$1000 Dollar guns..why?

[SOLOLUCKY]

Ok, so I ask "1000 bucks for that Kimber...but its pretty nice..." Les Baer...2300!! man the list goes on.

So I just fell into about 1300 dollars. I want a Kimber Raptor II, its $1022 locally. Fair price i guess. But I hear folks say "don;t carry no $1000 gun, if ya use it the cops will throw it in a bin..on and on.. mistreatment, confiscation...etc."

So i ask you, how many people carry $1000 guns?
Would I be foolish to buy my Raptor and carry it? use it? and god forbid...actually shoot it.? (sorry)

My guns are used, shot, not neglected or abused, but used fer sure!
I don't like safe queens but I do have my favorites.

Yer take please.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[MNBurl]

Nope, I don't carry +1000 dollar guns. No need to IMHO unless you want to.

[OPFOR]

I'm of the opinion that you should carry the gun that you are most comfortable and competent with, assuming it meets some basic criteria as a self-defense weapon. If you're truly that worried about the gun being mistreated post-shoot - considering all the other things that are going to happen to you - I would suggest that you aren't really in the proper mind-set to be carrying... As always, YMMV.

[CLASS3NH]

I've got several..........
HKP7(2) A S&W Model 39 converted to the ASP (paid 550.00 is now worth 3000.00) and I carry the ASP from time to time. CDP, several hopped up Magnaport guns. If yu think about it, the prices for good quality Mfgrs is right up close to or exceeds the 1K mark.

[freetrapper]

I think if you can afford it and it is what you feel comfortable shooting it then feel free to carry it. It will make a great carry piece. Now if the question would have been do you need a +1,000 dollar gun to carry the answer is absolutly not! There are a lot of great guns at around or under $500 that would make great carry guns. Glocks, XD's, S&W to name a few.

Remember it is a tool to use. I carry every second of every day and I have rolled under my car to check the muffler, I fell off of a ladder this past weekend and fell right on my pistol, I was landscaping in the yard and was on my knees in a hole and got dirt in the holster. I clean it and treat it well but a true carry gun can see some serious use other than just at the range.

[briansmech]

ive never met a gun that felt more than twice as good, or shot more than twice as good, or was more than twice as easy to carry and conceal, than an XD, or before that, ruger p-series.

its satisfying to be at the range, shooting next to someone with a kimber or hk, pull those targets in, and lean over and ask how much they paid for something that didnt shoot any better..... or the one time this guy with this admittedly nice wilson 1911 he said he'd paid ~$3000 for, repeated FTF/jam....the third time was when i asked him how much he'd paid for it.... bit my lip, but it was too late. he asked what i was shooting "XD45, compact. wanna try it?"

i let him borrow mine while i worked my 638 a while.

while packin up, he asked how much.... i told him, he stopped on the way out to talk to the salesman about "upgrading" from his wilson to a springfield, rofl!!! his word, not mine....

[Glock 'em down]

As a Glock owner, my guns get used quite often, and sadly, neglected and ALMOST abused...but then again, they are tools - NOT toys! I think $1K (or more!) for a handgun is ridiculous! Especially one that requires a "breaking in" period such as the 1911 family of pistols.

To sum it all up, a friend of mine made the comment that really describes the $1K+ 1911s...

"1911s are like Harley Davidsons...Beautiful, expensive and ALWAYS needing work!"

[ccw9mm]

So I just fell into about 1300 dollars. I want a Kimber Raptor II, its $1022 locally.

New. You can find a good used 1911 pistol for $500-800 all day long, if you're patient and wait for what you want. It'll be broken in, have a history of what works/doesn't, etc. This can be an effective way to cut the price nearly in half while obtaining a fine pistol.

[SIXTO]

I've been notorious for not liking "cheap" guns, but you don't need a $1000.00 dollar gun. If you want one, thats a whole other story.
I would worry more about the daily abuse a carry gun is subjected to. If I get into a shooting, I won't give a damn about my pistol. That would be on the bottom of my priority list. Even if its worth 10k, thats chump change compared to whats ahead.
A carry gun is a tool to use, not a show piece. If you are going to be worried about the guns finish, damage etc., dont carry it. If coming into an extra 1300 is a rare occasion, dont put it into a carry pistol. Its a quick way to turn 1300 into 500.
FWIW, guns taken off the street need to be boxed seperatly from other articles. Granted, its are not taken care of like you would take care of it, but they are hardly thrown into a bin until they are off to the big melting pot.

