If you only had 1 handgun

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Smith357 said:
A police trade-in S&W 5906, all stainless steel, and all over GunBroker for $350 and in the CDNN catalog on page 27 for $299 . It is easy to dress one of these carried a lot shot a little Stainless pistols wear with a green scrubbie and a set of houge grips. for $400 you will have an accurate all steel 15 shot 9mm.



Agree on the 5906, I've owned a police trade-in 659, which is the 5906's predecessor, since 1988, and even after more than 10K rounds above whatever the cop shot through it, it's the most accurate pistol I've ever shot, just too bulky and heavy to conceal or it would be my carry gun. The only drawback is that Smith seems to engineer at least 50% more parts into their autoloaders than any of the competitors. At under $300 bucks, I might spend some money with CDNN myself.
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We were right in the first place. A Ruger GP100 stainless. Much simpler, much tougher.

I don't much care how accurate it is. What's a 1/4" at 25 yards?

Up here you can get 'em for $175, almost new.
(I was lying about that last part but I can never resist)
 
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As stated before: check CDNN Investments.

Take a look at summitgunbroker.com and Bud's police trade-in's section.
 
You can find on any 'gun broker board', a real nice Smith and Wesson model 15 4-inch K-frame revolver in .38 special.
 
I am left out of the discussion, which I don't appreciate. My answer starts with a G. Hmm, I'll go with Springfield XD come to think of it considering our rules for the thread.
You can pick up some cool used revolvers too in your price range. I like Colts. The older the better if in good working condition.
 
I third the used k frame s&w revolver. That is the first gun that I bought and is still my "if you could only have one" gun.
 
Given your criteria of strictly a cheap to shoot, range only gun, I can only second the Ruger MKx, Ruger 22/45, or Browning Buckmark.

If it's one handgun for maximum versatility then a .357 Mag revolver of your liking is a very easy recommendation.
 
If it's not going to be carried or used for defense, I also suggest a good .22 handgun of some description. I like the Ruger MKII but a Buckmark or similar quality firearm would do as well. Maybe the new Ruger SP-101 .22LR if you're into revolvers.

If it is going to see all around use for recreational shooting, CCW, and HD, then I'd take a 3" .357 SP-101.
 
One handgun? 4" .357 revolver.
I almost went with a .40 auto loader, but came to my senses just in time to score a nice new Ruger GP100. For $400, I would look for a used S&W or Ruger .357. My buddy's Ruger Security Six cost him less that $300 (used of course) and it is a very nice gun. It shoots my handloads real well. (His handloads not so much! ;) )
 
If I could have but 1

...

That would be my Sig P220/45

As my Samoan BIL says - "if it will kill a pig, (island wild pig/s) it will kill a man"

He was 35yrs LAPD SWAT (distinguished expert/instructor) small arms, shoulder assault rifle and tactical usage and tactics for SWAT and for 2 of our Special Forces, Navy/Marine Seals and Army Special Opts

Oh, and his small arms weapon of choice, without question Colt Government Model 70 series 1911.. of course


Ls
 
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As for me I believe if I were in any way limited to one pistol I'd have to go with the glock model 20 in 10mm. IMO the 10mn is a very versatile and capable cartridge that's serviceable for both defense and in some instances hunting.
 
Also I probably should have been more specific. This will not be a carry gun so size is not an issue, nor will it be for HD. I have my trusty mossberg for social work. Looking towards the category of fun, reliable, and affordable to shoot.
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If you want a revolver then I recommend the Ruger GP100...

HPIM7181.gif


If you want an autoloader then I recommend the Ruger SR9c...

HPIM6881.gif

And if you cannot afford the SR9c, then I recommend the Ruger P95...

HPIM6391.gif

Yes, Ruger offers great bang-for-the-buck guns.
 
If I could only have 1 and its just for fun, then I would go with my Ruger MKIII.

If I could only have 1 and its primarily for defense, then my S&W 5906.
 
Concur with many of the above; a good quality 4" revolver can be found at a very reasonable price.
 
Im assuming 75% of you will say 1911/glock so to make it fun we will leave those out of the discussion.
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So to make it fun you want to exclude 75% of the people? Around here though I don't think you could get either for under $400.

The thing is, you want it for fun. What is fun? For me, it's shooting a target at 5-10 yards as fast as I can keep on the paper with as big a gun as I can shoot without hurting my hand.

For others, it's shooting accurately at a distance. Or shooting over and over again without spending $50 on ammo (.22). Or shooting something so big that it requires a 2-handed grip. Some like revolvers, some hate em. What is fun for you? That might narrow it down.
 
If I could only have one handgun it would be a Ruger Mark II. If I could have two handguns and was on a limited budget, the second would be one of a Ruger GP100, Ruger SP101 (3" barrel), Smith 586/686 or Smith 19/66. My second would be some flavor of .38/.357 revolver.

Autos are nice, but since I would be on a very limited budget, autos just require more of everything. Attention, cleaning supplies, magazines, ammo, maintenance, etc.
 
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