[MoDoc]

Thank goodness for my rare show of patience. I've been looking at the Jimenez JA 9 for a couple of years, as I frequently stop in at a friend's gun shop - who I purchased a Hi-Point .45 from several years ago. He tends to sell a bunch of Hi-Point & Jimenez products, and I've had very good results with my Hi-Point stuff, which includes 2 of the 9mm carbines & 1 of the .45 carbines, as well as the .45 pistol, and their 9mm pistol. [ which is relegated to glove box duty] One of the 9mm carbines dates back to about 1997 & has had an enormous amount of rounds fired through it. All of them have been very reliable, and my compulsion to purchase sub $200 pistols is strong, but he has steered me away from his stock of Jimenez 9mm pistols - so that tells me something. My personal experience with the Jimenez products is only my ten-year ownership of a Jennings .22 pistol from the early 1990's that sometimes worked & was pretty cool when it did. I have had very good service from my Kel-Tec P11 [ $260 in 1996 ], and my Ruger P-95 [ $315 in 2010 ], so I think I would save a bit more money & get one of those for a lower priced 9mm pistol. I would not even recommend the Hi-Point, even though it is reliable - unless you truly could not come up with another hundred bucks.

 

[MoDoc]

variolamajor: even after my poor experience with my own Jennings .22, I keep thinking I will buy a new Jimenez version of it. The price & the chance that it could be better than my old one keeps me wishful. I owned a Beretta .22 that was similar in size, obviously better made, yet terribly unreliable - I ended up using it as part of a trade for a Rossi M92 lever action carbine in .357 mag - which I love. I also have a 10 year old Phoenix HP 22 that is only slightly larger, but has proven to be much more reliable & has an 11 round capacity.

 

[MoDoc]

ggrimes2: the Beretta I traded was the Bobcat - which I tried to be patient with, running over 200 rounds through it in the hopes it would "break in" and start working. It was my second Bobcat, I had good luck with one throughout the '90's that I gave to my wife, until it came close to being used by her, and I traded that one in for a Taurus M85 snubbie for her to carry. The little revolver seemed more likely to be ready for her should she need it, and the .38 special would probably make an unfavorable impression on the scuzz attacking her. I always regretted trading in the Beretta, so bought a new one a few years ago [which I ended up trading away - breaking my new "don't trade any firearms away" rule] Anyhow, I've got the Phoenix .22 if there should ever be a time that a pocket .22 pistol seems like a good idea. I'm still interested in the start of this whole thread - anyone tried a Jiminez 9mm? - but it won't be me who finds out about them through personal experience!

 

[MoDoc]

Yikes. Far be it from me to make fun of someone's inexpensive firearm purchase. I used to really like putting quarters in the vending machine and getting a toy in a plastic acorn. I also like Hi Point products. I also believe that mmurphy162 might have gotten a workable Jiminez. That's the kind of optimistic thinking I can relate to. mmurphy's bizarre contentions that anyone who buys a modern, +$160 pistol inevitably ends up spending a bunch of money to make it work makes no sense based on my and many acquaintances' use of such pistols. Typically, the pistols that are used by police or military agencies have a good reliability record without modification. I will say I've had good luck with Hi-Point, KelTec, & Ruger 9mm pistols right out of the box, and they are all rather modestly priced.

 

[MoDoc]

Me again. Maybe too much coffee this evening, but I re-read mmmurphy's post and was struck by the staggering amounts supposedly spent by the "snobs" to get their sorry, overpriced status pistols working. Uh, right. I've got a Glock & a Springfield XD that together cost less than the snobs spent on their trigger mods. I've never had a fail with either pistol, after many thousands of rounds fired. [ less in the XD -.45acp is pricey]...maybe I got a couple of the rare examples that worked right out of the box. Seriously, I'd better switch to water. Trolls rarely elicit more than a chuckle from me.