Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

looking to own my first firearm interested in a 9mm,.40cal ,or a .45cal around the $200 price range email me if you have one for sale at heavy804@gmail.com

For $200 in those calibers, you are either going to get a beat up POS, or a brand new Hi-Point!

are hi-point any good and i meant to put 300

some people think so
most people don't, especially for a carry gun

you think ill have any luck with 300 instead of 2 ..i heard it was a gun show up richmond tomorrow i was thinking on going there...but yeah i need a good carrying gun its kind of crazy in the city now so need some protection

If this is your first firearm, please make sure you get some thorough practice with it, investigate the alternative methods of carry, and understand the carry and deadly-force laws in VA before you start carrying it around. You should get a copy of "The Virginia Gun Owner's Guide" and maybe Massad Ayoob's "Concealed Carry" from Gun Digest at a minimum. Just sayin...

heavy804 wrote:you think ill have any luck with 300 instead of 2 ..i heard it was a gun show up richmond tomorrow i was thinking on going there...but yeah i need a good carrying gun its kind of crazy in the city now so need some protection

A company called Dark Sun guns had some Taurus guns in 9mm and .40 in your price range ($290ish) at the Roanoke gun show in January of this year. Maybe they'd be at the Richmond show and have the same prices?

The company "Dark Suns" are at every Richmond gun show. However if you buy something cheap from them remeber the saying "you get what you pay for".

I didn't see Dark Sun at the show yesterday; perhaps he went to the Hampton show.

Neoexodus...did they have any good selection up there I'm bout to hit highway now.......and fellas do ya'll knw if kel-tecs are any good

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heavy804 wrote:Neoexodus...did they have any good selection up there I'm bout to hit highway now.......and fellas do ya'll knw if kel-tecs are any good

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Generally good reputation. Judging from the size of guns Kel Tec makes I'm guessing you'll be wanting to conceal yours? A government permission slip is required to do so in Virginia.

Yea..and do you get the premission and etc when you take the concealed weapon class

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No.
The class is a prerequisite for applying for a Concealed Handgun permit. You should get some sort of proof that you have completed a class after taking it. Take your certificate to the clerk at your circuit court house along with $50 and apply. Some localities require fingerprints. Wait for no longer than 45 days to get your CHP in the mail. If you are not denied a CHP and none comes in that time, your copy of the application is your CHP.

Know that in Virginia, nobody that can possess a firearm is prohibited from carrying one openly. Many do so. http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/forum ... 0-Virginia

Sorry, just saw your reply, on the whole, I was disappointed with the show, but that's probably due to me not finding anything I wanted, or at least at a price worth jumping on.

i brought a brand new sw9ve dude gave me a good deal on it for 306.00

t33j wrote:some people think so
most people don't, especially for a carry gun

+1

Unless you really can't afford anything else, don't get a HiPoint for SD.

t33j wrote:

heavy804 wrote:Neoexodus...did they have any good selection up there I'm bout to hit highway now.......and fellas do ya'll knw if kel-tecs are any good

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Generally good reputation. Judging from the size of guns Kel Tec makes I'm guessing you'll be wanting to conceal yours? A government permission slip is required to do so in Virginia.

Keltec is much better than HiPoint, but still I'll question the generally good reputation. Quality control is something that is lacking on most cheap guns, so you may get something that works flawlessly or it might not make it through a mag without jamming. That's the best summary of Keltec IMHO, but they do seem to be moving a bit more upscale as of late. I'd jump on a used Tarus, S&W Sigma, Ruger, etc. before a Keltec personally.

jim100 wrote:However if you buy something cheap from them remeber the saying "you get what you pay for".

Absolutely! There is a huge difference in quality and reliability between a $200 gun and a $300. Again, a huge difference between $300 and $400, but generally around $400-$600 you've put enough dollars in to get a good copy of a good design. In my experience handguns between $200 and $400 new tend to be slightly flaky due to limited QC, but every extra dollar buys you a lot. You may get a perfect copy or you may not; it's like gambling. Above $400 QC seems to be sufficient that it becomes fairly rare to hear of a bad copy. It happens, but it happens much, much less. IMHO, 1911s are the exception to that rule of thumb. They tend to require more love to get everything to work just right (being an old world design) and you don't get that until you spend much more (again, any particular copy may work just fine, but there are plenty that don't). That isn't to say that there are fine firearms which only cost $300-$400 new, but just be careful, do lots of research and don't rush into it. You seem to be interested in primarily SD, so take the time to get it right.

I'd look used so you can get a nicer gun in your price range.

Considering how much ammo costs and your particular price sensitivity, I'd get a 9mm and never look back. .40 and .45 cost around 50% more per round and that will eat your budget very quickly...remember that the most important thing is practice.

+1 on gunderwood's recommendations

I'll be happy to assist you with any CHP training that you may need.

Sorry to thread jack, but I'd love to hear more about the 1911's; I was looking for the Springer GI at the show, and not a single dealer had one, which blew my mind. Anyway, that is usually around $500, so do you feel that your comment above would hold to this example (i.e. it'll be hit or miss) or is Springfield generally accepted as making a good gun for the money? Thanks!

Very much so but 1911s in particular can be finicky. I like 1911s too much to worry about that though. I'd venture to say that most people don't have problems with the caliber of gun Springfield Armory / Kimber / (other popular 1911 maker) put out.