How Much Should You Pay for a Handgun?
If you can afford it, there is nothing wrong with carrying an ultra-premium handgun. I carried one for years. However, when considering the question, I decided to switch to a relatively inexpensive option, based upon the following rationale:
First, if you are involved in a defensive incident, you will almost certainly have to surrender your gun to law enforcement, and if and when you will get it back is an open question. The idea of handing over a Wilson Combat or Nighthawk Custom $3,000.00+ gun is not appealing.
Second, what are the two critical requirements for a defensive handgun? It has to be reliable; when you pull the trigger, it has to go bang every time, and you have to be able to shoot it well, meaning accurately and rapidly.
Reliability is not proportional to cost. Consider the following:
Any manufacturer of any product will on occasion produce a lemon. In that case, the issue is how the manufacturer (or dealer) will support you with repair or replacement.
Whatever the gun, you have to maintain it, keeping it both clean and lubricated.
Some guns have problems with some specific ammunitions. Be sure that you have successfully run at least several hundred rounds of your specific carry ammunition through the gun before settling on a specific brand and type.
Be sure that you yourself don’t stimulate a malfunction due to limp wristing.
Check reviews from credible YouTube channels. Note the emphasis on “credible,” as many reviewers are sorely lacking in understanding of physics.
Find a gun shop that you can trust for honest advice; not one whose main interest is the profit on a given sale.
Avoid extremely cheap guns. (Below $200.00 MSRP.)
How well you can shoot a gun is based upon many variables, key ones of which are listed here:
Does the gun fit your hand well? For examples; is the grip too wide? Is the distance from the rear of the grip to the face of the trigger too short or too long?
Related to point 1, do you employ the proper grip?
Are the sights on the gun optimal for your vision? If possible, purchase a gun on which the sights are replaceable.
Do you employ a proper stance?
How often do you practice, and do you practice correctly? Practicing with the wrong technique just establishes that wrong technique in your muscle memory.
Do you practice shooting under stressful conditions? Any defensive incident in which you may become involved will be nothing like shooting at the range.
Can you adequately manage the recoil to allow for rapid fire with accuracy?
Is the force required to press the trigger through the break point too much or too little?
Ideally, you should try a gun before buying it, either by rental at a shop with a range, or having a friend or relative let you try one that they own. Based upon experience with a large number of students, I have seen significant improvements in accuracy when a student switches from one gun to another, or switches from one type of sights to another.