We exist in a firearms market where there are more choices than ever before. It’s a great market to be in, and we’ve seen the price of firearms fall, and we’ve seen budget firearms continually get better. There was a time when a Raven .25 ACP was a budget gun, but the performance of the modern budget gun blew those away. Sure, there are still a few guns marketed as budget CCW guns that aren’t as reliable, featured-filled, or well-made as they should be. With that in mind, here are the best, downright unbeatable budget CCW guns.
Unbeatable Budget Concealed Carry Guns
Taurus G3C
The Taurus G3C builds on the fairly popular and successful G2C series but with a few significant changes. The G3C series still features the odd but effective striker-fired system that utilizes a single action to fire the weapon, but if it fails to fire, the gun converts to double action. The trigger is pretty good. It’s no match-grade competition trigger, but it’s perfectly adequate for accurate shooting.
The sights are Glock pattern, making them easy to swap. The gun uses a 12-round double-stack magazine that’s compatible with SIG P226 and P229 magazines. The overall design won’t blow you away compared to other guns. The G3C doesn’t come off at the next step in handgun evolution.
What the G3C does right is provide a fairly accurate, reliable, and easy-to-shoot platform that’s small enough to conceal easily. It’s cheap enough to afford plenty of practice ammo alongside it. The wee little G3C goes bang over and over without issue. Taurus has made big changes with its quality control and designs, which has made the G3C an unbeatable budget CCW.
CZ P10S
I bet you didn’t expect to see CZ on the list. CZ is an interesting company. They produce high-end, four-digit price point competition pistols, average-priced duty pistols, and then the P10S. The P10S is the subcompact variant in the P10 family. The P10S isn’t your typical subcompact, either.
It’s a bit bigger than a Glock 26 but smaller than a Glock 19. It’s an odd size that does allow for a nice full grip on the gun, but it’s still easy to carry concealed. Some might call it the just-right size. The P10S is a striker-fired gun that uses a 12-round magazine and comes in 9mm. Besides being an interesting size, the P10S offers you plenty of awesome features.
The P10S comes with an amazing trigger that’s duty-oriented but crisp and fairly light. There is a very solid trigger reset, and it has a flat-faced design. Across the top are all metal sights, and right below the barrel sits a rail for a small light or laser. It’s an outstanding gun that is easy to find for a great price. It’s my personal favorite budget CCW gun.
Ruger LCP
The Ruger LCP was part of that original wave of pocket .380s. It’s always been an affordable design, and you can find the first generation pistols for as little as 200 dollars! The 2nd gen is a bit nicer all around but retails for about 300 dollars. These guns are small enough for anyone to carry and will squeeze right into your pocket for a convenient daily carry option.
The Ruger LCP is a double-action-only pistol that uses a single-stack magazine. You get six rounds in the magazine and one in the pipe for a very small and concealable pistol. The sights are quite small on the Gen 1 model but are improved on the Gen 2. The gun does have a locked breech, but the recoil can be a bit rough.
With a gun that small and light, you have to deal with some fairly harsh recoil. It’s not insufferable, but don’t expect a little gun to have only a little recoil. The little gun offers you excellent deep concealment and convenience at the cost of round recoil.
Bersa Thunder 380
Bersa doesn’t get the come-up they deserve. For many shooters in the mid-2000s and 2010s, they were the go-to option for a budget CCW. These Walther-like clones come from Argentina and provide a much more affordable option than the German Walthers. The Bersa Thunder 380 is their plain Jane model, but it still offers a lot of bang for your buck.
The blowback operation and fixed barrel offer you an interesting setup. Blowback translates into sharper recoil, but it’s still plenty easy to control and shoot. The fixed barrel helps with accuracy, and who doesn’t want that? The gun uses the standard DA/SA design that Walther was famous for.
It’s fairly big for a .380 ACP in the modern era, especially one with a single-stack, seven-round magazine. However, the larger size does make it much easier to shoot than something like the Ruger LCP. It’s an accurate little gun with capable sights and a great trigger and retails for about 300 bucks.
PSA Dagger
Palmetto State Armory has dived deep into the handgun world. PSA made its bones in the AR market but has dived into other realms quite successfully. The Dagger has become quite the family of handguns. At their core, they are clones of the Gen 3 Glocks. The Dagger Compact offers you a Gen 3 Glock 19 at a rock-bottom price with a ton of excellent features.
The Gen Glock design is well-proven, and it’s smart for PSA to capitalize on something so famous and beloved. This makes it easy to find spare parts, holsters, magazines, and more. The Dagger models come in a ton of varieties. This includes optics-ready models, different sights, tons of custom features, and more. It’s tough to pick one model as the best.
That’s part of the reason why it’s such an unbeatable budget CCW gun. It’s not only affordable but chock full of options. They can be had for under 300 dollars if you catch them on a good sale.
Keeping Prices Low
The world of budget CCW handguns has never been better. You don’t have to spend a fortune to protect yourself. A budget CCW makes it easy to afford training, ammo, and accessories to take you and your gun to the next level. Remember, having a gun doesn’t make you armed; being well-trained with your gun makes you well-armed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Travis Pike is a former Marine Machine gunner who served with 2nd Bn 2nd Marines for 5 years. He deployed in 2009 to Afghanistan and again in 2011 with the 22nd MEU(SOC) during a record-setting 11 months at sea. Travis has trained with the Romanian Army, the Spanish Marines, the Emirate Marines, and the Afghan National Army.
He serves as an NRA-certified pistol instructor and pursues a variety of firearms-based hobbies.
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