Cheap gun for concealed carry?

Rastoff

Rastoff

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I've heard many times that guys want a cheap gun to carry. That way the expensive gun doesn't get confiscated if you have to use it to defend yourself.

Personally I think this is backward thinking. If I need to use a gun to defend myself or my family, I want the one I'm most comfortable with and shoot best. I couldn't care less about the price of the gun when a life is on the line.

More, if you're worried about having the gun taken for evidence, maybe you shouldn't be carrying at all? That kind of thought process will cause you to hesitate and that will get you killed.

What say you all? Am I crazy?
 
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Two of my most frequently carried guns were PURCHASED relatively cheaply.

I got my Norinco M1911 from a friend who got it from his brother. I paid $300 for it around the time of the first Bush tax cut.

I got my Smith 36 "no-dash" through a lawyer friend, from a guy going up the river for kiddie porn who could no longer possess it. I think I paid $200 for it.

I carry either of them because they're effective self-defense tools, NOT because they were purchased cheaply.

I also sometimes carry a Glock 22 or a Browning Hi Power, both purchased new.
 
I carry what I shoot well and is easiest to carry. My Shield 9 fits those requirements nicely.
 
When the word "cheap" is used like in your statement it may mean a throw -away piece rather than a quality gun bought at a great price. For example, a S&W Shield 9mm is a quality gun, but compared by price to a Kimber Solo, it's cheap. Whereas a Kel-tec is just a cheap gun in price AND quality.

I have a Glock 23 gen4 for carry. I shoot it well and am comfortable carrying it, BUT...I also have a Browning High Power which I would prefer to carry, but if would be more difficult to replace if confiscated or damaged while in confiscation. So it doesn't get carried .
 
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"Norinco M1911"


A very under-rated and under-appreciated pistol, in my opinion. I only sold mine because I replaced it with a Colt LW Commander.

I try to buy used quality firearms at low prices. This has been difficult to do lately.
 
My carry guns have a different criterier. Quickness on target and reliability are paramount. Cost of the weapon plays no role for me, not when my life or those of my family are threatened.
 
As a defense lawyer, I wince when I hear people (and no one here is doing it) say that they feel like they need an inexpensive gun for carry, so that they're not out much should it be confiscated after a shooting. Can you imagine what kind of hay the prosecution would have made had George Zimmerman made such a statement? (He used a Kel-Tec PF9, a perfectly reasonable and reliable gun, which I note CDNN has on sale this week brand new for $249.) "Isn't it true that Defendant told you that he specifically purchased this cheap gun so that he would not be out a lot of money when police confiscated it after he shot someone?"

Personally, I agree with you all: I carry what is right for me to carry at the time, which depends on where I'm going, how I'll be dressed, etc. God forbid I ever have to shoot a gun to defend myself - but, if that happens, I suspect the price of the gun will be the furthest thing from my mind. :(
 
As with almost all questions, the correct answer is "it depends".

For years my house gun and the firearm I carried most when hiking has been a 4 inch, Transition 1926 Third Model .44 Hand Ejector. It is kind of rare and valuable piece. Lately the thought of having it end buried deep in some evidence room has been crossing my mind. I love that old revolver and it really works for me and it would kill me to lose it. So it has been put into a well deserved retirement. Sure it will take regular trips to the range, it is just to fun to make it a safe king.

So I recently decided to go with a cheaper and less dear to me house and hiking handgun solution. I bought a Glock 30SF and at my price you could call it cheap. It has nice big heavy slugs that I like, it carries well and, heck, it is just a Glock. If something bad happens it will do the job. It can easily be replaced.

The other end of that question is everyone has a different idea of what is inexpensive. I would say anything $500 and under is inexpensive. There are plenty of great carry handguns under that price point.

The old classy, loved, go to revolver and then its cheap replacement, the Glock.

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You co-signed my sentiments exactly!

P.S. How do you get pictures to post like yours...as oppossed to "thumbnails"?
 
Att'n Erich

I would like to add my .02 to Erich's above post: I would hope, in the followup after a SD shooting, that the person who has used their weapon would not say something like: "When am I going to get my gun back? Why is it taking so long?"

Regardless of where in the USA you live, you are facing a whole new set of concerns. In some of the more 'enlightened' areas,' it will be an arrest, a Grand Jury presentation, and a murder charge, of whatever degree.

No-bill me and keep the gun...
 
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"Cheap carry gun" ... "gun that you carry a lot but shoot a little"... "buy something that fits your hand" ......are 3 phrases in the gun world that never made sense to me.

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kaaskop49 said:
I would hope, in the followup after a SD shooting, that the person who has used their weapon would not say something like: "When am I going to get my gun back? Why is it taking so long?"
Click to expand...

In my opinion, this is the sort of communication that ought to come from one's lawyer - at the appropriate time. I have a close friend who shot and killed someone in self-defense, and got gun back eventually after he was cleared at grand jury - but it was not easy.
 
I agree with ERICH about being careful about what you say. That includes anything you have said in public forums like Facebook and this forum. If god forbid you are involved in a shooting like George Zimmerman and in some forum you commented about possibly shooting someone, you just gave the prosecution a lot of ammunition. This will cost you in more ways than one.
 
There is a difference between "cheap" and "inexpensive." To me, "cheap" means low quality, poor materials, not reliable, etc. "Inexpensive" simply means a low price tag. One doesn't necessarily equate to the other. RIA 1911s are inexpensive, but they are hardly cheap, and compare very well to "brand name" 1911s in function...they just aren't so "pretty."

I can understand the thinking behind not wanting to carry a very expensive gun, but my concern comes more from getting it banged up than potentially having it confiscated. If I am involved in a shooting, that is the least of my worries!

At my stage in life, inexpensive is my mantra...but I sure don't want cheap. :cool:
 
$10 helmet for the $10 head my dad would always say. Grew up at a drag strip and people STILL find the cheapest helmet that will meet the specs.

I think guns follow about the same course.
 
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