What gun disappointed you the most?

NVM, got beat too it, lol. Was going to say something about tanks constantly breaking down.......

NAA Guardian 32acp. Too much effort to get it to work well. I still like it for some reason, maybe because it's small an stainless and has a cool factor. But dissapointment because of spring failures and poor fitment. I consider it a plaything now.

Bersa Thunder 380. Parts kept breaking and falling off. Also it would misfeed frequently. After 3 warranty repairs I got rid of it. Disappointing because it’s an accurate shooter and has good ergonomics.

First Disappointment: AMT.44 Auto Mag. Gave money and a .10ga Ithica Roadblocker. Could never get through a magazine w/o at least one or two FTE's or FTF's. Magazine would sometimes release when I could get it to shoot. Scarce ammo. This was 1979 long before the internet so no manufacturer support. Beautiful firearm though.

Latest Disappointments: Ruger SP 101 .327 Federal Mag sent back to factory 2x because it would not eject spent .32 H&R Mag or .327 brass. Ruger ended up replacing the cylinder but by then my trust in it had waned. Have and have had several Rugers but this was the first one I ever had a problem with and won't hesitate to buy another Ruger product if one appeals to me.
Springfield EMP 9mm: Got this when they offered an online swag special after purchase of a holster, dual magazine holder and four magazines. Absolutely loved this pistol, bought it for an EDC, but could not achieve, for me, acceptable accuracy. Great firearm but just not a good fit for me. Very disappointing.

WVGunman said:

You're into guns and DON'T like cliches? Oh, how I pity you!

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Ha! It does get difficult at times.

I don’t think guns are sexy either.

Ok back on track.

WVGunman said:

Was this with black powder ammo? I think 50 rounds is probably more than the originals could handle with BP. If it's made to the exact specs of the original it might just be how it's supposed to function. Would love to have one of these guns.

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Smokeless powder.

Has something to do with it being chambered for 45 colt instead of 45 schofield.

If I recall there is a gas check issue with the longer round.

So far the level of disappointment compared to the anticipation has to go to the SIG P225.

I used to write away for gun catalogues and magazines when I was a young lad in the 80s. One SIG catalog had a 225 on the cover and it intrigued me to no end. I had never heard of the brand and it seemed strange and wonderfully weird and German-funky art design functional. The trigger guard and trigger in particular. I fell in lust with it.

Mid 90s I got a P226 as a sort of a fluke. Gun shop got it in as a low round count trade from someone who supposedly shot his transmission out in his car first day he had it and deemed it dangerous. Plus it was in the weenie 9mm caliber so it was basically worthless. But I held it and it molded with my hand and I remembered my fascination with SIG and I bought it for about $400. Best gun I've ever had. Still my favorite pistol. Shoots like a laser.

I got a P220 a few years back and it's also great, despite not being particularly reliable with my reloads.


However when I finally got the opportunity to purchase a nice P225 and jumped on it, it has not worked out so well. The trigger is livable but I simply can't shoot it accurately. I tried everything I could think of; I even replaced the locking block insert on the advice of some knowledgeable people. Still can't shoot it as well as I would expect to be able to.

I absolutely love how it looks. And it fits into my hand well. But I get pinched by the magazine plates at the front and I get such inconsistent accuracy that I don't shoot it much. I may try some different sights and a trigger job at some point. I just don't love it like I thought I would.

Worst gun ever award goes to Kel-Tec PF9 which broke a trigger bar at 80 rounds and the barrel at ~700. I only paid $200 for it and I didn't really expect awesomeness so overall it's not the hugest disappointment. The worst thing about it was the insulting and ineffective response I got from the customer service rep. Really turned me off of KelTec forever.

I've broken a Glock frame and an LCP frame and had to send a Dan Wesson and S&Ws and other Rugers back for fixes, but all have surpassed my expectations for good customer service.

My ex wife also had a Walther p22 that was extremely frustrating. Wouldn't get through a magazine of anything.

My Springfield Armory EMP. I bought it a number of years ago, loved it and wanted it to be my main CC gun. Unfortunately it wouldn't reliably feed hollow point ammunition. After the 4th trip back to Springfield they gave up and offered me an exchange for any gun in the same price range. I wound up with one of their 1911's which I eventually sold.

sparkyv said:

Browning Hi-Power Practical in 40S&W. The trigger is disappointingly heavy, the sights are spartan and dang nearly useless, but most of all, she bites! She's not going anywhere, but won't be shot much by me. But my son really likes her.View attachment 844651

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I have one too. I worked the trigger over and have shot thousands of rounds through it. Used it in several IDPA shoots, but you are right. It does bite.

It is hard to narrow it down. I currently have a Ruger 10/22 50th Anniversary model that has as cheap a stock as you will find. Not happy with it at all. Then there was a Phoenix 22 that fell apart after a couple hundred rounds. My first Keltec was a 40 cal with a 15 lb trigger. It didn't stay around very long. I will never understand how Taurus made a 941 22 mag revolver that had almost no lockup to it. I guess that their quality control inspector was either drunk or absent that day. A Ruger Mini Thirty was a fun gun to shoot but only if you didn't mind hitting anything. 4MOA at best even after a trigger job.

