What is the worst revolver you have ever owned?

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Ruger SP101 in 22 lr.

Tool marks all over. Had to have the rear sight jacked way to the left. Barrel was slightly canted. Trigger was heavy as hell. Had to polish the chambers myself because of super sticky extraction.

Piece of crap. Don't miss it a bit.

One of my grandson's was given one of these by his father-in-law. I've shot it and it's nice. Maybe your's was a Friday or Monday gun.
 
One of my grandson's was given one of these by his father-in-law. I've shot it and it's nice. Maybe your's was a Friday or Monday gun.
That's entirely possible. I'm not saying they all suck, just mine did.

My 357 SP101 is a nice gun.
 
F.I.E 22/22WMR single action. My parents bought it for me in the early 80’s from K-Mart. It wasn’t very accurate, had plenty of misfires and the safety started to malfunction. The safety was a lever that blocked the firing pin and eventually locked up in the safe position. The pistol wasnt very aesthetically pleasing by my current standards but it sure contributed to a lot of good memories. My friend had a Colt New Frontier and I wanted one just like his but the FIE was what I got lol. It was given to me when I was around 12 so I didn’t know much about quality back then.
 
Revolvers when bad are still better than the usaf zip gun.
Worst for me is a 22 short revolver ,nickle plated 7 shot single action and the only marking anywhere is "defender" on the top strap. No maker, no caliber designation, no other markings at all. I still have it and yes ive fired it with 22 cb shorts. Its horrible. Its like an naa without any of the quality. I couldnt even guess who made it, i would be willing to wager its late 19th century. Paid $50 for it years ago and probably got ripped off. Bought it to inlay in a bar i have yet to build. Woof 20190107_191145.jpg
 
I had a Russian Nagant. It functioned okay, for a Nagant, but the DA trigger pull was ridiculously heavy. It had the worst trigger I have ever felt on any firearm.
Maybe times have changed but i remember you could get one of these, mint condition with a holster and cleaning kit for $70 in the late 90s. Kind of wish i had one honestly, dont judge me.
 
For me,it’s my only 2 Taurus! Both ss, one a DA 22 and the other a DA snub 357.
22 down with chipped firing pin
357 down with cylinder over travel issues
 
I have had a few, but the interesting one I have was given to me by my former brother-in-law some years ago, an old Iver-Johnson & Cycle either in 32 or 38 I am guessing. He claimed when he was a kid he shot it with 22. Shorts, as someone in the past put sleeves in some of the chambers. The cylinder is tack welded to the frame, so its not going anywhere. For the best I think.
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I have to add to my collection of bad...

I within a couple weeks went through a pair of horrible Ruger GP100s. Did some selling/trading to end up in a new 6” blued beauty, only to find a chattered barrel that wouldn’t shoot worth a flip. Ruger didn’t want anything to do with it but the shop I got it from took care of me and gave me another one... equally as bad. I still swear off Ruger DA revolvers because of it. Just can’t force myself to be interested. Maybe if I run across a killer deal on a .327fm gp100 I might try it again, but only if I get it cheap enough to rebarrel and go frankenruger on a smallbore.
 
I have to add to my collection of bad...

I within a couple weeks went through a pair of horrible Ruger GP100s. Did some selling/trading to end up in a new 6” blued beauty, only to find a chattered barrel that wouldn’t shoot worth a flip. Ruger didn’t want anything to do with it but the shop I got it from took care of me and gave me another one... equally as bad. I still swear off Ruger DA revolvers because of it. Just can’t force myself to be interested. Maybe if I run across a killer deal on a .327fm gp100 I might try it again, but only if I get it cheap enough to rebarrel and go frankenruger on a smallbore.


didn't you inspect those revolvers before taking them home?
 
Is the top chamber aligned with the barrel so in theory could be fired by a brave soul?
Yes, and the story goes he did shoot it, by thumbing the hammer back for each shot, as the cylinder is tacked to the frame. He said he had fun, but no accuracy at all. I think...worse then a smooth bore at best. His father was a gun tinkerer, and didn't always do it right. Another revolver I got was an early H&R Sportsman 999, but he had tried to drill holes on top of the frame for a scope mount of some sort. It weakened the frame, created cracks through out, and made the whole thing unsafe to fire. A real shame too.
 
That’s a easy one. Anything with the name Taurus on it. I’ve really tried to like them but the only Taurus I’ve ever had that worked reliably was the 92 9mm that was a very close copy of the Beretta 92. I tried their 85’s (j frame size) .38 and one of the k frame copies. None of the three would shoot double action. I’ve tried a whole lot more and non of them worked properly even if they went back for warranty work. I would never trust my life to anything they make. I also hate that they bought Rossi and have probably ruined the 1892 Winchester copies too.
 
View attachment 819977
Rossi Princess. After 50 rounds, the Zamak topstrap was flame-cut almost entirely through! Too bad because it was a neat idea let down by inadequate materials.

It was a more or less direct copy of the original S&W Ladysmith, which was, of course, steel. Unfortunately a decent Ladysmith these days is worth waaaaay too much to throw in a pocket or tackle box!

