Buy a gently used pistol.
A gun doesn't have to be new, to be completely reliable.

Good used guns give you the most, um, bang for the buck.

BTW: What's a "semi pistol"?
Do you mean, perhaps, half of a pistol?
If so, which half?

According to comments read on this forum, Hi-Point pistols are made of pot metal, are buck-tooth-ugly, and weigh too much, but they seem to always work.
I wouldn't carry one, because of the bulk-and-size issue, but if that's all I could afford, I'd buy one for keeping at home.

well i need a good reliable semi automatic to carry. im going to get my concealed carry license so im looking for some thing compact

Check out a Bersa...they are solid, reliable and inexpensive.... small concealed carry in both .380 and 9mm.......JJ

Originally Posted by mikejax21

...im looking for some thing compact

Compact pistols are difficult to shoot well.
The smaller the gun, the harder it will be, to shoot it accurately and well.

Maybe starting out with that Hi-Point is a good idea: It's cheap; and it's big and heavy, so it won't hurt your hand with its recoil. That means that you'll be able to do a lot of accurate, effective shooting practice.
Learn to shoot with a large, heavy pistol. Then, once you've gotten pretty good at hitting where you're aiming, you can switch to something compact.

My suggestion, would be to wait a bit longer, so you can add some$ to that $289, and not be so limited in the amount of firearms that you could purchase. While you're saving, you can do some investigating, and maybe try out a few firearms, so you don't end up with something that you're not happy or comfortable with. I don't know whether it's possible for you, but when I was younger(whew) I used to go to a range about 20 miles from my place.......I just stood around and watched people shooting, and believe it or not, I got to shoot some very fine, and very interesting firearms. Like anything else, you meet some schmucks in the industry, but you also meet some very nice people, and if you're lucky, you get to shoot firearms for free..........and they are happy to let you.