Hey all. Was wondering if anyone has any experience with this handgun? Looking for something cheap to play around with. Thanks in advance! Rich

Most of the folks on here don't think much of the High Point handguns. I personally have one in 9mm that has literally been run over by a disk harrow, cleaned, and has never had a hang fire, misfire, or malfunction. Some refer to it as a paperweight, I have actually gotten extremely good service from mine and have heard from a few others who have been happy with theirs, as well. I use mine as a carry gun when I'm on the tractor or lawnmower, mainly as a snake killer, armadillo eliminator, and turtle slayer.

too lite to use as a boat anchor

Welcome to the boards rferello.

I would suggest you forgo the Hi Point and take a look at the Rock Island Armory offerings which is a much better handgun than the Hi Point.

Ok, well what are your thoughts on Kel Tech 9mm handguns? I am looking for an entry level gun, thus not looking to spend a fortune. Also, size matters. I would like something CCW'able, I know, picky...lol

I will agree with rthomas4.  I have a 9mm that I haven't had any trouble with, although I haven't shot it in a while.  My dad had a .40 cal that had a few misfires, but the 9 has been pretty reliable.  As long as you know what you are buying and what you are intending to use it for, you should be just fine with the Hi Point as an entry level plinker and limited self defense gun.  In my mind its a gun you don't have to worry much about getting banged up.

The Rock Island Armory guns are pretty nice guns, and their fit and finish are certainly much better than the Hi-Point, but their price range is also considerably higher for an entry level beginner hand gun. I can purchase a brand new Hi-Point for about $119.00, but a Rock Island is going to set me back an easy $499.00. At that price I'd opt for a Taurus PT1911, or even the new Remington for just a little more money. Hell, a S&W Sigma can be bought for less than $300.00, for that matter.

A Rock Island Armory 1911 style .45acp sells here in a gun store for $349.99 and it is a much better handgun. Being on a fixed income I understand the need to be frugal but when it comes to firearms I learned the hard way a long time ago to save a little longer and get the best you can afford and that way you don't end up being sorry for your purchase. I will also suggest if looking simply for a plinking handgun that you hit all the Pawn Shops as I have seen some really good prices on brand name firearms. For CCW protection I would never ever trust that to a Hi Point anything. Checkout http://www.cheaperthandirt.com and take a look at ALL the handguns they offer and some are priced low from my experience checking prices at both Gun stores and Gun Shows. Never ever under any circumstances pay full MSRP for a new firearm as you can always find it cheaper if you look around.

Thanks a ton for the info/advice guys. Going to do some more research

You asked about the Kel-Tec 9mm, I have a Kel-Tec P-11 that I purchased about twelve years ago. I've never had any problem with it, no jams, no misfires, no failures to feed. The trigger pull is stout, but then it's double action only. It's not a target gun, it's for personal protection and concealed carry.

If you want a good gun that is cheap to buy and not too expensive to shoot consider the S&W Sigma SW9VE. Is less than $300 new, as little as $200 used. Double action only and as many of the new guns, no safety. Stout trigger but if you are handy you can fix that. Good shooter, a little large to carry, accurate enough for self protection but also not a target gun - just a good all around plinker.

Big Dawg, an FFL dealer friend of mine would like to know the name of the gun store that is selling the Rock Island Armory 1911 .45 acp for that $349.99 price, and if those are new or used. He'd like to buy at least a dozen of them if they are new, since his dealer cost is $449.50 per unit. We looked up the price from Rock Island on his computer at the gun show in Ladson, yesterday. BTW, the company that makes the RIA, also makes the American Arms brand name, and dealer cost for them starts at $675.00.

For those interested in the Taurus PT-1911, the dealer cost on the plain Jane blued model with walnut grips and without rear sites is $499.00. The tricked out version with the trigger works and all of the bells and whistles, including the Rosewood grips and gold screws (which are now discontinued) has a dealer cost of $679.00.

For about $500.00, check out the new Springfield Armory mini-XD in .45 acp.  It has a stacked magazine, and is only slightly larger than the Ruger LCP.  It's a sweet little version that according to my dealer friend has a recoil only slightly more than a .32, it's a shorter, lighter and slimmer model that is perfect for concealed carry.

Hay rthomas4 - don't mean to butt in but I am a big fan on the Rock Island 45 ACP. I purchased mine 4 years ago adn that is about what I paid then (new with hard case). Bud's Guns in Lexington is the one with the best prices I know of and they are now $409.

I don't understand how these places can sell for less than dealer cost, unless they are really buying one hell of a lot of inventory at one time. I guess it's possible that like Wal-Mart, buying in bulk can get them some greatly reduced prices.

