Is buying cheap pistols an addiction?

I don't seem to buy guns for keeps; I just rent them long-term.

My wife currently owns 2 of the first 10 handguns I've ever purchased. The other 8 have been sold, traded, or given away. If she hadn't become attached to those two and thus claimed them for herself, we'd have none of those first 10 right now.

11 through 14 may see a little less turnover. I want to get rid of only one of those four right now, and maybe a second one in the next year or so.

So, no. I don't like collecting. But if I did, it would be the cheapies, and probably multiple copies of a few designs.
 
The problem with cheap guns, even if they are reliable, is resale, there are a few shops that won't even consider taking in trade what they consider a cheap gun. Also resale value is a bit lower percentage wise verses a high end gun. High end guns may increase quite a bit in value as years pass, cheap ones barely if ever increase in value. I've owned a few good cheap guns, bought 3 SKS rifles at a show for $100.00 total and all three shot as good as any of the 8 SKS rifles I've owned and were reliable. I more than tripled my money a couple years later.
 
(entire rant is before I found the internet)
Resale? That's where you buy a gun for $700 and have a hard time convincing anyone to buy it off you for $300
...But now that I am more financially stable and figured out that I don't need to spend as much to have guns that I'm happy with.
Like my Mitchell Luger: Bought it, shot it, had fun with it, but then stuff happened and I had to move. No big deal, but needed cash... yeah, I got hosed:barf:
NOW... I paid $70 for my Jennings 9mm and have put over 300 rounds through it. It doesn't matter how much I sell it for, whatever it is can't possibly be considered a loss... Even if I took a hammer to it.

See, I've done this a few times, and yeah... dollar value per round count estimates have shown me that cheap guns have been easier on my wallet for a number of reasons
 
Low price without sacrificing reliability

I bought a S&W 9mm back in the dark days of the hi cap ban. It has a 15 round mag. Price was $185 cash out the door.:D I bought it because it was a cheap price. It is reliable with a nice trigger in both DA and SA. It now resides in my stepmom's gun purse:eek: .
Next low cost one was a Bersa Thunder 45 UC. Price was $200 plus a detail job on the owner of the gunstore's conversion van. I carried that one for 5 years. My dad carries it now. I retired it for my M&P full size. (Which is on my hip as I type here at the corner BBQ place having a nice hot brisket plate with tater salad, and pickles, and a desert of bannana pudding:D)
Next bargain bin gun was a Polish P-64 (9mm Mak). It was $200 OTD. Included were 400 rounds of ammo, and a pocket holster. It is in my pocket now, as as a back up to the .45.
Somewhere in between I purchased a 22lr Rough Rider. It does what I use it for well. so that is 4 that I have purchased in the sub $250 price range. If I had it to do all over again I would have bought the other 3 S&W 9mm that he had at the time.
 
its one thing if you have 1 $150 gun, and its another thing where you have 10 guns, all of them from $100 to $300, ie, if you saved up your money you could have purchased a $2000-$2500 gun
Click to expand...

Why on Earth would I WANT a $2500 gun????
I outshot guys with $1500 to $2000 guns with my $89 Norinco Tokarev (Most got really really torqued about it). I'm perfectly happy with my firearms purchases. I have absolutely no desire nor need to own $2500 guns. When you have a gun that is reliable and accurate, that fits your hand and you can shoot well, what is the sense of paying ten times (or more)? It certainly makes no sense to me.
 
I have some 2k + guns.
Honestly, I dont see the need for them anymore since I quit shooting IDPA, USPSA. Yeah they are nice, but I can buy a Kimber for Half of that and it still shoots as accurate as I need for punching paper and for any self defense situation. Hell I could spend $500 and still get a new gun that is fine for punching paper and is as accurate as I would need for any self defense situation.
The only problem I would see with some of the real inexpensive guns are will they be reliable enough for me. That can be quickly found out with some range time.
 
Mastiff, you echoed my thoughts exactly... just because you can, doesnt mean you should. for those that have money to burn, literally.. the fact that you can buy a 2K dollar gun, great. more power to you. i would NEVER even think about spending that kind of money on a handgun. 2000 dollars could buy A LOT of ammo for a 300 dollar gun. i'm not knocking ppl who do have a gun worth that much, i think its good that you are financially able to afford one. but dont expect ALL of us to have one. as for me, i will continue buying my cheap guns.
 
I don't think ANY military pistol qualifies as "cheap" except that they are inexpensive as surplus. Nations generally bought the very best arms that met their needs, and often the guns we call "cheap" were quite expensive when new. While a foreign military pistol might not be what someone today would consider the best, it was at one time. (Example: I would never trust a Luger for a SD gun, but they were certainly not cheap, nor were Model 1911A1's even though they sold for as little as $20 right after WWII.

Jim
 
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