Impulse gun purchase?

[Kevin]

I finally got around to buying a scope / red dot rail for my Thompson Contender 22lr barrel. I posted about that this summer.

The screws holding the sight were far too tight for me. I didn’t want to gouge the barrel if the screwdriver slipped. So I took it to a gunsmith. $35, which I just look at as cheaper than having to look at a horrible scratch.

Anyway, I came home with two guns. I browsed their gun counter. This was Rays Sporting Goods in downtown Dallas. A pretty nice old fashioned gun store.

They had some nice Sig Sauer pistols, and one of the P320s came home with me.

I don’t usually buy guns on impulse, but couldn’t resist. Besides my wife is out of town and couldn’t say anything.

Anyone else buy a gun on the spur of the moment?

The thing about the P320 I liked is the modular design. Apparently you can swap the trigger (“fire control unit”) out and buy new grip frame and slide/barrel. So you have a completely different gun setup.

Pretty cool stuff!

 

[contender]

It's funny you mentioned the Sig 320 as a spur of the moment purchase. About 1-1/2 years ago,, Miss Penny & I were "loafing" in the Greer, Greenville SC area,, cruising thrift stores,, pawn shops & gun shops.
I had seen a few 320's and had shot a couple after a USPSA match here. Kinda liked it a fair amount. I'd given thought to finding a handgun that could be used in different categories in USPSA,, (Carry Optics, Limited Optics) and the Sig 320 was a gun in the back of my mind as a potential candidate. Well, I wandered in a gun shop,, and they had a 320 in the used section,, and with a little bit of negotiation, it was purchased & sent to my NC FFL.
I put a Burris FF III on it,, and have classified with it in Carry Optics,, Open, and working on Limited Optics currently.
Good guns!

(PS; You can get different bases for the magazines,, allowing a few more rounds in the mags. I recommend the Taran Tactical ones!)

 

[Kevin]

That’s awesome! I’m glad to hear good things about this pistol. I didn’t know much about it other than the name and Blume speaks so highly of the Sig Sauer brand.

I would like to know what optic plate you bought to mount the Fast Fire 3. Mine has that cut for a red dot also. I guess they all probably do.

Those plate systems to mount red dots are really popular for pistols. I guess it’s a good design. Hope so anyway.

 

[eveled]

My post from a few years ago

https://www.rugerforum.com/threads/impulse-buy-mini-14.156188/

 

[krw]

40 years ago I usta go with my Uncle to Ray’s. Always had a huge selection. Also Ray was from Arkansas and was raised bout 35mi from where I live. Hav bought several of their firearms online through GB. And I hav bot a plethoria of guns on a whim. Thats what Tulsa was all about!!!

 

[davevabch]

My son carried the 320 m17 while in Iraq. When he came home I bought him one, put a new Wilson Combat grip on it. Nicest shooting gun I have shot, Problem is, he is moving to Salt Lake So, selling off some guns to get my own. Maybe the M18. God Bless America.

 

[Threespears]

Eat,Drink,and be Merry ,for tomorrow you may be in salt lake

 

[SamV]

Keven asks “Anyone else buy a gun on the spur of the moment.”

ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha, Well, maybe one. More laughing.

 

[Mobuck]

Impulse buy? Well sort of. Oct 10, I had an agency meeting in Columbia MO. I'd been looking at 20 gauge semi-auto shotguns for a while and decided that trip to a place with at least 5 medium to large size stores that sold guns would be an excellent opportunity to cover a lot of options. I had in mind several models that seemed suitable on paper and pictures but when I hit the second store, I had to make a decision. I was picking through the used gun rack when a store employee asked what I was looking for. When I told him the basic desire, he suggested I check out the "been here a year and we want them gone' rack of new guns.
On that display was a brand I'd not studied or considered but it fit fine and was priced at 60% of the other brands I'd been thinking about. When I found that the gun used the popular Beretta/Benelli choke tubes, I was sold. I guess that counts as spur of the moment/impulse buy? Sort of wish I'd bought the goofy looking 'turkey' model also--now that would have been absolutely an impulse buy.

 

[blume357]

You know the Sig P320s will go off all by themselves right? Check the infernet ... it's a fact.... at least that a number of folks have claimed this....

For those that don't know it... I also own a Sig P320. the compact model.... oddly, it has yet to go off with out me pulling the trigger.... Mine came with the factory 'Romeo' red dot.... the last two times I took a 4 day defensive handgun class I shot a perfect score qualifying... the last time with no time penalties.... and one of the funny aspects of this is the gunsmith at this place who had a big Glock tattoo on his arm absolutely insisted the pistol would never be accurate.

My last impulse buy.... but I think I've had a number was a Sig P250 in .380.... off the internet... the real problem was when I went to pick it up at my FFL there was a just barely used Sig P226 Single Action Only Legion trying to jump out of the display case at me.... which it managed to do the next day.

