cheap vs better gun?

[Axis II]

Anyone ever get the urge to buy the "better" version of something they already have?

I was raised that you buy what you need to get by because we didn't have a heck of a lot of money so it kind of carried with me. buy what works to get by. well I have hit a few home runs with things like buying a savage axis. man that thing will outshoot a rem 700 of the same setup. I really wanted a rem 700 but couldn't afford it and glad I got the savage.

I have a Mossberg 500 I'm not too fond of but it gets the job done, 45-70 single shot that's heavy, cumbersome, etc but it only gets used 10 days out of the year for hunting so I figured save the money and run with that instead of buying a marlin. I picked up a 44mag for deer hunting and its a single shot too.

I get the bug here and there to sell the single shots and the shotgun and foot the bills for something a bit "better" like a nice auto loader, marlin lever guns for the 45-70 and 44mag but that bug goes away after a month or so because I say well I use it 1 week a year why spend $500 on another rifle that just looks a little better and holds a few more rounds. im getting that bug again. hahaha.

 

[Axis II]

I ended up saying the heck with it a few months back with a ML. I had an older cheaper version that worked just fine but needed a new scope so I set out to buy one and came across a used ML with the scope I wanted for $300 it was a no brainier because the scope was $200 itself. now im stuck with the new ML and the old one that is hard to sell and will probably just sit there.

 

[huntsman]

When I was a kid my two best hunting shotguns were $15.00 and $25.00 beaters my Dad bought me used. After I was working I paid $175.00 for 16 gauge SXS that I used faithfully for 18 years.

At the time these were "cheap" but not cheap guns they were made at a time when even low end models had quality.

To me that's what's lacking in today's guns you really have to spend more to get quality or maybe I should say dependability, for me the rule has been buy more gun than I can afford instead of buying cheap and trying to upgrade latter.

 

[WestKentucky]

I ended up saying the heck with it a few months back with a ML. I had an older cheaper version that worked just fine but needed a new scope so I set out to buy one and came across a used ML with the scope I wanted for $300 it was a no brainier because the scope was $200 itself. now im stuck with the new ML and the old one that is hard to sell and will probably just sit there.

What ya got?

 

[Axis II]

What ya got?

sorry I wont do online sales.

 

[Jason_W]

I'm at a point where I'm more interested in having fewer guns of decent to high quality than I am in having a lot of less expensive guns of questionable quality.

I have no doubt that the current crop of $300 wonder bolts are very accurate, but I have doubts about their longevity. There are 100+ year old Winchester 94s and mausers that are still as functional and accurate as they were on the day they came off the line. I'm not convinced the same will be true for Ruger Americans and savage axises. That's just my take on it, of course. I do understand the appeal of buying a laser accurate rifle for a low cost. I would just personally save up a little longer for something a little better.

 

[jmr40]

Buy the gun you like and can afford. My dad was from the W-2 generation. He and most of his friends only owned 1-2 guns, but they bought pretty decent stuff and kept it a lifetime. Today, more hunters/shooters want at least 6-8 and don't want to pay for as much quality.

I'm guilty. Over the years I've owned quite a few, and the budget guns like the Axis and Ruger American shoot and perform just fine. But as I've gotten older, I've sold off a lot of those and have moved toward fewer, but better quality.

 

[LoonWulf]

I usually buy decent quality but low cost first. If i like what what i do with what ive got, ill consider upgrading again.

I have a 400 dollar Muzzy for 3 days a year, but i really enjoy carrying that gun for those 3 days. I upgraded from a 100 dollar muzzy.

I have a very decent mossy 88 that i tried skeet with once kinda liked it, then bought a winchester 101 that ive shot skeet with twice, didnt really like it, guns going away. I like bird hunting, but mostly just cause it isnt serious hunting for me, lotsa fun goofing off and chasing stuff all over the mountain, that 101 would be fantastic for it, but the 88 does the same job just as well and i dont FEEL a need for the nicer gun for this application....may try a cheap double.

Ive got some decent but no NICE bolt guns, they all shoot very well, and Im very, very confident with them...but im looking for another upgrade.

Got a ar-15, built myself, after using it for a while find i dont really like it (tho i do really like the rounds i have it in, and do like putting them together). Ill keep what i have but wont be "upgrading".

 

[Sniper66]

ohihunter2014 exposes one of the problems with buying cheap and upgrading later; you can be stuck with old and cheap. Of course, I think all of us that started with meager beginnings have bought cheap and upgraded when our budget allows. My old ones became gifts to family and friends or sold for a few bucks. You can also trade at gun shows; use the old gun as a downpayment on the new one. Vendors will often give you at least a few bucks...better than rusting away in a closet. Now I save until I can buy a keeper.

 

[Quentin]

Buy the best that you can afford at the time. Later, if you can afford better and can justify it, why not buy it. The cheaper gun can be passed down to a family member or friend. Or given to a good kid, of course with the parents blessing. Then all of you go to the range for training.

We need to grow new gun owners, which is a fine excuse to upgrade your older guns!

 

[JTHunter]

Over 30 years ago, the first shotgun I bought and used for hunting was a Mossberg 500 pump with screw-in chokes.
Over the next several years, I found it to be somewhat lacking in usability, particularly when hunting multiple species.
As i frequently hunted rabbits and quail at the same time and locations, having to juggle different chokes and/or shot loads/sizes, turned out to be a PITA ! :banghead:
Ten years later, I had an opportunity to get a used Stevens 311 SxS with fixed chokes and double triggers for a good price and I pounced! I immediately took it to a gunsmith 3 blocks from the store where I got the gun and had them bore it out and put in screw-in chokes. FANTASTIC!!
Now, I can have 2 different loads or two different ranges (IC/Mod for rabbits/quail OR M/F for near and far squirrels) from the same gun.

