Quality pistol under $500 ...recommendations ?

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trap666

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Hi All,
Looking for a quality pistol in 9mm under $500 for the wife.
Not interested in any chinese or turkish stuff.
Been looking at these options :
Surplus Beretta 92s
Walther creed
Remington RP9

Pros and cons ? Which one would you recommend ?
What do you guys think ?
Or any other options ?

Thanks
Cheers
 
Watch for used Gen1 S&W M&Ps on the EE. They are popping up regularly now for sub-$500 price tags including the Apex trigger installed. With the grip adaptors, you should find a size that may fit a woman’s hands.

The Creed is a well made gun but not sure why not more popular as their predecessor, the PPX.

Stay away from the Remington 9.

Any Berettas you find in the $500 range will be well used, about 4 generation old with a fat grip and long DA reach. If it’s for your wife, the gun may be too big for her if she has small hands. And not as “ pretty” if you score a surplus.

As mentioned, the Ruger is not a bad choice also. I find the trigger a bit vague but, not a bad gun for the money.

Stay away from the S&W SDV9. I would buy a used M&P before a new SDV. Your wife will hate the trigger.

If you can squeeze a few more dollars, take a look at the new CZ-P10C. I’ve seen them as low as $599 on sale +tax.
 
I'd give a good look at the Smith & Wesson M&P9 2.0.

The retail price is just North of $500 but magazines and accessories such as fiber optic sights are quite common and still affordable.

A used one can likely be had for $500 or less.
 
I just bought an M&P9 Gen 1 range kit (3 mags, holster, case and speed loader) for less than $600 including tax (free shipping). It's a pretty decent deal. Considering the cost of extra mags and a speed loader, it's less than $500. Worth a look I think.
 
The smith and wesson SD9VE is really decent for the price, 400$ new with mags. Its internally basically a glock which i like. trigger is fine, but lots of people replace it to feel nicer. I have both the glock17 and this, both work the same
 
trap666 said:
Hi All,
Looking for a quality pistol in 9mm under $500 for the wife.
Not interested in any chinese or turkish stuff.
Been looking at these options :
Surplus Beretta 92s
Walther creed
Remington RP9

Pros and cons ? Which one would you recommend ?
What do you guys think ?
Or any other options ?

Thanks
Cheers
Click to expand...

If your wife has man hands and if she has a solid kung fu grip, than a surplus CZ 75 or Beretta 92 might be the ticket. You should be able to find plenty for under 5 bills but be warned, most if not all will be pretty dinged up. Such as myself, my wife can't stand guns that are all beaten to hell and back. She has a new Beretta 92 and a couple of 1911's that she just loves but she does not shoot any of them because she has small hands. She also doesn't like the recoil of my poly 9s and when she use to shoots the 92, she would limp wrists it which is ok for the 1911 because of the all steel construction allows it to cycle but stove pipes every time on the Beretta because of its alloy frame.

So a while back I was searching for an inexpensive 9 that is based on the 1911 designed, with smaller grips and is all steel to help with recoil and cycling for my wife. I found the perfect 9mm that checked off all the boxes and is neither Chinese or Turkish. I picked up a m70a for her. Brand new in the box with taxes and shipping the total came to $260. She still hated it.lol
 
trap666 said:
<snip>
Not interested in any chinese or turkish stuff.
Been looking at these options :
Surplus Beretta 92s
Walther creed
Remington RP9

Pros and cons ? Which one would you recommend ?
What do you guys think ?
Or any other options ?

Thanks
Cheers
Click to expand...

Make sure she can try or at least handle each before buying; get her the one she wants. Ruling out Chinese and Turkish pistols cuts out some great choices. When I was looking for a economy 9mm, I found the price on the RP9 tempting, but the reviews, not so good. I also found that I don't care for Beretta's long trigger reset, or it's pull and break. Ultimately, I settled on a CZ platform; (a Chi-Com POS as some here would say) Norinco NZ85 Glad I did! The only thing that was s***** about it was the plastic grips. I upgraded those to a set of stock CZ (fit right on). I like the CZ platform, and tried to find a used NP40 (NZ85 in .40 S&W) and when I could not, I bought an IWI Jericho instead. Glad I bought it too!

Have you looked at IWI 9mm Jerichos? Very well made, and good used ones (again hard to find) are usually priced right. Great double action trigger right out of the box, and amazing SA trigger.
 
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Gen 4 Glock's pop up for under $500. You have to keep a diligent eye on the EE and grab them quickly. Also the M&P's can be found for cheap.
 
With everything available, you would be extremely hard pressed to beat a new M&P 2.0. Modern, reliable, usable trigger, steel sights, and good mags. Though I'm a huge fan of CZ75s, Hi Powers and some other surplus, you're always gambling with reliability and condition.

When you factor in the female hand, the ergos with a small grip panel is also hard to beat.
 
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