I have met guys carrying $3K to $5K Wilson Combat 1911's.

My most expensive carry gun is my Smith and Wesson 1911 PC, which I paid some $1200 for (could have been $1400, I can't remember).

I might would go $1500 for a Dan Wesson in .38 Super.

What is your upper limit cost-wise for a carry handgun?

ETA with the full thought


As much as i adore mfgs making a product perform better, and praise anything that will consistantly do that, there is a line being massively crossed here with “need”. All for the sake of vanity.
As an example... guccied out glocks and the base price they command have a significantly higher failure rate across the board, some do fine and i’m always happy to see that. Equally as happy to see guys out there with enough capital to run them through several thousands of rounds in competitions, which is the main end user they apply to. But they add less than nothing to a serious edc loadout, one you should be testing and shooting regularly. If your budget is 1500, that will cover a new stock ............. (insert basic and reliable carry gun here), some extra parts prone to initial failure, and a case worth of ammo. Maybe a desirable set of iron sights. That way any additional $ spent will be to patch holes in how to defend one’s self.

And in OP’s case, way more power to you if you already have a reliable gun.

None. If there’s one gun that’s worth shelling the money for, it’s the gun you carry - IMO, this has to be the best performing and most reliable gun you own. I totally understand guys who carry STIs and Gucci Glocks - if you have to defend your/other’s lives, why wouldn’t you want the best you can get?

But realistically too, not everyone has the money for that. I’d say under $600 can get you a nice EDC, like a 43x with new sights, P365, etc

Market price of a Glock <boring>

Apparently whatever the current value of an HK P7 PSP is.

I don’t have one. I carry whichever gun I want to carry. I don’t have any $5k Wilson’s but have STI’s I would carry.

Why does the cost matter? If it’s the often parroted fear of giving it up to the police of a shoot happens that’s the last thing I’ll be worried about.

If it functions, reliably, carry's well, and shoots with great accuracy then I'd carry it no matter the cost or cost accumulations.

Plus I carry for me and not what others think so there's that too.

Invest in ammo instead.

My Les baer with mammoth ivory grips is a regular in the carry rotation.

Used to think guns were expensive but it really wasn’t shit compared to the probably $1k/month I spent for years on ammo, training, and travel for matches.

I disagree with that statement in bold personally. I have added stuff to carry guns that work because the things that work, while not terrible, are not as good as other things could be. For instance I bought a sig 365xl. Good gun, shot it well. Added a red dot because that's better/faster than iron sights. Added a short grip module cause it fits me better. Adding some mag guts because that increases the capacity. Turned a $500 gun into ~$1k but all the additions were worthwhile and improve something.

Same with the Baer. I like 1911s. I shoot them well and enjoy them. That means I'm more willing to shoot them, enjoy cleaning and working with them, read, practice, and carry the platform. I always wanted a Baer and I see it as a lifetime purchase that will pass to my son at some point. I have competed with this one and another, and I know that they are reliable, and slightly more accurate than average.

The cost is a small factor. I bought my first Baer for like $1k, used. It has a legit 100k rounds through it. Assuming 20 cents a piece for reloads that works out to:
$20,000 in ammo
3285.7 POUNDS of lead that has been pushed into the dirt 230 grains at a time
I shot it in at least 5 states
I've shot it for 11 years
still accurate and defends my house.

could I do that with a glock? Probably. does that $500 purchase price difference matter? Not to me




who says you can't do both?

Absolutely winning
My carry is oem, but like you i added x-grip thingies to 13 round mags and installed better irons. Your post embodies all i was trying to say, your accessories are added as it befits on a low cost but reliable base gun, and even without all of them your very effective with it bone stock. That comment was more at guys who have to blow their whole load on an overly expensive purchase on the gun itself. They are then in so deep they pass up ammo, classes and buying power to become effective with the tool. YMMV obviously, OP was exclusively talking about 1911s afterall

And whatever it takes to do both is where my upper dollar limit is

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With ammo, it makes you a high roller!

I've been carrying my 9mm DW Guardian lately. Paid $1350 and probably have another $500 into it. I would have no problems carrying a Wilson, NHC, ACW, GI, etc. I also have Glocks that I carry with nothing more then upgraded sights. I guess if I had a $6k plus 1911 or something I probably wouldn't carry it, but who knows since I don't own one. Hell, I've carried a cheap Keltec P32 at times.

What did you do to it?

Which grips on the Guardian?  Love my Guardian 9mm.

If I can afford it, it gets carried.

After all modifications I like now, about $1k

I don't have an upper limit. If it's what I want to carry, it's what I carry.

