best handgun value

Two choices to begin with:

1. Ruger GP-100 in .357 Magnum with a 6" barrel. You may move on to fancier firears later, but you will always hang onto the GP-100. :D

2. Springfield Armory GI .45. A tough and inexpensive and reliable pistol that will never let you down and can be accessorized a bit as you go on. Mine now has a long trigger, a checkered flat mainspring housing and Novak low profile hi-viz sights. It is accurate and totally reliable. It has usurped the position from my 1959 Colt Commercial .45 ACP that was my main carry pistol, though the SA XD-.40 SC has taken first place for that duty.

I have recommend those pistols to my immediate family, and those who have chose one have not been disapointed.:D

Good Luck. :)
 
My advice? Save and buy quality

I dont like cheap or inexpensive. Some gun manufacturers make junk. And that can be dangerous. Put the purchase off a few months and save up a bit more. I dont think you can go wrong with (in my preference order)
1) Smith & Wesson
2) Springfield
3) Ruger
4) Taurus

Good luck!
 
Best value/quality for the money? Springfield XD (45 or .40 S&W) would be my vote. Next up, a Ruger semi-auto; although QC can be a bit spotty with the Rugers.
 
If you want an auto, get a 3rd Gen S&W. Summit Gun Broker has 4043s (.40 cal, allow frame DAO) right now for $269. There stock changes often.
 
I buy mil-surps, mostly. All of my pistols right now are all steel, all are extremely reliable. I bought 2 TT-33 clones that I paid $89 each for in 1992. I put 55,000 rounds through one with not a single FTF or FTE. It was my most accurate handgun. If you try to tell me that it isn't reliable I'll laugh in your face. My brother had been bugging me for years to sell it to him, I finally gave it to him for his birthday, and brought out the safe queen.
Right now I own 5 TT-33's in various flavors, a Star Super A, a Sistema Colt, and a CZ-82. I got the Sistema for $300, the rest cost me between $89 and $219. I'm thinking about ordering either an Argentine Hi-Power or another CZ-82 on Monday. The Argentine Hi-Power is selling for $300, the CZ-82 for just under $200.
All these are "cheap" in terms of $$, but they are reliable as all get out. I think that those who say you have to spend tons of cash to get a reliable handgun are wrong. Military handguns pretty much had to be reliable, governments don't want to arm their soldiers with junk that doesn't work or has to be constantly repaired.
 
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here is an old gun, it ain't cheap or inexpensive. I had it on the latch on the barn door to give it some heft, cause the doggone door kept opening up in the wind.
I threw some stag grips on her for the gunbroker picture, but It'll have some wood grips on her when i mail it out, I am making some tonight from some barn wood, nice with the worm holes and all.
You see, being a S&W don't mean spit, and cheap, well thats a sound the cardinal that came to visit me yesterday makes, twice.
Dont spend your payroll check on a 1911, but if your going to, spend it with me.
Man, get out and try out some guns. If you aint got no buddies, then rent a gun from some sheister at a gunshop. It probably got a buggered up sights, and got dropped, and will have a for sale sign on it next week, but just shoot it.
If you dont like it, rent another one. Think about it, and go somewhere else and ask if any old ladies came in with their dead husbands guns lately. Then when all the estate sales are over and the ammo is scarce again, you'll be back on gunbroker, and buy that dadburned Kimber pro carry II with the 9th elf mohawk laser vision blue ray sights, and asking on here why it wont cycle.
Or... get a good solid government model in the maker of your choice, and shoot 50 rounds every other monday through it. slowly, like curley, start thinking about the way it shoots compared to the way you wish it would shoot.
If your like me, it'll be perfect and you won't have to do anything but try to decide which brand of CLP to use on it. If your like 80% of the fellas on the other forums I read, especially the ones with the know it alls from other countries, they'll mess stuff up, just to fix it, or try to convince you to mess yours up with their idea, and then try to fix it.

I would put down a budget of the value of the pistol, should be equal to the value of six months worth of ammo you plan on sending downrange through it.
All kidding aside, its our hobby, enjoy yourself or find another one.
 
About one of the easiest questions asked on this forum. gun/price/value: That's easy. CZ-82. You can buy them for right around $200-$225. All steel. Totally reliable and dependable. 12+1 shots. Will shoot anything you feed it. Ammo is inexpensive and very available. Polygonal barrel "So don't let some idiot gunsmith tell you the barrel is shot out". DA/SA. Excellent trigger pull. 9x18 makarov caliber: PERFECT for self defense.

2nd choice is the PA-63. Most of the same attributes as the CZ-82, but it's smaller, little sharper on the hands to shoot. Not the perfect quality of gun like the CZ-82, but FEG and the hungarians did build a good gun. 7+1 round magazine.

After that, a used S&W model 10 38spl. Can also be bought for right around $200. Excellent revolver.

These are 3 guns that have not been shot out. They are not worn out. They are excellent. No doubt however that the CZ-82 is by far the BEST Bang for the Buck. Yes, I love my Sig P220. I love my Springfield. I love all of my guns. But the truth is the truth. Forget all the hype of all other guns. Forget all the marketing. If you want an inexpensive, high quality pistol, that is dead on balls accurate and will shoot anything you can feed it; the CZ-82 is the answer. Online, you can buy ammo for $10 a box. Buy 500 rounds for $100 for all the plinking you want. And if you buy the silver bear hollow points, they also make great defensive rounds to carry.
 
I don't understand all the hate with police trade-ins on this thread. Yes, you'll get holster wear, but I've bought many of them over the years and they looked like they had seen at most a few boxes of ammo shot through them. That little wear, they're mechanically basically lightly used, not the shot out piece of junk that's being suggested by some.

Like I said, I've bought a lot of them, and never found one that was worn out, or a piece of junk.

And I recommend any Ruger Security or Service Six, great wheel guns.
 
The CZ-82 pistols are a superb buy, mine has a lot of surface wear but is like new inside. The CZ-82 is a great plinking gun/car or truck gun/house gun.
 
High capacity is only a factor if you "spray and pray" --and putting effective fire on a tactical target sure doesn't take more than 3 or 4 rounds
Click to expand...

Having a pistol with a high capacity doesn't mean you have to "spray and pray"-you can always place a few, judicially aimed rounds down-range just as easily with a pistol having a capacity of, say sixteen rounds, as you can with a five-shot revolver-and still have extra rounds in reserve if needed. Good training supplements any tendency to unleash bonus rounds just because you have them on board.

I'd recommend looking for a "Third Generation" Smith & Wesson semi-auto le trade-in. There are still plenty of them out there available at reasonable costs and you simply can't beat their proven reliability and value.
 
Just bought this at Academy for 299.00. Taurus PT101-P, .40, 16 rounds, all metal. Haven't heard anything bad about this pistol. I've shot it once; about 180 rounds with no issues at all. Some say it is an Academy special, not available many other places. I like it so far, and a real good deal.

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A good working pistol for mostly under 400.00 is a S&W Sigma
series. Not quite the reputation of a Glock, but also not quite
the price.
 
Another vote fo the Ruger P series. I have the Ruger P95 9mm DA/SA semi auto. I paid a whole $329 for it brand new. I also like the Bersa handguns as well.
 
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