There are five rules of a gun fight. None of them have the word price.
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.
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.
“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.
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.
In 98% of successful defensive gun uses (DGUs), a shot is not fired.
Which means that a Lorcin is as good as a Kimber 98% of the time.
Fact: Guns prevent an estimated 2.5 million crimes a year or 6,849 every day. Most often, the gun is never fired and no blood (including the criminal’s) is shed.
Source: http://www.gunfacts.info/pdfs/gun-facts/7.1/Gun-Facts-7.1-screen.pdf, page 21.
Fact: A victim may have a strong reluctance to talk to a government agent about a firearm brandishing incident (which are 98% of DGUs) because they may not know the act was 100% legal.
Source: http://www.gunfacts.info/pdfs/gun-facts/7.1/Gun-Facts-7.1-screen.pdf, page 83.
In other words, the 98% number is probably low.
I carry a Glock 17....about $500 ...it is as accurate and dependable as one could reasonably expect. A $15000 weapon is not $15000 because of it’s dependability!!!
If you can afford it, why not.
Bought a used Springfield Arms XD in .40cal with night sights (looked like it was never fired) for $159 at my local Pawn Shop.
Put over 500rds through it without a problem....very accurate and pleasant to shoot.
You do not have to spend a lot to find a good quality gun worth carrying.....
I agree. The police will take any gun you use in self-defense, and you’d best plan to never see it again. I have planned my gun collection accordingly.
A “cheap” gun is not worth it, if it won’t hold up to all the rounds of practice firing you will need to put in, in order to become proficient.
Then I noticed that almost all those guns were those little .25 “Saturday Night Specials”
A few years ago Taurus made some terrible little guns, .22 and .25 semi-autos, little pocket guns. I bought a pretty one (for my girlfriend) and I tried and hated the thing. Couldn't get more than 1 or 2 rounds off. I never gave it to her.
One day I'm in a gun store, and some little sweaty creepy guy comes in and wants to buy a gun. Looked like he was looking to go out a shoot someone in particular. The guy obviously knew nothing about guns, and the shop owner sold him one of those little cr@ppy Tauruses.
The fact is, crappy guns save a lot of lives. Mostly by NOT going off.
Do I want a Sig? Sure. Will my Ruger P89 get the job done? Sure wiil.