Biggest Let Down You Ever Had From a Handgun

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Dr45ACP

Moderator
What gun do you own or have owned that you thought was going to be great when you got it, only to find out it was the worst Hunk-O-Junk you ever had?

For me it was a Springfield Armory Loaded 1911. I know, everyone says they are great, but I must have gotten a lemon. Nobody, including Springfield, could get it working reliably...
 
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444

New member
I would have to agree with that. I have had pretty good luck with guns. I have bought enough guns to sink a battle ship and never had one of these nightmares I read about. The biggest let down would have to be my Springfield Armory "loaded". Now let me go on record as saying I don't think it is a piece of junk. It has eaten up everything I fed it. BUT, it's accuracy wasn't anything like I expected. I added a Bar-Sto barrel the second time I took it out and shrunk my groups by 75%. When you see all those features that only used to be available on a custom gun you expect a lot; this time I was disappointed. My bone stock out of the box plain jane Colt Government model shoots better than the Springfield with the Bar-Sto barrel. I would have to chime in with my biggest surprise guns: #1 would be my Bulgarian Makarov. First group offhand at about 20 yards were all in one elongated hole. #2 Would have to be my Israeli (sp) surplus Hi-Power. It looks like hell, all the checkering is worn off the stocks, it was origionally PAINTED black and that finish is mostly gone. But it shoots great and is reliable. Don't judge a book by it's cover. I ordered a Bar-Sto barrel (fitted by a former member of the Army pistol team) for it today along with all the Cylinder & Slide trick parts. I am leaving the finish alone. I love to sandbag gun snobs who think noting less than whatever is on the magazine covers this months is worth owning. I own them on the range.
 
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George Hill

Staff Alumnus
I hate to say it... but mine to was a Springfield 1911A1.
This was called the "Night .45". It had a black poly based baked on finish that was very nice and a Dot the I trituim sights with Hogue rubber finger groove grips.
This gun was SWEET. Felt Great! Looked Sexy!

But...

But...

It couldnt feed 230 grain bullets. Not a single one.

I went back to the store and showed them.
They got it to feed just fine...
***?
I asked if it was a 230 grain load, if so, what load.
They said, Uh... noooo... it was a 185 loading...
Back then I was insistant on 230 grain Hydras.
They called Springfield.
Springfield was perplexed. Springfield asked for the gun back.
In the mean time the shop (Greentop Sporting Goods, Hwy1 in Virginia, north of Richmond) gave me a straight across trade for a new SIG P220, holster, spare mags, and dual mag pouch. Nice.
I was happy.


But...

But...

I want that Springfield back... it was black and sexy... If Darth Vader had a .45 it was this that one.
Someone out there has it.
Someone out there thats not ME has it.

I am a haunted man.

(BTW, all my other Springfields have been PERFECT and I would not hesitate to spend my own money on one. Springfield make one of the best 1911s on the planet.)
 
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Quantum Singularity

New member
S&W semi-autos!

Having owned S&W revolvers for decades (which made me a fan of their revolvers), I picked up a S&W 457 and 4516 a few years back. I expected the semi-autos to be as good quality as the revolvers. What a mistake! Both S&W's were such junk that they made Jennings pistols look good. Both the 457 and 4516 were jam-o-matics from hell. I experienced several parts breakages early in the pistols' lives. The SA trigger pull was pathetic. I ended up selling both at a huge loss. It was a hard lesson, but I learned that S&W's semi-autos are NOT equal in quality to their revolvers. I won't ever make the same mistake again.
 
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czman

New member
I'm not trying incur the wraith of the glockophiles here but.... A while back I was looking for a .45 for CCW. I let myself get talked into a G30, I was so disapointed with it cause of it's sky high pointing when I held it in my normal shooting grip. Only with snail like motions and concentration can I get it to group. I still have it
(I never sell guns) but I hardly shoot it anymore. I gave it about 350 rnds and gave up....CZ....
 
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Quantum Singularity

New member
CZman,

I humbly suggest that if you don't like the G30....SELL IT. That way you can buy a gun you do like. Why keep a gun that you are not happy with. Believe me, I am glad that I got rid of my S&W semi-autos......
 
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Melvin

New member
Have to say without any doubt in my mind,it was an early Colt Anaconda in .44 mag. Even after an extended stay back at Colt it was still my all time CHS revolver Melvin
 
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George Hill

Staff Alumnus
444:

You know, that surplus HP that works so good for you - would do even better and looks as good as it works with a little Metacol III finish from Arazona Response Systems.
Even old War Horses deserve a nice "Dress Uniform" at least once in their careers.
 