Yup, much too expensive to throw in the tackle box.

Chambered for 22 Long, not 22 Long Rifle. Modern rounds would probably hurt them anyway.

2nd Model Ladysmith.

Ladysmith%202nd%20Model%2003_zpshllzjqbg.jpg




3rd Model Ladysmith.

Ladysmith%20in%20Hand_zpsdtyyibbp.jpg




First Model Ladysmith, which completes my collection of Ladysmiths.

Ladysmith%201st%20Model%2001_zpsqejkprci.jpg
 
Anyway, believe it or not the worst revolver I ever owned was an Uberti/Cimarron Cattleman.

I bought it used when I first started cowboy shooting. Prettiest robins egg blue finish you ever saw. Turned out the finish was not very durable and sweat from my hand had removed all the blue from the backstrap in less than a year.

That wasn't the problem though. Worst trigger pull of any revolver I ever experienced. Had a real, rough, gritty feel to it.

And to top it off, the barrel was not screwed in properly and the front sight leaned to one side.

Being dumb and pretty new to single action revolvers I didn't think much about the rough trigger pull, and had to have it pointed out to me that the front sight leaned to one side.

I eventually sold it and used the money as a down payment on a Ruger Vaquero.

But that's another story.
 
My worst was a Taurus 905B2.
A blued 9mm revolver.
It was sent back 3x.
Cylinder would spin freely in both directions,
or it would bind to the point of no movement at any time.

The last time they said it needed to be replaced.
After a year of bugging 'em, they still hadn't replaced it.
So I agreed to a 380 revolver.
(Taurus also owes me a magazine for another gun - which they promised 3 years ago)
Suffice it to say I'm not a Taurus fan.

905B2.jpg
 
My worst was a Taurus 905B2.
A blued 9mm revolver.
It was sent back 3x.
Cylinder would spin freely in both directions,
or it would bind to the point of no movement at any time.

The last time they said it needed to be replaced.
After a year of bugging 'em, they still hadn't replaced it.
So I agreed to a 380 revolver.
(Taurus also owes me a magazine for another gun - which they promised 3 years ago)
Suffice it to say I'm not a Taurus fan.

View attachment 820061
I had a taurus gaucho (saa clone thing) that the hammer would randomly lock at full cock making it impossible to unload the cylinder then the hammer would fall at random without touching the trigger. That was right out of the box. Returned it, the store let me exchange it even though it had fired it self a few times. The one i got in exchange i still own and has been fine, it does have a trigger pull in the area of about 6oz's - scary light - a hair trigger would be an understatement. I kind of like it though. The finish was crap after about a year in a gun safe where everything else is perfect, blueing just evaporated leaving this gold/yellow color in its place on the barrel and ejector housing. The "case coloring" on the frame has remained perfect. I dont do taurus after a couple other blunders on their part.
 
I had a taurus gaucho (saa clone thing) that the hammer would randomly lock at full cock making it impossible to unload the cylinder then the hammer would fall at random without touching the trigger. That was right out of the box. Returned it, the store let me exchange it even though it had fired it self a few times. The one i got in exchange i still own and has been fine, it does have a trigger pull in the area of about 6oz's - scary light - a hair trigger would be an understatement. I kind of like it though. The finish was crap after about a year in a gun safe where everything else is perfect, blueing just evaporated leaving this gold/yellow color in its place on the barrel and ejector housing. The "case coloring" on the frame has remained perfect. I dont do taurus after a couple other blunders on their part.
I had a Taurus Gaucho too, a long time ago. Beautiful finish, but still too large for my small hands. Went in trade for a S&W 19, was happy with the trade.
 
I had a Taurus Gaucho too, a long time ago. Beautiful finish, but still too large for my small hands. Went in trade for a S&W 19, was happy with the trade.
Yeah, id be happy with that trade too. Which trigger did you have, infinite resistance, normal or a light breeze would be enough to drop the hammer?
 
I have never owned a bad revolver or any bad firearm . I usually buy top names . The only budget guns that I have bought are Uberti and a Weatherby ,Turkish shotgun . They have all been good .
 
My Pietta 1860 is the worst revolver I've ever owned.

The cylinder notches got peened by the cylinder locking bolt very quickly, the barrel slot for the wedge has peened from firing, and the front sight flew off into oblivion.

I think I have launched maybe 90 lead balls through it.

It looks nice, the trigger is very good, and it is surprisingly accurate, though.
 
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Yeah, id be happy with that trade too. Which trigger did you have, infinite resistance, normal or a light breeze would be enough to drop the hammer?
Light as a breeze, the same as the Great Western 357 Atomic I had a while back. A little unnerving if you ask me.
 
The only bad revolver I have owners was an old model Ruger Blackhawk 357. It undoubtedly had a mis-drilled cylinder because it would not shoot less than pie plate groups with any ammo. I didn't know about Ruger's excellent customer service then or I would have sent it back.
From 40 years as a gunsmith, the worst I have seen are the various RG's.
 
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