I am looking for a handgun thats automatic, inexpensive, and preferably 9mm or larger. Yeah, pretty much pipe dream I know. Why do I want it? Just for fun shooting really. target shooting, plinking. Not so much home security because I dont plan on having it easily accessible. By inexpensive I am thinking of the 2-300 dollar price range, but not so much the upper end… heh.
For your price range you won’t have any luck at all finding anything new that’s worth having in 9mm and above. Weapons made by companies like Jennings and Raven are absolutely atrocious and, frankly speaking, are not particularly safe. Hi-Point also sells weapons in that range, but when you’re talking about something that can hurt you severely if it fails and keeping in mind that you generally get what you pay for I will tell you that I would not consider buying one of them. Caveat emptor. Those are the types of new weapons you would be looking at.
Used, on the other hand, might turn up something decent. I have two automatics, a Sig Sauer P239 in 357SIG and a Glock 27 in .40 S&W, and I don’t think you’ll find either of them or their full size equivalents for that price. I’d look at Star of Spain, Taurus, or maybe if you’re lucky Ruger.
Step up to $400-500 and the possibilities are endless. That’s about the range of a depreciated Glock and well within range of a used Beretta Model 92. If you’re looking for something in the .45 neighborhood I found a Ruger P90 on Gunbroker for $420, and that’s not a bad piece at all (although I’m not fond of the grips).
Cheap guns are not worth it. Pay a bit more and step into something nice, safe, and dependable with a good reputation.
First off, the CZ-82 is chambered in 9x18, or 9mm Makarov. While not a terribly expensive round, it is sometimes hard to find. What people are talking about when they say “9mm” is 9x19/9mm Luger/9mm Parabellum, which is ubiquitous and (relatively) cheap.
I agree that you are unlikely to find a quality handgun in 9mm or greater for less than 300 dollars. If you can scrape together $400, you have more options. You can likely find a used Glock for around $350 if you shop around. That also brings you into the range to buy new Ruger autoloaders. No personal experience with them, but the word is their ergonomics leave something to be desired but they are very reliable. They to can be had in the mid-$300’s; this site gives you an idea of prices.
Certainly avoid Davis, Hi-Point, Raven, etc. I usually recommend Ruger every chance I get, and since most Ruger products are seriously overengineered, I wouldn’t be too afraid of a used one (if you check it out good first, of course). The P345 would be high on my list of ones to check out, as I’ve had a P89 and it felt like gripping a 2x4. I’ve heard other people say they loved the old Ruger grip, so until you wrap your mitts around it you won’t really know.
I like my Makarov, it’s fun and accurate for the size, although the grip on the single-stack Mak is a little rough, I’ve never fired one of those double stack things. Also remember that the 9x18 round is not what people commonly think of when you say “9mm”. It’s comparable to a .380acp in power, but a little more expensive due to its rarity. If you really like the Mak, check out this site (which includes a link to the official CZ site)
The Springfield XD is turning out to be fairly popular, I know a couple people with them and they love the things. I’ve seen a broad range of prices, so I don’t really know how much they’re going for.
That’s off the top of my head & I know there are a couple that I’ll suddenly remember in the middle of the night.
The CZ 9X19mm pistols are very popular here in Israel - I’d say they own something like half of the market. My dad has one, and he’s very happy with it. They may not have the flash of a Glock, but they’re good, solid, dependable weapons.
You can pick up a Walther P-1 (more modern version of the Walther P-38) quite reasonably- the German Federal Police sold off quite a large number recently and they hit the surplus market.
Otherwise, I’d suggest a Browning Hi-Power (or one of the Argentine or Hungarian copies), or maybe a Tokagypt if you manage to track one down.
I have a Ruger Mark II, .22LR and it’s perfect for target/plinking. A quality pistol, inexpensive to shoot and parts readily available. You should be able to buy a good used one for $300. or maybe a bit less. I don’t know why you’d want a heavier caliber for target shooting.
