Author Topic: Worst handguns? (Read 3915 times)

His lordship. · « **on:** June 11, 2005, 09:12:04 AM »

Reading on the different opinions of what is/not, a good handgun, and the many feelings on each, I was reminiscing on the list of the truly bad handguns that have been made over the last 60 years.

The following list comes to mind of bad handguns...The Bauer .25 pocket pistol, the Stoner, and the Sterling pocket pistol. All out of business too!

The mediocre list is easier, these are barely functional, could be bad or so-so...older H & hr topbreaks, 1960's-80's vintage H & R revolvers, Lhamas, potmetal types like the Phoenix, Lorcin, Raven, etc. RG, some of the Taurus's, etc.

I guess I have been lucky as most of the handguns I have known, work, including my potmetal Raven P-25.

What is the opinions of the contributors here for their worst handguns, and what went wrong?

Thanks.

v-man · « **Reply #1 on:** June 11, 2005, 09:58:48 AM »

Chris, I pretty much agree with the "junk" you listed however I have found that the Phoenix Arms J-22 is maybe a notch above the Lorcin, Jennings and Raven. After 10 years and a lot of ammo It's still a solid little shooter as .22 pocket guns go.

gino · « **Reply #2 on:** June 11, 2005, 12:16:52 PM »

Y'all remember the Grendel P10? Kinda the "Bic Lighter" of handguns.
gino :grin:

stimpylu32 · « **Reply #3 on:** June 11, 2005, 01:30:05 PM »

I owned one of the grendels and a bic lighter --- the bic lasted longer :-D :-D :-D :-D

knight0334 · « **Reply #4 on:** June 12, 2005, 04:09:46 PM »

:cry: damn... My mom carries a Grendel P-10(the one with detachable mag). no problems with hers.. makes me worry now though.

I think the crappiest guns's I've owned or shot were the Raven, Lorcin, Phoenix and Davis guns. Seen some Glock and Taurus's that weren't too far behind them.

Even my el cheapo FMJ/Lienad derringers outlasted some of the more expensive American Derringer's that my friends had.

Overall though, I've had some pretty good luck with just about any gun I've owned. Even my .25acp Raven has held up to 14 years of pocket duty in all sorts of weather without a major problem.

jro45 · « **Reply #5 on:** June 13, 2005, 04:08:56 AM »

I've got the RG and that gun can shoot. With its 1" barrel I shot a 1/2"group with it many years ago at 10 yds. Scence then I now have a Ruger Standard model.

Bigdog57 · « **Reply #6 on:** June 13, 2005, 08:36:39 AM »

I once owned an RG57 revolver in .357Magnum that was a decent gun. No beauty queen, but reliable and reasonably accurate. :-)
I've seen major problems with two Beretta .32 small autos. One cracked where the barrel pivots on the frame! :shock:
I've seen problems with many later Automags, especially the Automag IV.
PA63's seem to have some problems too - several at our local range let their owners down.
I have yet to see a Davis that works. :?

Many bad-mouth the Heritage revolvers - my Tanfoglio TA76, grandaddy of the Heritage, has outshot a few Ruger Singlesixes. :twisted:

patm41 · « **Reply #7 on:** June 13, 2005, 04:49:55 PM »

My Davis and Raven .25 still work after all these years !!

greenjeans · « **Reply #8 on:** June 14, 2005, 06:23:50 AM »

Accu-Tek .380. Magazine fell out on every shot. A friend had one that had the same problem.

myronman3 · « **Reply #9 on:** June 14, 2005, 02:21:51 PM »

this is an easy one for me. ruger super blackhawk

i had three that all were pains in the posterior. sent them all to new homes and bought a freedom arms 44mag.

the rugers are nothing but a flipping headache, and i will never own any of their pistols again. and as far as that goes, maybe i will avoid ruger guns all together. and i used to be one of their biggest fans. goes to show what poor product and lousy customer service will get you. my advise to those who own ruger stock- dump it.