I know Bud's has a large retail facility complete with a 10 bay indoor shooting range and some sort of indoor plate range maybe another 5 bays. They also have a large retail facility about three blocks from their gun dealership that handles only gun safes - HUGE selection, and they have a gun warehouse and internet-only facility that I understand is a monster. I am sure they buy guns by the case. I have never seen such a selection and best prices on most items they carry. Oh, and they have an entire section for law enforcement. They have a comfortable chunk of the market! Good folks to deal with too.

J

I didn't realize they are that big. I know that SMKW recently put a knife counter in a Bud's location somewhere not too far from Sevierville.

RT I will go by the store sometime by this Sunday and give you the info after talking to the owner. I will also look again at the prices to make sure.

Dawg, I wasn't questioning you at all. It was just after talking with James and looking at his computer and pulling up all of the wholesale prices, he and I were astounded that someone could actually sell at the price you mentioned. I've come to a conclusion since this discussion started, and then after reading your e-mail about the price of the new XD at Gun Broker; that not all FFLs pay the actual manufacturer's wholesale price. Obviously, the bigger the outfit, the higher the volume of their purchases equals a less than published cost to that particular dealer; and James and I didn't consider that situation. I would have to assume that perhaps even smaller dealers than my friend may actually have to also pay even higher wholesale prices based on how much they purchase compared to the listed wholesale prices.

A good friend had a Pawn shop and of course he had an FFL license and I used to get to see his flyers from the makers and I was shocked at just how much the markup is on guns. The wholesale prices are akin to retail in that they are not a set in stone price. You are also right about the volume selling as the more one sells the cheaper the wholesale prices are. Most time Wal Mart have the lowest prices because they buy in a huge volume. They can and will also order any gun you want and their prices are low. I always ask to see their book they keep under the counter in the sporting goods dept as it has all the guns and their prices as well. For them to sell so low is an indicator of the huge volume of buying power. When they order for thier stores that sell firearms you haave to consider that they buy enough to fill a train car and at that high volume it is profitable for the maker to sell at lower wholesale prices which in that kinda volume they are making a big profit and payday all in one sell. Cheaper Than Dirt is another that buys in huge numbers and I was shocked at the number of firearms they sell on a daily basis. It's the same with ammo from them as they have about the lowest prices on brand name ammo and the cheap stuff is really cheap. Volume selling is a concept that some businesses don't get or simply won't use as they prefer the big profit up front from a smaller number of sells when if they would adopt the volume selling they would actually make more money but for some reason they don't get this and won't budge on their prices. I tried expalining this to a feller here who owned a convenience store about selling beer. His price for a 12 pack was the same price that one could by a case for at the local Racetrack and I suggested he lower his prices and offer a free bag of ice with a purchase of a case of beer ( he had his own ice making machine ) and bagged his own ice. I kept telling him where he was selling only around 60 cases a week the Racetrack was selling that many in a day at the cheaper price but was making more money simply by the volume sold daily. He never would listen and eventually lost his store because he could not pay the high price rent on the bulding because people would drive the extra couple of miles to buy almost twice as much for the same price he was selling. Some people are so greedy that they want it all ASAP when if they used the volume method of selling they would be more profitable but they can't see the forrest for the trees if you get my meaning. Anytime you decide to markup your product the smallest amount you can and still make a profit and use good advertising ( especially word of mouth which is free ) it may take a while for word to get around but when it spreads enough business will increase as will the profits. When I had an FFL my markup was only $50.00 per gun be it handgun or rifle/shotgun and I sold a lot of firearms and folks would drive quite a distance to buy from me. When the price of the FFL doubled and the regs got ridiculous I simply did not renew when my license run out. I know that when this happened a lot of fellers that were selling like myself all did as I did and stopped selling. In order to have kept the license and keep selling the cost would have had to been passed onto the customer which the ATF knew and was why they changed the price of the license and the regs requiring a higher overhead for the FFL holder. They did it to simly stop people such as myself from selling so many guns and sadly it worked as it became cost prohibitve for the smaller sellers.

I like my Kel-tec P11and would recommend it for a carry pistol with a couple of comments:
Do not expect it to run through 100,000 rounds - it's just not that robust.
Do NOT use +P ammo of any kind. Not only will it void the warranty, it is likely to not survive 200 rounds without things starting to bend. US GI 9mm ammo is +P.
Do not try to get paper punching accuracy by "staging the trigger" like a S&W revolver. Accuracy will be dismal. Just stroke straight through in one motion and you can expect 5" at 15yds - acceptable for this type of tool, but forget Zombie head-shots at 50 yds.
The tiny grip and very sharp recoil means this pistol is for folks with plenty of experience under their belt.