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Bud’s Gun Shop is one of the more popular discount firearms retailers on the internet, and a place I’ve purchased a number of firearms over the years. This afternoon they sent out a very interesting email detailing the top 15 firearms sold through their store in the last year rank ordered by volume, and I thought it might be interesting to share that tidbit of information. Make the jump for the full list…

1. Mosin-Nagant M91/30 7.62X54R

2. New Ruger LCP .380

3. S&W Sigma SW9VE 9mm Black/Stainless

4. S&W Sigma SW40VE .40SW Black/Stainless

5. Ruger LC9 7+1 9mm Bl 3 dot Adj Sts

6. Bushmaster CAR15 223 16 BSH REDD DOT

7. Hi-Point 34510 45ACP/P 45ACP 9RD POLYMEER

8. Ruger SR9c 9mm Compact Black

9. Taurus 24/7-9SSP17 9MM PRO SS

10. Ruger 22/45 Mark III 22LR 5.5″ Blued ADJUSTABLE SIGHTS

11. Ruger SR9c 9mm Compact

12. Rock Island Armory GI M1911A1 Mil Spec .45

13. Mossberg Tactical 22LR Adjustable Stock 25rd Magazine

14. Kahr Arms 7 + 1 Round 9MM w/3.5″ Barrel/Polymer/Stainless

15. Taurus M1911 45 Stainless W/Gold Highlights

It seems like the trend of gun owners buying handguns over rifles is continuing, with some notable exceptions. The Mosin Nagant was my first rifle and I couldn’t have picked a better one to start with, so I’m glad to see it still topping the list. If you only buy two guns, a Mosin Nagant and a .22lr rifle of some sort would be my choices.

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45 COMMENTS

  1. is anyone else really surprised by this list? not that i spend time keeping track of what other people buy, but i really wouldn’t have guessed this list. some of them i get, like the lcp/lc9, the ARs and the 1911s, but some of the rest really have me wondering. like the sigmas, hi point, and 24/7. i know looks aren’t everything, but damn those are some ugly and boring looking guns. (no offense meant for anyone who owns these)

      • I own a Hi Point c9 and as far as its looks, I’m shooting it, not taking it on a date. It fires as well, if not better, than guns four to five times it’s price. I don’t take offense to your comments as I am used to it. Just like I’m used to hitting a target with better accuracy than the guy with the $1000 gun in the next lane over.

    • No offense taken but I seriously doubt a home intruder or other criminal would care what the gun looked like that he got shot with.If you bought a gun solely on looks,a glock would never have been sold.I have a S&W Sigma SW9VE and it’s a good shooter,I find the looks rather appealing too.

    • Let me guess,you own a glock but failed to mention it in your comment,YES,there are other guns out there and people buy them,sorry to burst your bubble but glock isn’t the best thing since sliced bread,they are reliable guns but so are hundreds of other guns.

    • What guns are you comparing them to? You sound kinda silly,do you mean they are ugly and boring compared to your glock? Come on,you can admit you own a glock and you’re butthurt because it wasn’t on the list.AHHHHHHHHHHHH,feel better now?

  2. Numbers 12 and 14 are what I’ve got on my to do list. Twelve just because I want to see how it functions next to my Series 70 and 14 because an ultra light automatic has been a goal but I haven’t found one worth keeping yet.

    Number one kind of shocked me but Nagants are always affordable. I just live in a heavy urban area so I can’t appreciate that rifle properly.

    • I have the GI and Tactical RIA 1911. I suggest buying the Kimber stainless magazines for the gun. Also, the new version of the RIA Tactical has a Picatinny rail. I don’t think it enhances the gun but I guess people like the option of hanging stuff from the bottom of their 1911.

      The Tactical shoots extremely well. I’ve run +P JHP and regular JHP rounds through the pistol. My RIA eats whatever ammo I run through it.

    • The Mosin-Nagant is a solid, reliable and inexpensive rifle. The 7.62 X 54R round is pretty good too. Vasily Grigoryevich Zaytsev was a Soviet sniper during the battle of Stalingrad. He used this rifle to kill 255 or more enemy soldiers.

    • Erasmus, Chris Dumm and I have published several articles about the Mosin rifle right here. It’s an excellent, fun, cheap and historic rifle, and the ammo is extremely inexpensive. I don’t know why any rifle shooter wouldn’t want one.

      I’m no fan of the Sigma. I understand that later guns are a lot better than the first year models, but then again, they could hardly be worse.

    • Thanks you guys. After writing the above, I happened to come across the latest Gun Tests magazine, which has a review of the Mosin-Nagent, in its sniper and standard versions. They liked the standard better than the sniper, and echoed your thoughts on the great deal and caliber.

    • A Sigma is just a glock 19 at half the price,if you research the gun,and I don’t mean on a glock fanboi sight,you’ll get the real information on the gun,glock owners get angry because you have the nerve to point out to them that they could have gotten the same pistol at half the price.

  3. It’s surprising that Glock doesn’t even make the list. I have heard, but can’t find statistics, that Glocks are the best selling handguns in the USA. Also, no Remington 700 or 870 or Ruger 10/22.