Airman Doors, USAF is 100% correct. It’s O.K. to be frugal on certain things you buy, but guns should not be on that list.
As far as a recommendation goes, I strongly suggest looking at the new S&W M&P line of semi-autos. They’re getting rave reviews by the even most hard-to-please critics. I recently purchased an M&P compact in 9 mm. It’s awesome.
Yea, it’s a nice pistol. But availability of spare parts is a big deal to me. Not many spare parts are available for the XD; if you have a problem with it, you have to send it back to Springfield. With the S&W M&P, all spare parts are available for purchase.
You do have cites on Hi-Points, or similar guns, failing catastrophically and injuring the user, I presume, otherwise you wouldn’t make such a dramatic pronouncement. I’ve fired a few of them, and I didn’t care for the ergonomics or the bulk that their method of construction entails. All were, however, reasonably accurate and free from failures to fire. If you have reliable information regarding their lack of safety, please post or link to it.
Which CZ handgun are you talking about? The CZ-75? Other than being a doublestack 9mm, it isn’t particularly like the Browing HP. It’s more like a DA version of the Sig P210 and I don’t even like that description much.
Apparently this is the unpopular opinion to have, but I don’t see the reasoning for all of the negative feelings for Hi-Point. I have a 9mm HiPoint. I also have a Ruger .40.
I don’t see much of a difference in accuracy or jamming frequency between the two. I certainly haven’t had the HiPoint blow up or injure me. The Ruger is more compact and less bulky. If I wanted a weapon of CCW I would definitely go with the Ruger over the HiPoint.
But, for something to just target shoot with, I don’t see any problem with buying a HiPoint. And at $140 brand new, you could buy three of them for the price of one Ruger.
If anyone has specific instances or proof of this gun blowing up and/or injuring the shooter, I’d be very interested to hear.
I have a HiPoint and, while it’s never fallen apart in my hands (as a Davis once did - slide spontaneously disassembled while firing), I can’t really recommend the things - I don’t enjoy shooting it, I don’t like the balance, I don’t like the overall design, I just don’t much care for it. I’ve seen
To me a life-threatening failure includes misfires.
Re-reading Doors post, it’s possible he was saying that Raven and Jennings are dangerous, and HiPoint is also really cheap - Not necessarily that HiPoint is as bad as the other two. IIRC HiPoint also uses cast zinc slides which is a huge strike against them in my book. Emergency self-defense for someone who can’t afford anything else? Yes. A fun plinking gun for someone interested in the hobby? Not in my opinion.
That’s exactly it. There’s a reason why I said it the way I did. I intended to disassociate Hi-Point from “dangerous” firearms, but I did intend to highlight its relative cheapness and (perhaps perceived) lack of quality. I also said that I wouldn’t buy one and that it is the call of the purchaser.
Whatever you choose to discern from that is entirely on you.
Why not just get a quality gun and forget about it costing a few more clams than you care to spend? It’ll keep it’s value (I think) pretty good and you’ll be able to leave it to someone as a nice gift in your will when you pass on.
Checking the newspapers isn’t a bad idea either, as sometimes people are hard up for cash and will sell a fine gun at a sweet price.
I once owned a CZ motor-cross bike that I bought new around '72. It was an expensive piece of junk.
Yes, it is. I did not include them among the weapons I pointed at as dangerous, and I made the association between price and quality. I further said that I would not purchase one and put the burden on the purchaser to buy if he wanted one.
You know what? Screw this. I really don’t have to justify my opinion. Remind me to withhold it next time.
If anyone has bothered to keep track of my opinions they’ll probably be shocked to hear me saying this, but have you considered a revolver? Seems to me I’ve seen a GP100 or two in that price range, and frankly they’re a joy to shoot.
Other than that, and for the price, Makarov is still a good choice I’d say. A little underpowered, but ammo isn’t nearly as hard to find as it used to be.