What can I expect to pay for a decent handgun?

Question

A firearm for home defense which is durable and either middle of the road or upper-middle in quality. Not looking to spend over 800 if possible. Any ideas would help..thanks.

Answer 1

You can probably find a good single-action like a Ruger Blackhawk for not much over $400, spend the other $400 on handloading equipment, and have both a good, solid home-defense weapon and a good hunting handgun, plus the ability to customize your loads. And you can't kill the things even with major abuse. No need for a high-capacity autoloader unless you're planning a war. They're not a good choice for concealed carry, though, if that's in your plans. Or, instead of handloading stuff, you could use the saved bucks for a shotgun, generally a better choice anyway for home defense.

Answer 2

$800 or under will get you something decent but there are too many to list. A revolver is the best way to go in a handgun for a couple of reasons.......

-Simpler and less likely to jamb
-Much easier to maintain
-You will get more gun for your money

But remember this. Someone is breaking in and its the dead of night. You have to wake up,assess the situation, your adrenaline is going and it's dark. Difficult even for an experienced shooter. So a shotgun is best for pure home defense as you only have to point in the general dirction.

But if you want a handgun consider the caliber carefully. Yes a .45 or .357 well aimed will stop someone the best. But you will have more recoil and it will be harder to be accurate.

Plus you will want to go to the range and practice. A weapon, say a .38 or 9mm that you have become intimately familar with is far more effictive that a larger caliber that you don't practice with much. Why do I say this? If you start practicing ammunition costs will start to mount..... a lot. Often you can spend twice the time on the range for the same money using a smaller caliber. Plus your skill level for basics that really count (not caliber) like stance, breathing, reaquiring your target will rise much faster.

Answer 3

A good, decent, reliable self defense "house gun" is the Smith & Wesson Modle 10 heavy barrel. This is a fixed sight, six shot, double action revolver. Get the four inch barrel. A good, used Mdl 10 will cost between $200 and $300. New, the gun is over $400.

Loaded with standard .38 spl, 125 gr. jacketed hollow points, it is a low recoil, low muzzle blast, very controllable gun.

Get two or three HKS "speed loaders" for the gun. These little devices will hold six rounds and will allow you to load all six rounds at once. Does take a little practice to get it right.

Take a gun safety class. Buy ear muffs and eye protection and go to the range and practice. For home defense you won't be shooting at anything more than 15 yards away. Concentrate on close range accuracy.

Take a self protection class.

This is the gun I got for my sister-in-law, a novice gun owner and shooter. She is acutally getting quite good with it.

Good luck.

Answer 4

The pistol suggestions are good. However depending on your circumstances a pump shotgun might be a better way to go. It does not take a lot of aiming and it has a high deterrent effect on anybody that you aim it at. It also can be obtained cheaper and with less paperwork hassle. It takes a long time to be even somewhat proficient with a pistol. If you you do decide to go with a handgun. Get any major model but choose one that fits your hand and feels comfortable. Then expect to fire several hundred rounds through it before you even start to consider yourself used to the piece.

Answer 5

Glock, Smith & Wesson and Beretta all have good-quality handguns at reasonable prices.

Glock has a few good standard and compact size models in the mid $500 range. I own a Taurus .22 that I got new for about $400. And I'm considering a couple of S&W in the mid $600s.

www.glock.com
www.smith-wesson.com
www.beretta.com

Good luck.

Answer 6

If you require a gun for home defense, I strongly advise that you take a 1 day class in handguns and the law before buying one.

You should be familiar with guns - how to handle it, how to clean it - and practice at a range on a regular basis. To buy one without knowledge of what to do with it would be irresponsible.

The instructor can advise you as what would be a good gun for home protection based on your needs and physical capabilities.

Before you buy, stop by your local police station and get a gun lock. Most police stations in the U.S. still offer them free of charge. Expect to pay about $300 to $600 for a decent handgun.

Answer 7

You really ought to be able to find almost anything in that range - you might need to go used if your tastes run high, but there are few suitable home defense weapons outside that range.
Personally, I'd go with a 4" S&W Revolver in .357magnum if you're set on a handgun, but a 20G Pump shotgun is probably a beter choice.

Either way, be safe, be careful.

Answer 8

I second the ruger P-89 in 9mm, it is a nice pistol but has quite a long trigger pull. I got a slighly used one with 4 15 round mags and a holster for $300 at a local gun store.

Answer 9

Bound's hubby here:

I would suggest you look at a Smith & Wesson revolver. On average, you can expect to spend in the neighborhood of $600-$700 for a new revolver... about half that if you buy used.

Good luck.

Answer 10

Its not what or how much you pay for something ,but what you are getting for what you pay.. Buy used preferably and save $. Why pay the cost of an inflated priced new gun? #1 buy a 357Magnum Caliber.. If I were you I would get a used pump shotgun also.. {12gauge} use #4 shot size ammo.