But the truth of it is, that a pistol from a reputable manufacturer is going to be better made, and have better features. It will be constructed of better materials, and probably has a good warranty from the maker (you can verify this before buying by seeing what the manufacturer's warranty policy is). And a firearm from a reputable maker will last a lifetime of shooting for the average user. So, if I have a $400 handgun, that I use for 40 years, it works out to under a dollar a month of use. Which is why saving up and buying a quality handgun is always a good idea.
Now, a lot of the more common and popular handgun brands cost five hundred dollars or more, with several thousand dollars being possible. And that is a lot of money to spend on a handgun, I understand that. So, I have found a way to get quality made firearms at a much lower cost than retail for a new gun. Within the used gun market, are what are known as "police trade in guns," and these are often some of the best buys you can make.
When a police department decides to switch out firearms platforms, often their old duty guns get sold to dealers at low cost. This means that these batches of police trade ins are comprised of firearms that have been in common use with law enforcement in the past decade. This isn't just limited to pistols either, I have also seen police trade in batches of Ruger Mini-14's, and Remington 870 Police shotguns. I have also seen most of the sidearms that people commonly want for defensive purposes, like pistols from Sig Sauer, Glock Smith and Wesson semi-automatics and revolvers, Beretta and Kahr. These firearms often sell cheaper than a normal used gun of the same model, because the dealers buy them in bulk. Often they sell for half or two-thirds of the new price. For example, in the past I picked up a $1,000 Sig 226 in 9mm for five hundred dollars. A lot of these pistols also have night sights on them, because they were used by police departments, and while they aren't as bright as new night sights, they are often still usable.
There are a few downsides to the police trade in firearms. First of all, is that they generally have some finish wear. These pistols have generally been carried a lot, and shot very little (usually only for yearly qualifications), so they have holster wear. I don't really have a problem with these, because my firearms are tools, and they are going to acquire holster wear from use. The other main problem is that you don't really get choices on what options you get. If you go on Sig Sauer's website, you will see that they have a lot of different trigger styles, and upgrade packages for the 226. The 226 that I bought was the normal variant, with their traditional DA/SA trigger. So, if you want a particular upgraded model, police trade ins probably aren't for you. You also don't know how many rounds the pistol has had through it, and every so often springs do need replaced in pistols, especially your recoil spring. But with the money you save, you can spend a few dollars for a new recoil spring. Another issue is that usually larger dealers buy up the batches of trade ins, so you either need to live close to them, or pay a transfer fee to your local gun store.
Overall, I have found police trade ins to be an excellent value, and a way to buy pistols that I may not be otherwise able to afford. I can tolerate some finish wear and needing to replace a couple of springs, in able to get a great functioning and shooting firearm. And here is a picture of some of my favorite police trade in pistols: The top row is a Smith and Wesson Model 64 revolver, and the aforementioned Sig 226 9mm (you can see some finish wear on the muzzle end of the slide) and the bottom row is a Glock 36, and Sig 220. Notice that with the Glock finish, and the stainless steel on the Model 64 the finish looks fine.
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