I enjoy surplus firearms. They have a lot of history behind them and can often be had for very reasonable prices. For example right now in the US, there are Bulgarian Makarov pistols available for around $300.
This Cold War classic is chambered in 9x18mm Makarov. It was made by The famous Arsenal Bulgaria arms manufacturer in 1983. This gun is all steel except for the grip panels which are black plastic. On mine, I replaced them with Bakelite for a more traditional look.
This pistol is a straight blow back design. The pistol has a double action/single action trigger system. The slide locks to the rear on empty mags and there is a slide release lever on the left side of the frame. The magazine is released by pressing heel release rearward. The weight of this gun makes it very pleasant to shoot without recoil being much of a problem.
This gun could be used for defense in modern times if need be. Hornady makes a load for it in their Critical Defense ammo line as seen above. There are even mag carriers available to have extra 8 round mags handy should you want to use this as a carry gun.
The sights are quite simple in nature with the front being machined out of the slide and the rear being a dovetail style. There is checkering along the top of the slide to reduce glare while aiming.
Grab yourself a piece of history an an utterly reliable pistol to boot.