Cheap guns that actually work

[Kruel J]

For those that commented about how reliable Hi-Points are, try google or YouTube for LOTS of failures.

 

[Jonnyuma]

When l was in my late teens/early 20s l bought and enjoyed a couple of H&R single-shot 12ga shotguns. They ran about $100.

I also had some Davis 380 semiautos that always worked, but cemented a belief (which lasted for 25 yrs) that striker-fired guns were cheap throwaways.

I'm currently on my second Heritage Arms .22 SA revolver, but it's gone out of time and, with introduction of the Ruger Wrangler, it's unlikely there will be a third.

Makarov and obsolete Tokorev pistols used to be available on the cheap (+/- $100) but some were high quality heaters despite their low buy-in. They're pulling more $$ now, and unless you have an affinity for weirdo calibers or Cold War relics, the "cheap fun" aspect is over.

I still love a bargain.

 

[Jonnyuma]

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

That's a marker for sure. I still remember the where and when of the first time l broke the C-note barrier on a dinner for 4... it was at a local steakhouse 14 yrs ago. Delicious, but... dam.

This past Mother's Day l surpassed the 2-bill "milestone" for the first time. Holy Smokes.

I also remember the first time l paid $2 for gas... Gila Bend, AZ in '02 and it took almost 80 bucks to fill my old Dodge Ramcharger. Unthinkable!

 

[Certaindeaf]

Back in the old days you could buy a good island of Manhattan for three beads and a feather. Sigh.

 

[CamoDeafie]

Hi Point carbines seems to have a lot less problems than their handguns.

 

[deadeye]

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.

Hi my name is deadeye and I too am a gunaholic...........Welcome to the group. Dont take all the flack and disparaging comments from the jealous people to heart. Some of the cheap firearms end up being sought after just look at the under $100 SKS's, mosins, mousers, swede 1911, and all the saiga's that were $200 brand new. I still have many that are pretty dusty and full of cosmo........ not to mention the jennings/bryco's from Costa Mesa that work fine and all the tokarev's, nagant, and spanish knockoffs........anyway welcome to the group.

 

[deadeye]

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

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

Yep loved buying all the store marked one's that were made by Marlin, high standard, mossberg and the like. People didnt realize that and could get them really cheap. Definately not as fun as it was before 2015..........

 

[Ura-Ki]

Bought a few Star pistols over the years, never any issues that stand out! I think the most I paid was $300 for a really nice one with fancy grips!
Bought a big lot of Politzi surplus Beretta M-9's when they first hit the market, couldn't beat the price and most just need cosmetics to be nice, but all are serviceable and most have been arsenaled!

 

[Ruger Rich]

Back when Royd had his shop on 82nd drive I walked in one day to browse. There in the corner was a barrel
full of 22 rifles. I started pulling one or two out and man were they rough. The counter guy told me they had
all been submerged (not a joke) and they appeared so. I asked how much. And I think the answer was $30
each. I grabbed four. I, over time tore then down, refinished the stocks and got them all reliable. They became
presents, my son, daughters. And I still have a Remington single shot. I still miss that place.

 

[ma96782]

I used to buy "cheap firearms". Just because I might have "wanted" it/one of those. But now a days.....

When the fees (FFL and State mandated taxes) cost just as much as a firearm? Well, I sort of have to take a hard look at if I really want/need it that badly.

I guess the anti-gun people have achieved at least partially.....their goal of discouraging gun ownership.

Though.....those firearms might just still end up where it was never intended to go.

Huh?.

OK, OK, ok.....maybe, legal hands at first.....but, some people don't care about later.



Aloha, Mark

PS......WTF? Yeah.....ever see a movie where an OG has a firearm and hands it over to his newbie gangster with instructions to do something illegal? LOL....no paperwork necessary.

 

[po18guy]

$41 in 1974. The much maligned Sterling 302 .22LR. In what now seems to be inconceivable, except for the ABS stocks, the gun is all-steel.

 

[bbbass]

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.

I had an RG .38 Special that I used to take to camp. Bought it for $30 at a yard sale back when you could do such things. I don't remember shooting it, but it looked terrible, like potmetal. I would be afraid to shoot it today.