I could probably think of some more pieces of junk that I have owned, but these should do for now.

Jeez, the most? There have been a number. But a few....
- Navy Arms 1873 Winchester .44 WCF carbine - basically awful, had to be worked over extensively internally to function, stiff firing pin extension.
- Rossi 1892 Winchester .44 Mag carbine - had to be reworked to function reliably, extremely shallow rifling, bullets key-holed at 50 yards.
- Ruger New Vaquero .45 Colt - slow timing and cylinder lockup, cylinder unlocked then relocked when you lowered the hammer slowly, scary.
- Colt SAA, late 1960s .45 Colt - beautiful gun, horrible accuracy, undersized chamber throats I found out later.

H&K P2000 v2 9mm.
Its sizing between the P30 and P2000SK (of which I have both) was weird for me, the LEM trigger (even in v1 variant) I couldn't get used to, and to top it all off it would bite me on reloads, occasionally drawing blood.
It was a perfectly fine gun, just wasn't for me.
It's the only gun I've sold; luckily for what I paid for it (even might have made a couple bucks.)

Henry Big Boy carbine in .357/.38 (H006MR)
Only disappointed in that it wasn't all that much smaller than the full size Big Boy (H006). If i'd know that I probably wouldn't have ordered it.
I don't sell it because it has a custom serial number that's related to all my other Henry's.
Maybe I'll scope one of them at some point.

About 35 years back purchased a new S&W Model 59. My first semi, dbl stack, and 9mm.
I hated everything about it, especially the decocker. Got rid of it for a Colt Series 70. Many years of IPSC and I carry it today.

Another disappointed former Mini-14 owner here. First one was a blued folding stock Ranch Rifle that was a tack driver and very fun. Sold it when I left for the military. Then I bought a new stainless Ranch Rifle in `91 or so and it literally could not hit a paper plate at 25yds.

S&W Shield 9mm Performance Center model a couple of years ago. Loved the size and ergonomics, sights, and trigger. Then I shot it. Not bad at 7yds, but it felt "off". backed up to 25yds and got a 12" group. Took it apart and inspected it and discovered unusual wear on the top of the barrel. It had a bulge in the barrel! Called S&W and the female customer service rep initially told me it was fine and that 12" at 25yds was acceptable. I asked for her supervisor and explained that the barrel had an actual bulge in it. He had me send it in. They kept it for two months before returning it with another barrel that had a nick in the crown and still grouped 8" at 25yds. Sold it to a guy that said he doesn't shoot past 7yds so bad groups didn't matter.

Sig Sauer 1911 tacpac. Beautiful gun, very well machined, excellent feel and balance.
I don't think I ever got 5 trouble free shots off in a row, though. Had about a 60% FTF rate. After a trip back to Sig, it improved slightly to about a 30% FTF rate. Got rid of it after several years of disappointment.

I reeeeeally wanted that gun to work, it would have been my favorite handgun if it were reliable.

Close second was a Kahr cw40. Constant ftf's along with a faulty magazine latch that dropped magazines each and every shot.

Robert said:

My Winchester Safari Express 375 H&H. When I fist shot it I was horrified to find it grouped like a shotgun pattern. At best. Took it to a good heavy gun smith and he rebedded the rifle and cleaned the crown and now it is amazingly accurate. It come out of the factory terrible, but ended up being my absolute favorite rifle.

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That's a trick answer

A Dan Wesson SS Valor, it was my first higher end 1911 after a Ruger and a Springfield. It shot well and had a good trigger, but it had a lot of machining issues. The rear of slide, frame, extractor had no blending, it was no better than my Ruger. The top of slide was wavy when held up to the light, and where the outside front of the slide was machined for the recoil spring there where machine marks. The j-cut left a good mark on fired brass, the safety had a clunky feel to it. It was sent back for a few issues, some where fixed and some where not. It just took the joy of ownership out of it for me.
After reading all the glowing reports I guess I was expecting too much. I have since moved on to Baer's and a Wilson, I know mine is only one gun, but the quality of these two are head and shoulders over my example.

bannockburn said:

sparkyv



Sounds a lot like the T Series Hi-Power I had. Beautiful on the outside but too many issues to deal with like an incredibly heavy trigger, loose slide to frame and barrel to slide fit, really tiny sights that were nearly impossible to see, and a thumb safety that practically needed a plastic mallet to put on or take off. Also somewhat fussy about what FMJ ammo it liked and forget about getting any decent groups out of it.

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With determined trigger discipline, this BHP shoots well, and fortunately, she's not ammo-finiky. An heirloom of sorts, she'll stay in the stable.

Colt Police Positive Special with a 4" barrel
It didn't group, it patterned.

Captcurt said:

I have one too. I worked the trigger over and have shot thousands of rounds through it. Used it in several IDPA shoots, but you are right. It does bite.

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I bobbed the hammer shade tree gunsmith-style (see pic in original post), and it reduced the hammer bite significantly. Alas, I was a bit ashamed of my handiwork, so I put in a new aftermarket hammer, so the trigger smoothness is gone until someone puts thousands of rounds through her.

Wow!! Feel bad for all you guys!

Even my Bryco 48 shoots good!