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I don't know what the odds are but I am looking to a decent .45 auto for wife while I am retraining for my reinlistment. I know $350 isnt alot but my wallet is much shorter than I . I know firestorms and taurus go for abaout this price so I figured I would give it a try.

Prefer a face to face in the killeen area so the condition of the pistol can be verified with both party's present. Thanks everyone.

The best option near your price range is the Rock Island.

Most report excellent service and they can be found for less than $400.

Centerfire Systems has the basic 1911 for $359.

http://www.centerfiresystems.com/index. ... rodID=1083

My only problem is unless I can do a Face to Face before monday I would be buying and the wife receiving as I leave for Ft. Benning on tuesday no gun shop would do that as it is considered a straw purchase. I will be gone for training for 3 month's as I am re-inlisting and must train for a new M.O.S so she'll be home alone. She doesnt want a pistol and I only own long guns right now. But I would feel better knowing she had it in the home if god forbide anything went wrong.

OK. Hopefully someone will chime in that has one to sell.

You can buy a firearm as a gift and it is not a straw purchase. As long as you know the recipient of the gift can legally own a firearm. This should be no problem for family members. I have done this for my son. And you can buy it for your self just leave it home when you’re not using it.

As your wife has no experience with a handgun have you considered a shot gun? Say a Mossberg 500 in 20 gage with an 18� barrel?

brianm2004 wrote:My only problem is unless I can do a Face to Face before monday I would be buying and the wife receiving as I leave for Ft. Benning on tuesday no gun shop would do that as it is considered a straw purchase. I will be gone for training for 3 month's as I am re-inlisting and must train for a new M.O.S so she'll be home alone. She doesnt want a pistol and I only own long guns right now. But I would feel better knowing she had it in the home if god forbide anything went wrong.

Don't give her the gun as a gift, just leave 'your' gun at the house while you are away. I don't think there would be any problem if left in the house and your wife had to use it for self defense.

How is a pistol that she's not going to shoot do her any good?

If she doesn't want it, then she's not going to practice with it. If she doesn't practice with it, she's not going to know how to shoot it when she does need it, leaving it open to be taken away and used against her.

To try to sum up a reply for the last 3 posts hore we go, LOL. My wife is currently in the Military still as I am not I got out 1 1/2 years ago but just at the last minute decided to reinlist to keep my wife from going to IRAQ in 2 months as we have a newborn at home so its my duty to step up. My wife has been shooting with me for over 4 years on all deiiferent calibers of pistols. She is just hard headed and feels more secure with her M4 but I cannot rish her having to fire it here in the home as safety is key for all parties involved (EXCEPT ANY POSSIBLE INTRUDER) and the round would easily penetrate walls.
Her biggest concern is spending alot of money before I leave as it will be almost 2 months before DFAS kicks in my pay so money will be tight with only 1 income for a bit. I am set to leave tuesday so If I buy something from gunbroker or auction arms I may not be here to receive it. I have been to a few gun stores local but the prices are insane as you may remember at one point I offered a .40 S&W Sigma for what I paid for it and had a few members tell me I was nuts for spending $450 plus tax. Needless to say I no longer have that pistol and only have 4 rifles. So here I am. Sorry, long winded I know. I would take a decent 12G short barrell synth stock. 20G im not sure of as I have never seen or fired one. Also I did just buy here a small pistol safe and bolted it to the wall next to the bed has the hand imprinted top for the combo.

Thanks for the concern everyone good to see people in the world still care for others. (sincere not sarcastic)

Good point keith. Thanks

If you get a chance to come up Dallas way, you could swing by the Big Town gunshow. It's going on this weekend, and you can easily find a pistol at 350 or under. Other than that, look at www.texasguntrader.com They have some stuff within your budget and you can go FTF, but that might require a drive.

You really might be better off with that shotgun idea - you can get a good one for less $$ than you can a pistol. About $220 for a Remington 870 at Academy in either 12 or 20. I have one in 12, but if I had it to do over again I would probably do 20 as I think it is more versatile with less recoil. I guess I'll just have to get the 20 for my son

A .45ASP is going to go through the walls too. A 20 gage is easier to handle the 12 but better then a 410. If you really feel a hand gun is needed get a revolver. Load it forget it need it a year from now it will still go bang, bang and bang again

brianm2004,

From one of your earlier posts, I take it that you have an M4? With the right ammo, something frangible, she might be better off with that. She's already familiar with it, she likes it, and as long as you're not using the M855 green tip, it won't have much energy left even if it does penetrate a wall. A shotgun with Birdshot would be the least likely to penetrate a wall, but with light bullets that M4 would be as safe as a pistol inside.

.223/5.56 caliber in a light varmit bullet, 52 or 55 grain.
Bullet design: Hornady VMax, or Sierra 52 or 55gr OTM. The OTM bullet is an open tip match design that looks kind of like a hollowpoint, but really isn't. It does, however, fragment better than most other bullet designs. They are actually designed for shooting in matches as they are very accurate. The VMax is made for shooting small varmits. It has a plastic tip and should fragment pretty well. You could also use Soft-tip bullets which is what some LEOs use, but they don't feed realibly in my M4.

Over-penetration will be a problem with most pistols anyway, so either way you have to be careful of what's behind your target. The M4 wouldn't be as handy as a pistol in a lock-box, but I'm just throwing one more option out there.

-ss

You should be able to pick up a Ruger P90 in that price range. Probably less for a used one. They are on the big side for carry, but are good, dependable pistols. I have had a P89 for almost 14 years with no problems.

Here are several on gunbroker.com

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Search ... 0&Cat=3026

Agree with 2 previous.

1. RIA 1911, 329.00 can be had, and cheapest is from Sarco. Customer service is crummy.
2. Buying a weapon for your spouse as a gift is not a straw purchase. If it were, half of us would be in trouble.