[OldMick]

I think I read someone's advice, maybe Dave Spaulding, regarding a concealed carry handgun that (paraphrased) was, "Buy the highest quality handgun you can afford".

I think that's good advice, but many of the handguns I like would be considered "high quality" depending on your definition. Glock's, S&W, Sigs, etc., etc. are all on my list. Once I determined which guns make the "quality" cut, then I just needed to decide which one feels the best, works best for me to conceal etc.

So after poking around and trying several, I decided on Sigs. They're not the cheapest, nor the most expensive, but I simply prefer them.

My primary carry gun has some holster wear and a worn spot below the mag catch from my wedding ring (lefty). Does it bother me? Nope, it just says that I carry it a lot and practice often.

Would I be really upset if my 239 or 229 was destroyed, broken or confiscated? Absolutely. Can I afford to replace - it would be painful, but I could do it.

So I guess the short answer is - if you prefer the Raptor over the other choices, and can afford to replace it, even if it hurts a little to do so, I'd carry it without a second thought. And besides, if the cops are confiscating your handgun, that's probably the least of your worries.

[OPFOR]

FWIW, guns taken off the street need to be boxed seperatly from other articles. Granted, its are not taken care of like you would take care of it, but they are hardly thrown into a bin until they are off to the big melting pot.

That may be the right way to do it, but - like in anything else in life - that isn't always the way it's done...

Not to get too far OT, but... Once I literally found a S&W 2nd generation auto, in pretty darned good shape, washed up on the shore of the Delaware River in western NJ. I dutifully (and carefully, not knowing its ammunition status) picked it up using a cloth, wrapped it gently, and took it to the nearest police precinct to turn it in. I was, of course, thinking that this weapon had very likely been used in the commission of a crime - why else would someone throw it in the river?

In any case, the desk sergeant was very courteous when I brought it in, took a VERY brief statement from me about the circumstances, and then proceeded to zip lock the still soaking wet, possibly loaded firearm into a plastic bag. I shuddered inwardly, and mentioned to the officer that he might want to clear it and store it in a matter that wouldn't guarantee that it would rust shut in a matter of days, but he assured me that this was policy and everything was just hunky-dory. So, I can only assume (some seven years later) that there is one less serviceable S&W out there. Had it been a $3000 Wilson, maybe I would have put up more of an argument…

[SIXTO]

That may be the right way to do it, but - like in anything else in life - that isn't always the way it's done...

Well, yeah... good point.

You picked something up off the shores of Jersey with your bare hands? Eww.



RLTW.

[arcticelf]

Do you need to spend that much on a gun to get good quality: No.
Do I want to get a high end Wilson 1911: yes.

If you have the money, go for it. I think there is some return for the money spend on guns in that class. But I dont think its linear. The difference between a 400$ Auto-Ordinance 1911 and a 650$ Para-Ordinance 1911 is alot more then the diference between the Para and the Kimber. Thats my experiance, having owned the first two and shot the third.

I wouldn't be worried about having the gun taken and miss-treated after a shooting. Similarlly I'm not worried about holster wear on a 2K$ gun, I expect it to happen (and I think a gun looks beter after the finish is 'broken in' on the holster), and I'm okay with that. Some people aren't.

Get the gun you want, that you can afford. Dont forget though: you will need accesories and such for the gun, so take that into consideration of the price.

AE

[OPFOR]

You picked something up off the shores of Jersey with your bare hands? Eww.

Hey, don't believe the hype. There are some nice beaches on the Jersey shore... Of course, that's the ocean, and doesn't apply so much to the banks of the Delaware in the Trenton-Camden area... :)

[gotammo]

At 7 yards or less a $500 gun shoots as well as a $3000 gun save some $$ and buy ammo. I picked up a Taurus 1911 and it shoots great so for me to pay 2, 3, 5 times as much doesn't make sense to me.
As far as a shooting I would pay a $1000 to still be alive.