Looking for a decent framing gun . Budget allows for a gun in the 150$ range. Two kids and a mortgage I have to stick to the budget. Any ideas or suggestions.

I have a Porter Cable framing nailer, a little above your budget and that doesn't include a compressor.

Around the holidays Home Depot and Lowes usually put nice packages together on nailers and compressors.

One place to check is Pawn Shops. A lot of construction laborers can live paycheck to paycheck and when work dries up they'll pawn tools for cash. Their loss can be your bargain tool. Be careful though, it could be worn out and need a rebuild, killing any savings.

I have two Paslodes that have been flawless over years of hard work and abuse. But, they run $250 - $300 each.

Pawn shops are a great idea but don't always work out. Some of my crew have gotten some great deals at pawn shops, but I know of several cases where the 'great deal' had some hidden damage that was too costly to fix. So there is little bit of risk there.

If you are needing this for typical DIY duties and not day-in and day-out building, check out Harbor Freight. They don't have the best stuff but if it's good enough the prices can't be beat.

Thanks a million. I thought of the harbor freight store but was very skeptical. It's not the first time I ve had them mentioned to me. The price is about 100$ I am just worried that it will break the first ten minutes I use it

Also any suggestions on the round head nailers or the other? And any opinions on the 21degree or the 28 degree nailer?

One more thing has anyone heard of or used the Campbell haulsfeld brand?

It's a good idea to price out the nails before choosing a nailer. For most, you will eventually spend more money on nails than you will on the gun itself. No real difference in usage for the 21 degree vs 28 degree nails, but the same comment about shopping for price makes sense.

Some code departments no longer accept the clip head (also called D-head) nails. Many of the guns will fire both but some will only shoot the D-heads. I'd go for one that can fire the full, round head.

As important as the gun choice is having a compressor large enough to power it and making sure that YOU ADD A FEW DROPS OF OIL INTO THE GUN BEFORE USING IT EACH DAY!!!!!

That last part is pretty important if you want it to last more than a week.

Thanks.. Also as far as a compressor I have a small 1 gallon 150 max psi would that do it? I thinking I need a bigger one like a three gallon or bigger? For the framing gun

That is awfully small. You will need a larger one or it will run continously. You need more air storage capability.

A framing nailer needs 3 CFM.
Pressure means little when it comes to sizing a compresser.
It's all CFM.
If you do not want to wait a few min. everytime you pull the trigger for it to build up again before you can fire another nail your going to need one that puts out more air and has more storage capacity.

I found a hitachi six gallon compressor with two finish type nailers. One 18 gauge and a 23gauge pin it is going to run about 245$ reviews are decent, but what are thoughts do ya'll have..???

I believe the compressor run 3.2cfms at 90 psi and 2.5 or 2.8 cams at 110 psi