Cheap guns that actually work

[CLT65]

Anyone else have a thing for cheap guns?

I know I'm going to get at least a little flak for this one, but that's OK. I've never been able to resist tinkering with inexpensive guns. I have learned my lesson to stay away from absolute junk, like RG or Jennings/Bryco, but there are some very inexpensive guns out there that actually work fairly well.

I suppose for me it started a long time ago when I couldn't afford anything better. Now I have plenty of much nicer, quality guns, but I still have a hard time passing up a "good value" on a cheap one. That's why I have various .22 rifles and old shotguns in my safe that I really don't need. That bolt-action JC Higgins 16 gauge that I paid $50 for, or that Marlin model 60 that cost me $40, or that single-shot Savage .22 for $50? I didn't buy them to resell, but just because they were cheap.

Then there are the new guns, like the Sccy 9mm for $169, or the Chinese 870 clone for $140. I really have no practical use for them, but can't seem to pass them up. These also sit in my safe gathering dust. You know, as I type this out I'm starting to realize I might have a problem.

The inspiration for this thread was that I noticed that Bimart has Rough-Rider .22 revolvers on sale for $99. Now I've had mine for several years, and had an issue with it to where I can't say much for either quality of manufacture or factory service, but most of them seem to hold up pretty well. It's not hard to drop a hundred bucks on dinner nowadays, so how far wrong can you go with a very serviceable .22 revolver for the same price?

That is if you enjoy plinking with cheap guns. I know that's a big "if", because I know full well that a lot of you guys have absolutely no interest whatsoever in any of the guns I've mentioned, and that's fine. To each their own.

Read More

 

[Frank RW]

loved my $150 (new) savage .22. it got quite the workout 'til i moved on. long since sold it as i'm not into guns as much as i am into shooting them.

 

[Member 34319]

NEF single shots at $100 or so are really my weakness. Ive "garage smithed" a few too many.

 

[Jason999]

As I like to play gunsmith, I've an affinity towards old and cheap project firearms.

Sure I've got my collection of fine firearms, but its hard for me to say no to a cheapo single shot shotgun or oddball pistol. I get to tear them to pieces, sand, reblue and get them working again. It gives me a lot of joy to make a hunk of junk into a functional firearm again.

 

[Gunner3456]

I have a Kel-tec PF-9 that I love. Couldn't find one as small, thin or lightweight at any price so I bought it. 200 rounds later not a single problem.

 

[Kruel J]

I have 2 single shot Stevens that I think I paid $150/each for from @LuckySG. Both work well for their intended purpose.

I hate to even admit I'm considering a Taurus TX22. But I've read enough good reviews that it's on my list. I will, however, have the slide refinished in something a little thicker than the "bluing" they apply at the factory. I've looked at two so far, brand new in the case and they both had several "shiny" type scratches on them. Whatever Taurus finishes them in looks barely better than spray paint. Easy enough to address though.

 

[Kyrsen]

I like my wrangler. Cheap but fun.

 

[CLT65]

I like my wrangler. Cheap but fun.

I like them so much, I bought two.

Everyone compares the Wrangler to the Rough Rider. The Rough Rider is a decent value, especially for $99, but the Wrangler is far and away the better gun. The Wrangler is built like a Ruger, whereas the Rough Rider is basically a really cheap Taurus. If you get a good one, you've got a great gun for the money, but they turn them out so fast and cheap, they're not all good.

 

[GWS]

HI-POINTS FTW!!
$159 of heavy-duty indestructible handgun with respectable accuracy and dead nuts reliability.
Nuff said!

 

[Dozer99]

Love my Wrangler as well. Also agree on the Hi-points, they eat everything I have "ever" fed them.

 

[bbbass]

It's not hard to drop a hundred bucks on dinner nowadays,

Some folks have a lot more disposable income than I do..... while I'm not agin the idea of cheapo but reliable guns, I personally don't have enough $$ laying around to buy them like I'd pickup impulse buys at the supermarket.

And $100 for dinner???? Not gonna happen for me. I think the diff between McD prices and Wendy's is too much to pay. And I'm peeved that a Big Mac meal is now over $8. Tho I was amazed when a visiting cousin dropped over $100 on a dinner for 4 at one of the local Chinese eateries just before covid. Cantonese dinner for 4 = we had lots of leftovers... the wife and I ate dinner for 2 or 3 more days.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

At one time , before Background Check Laws for private sales...

I would buy .22 Rifles as well as shotguns...that may have needed a little TLC...
Fix 'em up...keep 'em for a bit and then sell or trade 'em for a new project gun.

This was a fun way to shoot a lot of different guns , learn about different action types and practice some repair and refinishing skills.

Along the way I would find some "Hardware Store Guns " or ones like JC Higgins , Ted Williams and the like...
These were inexpensive and shot just as well as the "Named Model" firearm it was made from.

I don't do this so much any more as the cost of firearms where I live at least , has risen...and along with the BGC fee as well as the hassle of finding a FFL...has made this less cheap to do and certainly less fun.
Andy

 

[Certaindeaf]

Glock. Ugly as a pail of afterbirth but seems to work OK.

 

[Alexx1401]

I have LONG avoided things like Jennings and such as there is "cheap" and then there is wasting money. Did have a Davis .380 for many years that was bought only as a gun to keep in the vehicle back when we had no CC law where I lived. Finally sold it when I came back up here. It did always work I have to give it that.
Many love to hate on Kel-Tec but I just love most of them and they are the definition of cheap. The P-11 I have had for almost a couple decades still impresses me and it was a couple hundred bucks. The S2K I paid $300 for has had so much 9mm run through it I could not even guess how much and its still just eating it at every outing. That one if I ever wear it out I will buy another and get the new Generation of it.
Back when it was easy and fun to buy and sell I had so many from Taurus and Rossie that I have lost track. All of them just worked for me.

 

[Kruel J]

Glock. Ugly as a pail of afterbirth but seems to work OK.

Haha maybe so but they're not really cheap.

 

[CLT65]

HI-POINTS FTW!!
$159 of heavy-duty indestructible handgun with respectable accuracy and dead nuts reliability.
Nuff said!

I've never actually shot one, but from what I've heard I'd have to agree.

They're heavy, clunky, and ugly (and I don't see myself buying one anytime soon), but from everything I've heard they do work! It's hard to knock their functionality and durability.

I'm thinking back to the cheap, cheap guns of yesteryear, the Jennings of the '80s, the RG of the '60s, even the ubiquitous cheapo revolvers that could be bought for a couple dollars in the late 19th and early 20th century. They were all inexpensive, but also of such quality that they barely functioned or wore out quickly. If you got a good one that shot well and lasted, you were lucky.

It seems that the "cheap junk" guns that we have now are at least a good stet above that.

 

[JohnnyMac]

My little $40 Lorcin .25 hasn't failed me yet.

 

[CLT65]

And $100 for dinner???? Not gonna happen for me.

I do agree with you there. Personally I'm not a big spender on restaurants. My wife and I will go out a couple times a year and spend maybe half that, but I do know people who will spend a hundred buck at a restaurant without blinking an eye, especially when it comes to alcohol.

 

[billdeserthills]

My little $40 Lorcin .25 hasn't failed me yet.

I transferred a used one of those in for a client once, it had the former owner's SS# stamped across the slide

 

[GripItAndRipIt]

I like my wrangler. Cheap but fun.

I just bought my dad a Heritage six-shooter with the Betsy Ross flag grips. $139. He loves it!