    If I where a suspicious and cynical person, I might say that the list is just a self serving promotion, but that would violate the axiom that everything we see on the Internet is true 🙂

    • Note that the list only pertains to the top 15 sales by volume for Buds only (not other distributors), and based on my usage of them, I would say this list is accurate. Most of the guns on this list are the ones that Bud’s has the lowest prices on, both online and locally. With the low price, no sales tax and free shipping, most of the items on this list are cheaper than buying locally. (I bought a Mosin Nagant from them). They have Glocks on there website, but they are usually out of stock and I can beat their Glock price at half a dozen local shops in my area. I’ve looked at their Ruger 10/22 prices…nothing special.

    • as to the “missing” Glocks:
      I like the look of Bud’s website. I thought I’d buy a Glock from them last year (as well as a Walther). Never saw what I wanted listed. Got a poor response when I called them. Bought both locally instead.

    • Could it also be that there’s so many variants & versions of those firearms that as a whole series/brand they may sell more, but per individual model the ones on the list sell more? I mean other than different years how many Nagant models are there?

    • People are wising up to the fact that glocks are waaaaaaaaay overpriced,why buy a glock when you can buy two Sigmas for the same amount of money?

  4. Interesting how the Ruger SR9C is repeated twice. #8 an all black or blued version and #11 appears to be for the stainless/black version.

    • Bud’s has some of the best prices on SR9s and SR9Cs, much better than my FLGS. On the other hand, my FLGS has–for instance–Glock prices as good or better than Bud’s. Bud’s greatest advantage is in firearms in the second tier of popularity where local gun stores can’t do enough volume to keep prices down. Bud’s also seems to have a distinct advantage in guns like the Sigma or Hi-Point that people are less likely to buy if they see it in person and have the chance to handle first.

  5. The $300 price point on the sigma might be the reason it sells so well, that being said I’m surprised that Glock didn’t even make the list.

  6. I shop Buds a decent amount, and this list doesn’t surprise me too much. Pretty much everything on the list are budget guns that they offer cheaper than other places, or it is a gun that they got a lot of right when they hit the market.

    It does not surprise me that Glocks are not on their list. New Glocks are not much cheaper at Bud’s than anywhere else. The same goes for Remington 870s and 700s.

  7. I don’t get number 14 – “Kahr Arms 7 + 1 Round 9MM w/3.5 Barrel/Polymer/Stainles”

    Are they lumping the K9, CW9 and P9 together?

  8. I do not claim knowledge of all the guns on the list. I see some that are budget and others better described as good value guns. There is a difference.

  9. I don’t understand why someone would pay ~$350 for a Sigma when you can pay $550 for a M&P. In terms of value for the money, the two aren’t even comparable. The Sigma is a great example of how not to design a modern semi-auto, the M&P is a good example of exactly what you should do. The M&P is the only striker-fired pistol (besides the currently unavailable FNS-9) that I’d consider instead of a Glock.

        • Mine too,my friend has one and it’s a great pistol,the glock fanbois are trying to bash it too but people have gotten wise to them,glock fanbois are like the people you know that won’t wear any other shoe than a nike,to them it’s all about brand name.If a cock had glock written on the side of it,they’d suck it.

    • Because Bud’s sells them for $295 and free shipping. Last I checked, $295 is easier to come up with than $550. I’ll spend the extra $250 on buying ammo. And, “It’s the economy stupid”.

      • glock fanbois don’t like it if you mention other guns,you destroy their tiny little universe if you buy something that doesn’t say glock on it,I own a lot of guns,I’ve owned two glocks and sold them,I never saw what the big deal was. My Sigmas are what glock was trying to make but S&W beat them to it.

    • I have an M&P and a Sigma,I love them both.You can always tell when a comment is made by a glock fanboi,they allways get butthurt when you tell them you can get a Sigma for half the price you’d pay for a glock 19.

    • And of coarse you have your list of credentials that say you know exactly how a gun is to be made or not,if the Sigma is a design that shows you exactly how a gun is not to be made,then the glock 19 should have never been made,the Sigma is a copy of the glock 19 except it looks better and feels better in the hand.

  10. Rather than a true Top 15 list, perhaps this was just a little “marketing” from Bud’s?
    I got the same email and immediately considered it a marketing campaign.

  11. Everyone needs to keep in mind that Buds in a discount firearms store. So people who google “discount/cheap guns” comes up with Buds. These are the folks who want a deal and may or may not know what they are exactly buying into. The reason the Mosin-Nagant is number 1 is because it is probably the cheapest rifle on the market with prices starting at as low as 89$. THIS DOES NOT REFLECT ON THE QUALITY OF THE FIREARM. Yes they work but it is not the number one rifle on the market.

    • There is no # 1 rifle on the market,there are different rifles for different jobs,some reasonably priced,some overpriced.

    • Nobody needs to keep anything in mind,you’re just mad because glock didn’t make the list,why would anyone pay glock the outrageous prices they want for their average guns?

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