Thanks for the votes of confidence on the Grand Power K100. User reviews speak for themselves: they are comfy, accurate, ergonomic, European made, and very aggressively priced (often called 'the $1,000.00 class high-tech nine for $595').
Yes, there are other offerings for around $600.00 that are also good buys. As others have mentioned, if you have a completely open mind (no qualifiers such as 'this cal. only,' 'semi/revolver only,' etc.) it's a buyer's market for a 100% new handgun:
- 'old school' wheelguns such as the Pietta 1873 single action;
- 'new old school' wheelguns like some Ruger single actions;
- any flavour of Norinco you'd like (spend the extra $ on mags, holster, ammo, etc.)
- CZ products also have a good reputation and are around $600.00;
- If .22LR is a possibility SIG's new Mosquito looks intriguing;
- Ruger has several semi-autos which seem rugged;
Used stuff I'd consider for around $600.00 that would (usually) be a safe bet:
Note: I'm going to avoid mentioning 12:6 since if you're 'in the club' chances are you already own most/all the standard choices anyhow. Assume everything below's restricted only and is an average version without huge collector value:
- S&W M27 .357 mag or M29 .44 mag ( what? You don't own one yet? :shock: )
- Ruger Security Six, GP100, etc.
- S&W 586, 686, 66, Model 19, etc. (.38 spl = cheap, .357 mag = boom
)
- Browning wartime/commercial GP35 'High Power' (but watch out for fakes!)
- 1911A1 .45 ACP (compare specific used 1911's brand/cond./$ to new Norinco w. warranty though)
- Walther P38;
- Beretta 92, Glock 1x/2x ( watch EE, sometimes these sell around $600 )
That about sums it up for the major types of new and used pistols that are highly/usually recommended and available for around six bills. This is not to say "there aren't other equally good deals out there." These are only the main ones.
As usual, always check out the seller thoroughly before you buy! Purchasing from a reputable EE seller or Canadian dealer is priceless
especially after you hear a couple stories along the lines of "I got mine $50 cheaper ... but <item> broke or <condition> was misrepresented and I was SOL with the seller." Just like buying parcel insurance and 'signature required' a little extra is worth a LOT of peace of mind.
Hope this helps,
- Peter
