Most disappointing gun you've owned?

B00ger

B00ger

Well-Known Member
Charter Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2016
Messages
11,478
Location
NC
Rating - 100%
4   0   0
Little background: I have started to enjoy collecting military surplus firearms. So when a Polish P-64 recently came up for a great price, I jumped on it. I was absolutely thrilled. I had never shot one, and this one looked absolutely mint. Got home and the pistol was awesome. Great transaction with the member here getting it. Everything awesome. Ordered about 200 rounds of 9mm Mak and bided my time before I could get to the range.

Finally, last friday I was able to sneak out for a little while and give it its first shots. I loaded the first mag, loaded, aimed, fired...and though "That cant be right...I must have been holding it wrong." All of the recoil ended up square in the palm of my hand and my support hand to a hard wrapping to my fingers. So I fired again..."Ouch...what am I doing wrong?" I tried multiple holds, adjusted my hands, gripped it in many different ways. And after 50 rounds, a sore hand, and a minor slide bite, I decided that these P-64's were designed to be fired extremely rarely, mainly when executing undesirables or something. Not sure if its the grip size, my hand, my skill, or I wasnt holding my mouth right, but I was completely unable to fire this thing with any ounce of enjoyment. The accuracy was fine, and it ran perfectly fine, but its shape/recoil profile is just anti-me.

So, I am still thrilled to have it in the stable as a beautiful example of post WWII eastern european firearms, but man...the other 150 rounds I have is pretty much a lifetime supply for me now.

So, it got me thinking: Has anyone else ever been super excited about a firearm only to shoot it and become completely underwhelmed?
 
I've had two.

First was a S&W AR. Back before they manufactured them themselves ...when Stag Arms was manufacturing for S&W. 2006ish.

I was pretty poor at the time, and spending $1k on a gun took a long lay-a-way wait.

Finally got it home, and it was nothing but problems. Would malfunction every 2 to 5 rounds. I assumed everyone that said AR's was junk were correct. Sent it back to s&w to be repaired, got it back, and sold it without firing another round. Swore off AR's and S&W for the next 5 years.

Second was a Springfield EMP 9. Man was I in love with that gun. Till I got it home and it wouldn't feed a single hollow point. Sent it to Springfield and got it back and verified it worked. Couldn't get over a brand new gun needing repair and sold it. I didn't trust the gun. Was like a wife that cheated on me during the honeymoon.
 
Easy enough. Ruger “American” rifles. I’ve had a .22, a .308 and a 30-06.

The .22 I wouldn’t take squirrel hunting because it wouldn’t group better than 3” with any ammo at 50 yards.

The .308 and 30-06 would’ve been fine for hunting but when you have better in the safe, any little thing that annoys you about something seems magnified.

I think Ruger would’ve been better off sticking with the Mini’s and the 10-22’s and letting Savage hold the title of cheapest bolt gun.
 
Pre-lock 3” S&W 625 .45ACP

When I was deep in the S&W cult, this was a Grail gun. Highly sought after, fairly uncommon.

I finally scored one, paid going rate ($$$$).

Got it home. Ran some rounds through it. And just…meh. The 4” handles better, the 5” is more accurate.
 
Springfield 1911 .45ACP. Absolute jam-o-matic. Couldn't get it to cycle through a full magazine of *any* ammunition. FMJ or HP. Federal, Winchester, Remington, Speer, you name it. No wonder it was on consignment at a local gun shop. I hated that piece of junk. Never again.
 
Last edited:
NAA Guardian .380. Like @B00ger, I found nothing pleasant about it. I wanted to like it, but it was hard to rack, hard to hold (2 fingers), terrible DA trigger, and consequently could not hit water if it fell out of a boat. Small to carry, but no fun to shoot.

Edited to add: second most disappointing was a S&W 642 Performance Center. Terrible trigger. I had a .38 Bodyguard and liked it (and I still have it and like it) and thought the PC 642 would only be better; wrong!
 
