S&W 617. I originally bought my first several guns for self-defense, but ended up enjoying shooting. I had all guns w/ a fair amount of recoil (40 S&W and 12 gauge), and decided I should buy a 22LR for fun, cheap shooting, and improve my basic skills. I was looking at the usual suspects in semi-auto 22 handguns, and even rented a few. The close together feed lips on mags were more annoying on a 22 than a 40 so I decided to buy a .22 revolver. I bought the 4" 10-shot version, and it remains my favorite gun since it's trigger is amazing, I can shoot cheap, it's as reliable as a 22 can get, I can introduce new shooters w/o recoil, etc.

Just recently bought a barely used Beretta M9, owner claimed he got it in a partial trade with someone else, and was told it only had 50 rounds fired through it. The pistol looked brand new to me, I paid him his asking price of $400.

I took it to the range and put 100 rounds through it, found it reliable, but I hated the heavy DA/SA trigger pull, and the recoil just felt odd to me. I put a D spring, and a Wilson solid steel recoil rod in it. The next range trip I put another hundred rounds downrange with it, I was just amazed at what a difference the two mods made to this piece. Easily one of my favorite shooters now.

Was one of my best buys in a very long time.

My steyr M357-A1 it's a "gen 4" they made about 1000 before ending production, It's far and away my favorite.

I also on whim went to the gun store, where they had brand new SP2022 9's for 180 bucks, I did have to sell that gun but I doubled what I had paid.

My HK P7 psp. I bought it on a whim after some talk about it here, way back when they were all over at the gun shows and I got a nice one even though it was marked a grade B, it looked to be shot little and the finish was perfect on it, I paid $625 for it and right after I bought it prices shot through the moon on them. It's a fun gun that's extremely accurate and fun to shoot for about 40 rounds till it gets too hot! lololol

There are currently two.
First is my Kel-Tec Sub 2000 in 9mm Glock magazine form. This thing is incredibly reliable, makes me grin every time I shoot it, and makes an excellent PCC for Steel Challenge.
Second is my S&W 351C in .22 Magnum. The sound and flash of .22 WMR in a short barrel is the prime attraction. But so is the way it disappears into a pocket or how easy it is to carry when running 3-5 miles. Great value and fun to shoot.

I own some very nice shotguns for shooting clays and game, but certainly the least impressive one I have is 1934 vintage Iver Johnson Bicycle Company .410 side by side shotgun. It probably sold for about $15.00 in its day (if that much) and I paid around $700.00 for it a few years ago, mostly because its in good shape for what it is. Its a tiny little thing with a "Baby" frame and 26" barrels, but damn! It can really break clays given the limitations of its bore size and a half an ounce of shot!!!

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
My HK P7 psp. I bought it on a whim after some talk about it here, way back when they were all over at the gun shows and I got a nice one even though it was marked a grade B, it looked to be shot little and the finish was perfect on it, I paid $625 for it and right after I bought it prices shot through the moon on them. It's a fun gun that's extremely accurate and fun to shoot for about 40 rounds till it gets too hot! lololol

Jimmy I bought my PSP A grade from a forum member for same price if I recall. He had a whole bunch and was based out of N Florida, just cannot recall his name. Do not shoot it much but agree it is a great shooter, and holy heck have prices jumped. Mine has a nice plumb slide which I like knowing how/why the bluing turns purple. Congrats and agree.

No contest: The Remington 1911 R1 Enhanced I acquired a couple weeks ago.

I'd been in the market for a P210 Target. Nary a one to be found around here. Had given up and decided to look at 1911s. Then found my P210 Target--completely by pure dumb luck. But found I still had a hankerin' for a 1911. Remembered I had a couple handguns I'd been meaning to sell. LGS had the R1 Enhanced and was willing to give me more than I expected on a trade. Done.

The thing shoots like a dream for me. My very first target, at 25', was one ragged hole, with a couple outliers--but still in the black, out of seven rounds. The second target, and all subsequent targets: Pretty much the same. This after me not having been to the range in about a year-and-a-half.

Never expected that.

Glock 19

I resisted for a long long time. It was ugly and had a weird grip. I'd go to gun classes and be the only guy with a da/sa Sig. Then they came out with the P320, I figured I had 'em beat. But every time I went to the range or to a class, everyone had a Glock. I finally broke down and bought the G19 because, as they say, "you will buy a glock." I bought it without ever shooting it...really just because everyone else had one.

It is now one of my favorite guns. The weight and size for the capacity is pretty good. It's easily concealable, reliable and shoots well.

I haven't gotten my hands on a P365 yet. I like the idea of 12 rounds in a such a small package. Until I try it and buy it, the G19 is my EDC.

quote:

Originally posted by Neel:
Police auction, Colt 1911 in .38 super, made in 1932, possibly test fired only that I bid $250 and won.

