Man am I cheap or are handgun prices ridiculous???????

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Man am I cheap or are handgun prices ridiculous???????

Posted: 1/7/2005 1:20:48 PM EDT

Heres the deal. Had a birthday, hit the 45 thing.... Really don't need or want anything. But hey wait a minute. Sure would be sweet to get a 1911 to round out the Fun Collection. So been looking around and kicking myself for not getting one BC. (Before Children)..... Man is 45 old or what? I had sticker shock in the Fun store. Did I turn into my father? Ever conversation I ever had with my dad anyways started with the line "Coffee (or whatever) was 5 cents when I was a kid" ..... Even time I talk about 45's with my uncle the first words out of his mouth is "I paid $165 for my Gold Cup" He never said that he got it in 1912. (or around there)...???? Is this just me? Or do other's feel this way? I asked the guy behind the counter at the fun shop if he knows CPR because these prices can cause a a person to have heart attack!

Posted: 1/7/2005 2:02:05 PM EDT

[#1]

Supply & demand.

We just need to get rid of excise taxes.

Posted: 1/7/2005 3:06:35 PM EDT

[#2]

You can get a Springfield "Loaded" S/S for about $600 to $650 if you look around. I own one and it is a GREAT 1911. Yes everything is higher but I can not see paying a $K+ for a handgun when one half the price is just as good or just as accurate. Kimber, SA ,Colt, Norinco, SW, SIG and others all have offerings in .45. Many have lower priced models, ie. gov. models. Shoot a few and pick the one that you like.

Posted: 1/7/2005 3:09:38 PM EDT

[#3]

Decent 1911's have never been cheap. Colt's in particular have always had premium pricing.

Just remind your uncle that when he paid $165 for that Gold Cup he was probably making a dollar an hour.

Posted: 1/7/2005 3:17:27 PM EDT

[#4]

ya he was making a buck an hour. But he was taking a lunch bucket of nails home everyday.... Oh my God remember when we made nails in this country. That was a while ago....

Posted: 1/7/2005 3:27:30 PM EDT

[#5]

Springfield makes a mil spec. no frills .45 for about $500. Not a bad gun for the money.

Posted: 1/7/2005 3:28:50 PM EDT

[#6]

We made nails?

Posted: 1/7/2005 3:29:55 PM EDT

[#7]

Quoted:
...Even time I talk about 45's with my uncle the first words out of his mouth is "I paid $165 for my Gold Cup" He never said that he got it in 1912.

Posted: 1/7/2005 4:21:46 PM EDT

[#8]

"Springfield makes a mil spec. no frills .45 for about $500. Not a bad gun for the money."

Yes I know.... I've heard , seen, and read nothing but good things about them.... I think I will take one step up and get a Loaded...

Posted: 1/7/2005 5:07:32 PM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:
Supply & demand.

We just need to get rid of excise taxes.

The excise tax is 10% on a complete gun, but if you don't buy the complete gun ie a lower reciever, you don't pay the tax. The excise tax is rarely seen today because it is not broken out like the sales tax, it is included in the purchase price. The govt got rid of the excise taxes on tires etc years ago. It's the anti-gun govt for you.

Posted: 1/7/2005 6:46:22 PM EDT

[#10]

You are CHEAP

Posted: 1/7/2005 7:04:08 PM EDT

[#11]

put it this way, I've never seen NIB handgun prices go lower...buy used and save some $. If you buy a new one, it'll fetch what you pay for it come 4-5 years

I bought a Colt SAA 45LC NIB in 1994, for $960, tax and all, now wholesale price is around $1200-1300

Posted: 1/7/2005 7:35:37 PM EDT

[#12]

Handgun prices aren't really any worse than in the past, at least when you factor in the continual decrease of the dollar's buying power.

Posted: 1/7/2005 8:35:16 PM EDT

[#13]

I read where it only costs Gaston $75 to make his pistols. I doubt any long gun manufacturer has those kinds of margins.

Posted: 1/7/2005 8:40:25 PM EDT

[#14]

Prices are wacky. A pistol costs as much as a rifle, and there's "more stuff" to a rifle. It's like charging the same price for a Geo Metro and a fullsize pickup. Why would I spend $700 on an HK or SIG, when I can get an AR, or a FAL, and lots of accessories for the same cost?

Posted: 1/7/2005 9:35:52 PM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:
Prices are wacky. A pistol costs as much as a rifle, and there's "more stuff" to a rifle. It's like charging the same price for a Geo Metro and a fullsize pickup. Why would I spend $700 on an HK or SIG, when I can get an AR, or a FAL, and lots of accessories for the same cost?

+1

I never understood why a NIB AR can be had for @ $750 and that is only about $100-150 more then the average NIB pistol.

Posted: 1/7/2005 9:54:00 PM EDT

[#16]

There are lots of inexpensive decent and reliable handguns out there. One doesn't have to have the fanciest of everything to be well equiped.

Posted: 1/8/2005 1:45:06 AM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:
Why would I spend $700 on an HK or SIG, when I can get an AR, or a FAL, and lots of accessories for the same cost?

I'd like to see you CCW an FAL.

Thats one of the reason i've always been a rilfe man, you get so much more with a rifle for the same money.

