Best value handgun?

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Makarov

When I bought mine the value was unbelievable - $120 for an unissued Bulgarian milsurp. I bought 3 of them.

Even today at about $150 or so, they are still a fantastic bargain.
 
Top 10 if faced with the Silverado gun purchase scenario:

Glock 17
Ruger P series
Taurus (92 or 99)
Star Firestar
EAA Witness (cheaper than CZ)
CZ
S&W 59 or 69 series
Argentine BHP
Kel Tec 9
Bersa

Cheers, TF
 
I am a bargain hunter

especially when it comes to firearms. I have bought lots of guns that were great bargains and most of them were great guns. When it comes to handguns however, the only guns of any value are the ones that you can "depend" on to save your life. There are many fine handguns out there that are quite reliable and the prices vary greatly. In my opinion, and it is just that, an opinion, the Sigs and the Glocks are 2 of the most reliable guns on the planet. I know there are a lot of 1911 owners screaming BLASPHEMY right now but in my experience they are finicky. I currently have 2 handguns which I use for self defense and they are both Glocks. It is the only gun that I know of that I can buy for less than $500 NIB, stick it in a holster on my hip and be 99.44% confident that it will work when I need it to with out ever firing a round through it. No, that is not a good idea and I do shoot my guns often as possible and they are practically flawless. I can not say that I have never had a problem withem but the ones that I have had were easily trceable to my reloads or in one case a bad magazine.
 
"A $1000 gun vs. a $500 gun? Probably not quite. But many guns in the $250 range have flaws, some of them serious functional flaws."

Can you provide some examples behind that statement or provide us with the data?
 
Kel-Tec P-11 you can get it for around $350...VERY RELIABLE and the company stands behind their guns 100%......The Company's Customer Service is well recognized around the industry. So far I have 7000+ rounds through it and not one (I man not one) jam or issue... Great now that I said that something will go wrong with it...Old Murphy....

Having said that if you looking for a gun….You’ll get a full range of input to your question (like I listed above) however my input is to go to a gun show then over to a vendor with a LARGE selection of guns then without looking too hard at the gun feel them in your hand...I've always found that if a gun doesn't fit you well it doesn't matter how big the cal or type of gun in the end you wouldn’t like it.

Then AFTER you find a few that feel real nice go home and do your homework on the particular guns that felt the best in your hand...Google the makes and models for reviews.

In the end, everyone who recommends a gun to you has a bias…They like it and think it’s the best. Maybe for them it is but it may not be right for you.

That’s why I like the blind fit test
 
priority

i made a list prior to a recent purchase in order of value for dollars and my choices were:
czPO1-unavailable in maryland
taurus pt99-bought one
xd-just over my price limit
used glock.
i researched for more than 2 months before purchase. looked at many forums, reviews, asked questions.
reasonable cost is important to me. i have a kid in grad school, 1 in jr college, and one at home.
ammo cost and availability was the second issue.
cz 82/83 is an appealing gun, but 9x18 is a mail order round. i have determined that 38/357 and 9mm is most available to me and most reasonably priced.
i have a cz 52 and laid in a store of ammo for it already on the cheap when prices were down.
 
XavierBreath is right. A used S&W model 10 beats all comers in bang-for-the-buck. You can find them for under $200, and can easily sell it for at least that much later on. The model 10 does not have the sexy Hollywood cache a Glock does, but you can buy 2 used model 10s for the price of a used Glock, or one model 10, a case of ammunition, and a nice holster!

- What you consider adequate stopping power - .38 Special is a good round, and modern bullets make it even better.
-inexpensive and available ammo, for target practice and self defense - .38 Special is one of the cheaper choices when it comes to factory ammo, and it is available everywhere
-inexpensive and available magazines / speed loaders - Speedloaders for the S&W K frame are by far the cheapest and most common available.
-warranty if any - S&W's customer service is the yardstick by which all others are judged.
-easily available spare parts - They made something like 50 gajillion of them, (and still are) so I suspect model 10 parts will be available long after the sun burns out.
-reliability - In a word, YES.
-durability - Many, many examples, some up to 100 years old are still going strong
-accuracy - They used model 10s with adjustable sights for bullseye competition back in the day.
-ergonomics - More different grips are made for the S&W K frame than any other gun, but if you can't find one to your liking, you can even make your own fairly easily
-accesories (holsters and what not) - As XavierBreath said; 102 years worth
-easy to field/detail strip - You will never need to.
-weight - 30-36 ounces
 
For revolvers, I agree with Xavierbreath in particular and Cosmoline in general. For autos, I think that the Ruger P-Series are about the best value there is, particularly when purchased used.
 
forgot to mention good values available right now

the CZ40b CDNN has been selling for $289 and the number of FN-branded HP's that are selling for $400 lately.
 
