Line45 Tests Six Budget 9mm Pistols Priced Under $250

In this Line45 video, the channel tests six budget 9mm pistols priced under $250 to see which bargain guns are worth carrying, looking at steel parts, finishes, triggers and feeding reliability.

Snapshot

Line45 tests six sub-$250 9mm pistols from Stoeger, Taurus, Beretta and Hi-Point, comparing sights, magazines, trigger weights, capacity, optics cuts and reliability with different ammunition. The channel's verdict is that cheap no longer has to mean cut corners, since each gun has a flaw but the makers now put money into steel parts, finishes, optics readiness and usable triggers.

Key points

• Stoeger STR-9SC: around $199.99 with steel three-dot sights, a stainless guide rod and Mec-Gar magazines, plus 10+1 capacity, a 5 lb 10 oz trigger and clean feeding with flat-nose Syntech.
• Taurus G3c and G2C: 12-round compacts with restrike triggers; the G3c averaged 5 lb 7.4 oz but has a sharp-edged trigger safety, and the G2C ran about 500 rounds without a malfunction.
• Taurus GX4 Carry: 15 rounds in a 1.08-inch-wide, 21.5-ounce frame with a Holosun K-pattern optics cut, though with a red dot it ran less reliably on slower 150-grain Syntech.
• Beretta APX A1 Carry: six rounds standard or eight extended, with a removable stainless steel chassis, listed around $225 to $249.
• Hi-Point YC9: heavy at roughly 33 ounces with a 7.7-pound trigger, but its blowback design keeps recoil easy to control and it carries a lifetime warranty.

Quick take

Line45 argues that a sub-$250 price no longer automatically signals corner-cutting: each pistol has a rough edge, but the makers have learned where to spend money, on steel parts, better finishes, optics compatibility and usable triggers.

Watch the full video: Line45