what's out there for cheap but reliable pieces?

[JERRYS.]

for an out the door price of $300 I'd like to see some of these advertisements. basically you're looking for a $260 price tag on a gun.

[OzeanJaeger]

They're ugly and heavy, but for all the knocks on Hi-Points they actually do run. There's a reason it's the gat of choice in the hood.

[smee78]

I saw a full size Remington semi 9mm that was under the $300 price new. Looked like a nice gun for the price, also the Shield and LCP come to mind.

Also just to mention, your doing yourself an injustice by not considering used guns. Over 90% of the guns I've bought have been used and consider them a good deal.

[wizzamen]

Also just to mention, your doing yourself an injustice by not considering used guns.

I agree, some pawn shops have great prices on used guns.

Just beware of some shops and individuals who price their used guns more than a new one (I know you have all seen this).

[brian33x51]

Originally Posted by kozak6

Ruger is locking down the market.

Not in anything I find desireable. The shield in 9mm and 45 and the mp22 are great pistols that work very nicely at the range and arguably best in class. I haven't looked at the new ruger american yet.

As for the taurus, the pt111 *is* a great budget pistol. The biggest problem which doesn't affect reliability is that a high number of them have issues with the trigger safety blade catching during travel (mine included, replaced with 20usd nylon trigger). Otherwise it seems like there are just as many complaints with bad QC on shields. Almost all complaints I see are from "me too" knee jerk taurus haters who've never even handled the pt111.

Sorry springfield guys but I've seen too much bad about their semi autos and hard stats on instructors choosing to avoid carrying anything offered.

[GarandTd]

Sarsilmaz. Imported by EAA. I have the K2P 9mm. It was $279 brand new and has been reliable through thousands of rounds. Also available for around $250 is the SAR B6P. Sarsilmaz is a Turkish family owned company that has been making firearms since the 1800's. The k2p and b6p have features in common with the Browning high power and the cz75b. The k2p has a 2nd generation available now called the CM9. It's the same mechanically, but styled a little differently.

[GarandTd]

I snatched up a Remington rm380 recently. The out the door cost was $253+change and that is before the $100 rebate. I got my order in on the last day of rebate which was the 6th.

[Model12Win]

The Zastava Tokarev 9mm and 7.62s are brand new and can be had for $200. They are full steel pistols with a proven track record yet are fairly light and incredibly thin. Super reliable and durable just like the original Tokarevs. I'd trust one over the myriad of cookie-cutter poly guns on the market for the same price. Packable, practical, not tactical. The Zasty Toks are a winner!

[osbornk]

I've had my S&W SD9VE for years without a malfunction of any kind. It was my favorite carry gun until I got my $199 Taurus PT111 G2 that has also been fault free. I don't know of any guns that are a better value and more reliable. I got my first Taurus just to see how accurate the Taurus bashers were and as a result of their bashing, I have bought 2 new ones since I found no issues with the old used one I traded for.

[Rangerrich99]

At/under $300 new I'd have to go with a Ruger LC9S (striker). It's a little small for really big hands, but it's compact enough to fit in a pocket, dead reliable, holds 10 rds/mag, and is surprisingly easy to be accurate with. As a striker, the trigger pull is much improved over the hammer-fired version, in particular the reset is much shorter, so it's much easier to shoot quickly and accurately. It also somehow has a very subdued recoil impulse.

Cons: it's ugly. The grip is a little too narrow, which can be easily solved with a $6 Hogue slip-on grip sleeve, but the small dimensions of the grip/mag-well also make fast/efficient magazine insertions a bit of a trick. I've accidentally bit the heel of my hand a couple times trying to do so in training events. Finally, for what they are, extra mags are a little on the expensive side.

[PeteH]

For CCW 200 buck range 380 I say bersa thunder. Some will actually fire every round.
Glocks are 400-500 brand new, no contest. I love'em.
Shot a few Taurus but they are getting more expensive the days.
Pawn shops are not the deal they once were, they are selling guns on layaway and getting more than retail in some cases.
Older, less traveled pawn shops are overloaded with handguns but are waiting for the turn around expected with the next administration. The pendulum always swing back....

[GarandTd]

Some will actually fire every round.

That's not very reassuring.

Glocks are 400-500 brand new, no contest. I Love'em.

Love'em or not, there's lots of great 4-500 dollar guns out there, but none of them fit the under $300 "cheap" criteria.

