Forget the price...its all relative, anyway...
Nobody spending less then $300 is getting anything worthwhile? Just depends on your area, your contacts, and the time frame you are talking about.
With the way our money is being made virtually worthless overnight, how can you claim any set dollar amount will get you quality, or not? I remember (and it doesn't seem that long ago) when brand new S&Ws cost under $300! Ok, it really was a while back, but it doesn't seem like it.
I do agree that getting a used and perhaps badly finish worn gun from a quality maker is usually a better idea that getting a newer (or newer looking) gun from a maker with a questionable reputation. And that's because of service issues.
Taurus has a rather poor rep for fixing things right, in a timely manner. So do many other foreign based makers. Parts are often difficult to get, so local smiths may not be able to fix things in a timely manner. Lots of things to think about with guns in that class.
Some hi end makers guns have trouble too. Nothing made by man is perfect, and all machines can have flaws, and do wear. Going with a gun made by a well regarded maker is never a bad idea, because when you come down to it, it's only money.
Sure, you may not have much money to spend, few of us do these days, but unless you have a need for a gun right now, aren't you going to be better off in the long run to wait until you can afford something you have a right to expect quality from?
If you buy the cheapest crap you can find (and not just guns), then literally, its a crap shoot. You may get good value for your money, but often you don't. Or at least not as much as you get from something a bit better, even though it is more costly up front.
OK, my situation is not yours, I already have something decent for every catagory of handgunning I can think of (or that interests me), so I have no pressing need of something "right now". I can wait for a deal, or a decent price on what I want, cause I already have something useful "for now".
Get that Hi Point (or whatever) if you need a gun, and can only afford one of those. Make sure it works well enough. Then save those pennies (ok dollars), for something a little bit, or a lot better.
I have never run in to the kind of "look down your nose" snob at the range that you are talking about. Might just be my good luck, or might be I don't have guns one can really look down your nose at (ok, I do have one Jennings .22,
) my stuff is mostly average, or better, and most is rather oddball, and uncommon, so I don't see the snobs, or more likely I don't recognize their snobbery
I did meet one guy I felt was a snob, he was shooting an HK something or other (IIRC) had a whole fitted suitcase full of gadgets for the gun. Responded to my attempts at conversation with grunts, mumbles, and a barely disguised sneer. Now maybe it was because he was in a three piece suit, and I looked like Larry the Cable guy on a bad day, but it was a warm day at an outdoor range.
Some people apparently just "know" they are better than I am. Didn't bother me much, as I was shooting groups less than half the size of his, at twice the distance, offhand with a .44 Auto Mag!
My Dad is a good shot with a rifle, and has a soft spot for Mosin Nagants. While he has several, he's got one really straight shooter that he uses to embarass the mall ninjas at the range. With open sights, cheap commie rifle and cheap surplus corrosive ammo, he outshoots gentlemen with $1000 scoped modern bolt guns. It really is about the shooter more than the gun after a certain point.