 

[hdwhit]

...hit a few home runs with things like buying a savage axis.

I can second that.

I was really impressed with pretty much everything about the Savage Axis I bought. I would like the front of the stock to be a little more rigid than it is, and I would like the magazines to cost a little less, but other than that I can't think of anything about the gun I don't find satisfying.

 

[hdwhit]

I get the bug here and there to sell the single shots and the shotgun and foot the bills for something a bit "better" ... but that bug goes away after a month or so because I say well I use it 1 week a year

• Are your bills paid?
• Do you have some savings put aside for an emergency?
• Have you made sure the needs of your wife and kids are met and that they have had a chance to satisfy a few wants?
• Have you helped someone less fortunate than yourself?

If you can answer "Yes" to those four questions, then recognize that money is a tool; a means to an end, and if you have provided for the needs (and a few wants) of others, then there is no reason to not allow yourself a reasonable "luxury".

If, on the other hand, you answer "No" to one of those four questions, then I would suggest there are more necessary things for you to use your money than on a new gun.

 

[DaisyCutter]

When I was younger I bought some cheaper guns. Among them, a Ruger P-89 and a Charles Daly auto shotgun were disappointments. A Russian SKS was a winner.


Nowadays, I buy better quality guns. I'm middle aged, and have more money than time. I'd rather spend $1000 on a 1911 than fart around with a $400 filipino 1911.

Secondarily, my tastes are locked in time a bit, so many of the newer styled firearms just don't appeal to me. I spent $400 on a 40 year old Rem 700 30-06 instead of a new Ruger American. I prefer the traditional wood and blue steel, versus the synthetic.

 

[cfullgraf]

Several years ago, I decided to stop buying cheap, inexpensive tools. Poor performance and poor tool life made me feel that those did not make up for the low cost benefit.

Long time production firearms with excellent reputations and with an economical price are an exception to the above rule. I have a Mossberg 400 (.410) and a couple Remington 870s (12 ga) that perform excellently for the tasks that I have bought them for.

 

[gbran]

I was raised poor and soon as I was old enough and had enough income, it seemed everything I bought was name-brand, or at least better than cheap, but not over the top. My cheapest low end gun is a Taurus 22wmr revolver, everything else is Smith, Colt, Ruger, etc, but no Ed Browns or Freedom Arms.

 

[Snyper]

I always try to buy the better quality guns, and most of what I own is worth more than what I paid for it years ago.

I can't say the cheap ones have held their values as well.

I've seldom been happy with the cheaper ones either

 

[bannockburn]

Over the years I have pretty much held with what Quentin posted:

Buy the best that you can afford at the time.

If I couldn't afford something of better quality at the time I either saved up my money til I had enough for it or I traded something in to make up the difference.

The other things that make a gun a "keeper" no matter what they cost are reliability, durability, and accuracy. Wouldn't sell or trade anything that met those three standards over something newer or perceived to be of slightly better quality.

 

[TomJ]

I have some quality, but reasonably priced 1911's from Springfield and Ruger. I recently came across a Dan Wesson Guardian that I'd really like to get, but the 1911's I have now have been great and I can't justify spending $1500 for another 1911 I don't need. I thought about selling a couple to fund the Guardian, but I've been so happy with them I don't want to part with them.

hdwhit, that's some great advice.

 

[readyeddy]

I'n with bannockburn. If the gun is reliable, durable and accurate, it's a keeper, and I have no desire to upgrade that particular gun.

 

[Warp]

Anyone ever get the urge to buy the "better" version of something they already have?

Nothing I have comes in a better version, so no, lol

 

[kimberkid]

<snip>
To me that's what's lacking in today's guns you really have to spend more to get quality or maybe I should say dependability, for me the rule has been buy more gun than I can afford instead of buying cheap and trying to upgrade latter.

That's it exactly ... I was taught that the most expensive wasn't always the best, but not to buy the cheapest either unless you only need to use it once .. then if it breaks before the job gets done ... Well, suffice it to say that two cheap ones probably cost more than a good one.

You're money ahead if you buy once, cry once.

 

[cat_IT_guy]

I've mostly grown out of buying lots and cheap. The only gun I still have that I really consider upgrading is my base model (mil spec) 1911. There's nothing wrong with it and it's been totally reliable with everything I've fed it, but I find myself lusting over a nicer one (not WC nice probably) from time to time. I guess ARs are an exception for me, being totally ok with a functional piece that wouldn't be considered anywhere close to high end. Main reason being they are 100% range toys for me.

 

[MadMurdock85]

I look for quality over quantity. I have guns in about every price (sans 20k+) but all were bought after studying the quality of the gun. I don't care about the brand name at all. I look for several things in the following order: first I look for what will meet my needs or wants, then ergonomics, then I look for the best quality I can afford in that pattern/style, parts availability, then looks (does it please me visually on some level.)

I have handguns ranging from cz and tanfoglio to sig. Rifles from a savage model 11 to remington 700s to walther kkj, to FN SPR, to DPMS to FN FAL to custom built, shotguns from Iver Johnson to remington 32's to hand engraved London built doubles. If the quality fits your needs/wants and you can afford it (meaning you have paid your bills and put money away for retirement and emergency) then buy it. I work this way with my watches, pens, guns, clothes, cars, knives, and tools.