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Elvis

New member
Dr45ACP:

I gotta write that my worst hunk of junk is a S&W 586 with a 4" barrel. Damn thing has froze up on me more times than I can count. 'sides that, it made a big bulge in my stage getup, y'know, my jumpsuit, and it 'bout drove them ladies crazier than a coon dog chasin' a possum. Hell, I shoulda traded it for a cheap geetar.


Gotta a show to do,
E
 
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mikey357

New member
Biggest "Letdown" I ever had from a sidearm...let's see...that would be the Series '70 Colt Gold Cup I bought from my Father during my "formative years". I thought, for a LONG TIME, that it was me...we had a "Family Friend" who was a Narc and had been on the "All-Army" Pistol Team for three years...he'd ROUTINELY hold the "Black" of the 25-yd. "bull" with his "Lightweight" Commander and "Hardball"...but couldn't do it with that Gold Cup AND SEMI-WAD ammo!!! It was then...or maybe it was when that EXPENSIVE Elliason sight "departed"...that I KNEW that Colt was a Piece of Sh#t!!! It was either built on Monday by somebody WITH A HANGOVER, or it had been built on Friday by someone who had ALREADY STARTED on THEIR HANGOVER!!! Worst piece of CR@P I've ever owned...wouldn't feed anything 100%, not accurate worth a darn, erratic trigger pull...and Colt's "Factory Service" people DID NOT CARE!!! Traded it on an 8 & 3/8 inch Model 29...and NEVER looked back!!!....FWIW....mikey357
 
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Jager1

New member
S&W 5906

Had a model 59. Loved that old piece of junk. It was (for a while) the only auto I could hit anything with. A little tackdriver. But, she was a 'beater' and was well shot before I even received it. Never mind the tens of thousands of rounds I put through it.

Wanted a 459 second generation but never seemed to have the funds.

Finally bought a very lightly used 5906 with everything. Stainless, guarded sights, adjustable, stainless, all steel, Pachmayr grip...this pistol had everything I always wanted. Except accuracy.

Thing could barely shoot 6-8" groups at 35' standing. No, it wasn't me, either. I tried dozens of kinds of ammunition, had better shooters try it, different lubes, cleaned it religiously, then seldom. I was desperate to love it and had hoped to become hopelessly co-dependent.

It was not to be.

Replaced with a P226 and the rest is history.
 
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boing

New member
I also had a lot of problems with my Springfield. Most of the feed failures were with a Wilson 8 rd mag, which I finally gave up on. The 7 rd mag was much better, but still not perfect. Of course, I expect a 1911 to need gunsmithing out of the box, so it wasn't a big let-down, really, more like world weary resignation. I may yet take up my dealer/gunsmith on his offer to fix it for free, but I've been distracted by my true heartbreak:

My Glock 30. Jam after jam after jam. Different mags, different ammo, on and on. I was flabbergasted (ie: pissed). I got all set to send it back to Glock, but I decided to give it one more chance. So far, so good, but we'll see. It's going to take an awful lot of good behavior for me gain the necessary confidence in this gun.
 
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Robert the41MagFan

New member
Smith & Wesson 646 from the Performance Center.

Gun does not want to shoot my hand loads. :(

Cases get stuck in the chamber and lock the cylinder against the recoil shield. The design is a lemon.

pc646_med.jpg


Robert
 
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Mark King

New member
It would have to be on the S&W model 4013 I originally bought for concealed carry..

It was the most unreliable gun I've ever owned.. Even less reliable than an old Jennings .22. Was extremely lucky if it would make it through a magazine without failure. On top of that it wouldn't shoot less than a 4 inch group at 15 yards. The double action trigger was somewhere in the range of 15 lbs but the single action was a nice crisp 4 lbs.

I ended up trading it for my first Glock.

Mark / FL
 
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DAVID NANCARROW

New member
Back in mid-70's Denver, there was a sporting goods store with a nickel plated Series 70 Government model that I just had to have, and sold a highly accurate satin nickel Combat Commander to get it. Looked like a work of art, accurate to boot. Wouldn't feed a thing. Changed magazines, polished feed ramp. Then it would feed FMJ's only. Verrrrry disappointed. Sold it and got a 60's vintage government model-big smiles, but it sure weren't as purty as that nickelled 70 was.
 
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38Mike

New member
Taurus 445 44 spec. snub

Great idea, poor execution by the factory..

Broke firing pin spring twice....

YYYYYYYuck....

Mike M
 
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WESHOOT2

New member
Excitedly purchased Glock M20 w/three high-caps over the 'net (and then crashed into Brady trouble; a case of the "not-me's").

Over $1400 later (Jarvis this, ARS that, etc...) I STILL didn't like plastic.
Sold it to a friend.

Metal or nuthin'...

(friend has beaten me with it at our local matches...)
 
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