...that's really a flaw of your community not the shotgun. Besides even if you have to 'secret' a gun around I disagree that the challenge of doing so with the much bigger shotgun is enough to offset the fact that a shotgun is so much more potent and versatile than a handgun.
For starters, if you absolutely had to break one down to transport it to and from the car, why is that so killer? Single and double barrel guns are EXREMELY easy to break down. My suggested bolt action shotgun cut down to 18.5", often a just a pair of screws (one behind the trigger guard and one in front of the mag well) hold the gun proper to the stock. If moving the gun from car to home needs to be done 'in secret' with great frequency I'd go to the hardware store and get a pair of thumbscrews of matching thread and length for less than a dollar and be able to take the stock on and off with no tools. Now you DO have something that could be thrown in a raquetball bag.
But honestly, left at full length you could wrap a rug around the case, or put it in a long box then for all the neighbors would know you bought some new curtain rods, blinds, or maybe a lamp. If the place is so gun unfriendly you could use one of those rectangular hard side gun cases and most would assume it was a guitar or something like that not a shotgun.
Still...keeping with the 'cheap' theme a nodescript box like blinds come in would be more than enough to keep your 'secret'.
Regarding carrying the gun around to 'stop a rape'. More and more states are getting the picture going 'shall issue' on CCW. However many of those places require classes and a license both which add up. If we are really doing a 'budget gun' then unless you are choosing a $200 handgun because that leaves $100 for CCW classes and license, then the number of handguns available at that price point drops dramatically. If you take the stance of 'well you can conceal without the permit' then that is true...but then you can also saw off your shotgun without the paperwork too. I am answering assuming the person is going to be law-abiding with their gun. While I totally agree that a 38 special to the skull will effectively kill a deer, I don't think I know of any place where it would be a legal hunting gun for deer. A shotgun with slug is legal all over the place for deer hunting. Shooting rabbit and squirrel with a 38 revolver is indeed legal most places, but a shotgun and #4 birdshot is a heck of a lot more effective.
Finally..
You are NOT going to find a perfect gun for all rolls at $300. You aren't going to find a perfect gun for all rolls at even $3000 even with a free pass on all NFA rules.
But regardless of the price, the shotgun comes closer than any other to covering all the bases.
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Ed Ames
Member
Umm...why did you quote my post for that?
For the first half: I never said anything about 14" barrels or clearing houses. Learn how to carry your gun. Low ready, look it up. This ain't rocket science and if you can't carry a 20"+ barrel gun through a standard house either you are ignorant or a hoarder.
However, I think a gun that is only useful inside your home, that you can't easily take out of your home in functional ready-to-use condition, is nice but it comes second, or third. That's the reality of long guns in most urban, and many suburban, settings. This shouldn't be a surprise IMO. It's like...if you are buying cookware, you should buy a skillet before you get a waffle iron. Waffle irons are great but they are only useful for a few meals (those involving waffles) whereas a skillet can be used to make everything from hamburgers to pie. Common sense says you buy the most used stuff first.
As for secreting guns, no kidding it's a problem with the community and if you think carrying stuff around wrapped in rugs is a solution that will avoid neighborly attention of the "he's got something worth stealing and I just saw him leave, let's see what else he's got" sort we don't have much in common and as long as you aren't living in my home it's none of my business.
As for $300, you are the victim of a moderator there. There were two threads, one on urban guns and one on $300 guns. A moderator got bored and merged them. Viva la confusion! The post you were quoting was written for the thread about urban guns.
For the first half: I never said anything about 14" barrels or clearing houses. Learn how to carry your gun. Low ready, look it up. This ain't rocket science and if you can't carry a 20"+ barrel gun through a standard house either you are ignorant or a hoarder.
However, I think a gun that is only useful inside your home, that you can't easily take out of your home in functional ready-to-use condition, is nice but it comes second, or third. That's the reality of long guns in most urban, and many suburban, settings. This shouldn't be a surprise IMO. It's like...if you are buying cookware, you should buy a skillet before you get a waffle iron. Waffle irons are great but they are only useful for a few meals (those involving waffles) whereas a skillet can be used to make everything from hamburgers to pie. Common sense says you buy the most used stuff first.
As for secreting guns, no kidding it's a problem with the community and if you think carrying stuff around wrapped in rugs is a solution that will avoid neighborly attention of the "he's got something worth stealing and I just saw him leave, let's see what else he's got" sort we don't have much in common and as long as you aren't living in my home it's none of my business.
As for $300, you are the victim of a moderator there. There were two threads, one on urban guns and one on $300 guns. A moderator got bored and merged them. Viva la confusion! The post you were quoting was written for the thread about urban guns.
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beatledog7
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Ah! That helps explain why this thread took the path it took.
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