*sigh* My friend bought a Bryco

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kozak6

New member
He only payed $50, and got two boxes of ammo and holster, so at least he wasn't ripped off too badly.

Anyways, does anyone know what in particular causes these pistols to occasionally explode? Is it just the shoddy materials, or is it some other defect? I was thinking, it would be great if we could somehow prevent it from doing so.
 
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cpaspr

New member
Explode?

How about "break unexpectedly when firing"?

Closer to what I think you actually mean.

But to answer the original question: basically, it's the metal the Davis/Bryco/Jennings/Raven, etc. cheap pistols are made of. Zinc. Fairly heavy, but not strong. Have seen them break. Have one - don't shoot it.
 
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Jack Malloy

New member
Guns of that nature tend to break or fall apart with use because they tend to use metals other than steel or high grade alluminum alloys in their manufacture.
When I buy a gun, I want steel, not the stuff that is in dandruff shampoo.
 
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Magyar

New member
Besides the Bryco, the following list, in no particular order, have been abused badly by those that "don't know their butt from a hole in the ground". Raven; Makarov;FEG;Jennings;AMT;Llama; Lorcin...
However, without them we wouldn't "puke" at the second-hand redundant one-liner POS, 'paperweight' responses...
 
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CJO

New member
Besides the Bryco, the following list, in no particular order, have been abused badly by those that "don't know their butt from a hole in the ground". Raven; Makarov;FEG;Jennings;AMT;Llama; Lorcin...
However, without them we wouldn't "puke" at the second-hand redundant one-liner POS, 'paperweight' responses...

The Makarov dosen't even come close to belonging to the above horrific group....
 
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JR47

Moderator
None of them are quite as bad as some suppose. Massad Ayoob, Walt Rauch, Charlie Petty, David Fortier, and a number of other LEO and former LEO all used them as last-ditch weapons over the years. It's the QC that's spotty, not the design. There is also quite a list of "improvised" pistols, rifles, and shotguns that were used successfully throughout the world over the last century, many made with materials that raise the hair on your neck. :)
 
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W Turner

New member
I had one a loooong time ago. Accurate and reliable.



Notice I didn't say durable. Tell your friend...DO NOT DRY FIRE THIS GUN. The firing pins are brittle and will break after only 10 or 11 dry-fires. The good news is that the manufacturer will usually send out a couple of firing pins at a time if needed.


W
 
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MrApathy

New member
I was out shooting with Iowacarry.org at spring event I had a guy from missouri carry up shooting with us he brought a bryco or jennings. I was shooting my sigma.

I get half way through my mag and hear people shouting I looked over to my left and his gun was in pieces a lug sheared and his slide flew forward of the shooting line.

friends dont let friends by junk guns.
 
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silicon wolverine

New member
Ive had a raven .25 (still do) jennings .380, lorcin .380 and a bryco .22lr and though they were cheap pocket pistols i never had one explode. I did go thourgh firing pins on a few though. You cant beat my raven .25 for fitting in you jeans pocket. I use a piece of plastic i cut to fit the shape so i dont print as having a gun in my pocket. Ive carried it that way when all esle would be visible. I cant complain about them. Everybody rips on them beacuse, yes, they're cheap, sometimes poorly made handguns. But hey, sometimes thats whats called for.

SW
 
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D-Ric902

New member
I had a Bryco 380 for a while and I agree with W Turner, do not dry fire that gun. I had to go to the company to get another one.
Since they are no longer in business getting another one would be very difficult.
Other than that I had a lot of fun with it. Fairly reliable (hardball only) and really pretty accurate.
Tell him to shoot the daylights out of it and enjoy himself.
 
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Kermit

New member
Man, I've know a couple people that had Brycos and I just felt bad for them. I knew that both bought these guns because they couldn't afford anything else and they needed something for protection :( Can be a tough situation :(
 
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dallasconundrum

New member
I bought a little Bryco/Jennings .25 several years back new. I had a little extra cash, figured it wasn't much of an investment so said what the heck? I really don't know why I bought it, I don't carry it my Kel Tec pulls pocket duty if I carry that way. Anyway, I haven't even shot the gun very much at all. MAYBE a hundred rounds, so I can't attest to the reliability/durability of it. I will say that in that many rounds, I had no jams. I was COMPLETELY shocked by how accurate it was. When I got it, my Dad took one look at it and said, "you'll never hit anything with that damn gun." We took it out for an informal plinking session that day and it consistently hit the cans/bottles out as far as 25 yards.

However, again, I know nothing about how reliable it would be, and I therefore I don't carry it and likely would not recommend it to anyone. Especially if they were just getting one or two guns for protection. If it were a total nut like me that thinks he has to own/try everything, I'd probably tell them to go ahead and give it a try...as long as they do it with the ever elusive extra cash.
 
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kozak6

New member
I got to fire it today.

It's a very sad little pistol.

Ergonomics are rather poor, so it's uncomfortable to shoot. The trigger pull is absolutely horrid. It's very heavy, and very creepy. It's difficult to tell when it's going to actually fire.

Accuracy seemed to be pretty good, though, if you could get past the horrible trigger. The sights are surprisingly good for such a horrible piece of garbage as well.

As for functioning, it had some rather severe issues.

It had some stovepipes, double feeds, failures to fire (I think the striker may have followed the slide due to a slight kiss on the primers of those shells), and various other problems.

One of the more disturbing problems, though, was that the slide kept trying to detach itself from the frame. I get the feeling that eventually, it will finally free itself, and either end up in the firer's face or catapult itself downrange.

All in all, I give it a:

:barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: :barf:
 
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Jeff #111

New member
Scenario gun.

If this was Red Dawn I'd use a Bryco/Jennings/Raven/Wilkinson/Lorcin to get a better gun. Classic partisan set-up. Couple of bullets at very close range and I would have an AK or at least a Makarov.:cool:

Since we aren't living in one of those scenarios I'd use them as a paperweight. Nothing else.
 
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