Posted: 1/8/2005 2:44:33 AM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:
Prices are wacky. A pistol costs as much as a rifle, and there's "more stuff" to a rifle. It's like charging the same price for a Geo Metro and a fullsize pickup. Why would I spend $700 on an HK or SIG, when I can get an AR, or a FAL, and lots of accessories for the same cost?

Ther'es just as much or more machining and skilled labor in that HK or SIG as an AR or FAL, and the quality of the materials is the same. There's only a bit more material to the rifle.

In answer to the original question, YES.

Posted: 1/8/2005 3:29:41 AM EDT

[#19]

I got my SA Black Stainless, NIB, for $650.

All my friends hate me for it.

Posted: 1/8/2005 1:20:07 PM EDT

[#20]

"I'd like to see you CCW an FAL."

Isn't that what trenchcoats are for?

Posted: 1/8/2005 1:24:54 PM EDT

[#21]

Check around online too, most the stores here are $100+ higher then most places online.

Posted: 1/8/2005 2:18:51 PM EDT

[#22]

Gunmakers aren't getting rich. What you pay for a pistol, covers materials, labor to make it, cost of tools and machines to build them, overhead (accounting, human resources, etc), benefits ffor employees, cost of heating and lighting the facility, cost of the facility, research and development, warranty claims on pistols, a guy at the end of the line making $30k a year to merely inspect and box the pistol, and so on. Throw in taxes and insurance and its pretty expensive.

Posted: 1/8/2005 2:24:02 PM EDT

[#23]

How do you think they pay for the MILLIONS in lawyers fees to fight off all the lawsuits from the last 10 years trying to make them responsible for the illegal acts others do with their product?

Posted: 1/8/2005 7:40:47 PM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:
How do you think they pay for the MILLIONS in lawyers fees to fight off all the lawsuits from the last 10 years trying to make them responsible for the illegal acts others do with their product?

Good point.

Posted: 1/9/2005 7:04:56 AM EDT

[#25]

And shop around. It took my 10 years to find my current FFL, most everyone else is a ripoff.

And you might check used guns too, especially pawn shops.

Posted: 1/9/2005 12:39:13 PM EDT

[#26]

Quoted:
I read where it only costs Gaston $75 to make his pistols. I doubt any long gun manufacturer has those kinds of margins.

Kindly cite your source, please.

Posted: 1/9/2005 6:08:56 PM EDT

[#27]

Quoted:
Quoted:
I read where it only costs Gaston $75 to make his pistols. I doubt any long gun manufacturer has those kinds of margins.

Kindly cite your source, please.

www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2003/0331/064.html

Posted: 1/10/2005 8:58:06 AM EDT

[#28]

Source cited.

Posted: 1/10/2005 9:10:32 AM EDT

[#29]

Impressive that $75 could be that reliable. OTOH, I have read that 700 bolt actions cost about $150 to produce. That's very cost efficient.

Posted: 1/10/2005 10:19:55 AM EDT

[#30]

Springfield makes a mil spec. no frills .45 for about $500.

I'm making some extra money from doing taxes this year, so I've been looking around. I saw one Springfield mil-spec for $900 this morning. The other one I saw last week was "make an offer." When I offered $550, the guy asked me to leave his store. I'd love to find one for $500.z

Posted: 1/10/2005 10:28:09 AM EDT

[#31]

Just a couple of photos...G.I. and Loaded...as seen elsewhere on the forum.

Both are affordable.

MT

photo credit: brentwal

Posted: 1/10/2005 1:54:32 PM EDT

[#32]

I bought myself one of them cheap ass Rock Island 1911's for Xmas. Got it for $350, damn thing actually is reliable and shoots pretty good. Sight aren't as nice as my Kimber but for $400 less, who cares.

Posted: 1/10/2005 2:06:14 PM EDT

[#33]

With all the liberal, life sucking lawyers and politicians out to disrupt the freedoms of a citizen to own firearms and the cost of doing business in today's world they aren't too far out of order.

Posted: 1/10/2005 3:40:34 PM EDT

[#34]

Wow, I honestly had no idea 1911s were going for that much.

I now appreciate the Norinco 1911 bought for $210 or less a few years ago. My gunsmith (a 1911 buff) checked it all over and said it was absolutely milspec. The thing was an excellent shooter from day one.

I almost traded it off the week before last. I am very glad I didn't as the replacement cost would have killed me.

I am really glad this topic was posted. h.gif

-JmE-

BTW: I must be getting old or really cheap because paying any more than $400 for a sidearm is rare for me.

Posted: 1/11/2005 4:10:02 AM EDT

[#35]

Quoted:
Springfield makes a mil spec. no frills .45 for about $500.

I'm making some extra money from doing taxes this year, so I've been looking around. I saw one Springfield mil-spec for $900 this morning. The other one I saw last week was "make an offer." When I offered $550, the guy asked me to leave his store. I'd love to find one for $500.z

Milspec GI 1911 shouldn't be found for more than $600. Out here, they're 529. One other thing to think about, is that SA gave them away as part of one of their stocking dealer promotions.. order 2 of their high end 1911's, get a free GI 1911.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Man am I cheap or are handgun prices ridiculous???????

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