Ruger P-series are the best handguns for the price, VERY accurate, feel awesome in your hand, TONS of accessories, Ruger has awesome customer service if something should go wrong with your firearm, magazines are everywhere and cheap (unless you buy a ruger factory mag), field strips in seconds, oh yeah and did i mention ACCURATE, now i prefer the older ones that are all aircraft grade aluminum, as apposed to the newer models with the polymer frame
 
Makarovs are way up there as best-value handguns, though due to price increases this is less true now than in the past. I'd give the CZ-75B high marks as well--it's a world-class pistol and generally priced right.
 
If you like gambling, then maybe Taurus

What a load of crap. Apparently someone here has no idea about Taurus other than what they read on line. Go and shoot one and them tell me if you're gambling. Or do you not have the cahones to shoot one, because you are gambling.
 
Best Value Handgun hmmm? There's been some good choices listed so far.

Reckon I have to agree with XavierBreath on the slightly used S&W Model 10 or M&P (as 'twas originally known). Fits all the criteria listed, and even if you buy a horribly used one that's been rode hard and put away wet more than once, since S&W's still making 'em, they can pretty much bring one back from the near dead.

But... they's ol' timey and only shoot 6 slow pokey little .36 caliber pills, and, well, they ain't very sexy or new or modern... they just keep chugging along, getting the job done for about the last century I reckon.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with their newfangled younger stainless steel brother, the 64, some would say. (well, they ARE kinda shiny as well as ol' timey)
 
EAA Witness Elite Match, reliable, very finely finished, incredibly good trigger right out of the box, more accurate than anything under $1200-1500, and costs $399-$429. I've got one in .40, going to look at another in 9mm tomorrow.

WitnessMatch2.jpg

The only down side is it's really too big to be a CCW, you could do ok if wearing a jacket all the time but it's really a large frame gun. I bought my .40 for IPSC, but have been shooting it in IDPA, now I'm going to pick up a 9mm for a dedicated IDPA gun.
 
CZ75B- Got mine for $350 new and I can't think of a 9mm pistol that could do the job better than this one dose at any price.
 
If by best bang for the buck, we're talking about someone who could only have one gun.
I agree with Xavier.
A good S&W M&P/Mod 10 would be ideal. So would a Colt Trooper, or a Ruger Something-Six.
I remember you could get state patrol trade-in Colt Trooper with the rubber grips, holster and a box of ammo for $200.
I've seen Model 10s with the finish all gone to brown and lot's o'rounds out the pipe that locked up tight.
I've never seen a Ruger Whatever-Six that was worn out.
All great choices.

If you HAD to have a semiauto. Well, for sheer cost, 9mm would be the best price point for practicing with. Ruger P89DC can be had for under $275 used. Police trade G19s are around $330 or so. Those two guns, in terms of cheap magazines and ammo, and generally not going to be shot out, are probably the best deals out there for a semiauto. Neither have "safeties" to worry about and a revolver user would transition in quite nicely.

And bash them though we will, Hi-Point pistols are a great choice for a budget. Yes, they are ugly, top heavy, and have the striking good looks of a city transit bus. But they do the job they were designed for at a price that those who can't afford a $300 Glock will appreciate. A good solid 9mm pistol for $120 or so beats the hell out of facing a home invader with a nail file.
 
I am going to have to say that my Ruger P89 is the best value/dollar i could find.

great reliability, easy to take down, cheap to shoot, and accurate. I have never had a FTF, FTE or any other problems with either of the ones I have had no matter what ammo I fed it.

I really love my gun alot and am glad I got it.

Jamie
 
Even though we see several guns repeated here, I'm surprised that so many different makes were listed. And for the most part, I can see the point of view of everyone. I'd have to list several with caveats:

GLOCK: used police trade-ins are inexpensive and as reliable as Rosie O'Donnell
Makarov: three years ago, I'd say they were the hands-down choice
CZ-82: three years later, they could easily be argued to be the choice
S&W revolvers: used, they are as good as they were the day they were built

I also have a Taurus auto and a Ruger revolver and I wouldn't count them out for sure.

Oh yeah, and I carried my Kel-tec P11 and P3AT today. They sure seem to be great values too, and I saw them listed today for less than $250.

Basically, there're just some really good values to be had in some fine handguns.
 
Revolver: As said before, the Smith Model 10. They were used everywhere for 50 years for a reason.

Auto: I am big on warranties and like companies that stand behind their product. With the current free mag deal the Smith & Wesson M&P Auto's are hard to beat.
 
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