I have some nice S&W's and Sigs and Colts and so forth that are great handguns, totally reliable, and really good shooters. That's not surprising.
Occasionally I'll buy a cheap or little-known or much-disparaged handgun just because it was such a good deal... kind of a gamble and/or a lark. Some of them were junk and a waste of money, albeit not much money. A few of them have turned out to be good solid shooters.
Maybe you've had similar experiences?
I don't think that Tanfoglio, RIA, or Charter Arms count as "off-brand" for a lot of shooters these days, but here are some less common ones:
I bought a Rossi 38 snub in 1990 or so, and it was a lemon. I heard plenty of bad things about them, and decided they weren't for me. Then I ran across this little five-shot 44 special Rossi revolver. I decided to take a chance. My goodness it's a terrific shooter. The trigger is excellent. I shoot it very well (by my standards). Everyone who shoots it likes it. It's one of my favorite handguns. I wasn't surprised to find out later that this particular model, the 720, has something of a cult following.
This is a true story: I celebrated my Irish heritage too thoroughly late on a Saint Patrick's Day night, and had a bizarre dream that I'd bought a pink handgun online. In the morning I discovered that it was no dream. I'd ordered a pink polymer CZ75 compact copy made by a Turkish company called SAR. (It was $239 or something like that.) After I picked it up at my LGS a few days later, I took it to the range. It shot very well for me, fit my hand well, was accurate, etc. I really liked it. I took it to the range a few more times and enjoyed it very much. Then "tragedy" struck: my friend at the LGS offered to trade me something I really wanted (a 629, IIRC) if the SAR was part of the deal. I went through with it, but soon afterwards found a similar price on a stainless version of the same SAR and bought it. It shoots just as nicely as the first one.
I read a post or something about Miroku revolvers from Japan and apparently remembered the positive statements. I ran across a nice-looking Miroku on GB a few weeks later and "risked" a bid of... $170-something. I won the revolver, and it's a nice one. It's the size of a S&W K-frame and looks a lot like one, though the cylinder unlocks like a Colt. The trigger is great and it's a very good shooter. It seems very well made. My friend tells me that Japanese LEO's used to be armed with them. It's one of the best 2" snubs I've ever shot.
A few years back a lot of the surplus places were selling Star Super B's for a little over $200. I'd read about Stars, but had never handled or fired one. I read that they were like a 9mm 1911, but with no grip safety and locked up like a Browning Hi Power. What the heck, I rolled the dice. It sure did look and feel well-made. It had barely been shot before. I took it to the range with my FiL, who is a tough sell, and we both liked it a lot. It's a heavy steel pistol that's accurate and has very little recoil. My FiL liked it so much that he ordered one for himself within a day or two. His turned out to be unfired! The recoil is so mild that it's the first 9mm pistol my daughter ever wanted to shoot. She was maybe 11 or something. She shot it, laughed, and said that the recoil was "Lame Dad, really lame. I thought 9mm would jump or something."
When I was young and didn't know anything (other than that I knew EVERYTHING) I bought a copy of the Browning Hi Power that was made in Hungary by a company known as FEG. I've had that pistol since 1988 or so, and it's still a good shooter. Eventually FEG went out of business. About five or six years ago a lot of the surplus places were selling little 32acp FEG pistols that were more or less copies of the Walther PP. They were a little over $200. What the heck, my other FEG was a good one. Wow, the little 32 was great. It fit my hands very well, had a nice trigger, pointed naturally, was accurate and a joy to shoot. It has an aluminum frame, so it's light and easy to handle. Somehow my FiL talked me out of it, so I just ordered myself another one.