Last edited:
Pogue said:
Easy enough. Ruger “American” rifles. I’ve had a .22, a .308 and a 30-06.

The .22 I wouldn’t take squirrel hunting because it wouldn’t group better than 3” with any ammo at 50 yards.

The .308 and 30-06 would’ve been fine for hunting but when you have better in the safe, any little thing that annoys you about something seems magnified.

I think Ruger would’ve been better off sticking with the Mini’s and the 10-22’s and letting Savage hold the title of cheapest bolt gun.
Click to expand...
Wow, I’ve had a much different experience with my Ruger American rifles. I have .22lr, .300 blk out, and 7.62x39. You are making me feel lucky. Maybe I should have purchased a lottery ticket instead lol. That said, i agree with you. I do have more accurate rifles. However, they are more expensive, so the Rugers usually are my truck guns.
 
I have given away two LCP and one Springfield XDS 45 Auto because they were not pleasant to shoot. The people to whom I gave them really like them.

I was disappointed most with. Taurus Judge. It did not work correctly, and the factory failed to fix it after two trips back to them.

I have given away other guns but not because I did not like the gun. I gave them to people I felt were worthy of having a fine gun.
 
Mine was a SW Performance Center 627 V-Comp. It was terrible from the factory. Terrible trigger, terrible blueing. Timing wasn't that great. It did shoot laser beams though, so I spent a lot of time working on it, got the DA tigger down to 4 lbs with federal primers and lightened hammer. But them I lost interest in it and sold it.

627.jpeg
 
For me it was the kahr p380. When they came out they were among the smallest and easiest to conceal pocket guns around.

The trigger was such that you could carry it chambered and not worry too much about it going off on its own. I thought this is the perfect pocket gun for me.

Funny enough it was Christmas day and i found one in Charlotte. I drove 2 plus hours and paid the $550 they were going for to get one new in the box. Boy was i happy that Christmas day.

Got it home and showed off to all my buddies. Look at this new ultra small pocket pistol. I was the envy of the group as nobody had even seen one in person yet and kahr had such a good rep at the time.

Took it to the range with one of my best shooting buddies. I physically couldn't hold it hard enough with just my middle finger and half of my ring finger to not limp wrist it. It was jamming every other round for 100 plus rounds.

I was pissed. Blaming the gun, blaming the ammo, everyone and everything but myself.

I let my buddy try and even though his hands are bigger than mine, he had the strength to hold it firm enough and just started rattling off shot after shot with no issues. I couldn't believe it. I tried again with a death grip and while a little better, could not get it to work reliably for a full mag.

Sold it off at a loss. I still get mixed feelings when i look at them but with so many other options now, it's not worth the risk of having a jam-o-matic in a self defense situation.

Goes to show. Get what you like and practice practice practice until you have faith in the piece. All the reasons you like it might be the same reasons it won't work for you.
 
Glock 26 for me. I'm a self admitted Glock fanboi, but have no love for that gun. No matter what AIWB holster I used, it just didn't carry well, I didn't shoot it very well, and overall, my 19 was just better in every situation. So, I traded it to a dude for another 19 and have never looked back.
 
Stick Man said:
Glock 26 for me. I'm a self admitted Glock fanboi, but have no love for that gun. No matter what AIWB holster I used, it just didn't carry well, I didn't shoot it very well, and overall, my 19 was just better in every situation. So, I traded it to a dude for another 19 and have never looked back.
Click to expand...
+1. Same deal for me. Never had any luck with the 26.
 
Glock 27. The upper back strap (where a beaver tail would start) was flat on the original 27's. With the snappy .40's, it would dig into my thumb knuckle to where it was very uncomfortable to shoot. Years later I was showing a friend why 27's didn't fit me well and noticed that Glock had changed the profile/rounded it in later 27's.
 