Glanceblamm · « **Reply #10 on:** June 14, 2005, 05:26:58 PM »

My old 70's H&R model 649 is still hanging in there. Had to replace the pawl per a broken spring but that's it.
Usually like to take this gun Squirrel hunting.

oso45-70 · « **Reply #11 on:** June 14, 2005, 05:31:30 PM »

THATS STRANGE, I have had and have a bunch of Rugers and never a minutes problem with them. I bought one of the first Black Hawks that came out and carried it for many years with out a single problem. I still have a bunch of rugers, Fifles, Shot Guns, Revolvers, No Autos and i trust them all. If you see me any where you can bet i have at least one Ruger with me, Thats My take on Rugers.............Joe...........

minutemen1776 · « **Reply #12 on:** June 15, 2005, 05:05:07 AM »

Believe it or not, my worst handgun was a Springfield Armory 1911 .45, which I bought about thirteen years ago. It jammed more than any gun I've ever owned, even with FMJ ammo. Even when it worked, accuracy was practically nonexistent. I hear the Springfields are very good now, but my one bad experience put a seriously bad taste in my mouth. I've not owned a Springfield or another 1911 since then, and I don't feel worse off for it!

elyod56 · « **Reply #13 on:** June 15, 2005, 06:32:32 PM »

i had a colt 380 mustang plus and it was nothing but a pain, function and accuracy were terrible. lemons i've had have been a llama 357 and a rossi 22 revolver and oh yeah one of those lone eagles in 223that kept breaking firing pins. welcome to the world of little gadgets with springs levers and such. even the best of companies have made junkers though you do get what you pay for for the most part.

rockbilly · « **Reply #14 on:** June 16, 2005, 12:16:30 AM »

:roll: Boy, talk about opening up a bucket of worms...

I think guns are pretty much like any mechanical device with moving parts, some are great and others are trash. Take automobiles, for example, what some may take to be top of the line may be a pure lemon for you, while the cheap, throw-away version just keeps on going.

As for bad guns. I had problems with several Colts, mostly feed, but problems that could not be corrected by the smiths at the USAF Marksmanship School.. When it gets to the point I no longer have confidence in a gun, that "puppy" finds a new home. And by the way, I own a Jennings 9mm that my grandson has fed thousands of rounds, no jams or feed problems and no misfires. Not bad for a $98. NIB gun (?).

Zeke Menuar · « **Reply #15 on:** June 16, 2005, 07:53:06 AM »

I have never had the fun of trying a Lorcin, Hi-Point or Jennings.

I did get a Ruger P-95 that was the WORST gun I have ever bought. I have never dealt with a company that admitted the gun was flawed, the defect was their fault, all in writing and then refused to fix it.
That was my first Ruger. And my last Ruger

ZM

His lordship. · « **Reply #16 on:** June 16, 2005, 10:20:38 AM »

I bought a Lorcin pocket pistol in .22 RF, jambed alot, sent it to the factory and they polished it up internally. After it got back, before I traded it, the gun would actually fire 2 clips of high velocity ammo before I had to clean it really good as the jamming would start again.

Bought a Beretta pocket pistol in .22 RF and that would jam too. You might get a full clip to fire, I sold that bad boy off and got a Springfield XD. In fact I would not trust any small pocket pistol in .22 RF, that is why John Browning designed the .25 ACP. My Raven in .25 ACP was 100% reliable with 600 rounds put through it. My friend now owns it and uses it for his store security.

H and R swing out cylinder in .22 RF. Not very accurate, cylinder push pin worked loose and jammed it. Used it for hunting for several years, my friends liked it, I did not. Weird thing about that gun is that it was cheap, yet it had one of the nicest deep blue finishs I have ever seen.

EMF company Remington 1858 replica revolver. Nicely made gun, except that the rifleing was not done correctly. Sometimes it was a tack driver, other times I could not hit a barn. Sold it.

1896 German Bolo Mauser pistol from China. This was a parts gun that had the upper from an 1896 Broom handle, and the lower frame from a Bolo. Hammer was hand made in some Chinese guy's barn. Jammed every 4 rounds, not very accurate. I had fun with it though as it is a weird pistol to shoot. :-D

SAWgunner · « **Reply #17 on:** June 16, 2005, 11:33:56 AM »

Ditto on the mechanical devices observance, which is right on the mark. There are going to be lemons in every make and model of anything you buy.

Knight0334, You have seen not just a Glock, but GLOCKS that were on par with those matchbox guns? Hmmm, you must work at the Glock returns section.

The worst pistol I have ever owned was a Sig Sauer Pro SP2340 in .357 Sig. It is a smaller framed pistol, and my pinky finger rested on the lip protruding on the magazine, and that lip fell off of both of the factory supplied magazines. Upon further investigation, they were indeed glued to the metal bottom of the magazine. I wish I still had this gun around to show pictures of, but it was short lived in my home. I think that I purchased that one in January of 2000 right after it hit the market.

