Choices

[harbormaster]

Just asking a curious budget, spending and qualities question.

You have a $1,500 budget. A shotgun, a rifle and a 22 hand gun that you?ve had some fun shooting and now it?s time for a defensive handgun. What percentage do you spend on the gun, accessories and ammo? 70/15/15 or 50/20/30 or?

Example is I advised a friend to buy a $600 OTD RIA 1911 45, a $100 worth of magazines, a few parts, and then $800 worth of ammo. A friend says I should have suggested a TLE at about a $1000, $100 accessories and $400 in ammo? I don?t think either is wrong but he said a first handgun needs to be of higher quality then a budget gun?

Thoughts?

[pohorsky]

Depends on HD or CCW.
For home defense, you can get a pretty good handgun, even in the budget category. You're not paying a premium for compactness. Less if you are getting a shotty. Maybe PCC.
You can get a pretty nice gun for well under $1k. I'd rather skimp a little on ammo and accessories and spend a little on training. Gun, a couple - 3 mags, some ammo and training.

[Dirk Tungsten]

HD- Glock of your choice for approx. $600 OTD, $125 for a streamlight, $35 for another mag (Glocks come with 2 mags from the factory right) for a total of 3 mags, maybe $100 for a holster which gives us a total of $860, give or take. Spend the rest on ammo.

[BigPimping]

Glock used at $450.00. Classes and ammo.

[TrailerparkTrash]

Just asking a curious budget, spending and qualities question.

You have a $1,500 budget. A shotgun, a rifle and a 22 hand gun that you?ve had some fun shooting and now it?s time for a defensive handgun. What percentage do you spend on the gun, accessories and ammo? 70/15/15 or 50/20/30 or?

Example is I advised a friend to buy a $600 OTD RIA 1911 45, a $100 worth of magazines, a few parts, and then $800 worth of ammo. A friend says I should have suggested a TLE at about a $1000, $100 accessories and $400 in ammo? I don?t think either is wrong but he said a first handgun needs to be of higher quality then a budget gun?

Thoughts?

My thoughts are your question hurts my head. Your thinking waaaaaaay to deep and really for no good reason.

Buy the damn gun you want, ammo and live life. It?s not that serious.

[cline]

with the likes of the shield plus coming on roster at 550 usd most likely, i really can't justify gun purchases greater than that range. we might be seeing 300-400 usd marketplace prices for shield 1.0s and 2.0s very soon, at that price it might be highly desirable for some people. i know some guy is selling a shield 2.0 right now in the marketplace for 700 or best offer, which is a fair price and can probably be negotiated down to 600, and he's still not getting any takers, that means everyone is waiting for the shield plus instead.

[stormvet]

My thoughts are your question hurts my head. Your thinking waaaaaaay to deep and really for no good reason.

Buy the damn gun you want, ammo and live life. It?s not that serious.

Pretty much what I was thinking, an accountants view on gun ownership and training.

[Mayor McRifle]

Buy the best gun you can afford, and then buy ammo for it separately. In the long run, you’re going to spend a helluva lot more money on ammo, cleaning supplies, and range fees than you ever spent on the gun.

[IVC]

Your breakdown is about right - spend about half on permanent hardware and the rest on ammo and training.

But I wouldn't recommend a 1911 or .45 as the first or only gun and/or caliber. In the situation you describe, especially for self defense, it should've been a modern polymer striker fired double stack in 9mm. If the person has only one gun, as much as I don't like it, it's still the best option to have a "combat 9."

[IVC]

with the likes of the shield plus coming on roster at 550 usd most likely, i really can't justify gun purchases greater than that range.

Everyone says that until they try the high-end guns. Nothing wrong with that price range and that type of gun, those are the bread and butter guns of self/home defense. But they are as exciting as a two decade old budget sedan.

[Jeepergeo]

Just asking a curious budget, spending and qualities question.

You have a $1,500 budget. A shotgun, a rifle and a 22 hand gun that you?ve had some fun shooting and now it?s time for a defensive handgun. What percentage do you spend on the gun, accessories and ammo? 70/15/15 or 50/20/30 or?

Example is I advised a friend to buy a $600 OTD RIA 1911 45, a $100 worth of magazines, a few parts, and then $800 worth of ammo. A friend says I should have suggested a TLE at about a $1000, $100 accessories and $400 in ammo? I don?t think either is wrong but he said a first handgun needs to be of higher quality then a budget gun?

Thoughts?

I'd start packing my own lunch and not eat out for a couple of months to push that budget up a bit. Then, I'd seek out a Belgium-made Hi-Power 9mm. Why? The Hi-Power is a sweet gun and the 9 mm is less expensive per round than 45 ACP. Top off with two extra mags, an Otis cable handgun cleaning kit, a large bottle of BreakFree CLP, then the rest on ammunition. About $2000 should get that for you.

[Dirk Tungsten]

I'd start packing my own lunch and not eat out for a couple of months to push that budget up a bit. Then, I'd seek out a Belgium-made Hi-Power 9mm. Why? The Hi-Power is a sweet gun and the 9 mm is less expensive per round than 45 ACP. Top off with two extra mags, an Otis cable handgun cleaning kit, a large bottle of BreakFree CLP, then the rest on ammunition. About $2000 should get that for you.

Do you really want to use a Belgian made Hi-Power for self defense though? Odd of it potentially being confiscated by LE after an SD shooting are pretty good. Better to buy something utilitarian and run of the mill that wouldn't hurt to lose if it's used for Serious Business.

[naz]

Amount spent on gun is almost a rounding error compared to amount spent on ammo if your friend will train using that gun regularly

[L84CABO]

It would be the rare person that I would recommend a 45 acp 1911 for a first defensive handgun, for a relatively new shooter.

I would likely go 9mm for the less recoil and cheaper ammo...which means more practice for a new shooter. I'd probably also suggest a striker gun for the easier maintenance, simple manual of arms, and generally lower cost for a high quality weapon. He/she could likely get into a Glock or M&P for $500-$600...maybe less for new and definitely less if he went used (and didn't live in Ca).

Out of what is left I would budget for a good 2 day beginning defensive pistol class, a decent holster, then buy a few mags and ammo with whatever was left.

YMMV.

[Oldmandan]

I think you’re overthinking it.

Buy what you want, when you can afford it.