B00ger said:
Little background: I have started to enjoy collecting military surplus firearms. So when a Polish P-64 recently came up for a great price, I jumped on it. I was absolutely thrilled. I had never shot one, and this one looked absolutely mint. Got home and the pistol was awesome. Great transaction with the member here getting it. Everything awesome. Ordered about 200 rounds of 9mm Mak and bided my time before I could get to the range.

Finally, last friday I was able to sneak out for a little while and give it its first shots. I loaded the first mag, loaded, aimed, fired...and though "That cant be right...I must have been holding it wrong." All of the recoil ended up square in the palm of my hand and my support hand to a hard wrapping to my fingers. So I fired again..."Ouch...what am I doing wrong?" I tried multiple holds, adjusted my hands, gripped it in many different ways. And after 50 rounds, a sore hand, and a minor slide bite, I decided that these P-64's were designed to be fired extremely rarely, mainly when executing undesirables or something. Not sure if its the grip size, my hand, my skill, or I wasnt holding my mouth right, but I was completely unable to fire this thing with any ounce of enjoyment. The accuracy was fine, and it ran perfectly fine, but its shape/recoil profile is just anti-me.

So, I am still thrilled to have it in the stable as a beautiful example of post WWII eastern european firearms, but man...the other 150 rounds I have is pretty much a lifetime supply for me now.

So, it got me thinking: Has anyone else ever been super excited about a firearm only to shoot it and become completely underwhelmed?
Click to expand...
The 9X18 round may look like a .380 but they are a little more sporty, especially in a small gun like a P-64. Imagine if the p-64 wasn't all steel!

My biggest disappointment was with a Colt-Sauer rifle in 7mm Rem Magnum. A beautiful gun with a bolt that worked like it was riding in butter. It wouldn't hit the side of a barn if you were standing inside it.
 
S&W 59 impossible to shoot a decent group.
Taurus 709 - will it fire or won't it fire?
Interarms PPK/S, James Bond never made it fail to feed or eject. I do still have the slide bite scar which is a good reminder to hold a pistol lower.
Kahr PM40, I thought that the PM9 is great so the PM40 would be even better...nope, too hard to shoot well when bullets are landing sideways on the paper.
AR7, Just in case I crash land in the jungle is this really what I need? So picky that you really only have one shot and they don't really even float well.
SUB2000. At what point in my life will I save the day by whipping that thing out of a backpack? Waste of money. Just use a handgun.
High Standard Duramatic. Looks beautiful, better have the exact mag that come with the pistol for best results. Any Ruger .22 22/45 is more reliable.
Taurus TX22. How did I not learn my Taurus lesson on the 709. If this model breaks, good luck getting it fixed under warranty. The front guide ride loop on the slide is the weakest link.
Some random German made .22 lever action that never worked. Looked cool.

Some cheap guns that are to me surprisingly very good and reliable....
Ruger EC9, S&W 9MM Shield, KelTec PF9 (miss my blue and silver one)
 
Last edited:
Mr. Bggs said:
For me it was the kahr p380. When they came out they were among the smallest and easiest to conceal pocket guns around.

The trigger was such that you could carry it chambered and not worry too much about it going off on its own. I thought this is the perfect pocket gun for me.

Funny enough it was Christmas day and i found one in Charlotte. I drove 2 plus hours and paid the $550 they were going for to get one new in the box. Boy was i happy that Christmas day.

Got it home and showed off to all my buddies. Look at this new ultra small pocket pistol. I was the envy of the group as nobody had even seen one in person yet and kahr had such a good rep at the time.

Took it to the range with one of my best shooting buddies. I physically couldn't hold it hard enough with just my middle finger and half of my ring finger to not limp wrist it. It was jamming every other round for 100 plus rounds.

I was pissed. Blaming the gun, blaming the ammo, everyone and everything but myself.

