Pistol help.....

H&K USP .45, .40 or 9mm, regular size or compact. Look at gun auction web sites for ones with very little use. I have never owned a better shooting, more reliable sidearm.

You can check them out on the internet, tons of info. I also like the my Glock 34. Both the H&K and Glock are well designed and they never fail me when shooting. I reload, shoot almost weekly, and have seen what works and many that don't. When you are a range rat you get a feel for reliability. A couple of extra bucks is not necessarily foolish when looking at a handgun.

All the advertising make any gun look like the greatest thing since sliced bread. It isn't so from my experience and those of my experienced shooting friends, LEO and military and competition.

Feel is an important issue, but the ability to put the round on target is more important every time you pull the trigger. Some of the sidearms models may look clunky, and feel a little strange, but they are reliable shooters. If you go to a local shooting range and talk with the shooter they will tell you the pluses and minuses of their firearms. Most are very friendly and love to discuss guns.

And please don't forget to join the NRA.
 
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ElConquistador said:
Glock 19. You might as well do it right the first time.
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What he said. I run a 19, but truth be told, any quality manufacturer would do: S&W, Beretta, Glock, Sig, Springfield, Ruger. Although I have a heavy preference towards some brands over others the fact is that they are all reliable and they are all better than no gun.

Don't skimp to save a hundred bucks.
 
#1 choice would be the Glock, after that the M&P line to include the Shield. The Smiths can be found for about the same money that your budgeting.

When you get a little more cash you can improve the trigger with an APEX trigger. The Smith series is one of the true bargains in the handgun market.
 
Glock is the answer if you want to abuse it and truly don't care about it having a soul. Nothing special about a Glock aside from the fact that it works, and it's a starter platform that usually requires sights and trigger upgrades to be on par with others. (This is just my opinion, please don't burn me Glock fans)
Police trade-ins can be good deals.
I'm a huge fan of Springfield XDs and Mod2s. Best ergonomics IMO and I have several thousand rounds down my Mod2 9mm, which is incredibly accurate, has never been cleaned and never had a failure.
If I really want to have fun...I get out the 1911s and revolvers
 
HuntBomb said:
Glock is the answer if you want to abuse it and truly don't care about it having a soul. Nothing special about a Glock aside from the fact that it works, and it's a starter platform that usually requires sights and trigger upgrades to be on par with others. (This is just my opinion, please don't burn me Glock fans)
Police trade-ins can be good deals.
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I'm a glock fanboi and I completely agree with this.


If I really want to have fun...I get out the 1911s and revolvers
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And this.
 
Assuming most people mean semiautomatic when they say "pistol" I will nevertheless suggest a GP100 in 3 or 4 inch bbl. Never a problem, never fails, your descendants will will be fighting aliens with it in the 22nd century, and you get a wide variety of ammo choices. Have it cut for moon clips and you are golden.

Zieg
 
The Zieg said:
Assuming most people mean semiautomatic when they say "pistol" I will nevertheless suggest a GP100 in 3 or 4 inch bbl. Never a problem, never fails, your descendents will will be fighting aliens with it in the 22nd century, and you get a wide variety of ammo choices. Have it cut for moon clips and you are golden.

Zieg
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I love my gp100. Got a police trade in for $280 a few years back and it's been rock solid. I never thought about getting it cut for moon clips, I wonder who does that in Maryland and how much it would cost.
 
unwisefool said:
I love my gp100. Got a police trade in for $280 a few years back and it's been rock solid. I never thought about getting it cut for moon clips, I wonder who does that in Maryland and how much it would cost.
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I had my SP101 done by Clark Custom Guns (Jerry Miculek's in-laws) in Princeton LA. They use the clips mfg by TK Custom, which also does the service, in Thomasboro IL. In both cases you can simply send them the crane and cylinder w/o shipping the whole firearm, which is cheaper and faster. I sent the whole unit in for an overhaul, though. Cylinder cut, chamfered chambers, several clips, and quick turnaround. Policing brass has never been easier. And there still isn't a reliable speed load option for the SP101 outside the moon clip, in my experience. You can still shoot w/o the clips, too. You'll love the versatility.

I'm thinking of a GP100 and when I finally do, it's going right to Clark.

Zieg
 
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A Glock 17 or 19 would be my top choices, but a Ruger P95 is a fantastic, rugged, reliable firearm that you can find for not a lot of money. It is a bit thicker than some pistols, but is compact and easy to carry and is dead reliable. They should be $300 or less. Also, as to the Glock, you can get a police trade in (you can't wear them out) for $300 or less, even if it is old generation. Then, send it to Glock and ask them to look it over for you. They will update it and replace any worn parts. This used to be a free service and I assume it still is.
 
DocT said:
A Glock 17 or 19 would be my top choices, but a Ruger P95 is a fantastic, rugged, reliable firearm that you can find for not a lot of money. It is a bit thicker than some pistols, but is compact and easy to carry and is dead reliable. They should be $300 or less. Also, as to the Glock, you can get a police trade in (you can't wear them out) for $300 or less, even if it is old generation. Then, send it to Glock and ask them to look it over for you. They will update it and replace any worn parts. This used to be a free service and I assume it still is.
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+1

I used to have a P85 in 9mm and while it was not for me (I don't like DA autos), it was a superb firearm. I had the safety upgrade done for free by Ruger and it was flawless. Guess I'm just a Ruger fan.

Zieg
 
There are a lot of reasonable recommendations in this thread. Personally, while the Rugers are perfectly serviceable pistols, I just can't warm up to them. Taurus is a fine new alternative if you stay with the older autoloaders, especially the "92" derivatives but, their concealed carry stuff today is awful based on my experience at the range with a sample of them, cheap yes good no.

It really sounds like a Police trade-in is the optimal choice for want you want. Stick with the big names, HK USP, Sig 22x, Glock, and S&W at the popular distributor sites and you will find a good clean pistol with finish wear within your budget constraints. I got Sig P226 and P229 with the DAK and night sights for a bit more than your target price but, both were basically new guns that sat in a police locker. Glock and HK USP options are well within your price range.

The other thought is an FN. I got a FNS40 .40 S&W with night sights model 66915 from a popular site in Columbia, SC that is in your price range that was a brand new closeout with 2 high capacity magazines.
 
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Having given my recommendation, I would like to point out that the Stoeger Cougar is a direct copy (licensed?) of the Beretta Cougar. It might be as good a gun as the Beretta. It is too bad that so many latched onto the 92 when the Cougar had that rotating bolt. It is an accurate pistol, though the recoil impulse feels weird at first.
 
The Zieg said:
Assuming most people mean semiautomatic when they say "pistol" I will nevertheless suggest a GP100 in 3 or 4 inch bbl. Never a problem, never fails, your descendants will will be fighting aliens with it in the 22nd century, and you get a wide variety of ammo choices. Have it cut for moon clips and you are golden.

Zieg
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Love my GP100 snubby. She's a looker, and a deadly accurate shooter.

 
Monofletch said:
Thunder PRO can be had in 9mm and 17+1!!! Not too far out of my price range!
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This 100%. I carry the Thunder 9 UCP and love it dearly. Everyone else I let shoot it state unanimously that it's a wonderful pistol.

I only have ONE gripe about it, and it's finding the 13rd magazines. I'm planning on buying the 10rd one and removing the limiter fullers and seeing how well it works.
 
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