 

[davevabch]

A good friend of mine. RO at my club, former military armory, competitive shooter etc. had a gun go off when he was reaching in to put items in his car for the range. His gun was in his holster. The gun went off and the bullet traveled all the way down his leg just missing vital arteries . Horrible wound.
He swears to this day the gun went off by itself. I totally disagreed as this is not possible.

The gun was a GLOCK.

 

[Kevin]

@blume357 with the red dot mounted on the p320, does it mount directly to the pistol or do you need one of those plates?

I’m not a big fan of Sig Sauer’s website. It seems very unorganized like they can’t afford good computer people.

 

[contender]

"He swears to this day the gun went off by itself."

I've heard some of these stories about the 320. Never seen it do it etc. And in USPSA,, where folks are very active & trying to engage targets from the draw as quickly as they can,, you'd think if there was a problem,, it'd be addressed there.

And of course,, Alex Baldwin didn't pull the trigger on that SA handgun either.

HAH!!!!!!!!!!

Kevin, without going to look, I think Sig has their guns that accept a red dot built in a fashion to accept their branded red dots that mount directly to the slot they cut in the slide. I think other brands like my Burris may need a plate. I'll check later.

Ok, I just checked.
My Burris uses an adapter plate.

 

[XUSNORDIE]

Not really a "impulse" buy, but a frantic search and buy. My Son enlisted in the Navy last year (DEC), but was in DEP until he graduated high school. He left for boot camp a week after graduation (JUN). He's a good shot, been shooting/hunting most of his 18yrs. Even though the M18 was announced as the Navy's service pistol, the M9 was still being used in boot camp. So I purchased a M9 for him to get familiar with. I bought the exact holster and belt as well extra mags so he could fire the same qualification course as written. Everything was going great. He got in a ton of range time over the Spring. He scored expert consistently. As a former Navy Small Arms Instructor no blood of mine was going to graduate boot camp with less than expert! No "naked" marksmanship ribbons in this family lol. A month before he left it was announced that Navy RTC Great Lakes had just switched over to the M18....the search was on. Found one and he was able to get familiar with it, but not like he was with the M9. So I ended up with two pistols I would not have ever purchased if it was not for my Son joining the Navy.....FWIW, I don't really care for the M9 or M18....give me my 1911 any day, and it's not a 45ACPvs 9MM thing....I like my P226 better than the M9 or M18.

Trio of Service Pistols 1911 M9 M18

P226 next to M18 for comparison

30 RD "Watch Stander" qual...Pretty much the first course of fire I do with any new pistol
15 Yds
10 Slow Fire 10 Timed Fire 10 Rapid Fire
You can see each group slow on bottom, timed in middle, rapid on top. I didn't do that with the 1911 or M18.

 

[Hvymax]

It's funny you mentioned the Sig 320 as a spur of the moment purchase. About 1-1/2 years ago,, Miss Penny & I were "loafing" in the Greer, Greenville SC area,, cruising thrift stores,, pawn shops & gun shops.
I had seen a few 320's and had shot a couple after a USPSA match here. Kinda liked it a fair amount. I'd given thought to finding a handgun that could be used in different categories in USPSA,, (Carry Optics, Limited Optics) and the Sig 320 was a gun in the back of my mind as a potential candidate. Well, I wandered in a gun shop,, and they had a 320 in the used section,, and with a little bit of negotiation, it was purchased & sent to my NC FFL.
I put a Burris FF III on it,, and have classified with it in Carry Optics,, Open, and working on Limited Optics currently.
Good guns!

(PS; You can get different bases for the magazines,, allowing a few more rounds in the mags. I recommend the Taran Tactical ones!)

What is the accuracy like? I have always preferred full rails like the CZ & 1911 for accuracy. Off a rest I haven't found the little tabs guns as accurate. I know offhand is more about ergos but a solidly mechanically accurate pistol that fits has always been my preference.

 

[contender]

I haven't tried any mechanical tests with my Sig because I don't have an insert for it. But I do know I see a fair number of the 320's in USPSA competitor hands & their accuracy seems to be just fine. I know mine is very good too.

 

[Rum River]

Anyone else buy a gun on the spur of the moment?

Oh man.......not today .....but it's early yet.

A couple months back strolled into a decent pawn shop I check regularly.
Came home with a Ruger American Ranch in 7.62x39 and I'm very happy with it.

About a month ago went into my local gun shop - just 'cuz.
For some reason I've always kinda lusted after a Para Ordnance P14.
My store had this.....

Ten years old - LNIB with only 75 rounds fired. Within 5 minutes I was filling out paperwork.
My buddy (the owner) says: "Like shooting gun nerds in a barrel.......".

