Best deal you ever got on a used handgun

Best Deal or Best Deal Missed

1971, I returned from SEA. I went into a gun shop in Macon, GA to by my first hand gun. They had a .44 Auto-Mag for just under $500.00. I was single and a SSgt in the USAF. How I wanted it, but $500.00 was a lot of money then. I ended up buying a Ruger Blackhawk for $71.00. How, I wished I bought that Auto-Mag instead.
 
As much as I paid for it overall, I think that the best deal that I ever got was on my Heckler & Koch USP45 Elite.

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This gun cost me about $1050, which may seem like a lot, but I bought it in March of 2021 when Pandemic Gunbuying was in full swing and prices were inflated across the board. At the time, the H&K USP45 Elite was going for $1500. When I first ordered it, I was half expecting for the seller to cancel the order because the listed price was a typo, but he completed/shipped the order.

I've wanted one of these since I first laid eyes on them in 2018, but due to the combined price and rarity, I never thought that I would ever be able to obtain one.
 
1975, in Honolulu, Hawaii, got a like knew S&W model 19 357 mag for 40 dollars.

A month earlier, the USN ship I was stationed on had a new-in-box Winchester 70 target rifle in 308 Winchester I paid 50 dollars for.
 
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Best deal ever: About three years ago l found a early Luftwaffe Femaru M37 from the first (1941) contract at a small gun store. $150 OTD.
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Second best deal was a Smith and Wesson Model 1899 First Model Target, one of less than a handful known to still exist that is still in original unaltered condition. Pricked it up about four years ago for $250.
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Taurus SS 1911 for a Colt Officer's Target Model 22LR.

Placed the Taurus on consignment for $475. Shop owner sold the gun but needed the cash. Gave me the Colt as compensation. I'm like "are you SURE???". Felt a little bad about it though.
 
I've noticed a few rifles. If that is in the mix, I'd say an HK 300 [.22mag semi-auto] in good shape, for $300.
 
Best used firearm was, the $40 paid for a RG34,...

heavy barreled .22 revolver, Literally shotthe heck out of it!

The chambers can now partially accept a .22WMR due to firing CCI Mini-mags and Federal Hi-Power.22's

Barrel wobbles in the fram, from flame cutting.

It allowed me to go squirrel hunting during college and pick off grays and reds at 20 yards.

Still have it, been thinking about getting the frame bushed and the cylinder re-lined or turn a new steel cylinder to "bush" with the OD of the old cylinder.
 
The WORST deal I ever got on a handgun was a Lorcin .380 that was given to me. Still taking up precious real estate in my safe!
 
The absolute best deal I have ever gotten was a couple of years ago when I picked up a Hungarian M37 that was part of the first German Luftwaffe contract in 1941 for $150.
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Second best is a 95% US Property Colt 1911 that was made in 1917 for $800 at an estate sale a couple of years ago.
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Best deal on a used handgun? Hmmm...

Back in early 2007, I wandered into the local Gander Molehill and noticed they were having a sale on milsurp "arsenal refinished" Walther P1 pistols. I'd always been interested in that gun, and the $269 sale price was just too enticing, so I decided on impulse to pick one up.

The salesman brought out four P1s from the storeroom. Three of them had unacceptable (to me) levels of cosmetic wear, but the fourth one looked absolutely pristine and apparently unfired. I left with that particular P1.

That was Surprise #1. After detail-stripping the gun and honing the internals a bit to improve the trigger pull, I brought it to the range for the first time, and was treated to Surprise #2. I had read that these milsurp P1s were merely "rack grade" service handguns with a commensurately adequate level of accuracy... and was therefore more than mildly surprised to discover that this particular P1 was able to consistently hold a sub-3" group at 25 yards, shooting my subsonic target handloads. The non-adjustable sights were even right on target at that distance, with the POI equal to the POA. Unbelievable.

A target-grade handgun for under $300. Color me impressed! At this point, I was so smitten with the P1 that I decided to do the most natural thing: get another one. So back to Gander I went a few days later, when they had dropped the price of the P1 further to $239! I went through the same motions of having the saleperson bring out several P1s from the storeroom. Again, most were cosmetically blemished, but among them was one that was in mint, unfired condition. And again, that one followed me home where it was oiled up, sealed in a plastic bag, placed in a foam-lined case, and stored in the gun safe where it remains to this day.

Here's an image of the first P1, which I still enjoy shooting on a regular basis:


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The other one gets taken out of the safe one or twice a year to be fondled inspected and cleaned/reoiled as necessary. :D
 
December of 1971 I purchased my first handgun, a Ruger Mark 1, used, for $37.00. Still in my gun safe somewhere.
 
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