I often carry a Baer concept VII sometimes a shield, I don't consider the value of the gun just weather it is appropriate for what I'm doing and what I'm wearing.

I’m of the mindset if I can afford to buy it, I can afford to carry it.  I have and carry a few Wilson and a few Ed Brown 1911s all somewhere in the 3k to 5k range.  I don’t feel any different than when I carry a Glock or Sig.  I’m not sure I understand the mentality of a modern defensive pistol being too expensive to carry.  The only thing that enters my mind about a carry gun is wether or not it is reliable and wether or not I shoot it to my ability.

carried a P7M8 for over 10 years, bought new for $1300, changed to a G43x this year because I wanted a lighter carry gun, not because of the worth of the P7

This.

Usually I carry a Kahr PM9 or a Glock 17.5 but it's not because they're inexpensive.

I carry a Wilson Professional Elite most of the time.  When my life depends on it, cost is not considered.

Don't have an upper limit but most do work within a budget.  Carry what you can afford and to train with as your life does matter.

CD

-Harrison hammer and sear
-Harrison trigger
-EGW disco
-Colt sear spring
-Harrison firing pin and firing pin stop
-Ed Brown sights
-Challis bushings
-EGW bushing and spring plug
-Houge grip screws
-Woodcaliber.com gaboon ebony grips






I just picked up another barely used 9mm Guardian for a backup. I'm doing the same thing with it, but different color scheme. Grips came in today. Desert ironwood.

https://www.woodcaliber.com/

Wood Caliber is da bomb. I have several sets of their grips.

I don’t have any set limits, but routinely carry a $600 or $3,000 option.

ETA:

It’s not a money issue as much as a functional requirement issue.

I regularly carry a Sig P226 Tac Ops and a Sig Scorpion Carry TB 1911.  If I pickup a Staccato P someday, I'll probably carry it to.

Priciest I've carried was a Five-Seven, so 1200 or so thus far.
The stuff beyond that is getting into custom/semi-custom territory, and well into what I consider "very serious money." If I had say a $5k Ed Brown 1911 I'd be fine carrying it, but odds are I'd never buy it in the first place because I don't care enough about 1911s at this point to put down that much money.

2nd the motion.....

better question is how much do you value your life?  if its what you shoot best and reliable then its worth it.  If you can save on initial costs then spend the rest of the money on training

Realistically, around $1k. Much more than the pre-rona price of a glock, night sights, - connector, good light, and holster.

As noted, basically anything fancier than a standard m&p, glock, etc is only for vanity and really brings nothing to the table as far as actually putting rounds on target in the real world.

That said, I often carry my fnx45 with a x300 and rmr just because. At the likely less than 10 yards I’d use the thing, it probably wouldn’t make a difference versus my g19 with a tlr3 on it. All in all that makes the fnx around $1800.

If I had a gucci/bbq gun, which one day I will, I will absolutely carry it. Only on special occasions, but carry nonetheless. Namely just because I don’t want my $3k+ gun getting dicked up doing more mundane activities. I absolutely would not be afraid to use it, but it’s like having a 57 Chevy. You only drive the thing on Sunday, take the beater to work.

I take my classic convertible to work and carried my baer with mammoth grips to Lowes and the Grocery store this morning.

The one I carry 95% of the time is 15 years old.  At this point in time, considering the ammo, worn out holsters, light batteries, mods for an RMR, spring changes, cleaning supplies, etc., it’s basically free.  

Unless you change your carry gun every year to some newest Gucci stuff, the price of the gun, even if the difference of a grand is minimal, compared to the rest of money spent.

Yep.

The cost of a stock Glock 19 with an APLC.

Easily replaced if I don't get it back for whatever reason.

Ironically, the people that say that are the ones that don't have something nicer than an M&P, Glock, etc.

In this case, with me, you’d be right. It’s like the timex vs rolex. When objectively the only goal is to figure out what time it is walking down the street, the $20 timex does just fine. When the goal is to put a couple rounds on target, it really doesn’t make much difference whether it’s a glock or a baer...

Damn if the Baer doesn’t compliment the rolex, and shoot real sweet too, but we all know it won’t be the reason you successfully defended yourself. The success was from lots of good training and practice, and you’d have done just the same with a m&p.

I’ll never be convinced otherwise, even after I eventually get a high end piece.

A Platinum goes just as fast and holds just as much junk in the bed as a XLT.

ETA: I’m happy for you that you can afford to scratch up your high end show pistols. Whatever I carry will get beat to shit in short order. Maybe later I’ll snap some pics of my G19.