 

[Hankus]

My post from a few years ago

https://www.rugerforum.com/threads/impulse-buy-mini-14.156188/

I picked up a wood/stainless Mini 30 for the same price around that same time. I was at the big Tampa gun show. It wasn’t quite an “impulse buy” because it was on my “wish list” …

 

[gjgalligan]

You went it in to get 2 screws broken loose and ended up buying 2 guns.

And he still charged you $35 to loosen 2 screw?????

 

[Hankus]

I bought a P250 in .40 about 10 years ago just because it was a “buy” and found I didn’t really care for it; it didn’t fit my small to medium hands and the double-action trigger pull was too long for my taste. I traded it straight-up for a 1980 vintage Blackhawk convertible.357/9mm, 6-1/2” barrel in like-new condition at a show around three years ago. I was digging around through my “extras” box a few weeks ago and ran across a P250 magazine and a box of spent .40 brass … I’ll probably do a “karma” soon to get rid of some of that stuff. Come to think of it I think there was a new Sig night sight in there too…

 

[RC44Mag]

About 1990 I had recently purchased a Colt HBAR from a nearby gunshop. I went back to pick up a new scope I ordered for it, Colt 4X scope which had just came in. While there they had a display of Beretta 21A’s on the counter just like candy at a supermarket checkout and the little beaut was at a price I couldn’t walk away from.

 

[Kevin]

You went it in to get 2 screws broken loose and ended up buying 2 guns.

And he still charged you $35 to loosen 2 screw?????

No, I just bought one gun. The gunsmith is almost a separate store. Not sure how it’s setup but it seems like they don’t have much to do with the rest of the store.

Besides Rays is a big, big sponsor of my gun range. They donate guns to be raffled off at the annual BBQ. I’ve won two of them over the years.

It’s all good.

What I don’t like are gun stores with shooting ranges. I don’t like when if you buy a gun they don’t throw in an hour of range time. There were a few like that back in Illinois and one here in town.

I don’t buy guns from them.

 

[Kevin]

Oh man.......not today .....but it's early yet.

A couple months back strolled into a decent pawn shop I check regularly.
Came home with a Ruger American Ranch in 7.62x39 and I'm very happy with it.

About a month ago went into my local gun shop - just 'cuz.
For some reason I've always kinda lusted after a Para Ordnance P14.
My store had this.....

Ten years old - LNIB with only 75 rounds fired. Within 5 minutes I was filling out paperwork.
My buddy (the owner) says: "Like shooting gun nerds in a barrel.......".

View attachment 32533
View attachment 32534
View attachment 32535

That is a nice pistol! I would have been really tempted as well.

 

[JiminMaine]

A few years ago I was in a local shop looking for a single-six. As I was leaving my eyes passed over the rack of long guns and locked on a No.1 lever. I am always looking for interesting No.1s. I asked to look at it and saw it was in 243. I already had a 243 so I was going to put it back and then saw it has a 4-digit serial number. He was only asking $700 for it. I took it home. After posting about it on this form I was inundated with offers to buy it. It was a BHS and only a handful were made in 243 that first year. I held off for 4 months and then sold it for $2800. That allowed me to buy a few other guns.

 

[kmoore]

Sometimes while shopping, you just have to buy it because you want it.
I have purchased firearms that I wasn't looking for but felt it was a good price on a good gun. Some turn out as keepers, some not so much.

 

[WanderLust]

They're ALL impulse buys! Some just take 2-3 years to work out the details....

 

[Mobuck]

Four years ago, Son and I were in Brownell's showroom and I saw a TC Compass II on the display of 'rack worn' rifles at a very attractive price. That one was a 243 Win but I commented to Son if it had been a 6.5 Creedmoor, I'd buy it. He walked around the end of the rifle display with one in that caliber and at that point, I couldn't back away. It's a good rifle but one must be careful with the magazines which are polymer, tend to break, and have become unobtanium.

 

[Sturgis270]

You know the Sig P320s will go off all by themselves right? Check the infernet ... it's a fact.... at least that a number of folks have claimed this....

For those that don't know it... I also own a Sig P320. the compact model.... oddly, it has yet to go off with out me pulling the trigger.... Mine came with the factory 'Romeo' red dot.... the last two times I took a 4 day defensive handgun class I shot a perfect score qualifying... the last time with no time penalties.... and one of the funny aspects of this is the gunsmith at this place who had a big Glock tattoo on his arm absolutely insisted the pistol would never be accurate.

My last impulse buy.... but I think I've had a number was a Sig P250 in .380.... off the internet... the real problem was when I went to pick it up at my FFL there was a just barely used Sig P226 Single Action Only Legion trying to jump out of the display case at me.... which it managed to do the next day.

Locally the City of Milwaukee traded off their p320's. Brother-in-law recently retired from there and was nervous about carrying one. If memory serves me right I believe they had video of a Detective getting out of a car with both hands visible when his firearm discharged.