SAW

CJ · « **Reply #18 on:** June 17, 2005, 09:37:32 AM »

The only really bad gun I ever owned is a Pro-tec {I think} .25auto. Bought it in a moment of weakness after I got my CWP, and realized my smallest gun was a 4 inch Security Six. Total POS. And not even worth selling cause a transfer costs more than its worth. Where are the "Gun Buy Backs" when you need one? No offence but I've never met a Ruger or Glock I didnt like. And I have met quite a few. I liked the two H+Rs I owned too. Guess I'm just fortunate.

dogngun · « **Reply #19 on:** July 15, 2005, 02:30:31 AM »

Beretta .22 pocket pistol. FTE, slide came off at range. I had several, looking for one that worked 100%, never found one that would.

Mark

Questor · « **Reply #20 on:** July 15, 2005, 03:47:05 AM »

I usually just concentrate on what the good ones are and assume the others are not worthwhile. They're too expensive to waste money on.

tomaldridge · « **Reply #21 on:** July 15, 2005, 06:05:43 AM »

Didn't own this one, but a fellow I know bought a Taurus .357 DA revolver after he bacame very fond of a snuuby from Taurus. I watched him map the cylinder, and at 10 yards, not one chamber came within 2" of the one next to it! He swore it was a new gun, but I often wondered if the store owner he bought it from had used it for testing some really heavy loads. Funny thing was, it didn't spit all that much lead for a revolver that far out.

winman · « **Reply #22 on:** July 26, 2005, 02:42:37 PM »

This may be slightly off topic, but why do I see so many Glock's for sale at gun shows that have been 'reconditioned' by the factory? I don't see many used Smiths or Rugers advertised this way. Exactly why do Glocks need 'reconditioning' so often since they are so indestructible?

mjbgalt · « **Reply #23 on:** March 14, 2006, 09:11:26 AM »

maybe police department programs? guns get sent back and redone and the department gets new ones?

-Matt

Old Griz · « **Reply #24 on:** March 14, 2006, 07:30:08 PM »

:cb2: Had an EAA Witness, .40 that would eject the magazine about every third shot. It also shot eight inches to the right and six inches high at 7.5 yards. That meant at 25 yards you had to aim at the dirt about three feet to right of the target to hit the paper. Took a killing on it when I traded it back in at the dealer I bought it from.

Next was a Taurus Millennium .45. Once per magazine you could pull the trigger all the way backand nothing. Then when you released the trigger, BANG. Sent it back twice. After the second time it functioned OK, but I never trusted it. Found a guy that wanted it anyway, so I sold it to him.

So far, those are the only bad handguns I have ever owned.

williamlayton · « **Reply #25 on:** March 15, 2006, 12:17:40 AM »

I am sure glad this string didn't ask about bad handgunners otherwise I would have been plastered over the net.
I would agree with the Colt Mustang. I could not hit the broadside of a barn with it---from the inside. The onliest accuracy it had was in the pattern of the spent shell casings.
Blessings

Old Griz · « **Reply #26 on:** March 15, 2006, 08:11:00 AM »

:cb2: Thanks for sharing about the Colt Mustang. I have wanted one for years, but couldn't find one. Now I can scratch it off my list! :bye:

His lordship. · « **Reply #27 on:** March 16, 2006, 06:16:43 AM »

Old Griz...I was wondering about the feedback on the Taurus Millennium. I see them advertising all the time in the gun magazines. And you had to send it back twice! I'm not surprised as the Taurus guns do not have a good reputation.

I wonder if any police departments have ever bought and used any?

thedave87 · « **Reply #28 on:** March 16, 2006, 06:41:53 AM »

So far the only handgun I've seen thats been a real pile had been a Bryco/Jennings .380. The thing jammed at least once per magazine and usually more. Plus the recoil on the thing was pretty ridiculous. I've shot other .380's including a Kel-Tec P3AT and not had that much recoil. Plus, having bigger hands, the thing tended to bite my hand quite often

JD11 · « **Reply #29 on:** March 16, 2006, 09:19:10 AM »

Yea, the Jennings give all new meaning to low-end crap. Years ago I worked with a cop's wife and her husband had gotten her a Jennings 22 pocket pistol. I blindly bought one, then later decided he might be a good cop and a kick in the butt to party with, but he had the mechanical aptitude of my cat when it came to firearms. Rather than unload it on someone else, I later smashed it to smithereens on my horseshoeing anvil. (The Jennings, not my cat) :grin: