Lower cost quality gun with a hammer and a decocker?

adrian44

New member
I'm looking to purchase a 9mm semi. I want a gun that has a hammer and a decocker. Naturally quality and reliability are a must, still I don't want to pay a fortune. Can you please recommend some of the lower cost guns that would meet this criteria?

Thank you!
 
Hey and welcome. What is your price range? Several of the Sig P22x series meet your stated criteria, without price.
 
well thats easy
kPzgVU

a Smith&Wesson 5906
all steel
big capacity
UBER reliable
easy to shoot well
and easy to buy, you can find leo trade ins from Bud's
and many other places for similar $

of course i am a 3rd gen S&W fan
i carry a S&W 410 and i shoot the snot out of it
ySzpvY


the design and build is just the best for a high cap auto
 
A lot of options really. I'm going to assume an upper limit of $600 or so, but a number of these can be found for a lot less.

Ruger P89 (out of production, used)
Ruger P95 (out of production, might still be able to find new)
S&W 5xxx series pistol (out of production, used)
Beretta 92 (used depending on your price ceiling)
Beretta PX4 (compact and subcompact options as well)
SIG P226/P229 (used)
SIG SP2022
CZ 75B/P-01/PCR
CZ P-07
HK USP/P2000 (used, but probably outside the above price range)
 
Bersa 9mm UC depending on the state you live comes with a 10 round or 13 round mags. Nice shooter and dependable .
 
Can you provide a more precise price ceiling? Also, do you only want to buy new, or are you open to looking at used guns as well?

If you're going to buy new, then I recommend the Stoeger Cougar 8000F as the best value in a full-size 9mm pistol today. Stoeger is a subsidiary of Beretta and currently produces the Cougar (a terrific $650-700 gun when it had "Beretta" stamped on the slide) on Beretta tooling. I've seen them for $365 new in Austin and (currently) as low as $320 new online. It's a very refined, accurate, reliable, durable gun at a great price. And the metal frame is a plus to me personally.

In the past I'd have given a more enthusiastic endorsement to the polymer Sig SP2022, but prices have gone up a fair amount, and it's much tougher to find one under $400 than it was a few years ago. Additionally, what made earlier prices a real steal was that the SP2022 was exclusively made in Eckernförde, Germany and was thus immune from the corner-cutting and QC issues that Ron Cohen's vision has produced at Sig in Exeter, NH. That's no longer the case, and that's more important to me than the rise in price.

You could once have a quality DA/SA 9mm with decocker for under $300 in the polymer-framed Ruger P95, but it's out of production, and I doubt any residual unfired specimens are selling for that price, though it might be worth your taking a look. It's not a particularly refined gun, but it's perfectly reliable, and it's built like a tank.
 
Last edited:
As some may have said here the CZ,75BD is a great firearm. If you don't want a full size gun try the CZ,P-01 or CZ,75 PCR. The PCR has a alloy frame a no rail. The P-01 has the rail. I have many CZ's I am a CZ guy & I can tell you that they are fine firearms ask anyone? Also if you like Sig's try Zastava. They make Sig copy's that I herd are good gun's . The make a 226 copy in full size & compact. Good luck.:)
 
CZ-P07-1.jpg


If you want poly...

CZ p-07 is your man. If you find 13' model's you can get one in the 425 range. New 14's are about 25 more.


You won't find a more accurate, reliable, hammer fired pistol for less I promise. (at least in poly frames)
 
You should be able to find a FN FNP-9mm used in the $400 range -- meets all the designated criteria. I don't have experience with the newer FNS or FNX, but my FNP works and does so quite well.
 
Thanks for the excellent recommendations! I was leaning towards the P2022, but after Austin's post about the quality of the US made ones I better think again. Keep'em coming guys. I'm learning a lot :)
 
I was leaning towards the P2022, but after Austin's post about the quality of the US made ones I better think again.

I wouldn't let that stop you. Only the early SP2022s in the US were German made. The vast majority of the ones people have now and have had over the past few years have been US made and the reports have been good. SIG just moved to a new facility and the quality of the guns has improved, IMO, since the 2010 time period. I'd have no problems buying a US SIG, but the purists will always prefer the old. As a note, you might be able to find an old SIG for a decent price too, but the SP2022 is GTG.
 
Sig's quality has improved a great deal compared to a few years ago. So don't shy away. While the 2022 is a fine pistol, for me personally, the trigger dynamics just do not work. Others have no issue with the trigger. It also only comes with one magazine, limiting its value.

I prefer the 226 personally, and a certified preowned can be had around $600. I have seen some that looked almost new.


CZ makes several fine pistols. All metal 75s and its close kin are around $550. It's polymer framed cousins are about $450. I really like my 75b.

There are several CZ clones out there that I hear are very good in overall quality and reliability, though a little more crude in the fit and finish. Parts will be cut from the steel and have no addition work to smooth the edges so it will have a sharp edge/corner, for example. They are around $350... The ones out of Turkey get good reviews. The EAA witness line is good, though last I heard they use the larger 45acp frame for all their pistols, because they make caliber conversions and the 45 frame can be made to any other service caliber, while a 9mm frame is too small to handle the larger rounds. The EAA is a little cheaper than a CZ.


There are others out there, but many will be used out of production models.

If you are willing to pay close to $1000 or more, you can find more options.
 
From personal ownership, CZ P-01/PCR and CZ P-01. If ya don't mind the slight extra weight, the Beretta/Stoeger Cougar. The old Ruger P95 is a good one also. Good luck!
[emoji106]
 
Last edited:
SIG just moved to a new facility and the quality of the guns has improved, IMO, since the 2010 time period. I'd have no problems buying a US SIG, but the purists will always prefer the old.

I'd like to believe so, but I've read numerous recent complaints on Sigforum of the sort that leads me to believe things are more or less status quo under Cohen (e.g., numerous Sig P229 Stainless Elites with failure-to-eject problems that the factory could not remedy even after multiple attempts).

The company still seeks to maximize profit by leveraging the reputation for quality that brand once stood for, but with methods that unavoidably compromise that quality. Sig still sources particularly cheap, low-quality MIM for several parts that used to be tool steel, and then charges more each passing year.

I'm not a Sig "purist" like some who insist only on W. German Sigs. I have an American P229 from 1997, and it's a terrific pistol. But if you look at a standard current German P-series Sig next to a current Exeter specimen of the same model, it's like you're looking at products from two completely different companies. The Exeter corporate philosophy and resultant quality control were much different when my P229 was made.
 
The company still seeks to maximize profit by leveraging the reputation for quality that brand once stood for, but with methods that unavoidably compromise that quality. Sig still sources particularly cheap, low-quality MIM for several parts that used to be tool steel, and then charges more each passing year.

I'm not a Sig "purist" like some who insist only on W. German Sigs. I have an American P229 from 1997, and it's a terrific pistol. But if you look at a standard current German P-series Sig next to a current Exeter specimen of the same model, it's like you're looking at products from two completely different companies. The Exeter corporate philosophy and resultant quality control were much different when my P229 was made.

I agree 100% with what you are saying here! But I will add one thing that many of us Sig purist forget is that before Cohen the company was losing $$$ and market share. Depending on who you asked they were teetering on the brink and most of their equipment for manufacturing the older carbon folded slide were nearing end of life.

I am not a Cohen fan. Did not like him at Kimber do not like him at Sig but without his 20 models of the same gun move the metal philosophy I am not sure what Sig would be today? :eek:

That said to the OP I would try to get my hands on a SP2022. If you like the long smooth trigger I would pick one up from Top Gun. At $400 + $5 shipping with night sights and 2 mags it is a steal.

I love mine but being a Sig purist.... It is all German. Also to the OP can you define inexpensive...? That can mean different things to different people. I am assuming you are talking about guns about $400.
 
Last edited:
But if you look at a standard current German P-series Sig next to a current Exeter specimen of the same model, it's like you're looking at products from two completely different companies.

I am not sure where I would go to find a current new production German P-series SIG, though they do trickle into the US every so often (Ossage County Guns and Top Gun Supply get them in on occasion). I can compare Exeter SIGs to my old W. German P228 or my franken-P228 that was assembled early 2000 from German parts at Exeter, and even I admit that the newer SIGs are not the same. I do think they've made a slight recovery very recently since the move to Newington.

Where people lose me is if they claim SIG is any more subpar than any other manufacturer these days. We can go on any forum and find complaints of lemons from everyone. Glock (will bean you in the face with brass), S&W (barrel lockup always starts a fun debate), and even HK (some people with complaints about the new VP9). I do think the QC from Exeter is not as good as it once was, but I don't think it's notably different from any other manufacturer cranking out product as fast as possible these days.

Would I prefer an older SIG? Yes, that's why I always recommend anyone looking at a new classic P-series SIG look for the old guns (as it was in my list to the OP). But that isn't the case here. The SP2022 out of Germany or Exeter should be fine (I'm not aware of major complaints with Exeter SP2022s) and at the sale listed is a very good bargain. I also love to sit back and reminisce of the days of old, but those are gone. The SP2022 is a solid design and while not as nice as maybe a classic P-series, it's a good gun at a very affordable price.
 
Last edited:
The SP2022 is a fantastic deal in the poly, hammer fired arena. Great little handgun, and a steal at the price.

The P-07 is also a heckuvalot of firearm for the money spent.
 
Back
Top