 

[bbbass]

That's a marker for sure. I still remember the where and when of the first time l broke the C-note barrier on a dinner for 4... it was at a local steakhouse 14 yrs ago. Delicious, but... dam.

This past Mother's Day l surpassed the 2-bill "milestone" for the first time. Holy Smokes.

I also remember the first time l paid $2 for gas... Gila Bend, AZ in '02 and it took almost 80 bucks to fill my old Dodge Ramcharger. Unthinkable!

I remember taking my wife to a local gourmet food establishment for our anniversary and dropping $50 for a fabulous meal. Nowadays $25/person at a decent restaurant is not unusual. But there's still Denny's.

I miss the Todai sushi palace in Potland.... all you could eat for $22.... including King Crab legs. Just wander around and pick up plates of what you wanted.... they went broke.

The diesel tank on my 1 ton Silverado is 36gal. When traveling to Quartzsite AZ, I had an additional 100gal tank and a pump in the bed. That's a pretty big ouch to fill up. I think each trip down cost us $1000 and same for the trip back. Now I see some of the truckers filling up twin tanks and it boggles my mind.

 

[raftman]

Cheap guns can pretty fun and I do own a few... such as a Sterling 302, Armscor M200, and a Charter Arms snubbie of some sort. All seem to work pretty well for something purchased for well under $200. That said, my approach to cheap guns has been: unless you're after a fun novelty, if you can afford something better, you should get it because eventually you'll wish you had anyways. Not necessarily because the cheap gun will certainly fail you someday, but because cheap guns are pretty much always a compromise. You're almost always giving up something when you buy cheap and eventually you'll end up wanting to upgrade.

 

[Brane Frees]

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.

As someone who got the TX22 from Bi-Mart recently, I highly recommend it. Nice price ($240), really nice gun.

 

[revjen45]

1) "And $100 for dinner???? Not gonna happen for me"
Me too neither. We very seldom go out to eat because we can eat better at home for a lot less $. Most dining out meals are a disappointment, and would be even if they were free. Of course I realize that I am blessed to have a wife capable of such culinary artistry. To celebrate Fathers' Day we (The Beloved, me, and our son) went out for brunch at a local restaurant with a stellar reputation for regular food that's especially well-prepared. I was looking forward to their chicken fried steak, since it's something I had to quit eating after the heart attack. It turns out that you lose the ability to metabolize fat and salt if you minimize them over time, and I felt crummy for the rest of the day.

2) When it comes to value/$ I would choose a Tok or a Mak over a Hi-Point and live with the ammo availability. Being built for the military they evince better build quality than cheapo guns like Hi-Point, Davis, etc. A Tok with JHP seems like it would hit pretty hard. Too bad there isn't enough data on real world performance.

 

[coop44]

What about that cheap gun the Austrians bought for a hundred bucks each? You know, Glock.

 

[Alexx1401]

What about that cheap gun the Austrians bought for a hundred bucks each? You know, Glock.

That would be nice wouldn't it I have never liked them but if they were $100 here? Hell I would have a bunch of them

 

[coop44]

They bought them for a hundred, with two magazines. The original contract info was on the internet years ago, but vanished. I guess Gaston Glock and his lawyers had it scrubbed. Just think, he MADE MONEY at a hundred a pop.

 

[CLT65]

Surplus guns are another story altogether. I bought so many cheap ones back in the day, wish I'd bought more. I remember the $75 SKSs of the late '90s, and 25 years ago I was buying Turk Mausers and Mosin-Nagants for $50 each. Not a lot of people seemed interested in them because they were cheap.

I have an East German Makarov that I paid &125 for, and an Underwood M1 carbine that I got for about the same price. $100 Tokarevs, Makarovs, and Nagant revolvers were plentiful. Even adjusted for inflation that's a bargain.

Unfortunately the days of cheap surplus appear to be gone forever.

Occasionally you can still get a bargain though. A couple of my absolute favorite handguns I've picked up in the last few years were surplus bargains: one is a Beretta 92s in excellent condition that I got from Numrich for $199, and the other is a S&W 1917 (Brazil contract 1937) 45acp revolver for $225. Oh, can't forget the police surplus re-import S&W model 10 revolvers for $230 each. Yeah, there are still some great bargains to be had here and there if you're lucky.