Indians For Guns

Hi everyone,
I want to buy a handgun (automatic, NOT a revolver) and my budget is upto 4 lakhs. I would appreciate your suggestions for good handguns (No IOF guns), preferably foreign made. I apologize for my lack of knowledge of technical terms since I am a newbie in this field .. I just hope the veterans out here would consider my ignorance, especially with technical terms

Thanks for your "prompt" replies, in advance.

Regards,
cacsus

Unfortunately, the Government of India under the Indian Arms Act and under the Rules thereunder do not allow civilians to hold automatic weapons. Do check your license carefully and see for what type of firearm you have been issued a license.If it is a normal revolver or pistol of NPB, please note that there is no yard stick for the price.Sky is the limit. Import of firearms is under the restricted list. All that are in circulation in the market, therefore, fetch fancy price. The only firearms available under a somewhat controlled price are the three IOF products.Although they are capable of causing fatal injury, they do not have any snob value amongst the elite.

IFO .32 PISTOL is affordable

Sorry about that What i meant was a .32 pistol ( a semi-automatic?? ).. Does this help my query?

cacsus:

Don't worry, your initial post was clear enough to convey to us the information you want. We gun owners, like every other culture, have a language we use to communicate between ourselves that does not necessarily follow strict rules -- in other words, we have idioms, as well.

I would guess that most of us (myself included) call semi-automatic pistols "automatics" or "autos" in our conversations. I generally avoid posting this way, however, to spare myself from superfluous correction.

In English, we have "wind" for when the air is blowing around us and "wind" for re-energizing a clock. We tell the difference by context, even though both words are spelled the same. It is quite apparent to me that your request for information addressed semi-automatic pistols, as I would assume few fully automatic weapons are available legally (the ONLY kind of things we discuss on IFG) for 4 lakhs or less, thus, your context makes your meaning clear.

May I suggest, as you are a new member, please introduce yourself on the introductory forum and tell us something about yourself and your interest in guns? We would enjoy getting to know you and hope you'll enjoy IFG.

cacsus wrote: I am a newbie in this field

Welcome to IFG .

cacsus wrote:I want to buy a handgun (automatic, NOT a revolver) and my budget is upto 4 lakhs.

You surely mean a semi-auto and in that budget if you are lucky you might be able to find some 50-60 year old (or more) Spanish Ruby clone (read junk). Advisable ? I think not .

cacsus wrote: No IOF guns

Why not ?

nagarifle wrote: IOF .32 PISTOL is affordable

Listen to Naga .

best,
Rp.

@indiaone, nagarifle, tim, Rp : Thanks for your replies. I have introduced myself in the appropriate section, thanks to tim.
Before I continue with my query, I want to tell something which I feel, I should have posted in the beginning of this query This should make my query more clear to the veterans out here.
Four years back, I bought a pistol for my father who had just acquired a gun license. I went to two dealers (in NE India only) and finally, I settled with one MAB Model C .32 pistol for a huge amount of money. My questions (actually confusions) regarding this previous purchase are these :
1. The dealer wrote "second-hand purchase" in the gun license book. I know its a French-made pistol somewhere from the WWII era. So, does it mean I paid almost "HUGE" lakhs for a second-hand gun? Is it a normal practice to buy second-hand imported guns in India?
2. What is the quality of such guns? (Since my father rarely uses this, I can't vouch for its quality)

Now back to my original query :
1. When I said I didn't want IOF guns, I thought IOF (read "Indian-made") guns are of lower quality. Sorry for my ignorance, if I am wrong.
2. Now that you guys will have a fair idea, which gun would you suggest me (1st hand, second-hand, IOF etc.. ) under 4 or maybe 5 lakhs. Btw, I got a license for a .32 bore pistol.

Regards,
cacsus

there are not hard and fast rules to second hand handguns in India, they or most will be pre 1986.
cost of them are high due to no import. one is paying gold for crap, however beggars do not have the option of anything else.

IOF means Indian orroble factory, which means poor goods made in India at high price. but with a little extra one can make them into reasonable item. see the post in the handgun section for more info.

there is no fixed price for imported stuff, quality age etc does make for high price, IOF from the factory goes for around 60k and in shop upto 1.2lac. check out the IOF website.

keep serching the handgun section to answer all your question or we will be repeating ourselves alot.

It seems like deja-vu. Exactly a same query was posted a few years ago. A novice wanting to buy a auto/semi-auto pistol who did not have any licences nor did have any knowledge on Arms Act, laws, import ban etc. He also received polite warnings.

But courtesy this forum & eminent members, he was embraced with passion, knowledge and information.

That HE was ME!

Welcome aboard cacsus & please go through all the threads & posts and am sure you will soon catch up with the rest.

With regards to your query, if you are in a hurry due to the deadline mentioned on your licence for buying a firearm, IOF .32 Ashani will be the best bet.

You can sell it once you have come across a "second-hand" imported pistols of your choice, which are few in the market and will cost through the roof.

with nagarifle which will give you a fair idea of state of apathy that we are in with regards to choice & limitations

My two pennies worth...

All the best,
Rup

i have browsed through the forum for some info for second hand imported guns. but all i got was some comparisons between IOF guns and imported guns. Now since i am moving towards imported guns, please suggest models upto 5 lakhs. And also how to check the gun before i go for it?

any spanish make, u buy, will be upto 4 or may be 4.25, max, it will be small, bore - .32, 7 short, nice & sweet..., light too...

have a safe shooting...
)))cheers!!!
reg
amit

Thanks everyone for their replies. Now, can I have specific names/ model numbers? That will be a great help for me. Even if the models are beyond 5 lakhs, do recommend some so that I will have something to move ahead with.

Regards,

cacsus

cacsus,

Spanish pistols of the vintage in India are known for having soft steel.The quality varies from good to shoddy from piece to piece (not unlike our much maligned IOF pistol).The MAB .32 Model C's have a strange grip angle( typical quirky french design).They are striker fired and I have seen one go full auto when the firing pin got stuck.Bernadelli hammerless pistols are well made but the manner of retaining the firing pin means that people can and do send small parts flying across the room and lose some.Consequently many have locally made parts that typically affect functioning.Webley .32 pistols are best avoided.The entire mechanism works on a single V spring.Somehow the other,these pistols do not take very kindly to rebluing by our local hacks who pass for gunsmiths.The Mauser Broom handle is too bulky and beyond your budget.Mauser HSC pistols,for some reason,are not very popular.If you buy one,you might have trouble selling it.

Pistols by Beretta,Colt and Browning (1910) are beyond your budget.In your budget you can easily get a very good Webley .32 revolver and would still have money left over for ammo.

BTW .380 ammo is virtually impossible to get now and this is reflected in the price these pistols command.

winnie_the_pooh : Thanks for your exhaustive and informative reply. Now, thanks to you, I got a fair idea about possible deals. I was just wondering if you could suggest any pistol models since I am more inclined towards pistols than revolvers.

Regards,
cacsus

Suggestion would be subject to availability, check out what you have available in your neck of the woods.
Here's my bucket list, nothing new in it. Merely summarizing what others have already discussed:

1. Maker and year of manufacture.
2. Condition of handgun.
3. Ammo availability.
4. Price of ammo and handgun.

You might have other personal preferences like, ease of concealability or maybe "safe queen" appeal factor etc . Just my 0.22 Cal .

regards

OUP