[TruthTellers]

Originally Posted by Model12Win

The Zastava Tokarev 9mm and 7.62s are brand new and can be had for $200. They are full steel pistols with a proven track record yet are fairly light and incredibly thin. Super reliable and durable just like the original Tokarevs. I'd trust one over the myriad of cookie-cutter poly guns on the market for the same price. Packable, practical, not tactical. The Zasty Toks are a winner!

Do tell where you're seeing 7.62x25 chambered Tokarev's for $200.

[TruthTellers]

I won't claim to be an expert, but I know a thing or five about cheap guns.

Under $125:

Raven .25 ACP. Haven't been made in almost 30 years, but they are not the dumpster fire people make them out to be. Look for serial numbers under 1 million, this means they were older models that I believe were better made.

Of all the "Ring of Fire" pistols, I think the Ravens are the best. Are they great guns? No, the sights aren't great, the trigger isn't great, the safety just blocks the trigger, it doesn't stop the firing pin... but I've only had one FTE with it and that was on the last round of a magazine. 6 rounds of .25 isn't much, but so long as you shoot for the head, face, and neck, it's going to have an effect.

There's also 6 shot, .22 LR only Heritage revolvers you can get for $100 on Black Friday.

Under $200:

Used Ruger 9E, used LCP, Hi Points, used SCCY's, Heritage .22 Magnum, H&R .32's, Pietta black powder percussion revolvers.

I know you said no to Hi Points, but for home defense guns and not carry guns, they're fine. Great warranty, anything wrong, send it in, Hi Point fixes it and sends you a new magazine for your troubles.

The Heritage revolvers, I would go for a 9 shot model if you can find them in that price range. They're becoming tough to find apparently, not many places have them in stock. Lot of changes have happened with Heritage since Taurus bought them and I honestly don't think those changes have been for the better.

H&R .32 S&W Long revolvers are for some reason common on gunbroker and the prices are about $50+ lower than they were this time last year. Is .32 a stopper? No, but it's better than .22, .25, and .32 ACP.

Black powder revolvers... these are mostly going to be brass framed, but sometimes Cabela's has sales on 1858 steel frames for $200. Yes, you'll have to buy powder, bullets, primers, and lube or lubed wads, but you can also make some of those things to lower the cost.

Are they effective? Yup, when I hit the steel at 50 yards, it hits pretty hard. Maybe not .45 Colt levels hard, but the cool thing is for another $240, you can get a conversion cylinder and shoot cartridges from them.

After $200, you get into your usual suspects. Ruger's EC9s is CHEAP, used LC9s can be found for CHEAP, and they're not bad guns.

Armscor .38 revolvers are fine, they won't ever win a beauty contest, but they'll work. I think used Charter Arms revolvers made before 1990 are exceptional and, so long as it's not a .22 LR, you can get them for under $300. I scored a .357 Charter for $250 and the trigger is so smooth and light... man, it blows away any Ruger SP101.

I think everyone else has covered what's pretty good for over $200.

[DubC-Hicks]

Hey TruthTellers:

https://www.classicfirearms.com/zast...7-tokarev-yugo

As well as a few other places.

[Model12Win]

Originally Posted by TruthTellers

I won't claim to be an expert, but I know a thing or five about cheap guns.

Under $125:

Raven .25 ACP. Haven't been made in almost 30 years, but they are not the dumpster fire people make them out to be. Look for serial numbers under 1 million, this means they were older models that I believe were better made.

Of all the "Ring of Fire" pistols, I think the Ravens are the best. Are they great guns? No, the sights aren't great, the trigger isn't great, the safety just blocks the trigger, it doesn't stop the firing pin... but I've only had one FTE with it and that was on the last round of a magazine. 6 rounds of .25 isn't much, but so long as you shoot for the head, face, and neck, it's going to have an effect.

There's also 6 shot, .22 LR only Heritage revolvers you can get for $100 on Black Friday.

Under $200:

Used Ruger 9E, used LCP, Hi Points, used SCCY's, Heritage .22 Magnum, H&R .32's, Pietta black powder percussion revolvers.

I know you said no to Hi Points, but for home defense guns and not carry guns, they're fine. Great warranty, anything wrong, send it in, Hi Point fixes it and sends you a new magazine for your troubles.

The Heritage revolvers, I would go for a 9 shot model if you can find them in that price range. They're becoming tough to find apparently, not many places have them in stock. Lot of changes have happened with Heritage since Taurus bought them and I honestly don't think those changes have been for the better.

H&R .32 S&W Long revolvers are for some reason common on gunbroker and the prices are about $50+ lower than they were this time last year. Is .32 a stopper? No, but it's better than .22, .25, and .32 ACP.