I crave a pre-war Colt 1911 in .38 Super. Nice find.

Just recently I got two unbelievable deals.
A friend decided to downsize.
Always wanted an M1 carbine but never wanted to ask. I asked if he wanted to sell and he said how about $50.00. Turns out it was a winchester sold by the NRA back in the 60's. He had shot a few rounds through it. Not bad for mil surplus.
A week later he called and said he had a Walther west german PPK . He sold it to me for $100.00.
He bought it new in the 60's and only put a few rounds through it. Not a scratch, original box with test target. Tool and manual.

It was my lucky day!

I don't know that I have any "didn't expect it to be good, but it was" stories.

I bought a rifle last summer online.. a Ruger 450/400. When it came I was surprised to see it was the heavy profile barrel, one of only 32(?) made in that caliber. The pawn shop selling it must not have known any better and I couldn't tell by the photos. A nice surprise, being somewhat "rare" (to a niche collector anyway), but mostly because it makes it a lot easier to shoot. lol


Maybe my best surprise was years ago someone told me someone they knew had a pistol to sell, but had no info. I went and saw that guy and even he had no info (and it was his gun). "It's a Ruger, a 44 mag. It's stainless. I want $200."
I told him I'd take it! I had no idea what it was, single action, double action, beat up, but the price was right.
It turned out to be a like new Super Blackhawk with a nice hard case. That was nice surprise.

Many years ago, I went in to work one afternoon and was hard at it, when a work mate came and asked me if I wanted to buy a pistol he had.
Not knowing what it was, as well as being to busy to talk then, I said sure, how much? He said $225.
I told him I did not have that much on me, but would bring it the next day. At lunch time, I went out to the parking lot and viewed an FN Browing HPower, from circa 1950=53, in very good condition.
Other guys were trying to give him the cash all night long, but he held out and I got it that night and paid the next day.

Not only did the gun perform as its reputation, but it is now worth a lot.
Plus, having been newly remarried then, my new wife caught me cleaning it and as we were living in her house while our new one was being built on my lot, she ordered me to get that gun out of her house as she had 2 young kids living there.

I put the gun in a suitcase, dumped a couple of drawers of my clothes in the suitcase. She said what are you doing.
I told her; me and my guns and son are getting out.
We talked and I educated her and now, she buys me guns and ammo and acc and has a few of her own, as well as a chl(ccw) of her own.

1895 Marlin, I’d wanted one for quite a while. Having owned it now for over 10 years I would replace it immediately if it were lost.

I can’t really say that about any other gun I own, most are a compromise of some sort or another.

A guy at work wanted a Glock 30. He had an excellent condition Colt Gov't 1911 from 1919 in his hand to trade. I had a Glock 30 but it was at home. I walked over to the next row of lockers, found a guy with a well used, often shot Glock 30 in his locker(off duty CCW piece), gave him $500 for a $450 gun, carried it back to my row and traded a Glock 30 for that 1911. Best deal I've ever gotten. The other fella took the $, bought himself a new Glock 30 and had $50 left in his pocket.

GP100. Prior to that one I painted myself as an intolerable anti-revolver guy. Then got offered a deal on that 3" I now cherish and lo it sent me down yet another slippery slope into a hole with no hope of ever climbing back out of. Fell for 357MAG and haven't looked back.

Beretta PX4 Compact Carry

Ruger 1911 in 10mm. Great gun, reliable and inexpensive. Nice woods carry.

I purchased a small collection of handguns for an extremely reasonable price. Mixed in was a Colt 1911 pistol. Turns out it's a 1937 Navy gun. Only 744 were ever produced and most are lying on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

This story is so bizarre it's almost unbelievable and it's the best "gun story" that ever happened to me.

Went to a LGS looking for a Colt King Cobra. When I asked the clerk if they had any, they went to their safe and pulled out 2. One was a 6" KC with a mounted scope. Not my cup of tea so I passed. The other was in a maroon colored box. I opened it up and there was a 6" Colt Custom Cobra. I never heard of it but I immediately knew it was special just by the way it looked. The serial number was an extremely low number. Price was very reasonable so I purchased it. When I got home, I did research on it and found it was a limited run of 250 sets. Colt made matching paired sets of a 6" and 4" model. So, I had one of a set and was happy with it considering at the time the single 6" gun was worth around $3500.

Nearly a year later I venture into the same store and inquire about a King Cobra. This time the clerk said "We don't have any but we just took in a Custom Cobra, would you like to see it?" Ok, so what do you think he hands me? Yup, another maroon box but this one has the MATCHING 4" revolver ! No matter what he quoted, I had no choice but to purchase it. So now, sitting in my safe is a matching pair of Custom Cobras. I was offered $9000 for the pair and I declined.