I let my buddy try and even though his hands are bigger than mine, he had the strength to hold it firm enough and just started rattling off shot after shot with no issues. I couldn't believe it. I tried again with a death grip and while a little better, could not get it to work reliably for a full mag.

Sold it off at a loss. I still get mixed feelings when i look at them but with so many other options now, it's not worth the risk of having a jam-o-matic in a self defense situation.

Goes to show. Get what you like and practice practice practice until you have faith in the piece. All the reasons you like it might be the same reasons it won't work for you.
Click to expand...
I know other people who had this same issue with the P380 after having great luck with the PM9. You have to have confidence in it or let it ride.
 
g19 said:
I know other people who had this same issue with the P380 after having great luck with the PM9. You have to have confidence in it or let it ride.
Click to expand...
Exactly what happened. 2 of us had pm9s and liked them alot. Trying to stay brand loyal got me in a world of hurt with that little 380. I hate that i still like the looks when i see them.... but fool me twice.
 
S&W 642. Bought one for pocket carry after hearing how great they were, trigger was ok-ish, cylinder wasn't all that tight and had to be closed carefully, and to this day it's the only carry gun I was ever caught printing in. How anyone pockets carries a j frame is beyond me.

M&P shield, I've had like 3 shields over the years. I want to like them so badly but they just don't conceal well for me, I blame the super short barrel which causes the grip to try to roll outwards, for me at least. Good shooters though.
 
Keltec PF9 - it broke internally on the first range trip, <200rd. Needless to say that was NOT my new carry gun. It was repaired and promptly sold.

“Colt” M4 Carbine .22lr by Umarex/Walther - felt OK in hand, shot OK, turned out to be built like a toy. The lower receiver and trigger pack are the worst. I was glad to sell that thing. The M&P15-22 is a 12,000x’s better!
 
NAA Pug & Sidewinder. The Pug arrived with the cylinder stuck and unable to turn. After a trip back to NAA it started giving me the same problem after I got it back so after the second time back to them I sold it and bought the Sidewinder. Just another problem gun with the cylinder not closing correctly and getting stuck. So again back to them for the fix and when I got it back I sold it. I must say they picked up cost both ways and got them back to me fast but that was about it.
 
A mint condition Mossberg 351 .22 semi that I bought from a co worker. It would only fire about 25 rounds before it got too dirty to function. I lost the firing pin at a range when took it apart to wipe the carbon off and it fell out into the gravel never to be seen again.

Runner up was a West German surplus P1 9mm that worked just fine but stung my hand when shooting. Not fun too shoot.
 
Archon Type B for me. I read and watched the reviews, and found a used one within driving distance. It was supposed to be easy to shoot, low recoil and accurate. I could barely keep the group inside the 5-ring on the 25-yard NRA target at 7 yards. At my age and training level I didn't have time to screw with a pistol like that. Merrily on its way.

Oh, and it looked like the Varon-T Disruptor from Star Trek Next Generation.


Archon Type B.jpg
 
Last edited:
Mine was the Calico M100. I seen one at a gun show with an underfolder stock and fell in love. I figured that would be a sweet squirrel gun/backpacker. Could not afford that one but kept the thought in my mind. I ran across one a few years later missing the magazine at a price I could afford. Grabbed it up and thoroughly cleaned it. Put a sweet sling on it and single shot it some. Ordered a magazine for it 🙄 (as much as the gun). Loaded it up and charged the mag only to have it blow apart and dump 100rds on the ground. Put it back together and messed with it off and on for awhile and never got it to cycle correctly. Tossed it in the safe and haven't thought about it in years until this thread.
 
AverageDad said:
When the 17HMR came on the scene I picked up a Savage 93R17 and put a nikon 3-9×40 on it for small game hunting. Couldn't get the gun to group better than 2" at 25 yards after trying every ammo on the market.
Click to expand...
I love mine, I bought it off of a member here. Drove to a buddies house and consistently rung 4" steel at 200yds with the ammo that was in the case with it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom