Now I know your weapon is worth more than $100.00 but I always think of Rick from Pawn Stars when someone says "one of a kind".
Posted on 06/05/2018 10:27:46 AM PDT by Simon Green
Recently, Sheriff Jim Wilson posted his thoughts regarding the practice of purchasing and carrying “pricey” firearms for personal defense, and I’d like to offer my perspective to the conversation. In particular, I’d like to address the pervasive sentiment—on anonymous Internet forums, at least—that it is foolish to buy or use expensive firearms because it may need to be used in a defensive shooting, and would subsequently be held as evidence by the police.
This is pure “Web Warrior” B.S. of the first degree, in my opinion, and here’s why. Let’s just say you own and carry a $1,500 firearm … Scratch that, let’s make it a $4,000 gun … Heck, let’s call it a full-custom, gold-inlaid, unicorn-tear-lubricated $15,000 one-of-a-kind pistol. Now, let’s just say you use said firearm to successfully defend yourself and your loved ones. Sure enough, the pistol is collected as evidence, and you have no way of knowing when or if you will see it again, or what condition it will be in once returned.
Even if you never see that gun again, that $15,000 was the best investment you’ve ever made. That tool empowered you to save your own life and the lives of your loved ones—frankly that’s a bargain, don’t you think? Especially when you consider that personal defense was probably a primary reason for buying the gun in the first place. Regardless of the price, when you buy a tool for a specific task and it performs as expected and gets the job done, that’s money well spent.
Now, there is a different question that also informs this issue, and that I think many of the keyboard ninjas are trying—unsuccessfully—to convey, which is, “Do you NEED an expensive gun for self-defense?” The answer here is clearly, “No.” Used and maintained properly, a $250 gun is absolutely a defensive force multiplier. And I would much rather have a $250 gun in place of nothing, if those are the only choices my budget allows. All of this coincides perfectly with Jim’s assertion that you should buy and carry the best quality handgun that you can afford—and, yeah, higher quality commands higher prices.
In my experience, when dealing with reputable arms makers, guns that cost more feature higher-quality components and tighter tolerances of quality control yielding products that break and malfunction less. (Let’s be honest, every maker and every model experiences failures, but quality guns from reputable makers fail less and should be trusted more—reputation matters.) Beyond reliability, additional outlay might provide “quality of life” enhancements—better sights, better triggers, more ergonomic designs—which can help the user shoot faster or more accurately.
For those who are just getting started in defensive shooting, or gun owners looking for the “best” or “greatest,” I would recommend, instead, purchasing a “good,” reliable firearm from a reputable maker. Perhaps look at what law enforcement agencies are using, as a starting point. A good, service-grade defensive handgun will probably set you back $500 to $800. After that—and before you start looking for your next gun, or hundreds of dollars’ worth of upgrades and accessories to hang on your pistol—you should consider spending the same amount, or more, in range time, practice ammunition and quality training (again, reputation matters when it comes to instructors). I promise, if you put in the hours and ammunition to become proficient with a “good” gun, you are going to learn for yourself what you want in a “great” gun that will better suit your needs. And that gun, at any price, will be a good value if it performs reliably, and enhances your ability to defend yourself and those dear to you.
There are five rules of a gun fight. None of them have the word price.
Well said.
Two of a kind, actually. I already have one.
I have two requirements for a self-defense pistol: it has to go bang when I need it to, and it has to hit what I'm shooting at. Whatever that costs is cheap in comparison to my life.
Agreed... and my unicorn-tear-lubricated is worth way more than $15,000.
The advice isn’t to not carry an expensive firearm because you may never see it again, it is to not carry a valuable firearm because you may never see it again.
This means historically significant or personally meaningful firearms.
In other words, don’t carry the Union Switch & Signal 1911 that Grandpa used during the Battle of the Bulge.
You NEVER want to risk a malfunction when it could cost the life of you and/or your loved ones.
A Wilson Combat model serves well, IMHO, for absolutely minimizing malfunction possibilities.
Having something is always better than having nothing.
You buy what you can afford. If you’re worried about a cheap malfunctioning Semi Auto Pistol, buy a Revolver.
Heck, I even own a Hi-point 9MM and it has always gone BANG when I pull the Trigger. Just don’t use cheap Ammunition.
It’s not a good Carry Gun IMHO. It’s way too heavy and I’m not sure that a $149 Pistol would make many people feel secure.
Again, if it’s all you can afford, go for it. Worst case you can hit the bad guy over the head with it and it would leave a mark.
I live in Southern CA. Going through the gymnastics to get a Conceal Carry Permit here is beyond ridiculous unless you’re a Politician of course.
You can buy a nice used S&W model 10 .38Spl in my area for the $275 price range. You can get a Rock Island 1911 used for $300-$350 range. I have a friend who couldn’t even afford those but found a Hi-Point 9mm for $100 because a bunch of pill heads and drug dealers moved into his neighborhood. It’s all he could afford, it’s heavy and butt ugly but it goes bang every time. Heck you can find a good used .12 gauge pump or single shot shotgun for $70-$125 range. They will for sure stomp you into the ground.
Funny...
Just to be clear, I’ve probably got 100 rounds through my Hi-Point 9MM and I’ve never had a problem. From what I’ve read, it’s the next 100 rounds I should be worried about.
No jams, no stovepipes. Only issue is racking the Slide could be easier, make that a lot easier. LOL
Now I know your weapon is worth more than $100.00 but I always think of Rick from Pawn Stars when someone says "one of a kind".
I can get a Glock 19 or 23 at the LE blue label price. I consider it an excellent reliable pistol that’s expendable. My expensive pistols can remain safe queens. I see no reason to put them at risk when they are no more accurate or reliable as my Glock.
I bought a hi-point c 9 for $109 plus tax and the only time it jammed was when I was using “monarch” ammo. Some idiot stole it.
“guns that cost more feature higher-quality components and tighter tolerances of quality control yielding products that break and malfunction less.”
I disagree. The tight tolerances make them more finicky until they are dialed in. Especially our beloved 1911s. They also take careful maintenance.
The high end guns never come close to the long life and failure free results that an off the shelf Glock will give you.
By this guy’s logic of higher-quality components and tighter tolerances, a Formula 1 race car, or an F-22 would be the most dependable and failure free machine on earth. That simply isn’t the case.
“This means historically significant or personally meaningful firearms.
In other words, don’t carry the Union Switch & Signal 1911 that Grandpa used during the Battle of the Bulge.”
Exactly.
Secondarily, how will your $15,000 firearm be treated in evidence lockup? Will it be stolen (happens) or so roughly treated that it is returned to you scratched up and damaged (happens). I agree - don’t spend a ton of money on a weapon. Spend it on ammo and training.
If you are involved in a shooting, this will be the least of your problems.
My “cheap” Rugers go bang every time. Pistols and revolvers. Price means little. But once one spends a fortune on a pistol is simply has to be better. At least in the purchaser’s mind.
The up side of a Hi-Point is that if you run out of ammo, you can beat someone to death with it and not worry about hurting the gun, becasue it's so big and bulky.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.