Pistol around $300?

[spyderkiller]

Here's the deal. My buddies and I go shooting every now and then on my buddy's property and at the local gun club. I'd like to buy a pistol for recreational shooting so that I can stop bumming off my friends. Is there such a thing as a pretty good pistol for around $300, or do I just have a severe case of wishful thinking here? There really are no stipulations as far as make, caliber, etc. go. I'm sure many of you know much more about guns than I do, so I'm looking for opinions. Thanks!

[MANN]

yeah. My springfield XD9 was 350 with 3 clips (clips are 25ea iirc). Defiently shop around. I have a friend that is a gun dealer. I will ask him if he can ship firearms. if so Ill put you in contact with him.

[Altimas]

Look for gunshows coming to your area thats going to be the best place to find a decent gun around that price. Go for 9mm round they usually have the cheapest Ammo. Unless you get a .22 and they are even cheaper.

[93civiccpe]

Hey,
First thing's first, you are 21 right?? If so, then yes, there are some pretty decent pistols around for $300. If you are interested in a first pistol to learn to shoot & plink with, then I would definitely suggest a .22 caliber pistol. There are several reasons for this, one of which is the fact that you can buy a 600 round box for 9 dollars at wally world (walmart). It is inexpensive, there is no kick, and it allows you to learn the fundimentals of shooting and shoot a LOT at a very low cost. I know when I've taught friends to shoot I always start them out with a .22 pistol.

I'm not saying to go buy an expensive target .22 pistol either, I would look at something like a Walther p-22. Those are great guns for the money and you should be able to easily pick up one in the $300 price range. I have one that has had probably 6,000 rounds through it this year and I've yet to have a problem, and whereas I don't shoot it as much, I always have it there for beginners. One of the things I like about it is that it is so cheap to shoot yet extremely accurate. If you have any questions then feel free to ask.

There are a lot of people on here who are excellent shooters so I'm sure you will be getting some more helpful information soon!

[spyderkiller]

Thanks for the advice so far every one.
93civic, yes I'm 21, and I don't think I'm what you would consider a beginner. I know how to shoot quite well, but just don't know the gun market as well as many here.

[edweird]

if your only spending that much and want to target shoot I suggest a .22 like the Walther P22

ammo's cheap, guns reliable, not a damn thing in the world wrong with that.

[CJ55]

I have a Ruger P95DC 9mm and it is a great gun, ive shot various 9mm's baretta, glocks, and the ruger is my choice, probably find one for around 300

[Yudanja]

I have a ruger P95 as well, .40 cal. I love it and it was 350 when I bought it 5 or so years ago. I prefer my brothers HK USP, but te ruger is a great gun.

[PumpPlayer]

This advice is coming from someone who shoots competition pistol so keep that in mind. I'm not what I would call a 'plinker.'

If you're in the <$300 price range and this is your first gun, I think you should get a pistol with one goal in mind: learning how to shoot.
To that end, you want a used Ruger Mark II .22LR pistol with the longest barrel you can find.
You can find the new Ruger MkIIIs in any gun shop in the country and a used MkII almost everywhere.

I say buy the used MkII for a few reasons:
* The trigger on the MkIII is stiffer and doesn't break as clean. This was a "safety" feature added after Ruger got in some trouble over the fact that their triggers were fairly light (as far as "normal" guns go - not competition guns). The MkIII trigger is not nearly as good as the MkII trigger, IMHO.
* The price used will be less and these things are so rugged that if you inspect a few places for wear (sear, firing pin, extractor, barrel crown and breech are all important areas to look at), I think you'll find that you can get a good-as-new gun for less.
* The added loaded chamber indicator doesn't do anything except make the MKIII harder to clean
* Other safety features detract from the simplicity of the gun overall
* Magazines are different and I personally don't like them as much

I especially do not like the new Ruger 22/45 line. It's a polymer frame which wouldn't necessarily be bad except that it gives the gun a heck of a lot more recoil than any .22 pistol should have. The grip angle is supposedly similar to a 1911 .45 and I find it to be less than ideal for a target .22. It's not universally true with all grips and guns but generally, the more your hand is angled forward, the less your wrist moves and the more steady your hold will be. The Ruger will require some "getting used to" but it's a good grip for the type of gun it is.

I recommend that you get a Ruger and learn how to shoot with it. Don't shoot any target closer than 50 feet and don't shoot more than one shot at a time until you've gone through at least a brick of ammo (500 rounds - about $25). I recommend Aguila for ammunition - get the "standard" full-power stuff. Aguila is a subsidiary of Eley (the producers of arguably the best ammo in the world) and is made in Mexico but is still high-quality. I shoot it all the time and it performs flawlessly. Plus, it's got that great Eley powder scent - you'll know what I mean when you shoot it. It just smells really good.

Plus, if you get a .22 target pistol, not only is it going to be more accurate off-the-shelf than anything else in its price range it's going to cost you a heck of a lot less money for ammo. A brick of 500 .22LR costs the same as a 50-round pack of a lot of other calibers. Again, if you look around you can afford much higher-quality ammo, too. BTW, while I'm on ammo, the only really important thing you need in an ammunition is that it has enough energy in it to cycle the action and that it's reliable and doesn't misfire. Accuracy due to ammo will change from gun to gun and from batch to batch of ammo but in a low-end blowback pistol it's usually not very noticable at all. Look for firing and cycling consistency.

Oh, and whatever you get, make sure it has adjustable target sights. Some of the new MkIIIs come with these stupid neon dot sight thingies. Screw that noise. Oh, and resist the temptation to put an electronic sight or scope on it. You see "pros" do it all the time and while it is permissible in some competitions (and will improve your score, really) - it's cheap. Learn to shoot without the crutch before you think about tarting up your gun. I, personally, will never use anything except iron sights.



Of course, if all you want to do is to get something that goes "bang" then a .22 of any type will probably disappoint you. If you want "bang" get a 9x19mm because the ammo is generally cheaper and more commonly available than any other centerfire pistol caliber. Stay away from expensive loads like .40 S&W and so on.

Good luck.

[nulam]

For plinking purposes I love my MKII. I have other guns, but it is the most fun to shoot. It's cheap, reliable, accurate, and has low recoil. I, however, like my red dot. You can get a scope mount that will allow the use of the iron (like mine). Shoot a bunch before buying to find what YOU like.

The browning buckmark and the walther p22 are great .22's as well. And if you're able to deviate from you budget, S&W model 41.

[Ole Unka Phil]

One of the best values I have seen recently is the Bersa. Nice little guns and seem quite dependable. Under $300 in Nickel finish too. Barely over $200 for the Black finish. And can be used for Conceal Carry too if you have your Concealed Weapons Permit. I don't have one but have shot one. And was impressed. And I know a good number of people that have them and they report very few problems at all with them. Great value. I didn't want to like these things but have to admit they are nice little weapons.

Also if your into a more oddball collectable look at the Makorov's (sp?). They can be picked up for like $200. Oddball calibler but cartridges easy to get.

[Pneumagger]

The older version sigma (pre lawsuit) had a less than stellar reputation....

But take a look at either the 9mm or .40cal Smith & Wesson SW9GVE and SW40GVE, respectively. At least I'm fairly certain that is the names for them. They are basically striker style pistols modeled after the Glock. Glock actually sued for likeness or something when the Sigma was made. So Smith & Wesson fixed it up a bit, worked out the kinks, and makes the current 2nd gen models.

Another pistol in the cheaper price range that always grabs my eye is the Springfield XD platform. Lots of choices.