I rarely call out something as stupid, but this is a stupid post.  I smells of jealousy.  Vanity?  Oh really, you are so smart you know why everyone carries what they carry and the only reason to spend more money that you deem necessary is vanity?  Stupid.

Gucci Glocks have a significantly higher failure rate?  Wtf are you talking about?  Prove it...You're stating your bias and opinion as fact..  That comment is just stupid.  My Shadow Systems are all laughing at your comment.  

Gucci Glocks intended market is competition?  Nope.  Stupid.  They add nothing to a serious EDC load out?  Stupid.  Better trigger for one, better grip texture, no hump on the back strap, better slide serrations, etc...easy to prove you wrong there.

Then you go on to say if a budget for a carry gun is $1,500 that someone should spend less and buy ammo and training?  why do you assume someone doesn't have money for ammo and training in a different budget?  You make a lot if assumptions about why people carry guns and what certain guns are for.  Here my assumption, youre a jealous poor.  If someone can spend $100,000 on a carry gun, I can't afford to do that.  However, I wouldn't be so ugly inside to assume their gun unreliable just because it's expensive.  Nor would I be so ugly inside to assume they spent all their money on a gun and can't afford ammo or don't train with it.

If a standard Glock is all you can afford, that's fine man. It's a great gun and will serve you well.  However there are more expensive guns that are better.  Be ok with that, don't be a hater.

I buy expensive guns.  I shoot expensive guns.  I carry what I shoot, thus I end up carrying expensive guns.  I don't care if I scratch them. They are tools, not show pieces as you stupidly refer to them.  It would dumb of me to spend my time shooting expensive guns on the range and then carry a stock glock.

If you only want to buy and shoot what you "need," have at it.  I left need behind a decade or two ago.  Why do you have a probelm with that?  Stop making so many assumptions, you look silly.  The question is what is YOUR upper limit for a carry gun, not what is the absolute minimum you spend to have an acceptable carry gun, or much do you NEED to spend on a carry.  

To answer the OP, I don't have a budget.  I carry whatever I shoot the best and am confident in.  Over my shooting career that has ranged form a $500 gun to a $4,300 gun.  I'd not worry about spending more if I found a carry gun I liked.  It's intended use is to save my life.  I'll pay for an advantage if there is one to be had.

why would I put a $$ limit on the gun I am potentially trusting to potentially save my life, my family or others.  

I carry a chambers custom alot, i want the best i can get

I carry a $2200 Ed Brown Evo.  I've also carried much cheaper guns.  Carry what you shoot well.  I compete(d) with 1911s and 2011s, so a good CCO format 1911 is the perfect carry gun for me.

Pretty much.  So far nothing over $1400, and only a couple of those.

It used to be five or six hundred bucks but I'll go a grand in this market.

Tier one all the way...

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As of now I can't think of a pistol I'd buy that I wouldn't carry. I'd say the limit I'd currently spend on any one pistol, all in, would be around $2k. On average what I have carried is under $1k though, closer to $700-$800 with nightsights etc.

I carry based on performance/suitability.  Price isn't a factor.

Price isn't a factor for me.  If I own it and want to carry it I do.

I've carried a Les Baer and 1* 1911 for years.  Hk's a Sig 220 Elite

I now carry a G48 with Shield mags-- not Gucci'd but it does have a flat Overwatch trigger and an aftermarket slide.  I've got a few thousand flawless rounds through it..

Cost isn't the issue.  

Hell, I've carried a .380 Keltec when it was the only option... Although I do dislike that gun, as far as shooting it goes.

When I was younger a Glock 19 at the $500 -$600 mark.
When my state went to a 10 round mag limit, I went back to the 1911 platform.
So A decent Colt Commander with some work done to it put it somewhere in the $1800 to $2000 , that's price of the gun and the price of the work together.
I recently picked up a Used Nighthawk Talon 2 Commander for under three grand that is my current carry gun.

I had around $1000 in my m17 with red dot. Got rid of it. Now I would say my Glock 35 with optic cut, holosun, and surefire x300. So around $1200 full retail. I would be content on a blue label Glock with upgraded sights just fine as well. I’m going to save up for a staccato though and if it is awesome it may be a edc. I have shot a staccato p but I was not blown away because the mag was acting up. It was a rental gun so I don’t hold that against it.

I've carried my P320 VTAC R2 with DDP and TLR1, its around $1,100, and that's with the screaming deals I got on it.  With other crap, and taking off the DPP, I'm in for about $1,000 on it at the moment.  If I had to use it, I'm not worried about the money it'll cost to replace as much as I'm glad I'm still around to replace it.

Now it wouldn't be my first choice to carry an irreplaceable gun that I liked.  Like something out of production or my dad's P220 from his DPS days.