Black powder revolvers... these are mostly going to be brass framed, but sometimes Cabela's has sales on 1858 steel frames for $200. Yes, you'll have to buy powder, bullets, primers, and lube or lubed wads, but you can also make some of those things to lower the cost.

Are they effective? Yup, when I hit the steel at 50 yards, it hits pretty hard. Maybe not .45 Colt levels hard, but the cool thing is for another $240, you can get a conversion cylinder and shoot cartridges from them.

After $200, you get into your usual suspects. Ruger's EC9s is CHEAP, used LC9s can be found for CHEAP, and they're not bad guns.

Armscor .38 revolvers are fine, they won't ever win a beauty contest, but they'll work. I think used Charter Arms revolvers made before 1990 are exceptional and, so long as it's not a .22 LR, you can get them for under $300. I scored a .357 Charter for $250 and the trigger is so smooth and light... man, it blows away any Ruger SP101.

I think everyone else has covered what's pretty good for over $200.

Classic Firearms, for one.

[rodfac]

For the record, I've had more issues with new guns than used guns.

Same with me...but you've got to know how to look over a used gun, and determine if it's just holster/drawer cosmetic wear, or something more serious.

In 50+ years of buying both new and used handguns, I've only sent one back and that was a new S&W M-25 back in the late '70's. Smith was sending them out with cylinder throats that measured 0.458"+- with a bbl. groove dia. of 0.452"...it didn't group, it patterned! The guys in the service dept. were apologetic but couldn't change the manuf. specs.

Rod

[WVsig]

Where are the $300 NIB SP2022s? OP is looking for $300 and below.

[Fishbed77]

I'm not sure what the going rate is today, but I picked up a brand new S&W M&P Shield for $215 with rebate last year.

[carguychris]

Originally Posted by PeteH

Glocks are 400-500 brand new, no contest. I Love'em.

+1, but I do have a pertinent suggestion: Used Glock in .45 GAP (37/38/39) or possibly .357 SIG (31/32/33). I've seen a few of both under $300, more of the former than the latter. One was a nearly unfired G38 for $275 that I'm still kicking myself for not buying.

The issue with either suggestion is future ammo availability, particularly in .45 GAP if the few large LE agencies that use it were to drop it. I would only recommend embracing this cartridge if you know (or are willing to learn) how to handload, and you're prepared to hoard brass and carefully police your ejected cases at the range!

[Nathan]

Paid $420 for a Glock 23, $230 OTD for a Shield 9mm and $280 for a Kahr CW380. I’ll never see those prices again!

[HistoryJunky]

Without the FFL fee included Recoil Gunworks is selling Gen3 G22 police trade in for $299.

M&P 40 full size trade ins can be had for even less at some places.

For new I'd probably go with the Zastava Tok. I'm probably going to get one with my tax money in 9mm.

Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Tapatalk

[Harry J]

I picked up my Taurus PT111G2 at DE Guns for under 200 shipped. The PT709 is under 300 as well.. Both spit out everything I have fed them

[carguychris]

Originally Posted by HistoryJunky

For new I'd probably go with the Zastava Tok.

Allow me to paraphrase a few complaints about Zastava Toks that I've culled from past threads.

• Trigger pull weight and quality differs pretty drastically between individual examples. Try before you buy if possible.
• Lots of sharp edges inside the frame and slide; Zastava evidently does not expend much (if any) effort to tumble or deburr the pistols. Keep Band-Aids® handy when cleaning!
• Consistent reports that the pistols hit below POA, a difficult problem to remedy due to the already very tall and chisel-like rear sight.
• The underlying Tokarev design has neither a firing pin block nor an intertial firing pin like a pre-Series 80 M1911; it's basically designed to be carried in Condition 3 and is NOT drop-safe in Condition 2.* Condition 1 carry is theoretically safe, but you have to use the Zastava's somewhat awkward slide-mounted up-for-fire thumb safety.

*FOOTNOTE: Some Tok fans argue that the very stout half-cock notch serves as a Condition 2 safety device. I'm not convinced. YMMV.

IMHO most pistols suggested in this thread are better values unless you absolutely insist upon having a brand-new 9mm that's absolutely as thin as possible, and even if this were the case, I would personally haunt my local retailers and see who's clearing out the now-discontinued S&W Shield 9mm "M1.0;" there are bound to be some deals popping up out there.

[TruthTellers]

^ Tokarevs are not carry guns, they're range guns and maybe home defense guns. If I had one stashed in a drawer, it'd have a loaded magazine in it, but an empty chamber.