What gun disappointed you the most?

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My greatest disappointment was the M16 rifle. I went through Marine Corps basic training and first qualified with an M14. In advanced training I was issued an M16. All my life prior I thought it was new, cutting edge, with it... all that stuff. Then I got one. It was light, much easier to carry than the M14. Then we shot the M16.

They never would give me my M14 back.
 
This close to 35 years ago, I didn't have much money but wanted to get something to plink with so bought an 38 S&W RG besides being crap and about a 14 pound single action trigger, it was slightly out of time & would shave slivers off the bullet that would fall and burn your hand, then I traded it plus some cash for a Taurus that may have been a little better, but not much ... Then I traded it for a MAC 9 or M9 or something, anyway it was a 380, it kind of looked like my M11/nine, which is new production, doesn't have trigger slap and was bought when I was wanting something a little retro.

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The trigger slap numbed my finger within just a few rounds, then it hurt for about 3 days afterward. So a couple weeks later I took it to a pawn shop and the first thing the guy said was "Trigger slap? Don't lie." ... I said yeah and he said they all do that.
I told him of my string of misfortune, and that I never had this kind of problems with my dads guns ... He asked if these were the first I'd bought (and it was) then just smiles and said "you get what you pay for kid" and asked what guns I was used to shooting, which was mostly my dads Browning High Power ... He asked a few more questions then pulled out a FIE Titan which is a Browning H-P clone. He took my POS on trade and put it on lay-away; in a month or so I took it home and was pleasantly suprised ... Over the years I bought around a dozen guns from him.

I just realized that's more info than asked for ... But the point is there are cheap guns, which are different from inexpensive guns ... reading this thread I realize there are also typically good guns but have a problem, which I guess I'm lucky to have never ran across.
 
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An EAA Witness .40S&W compact in Wonder finish. Looked great, felt wonderful and recoil was absolutely tame. It proved to be quite accurate too.

The problem was the last few rounds in the magazine would fail to feed. This was encountered with several magazines. A search on THR going back to 2004 chronicles the issues and infuriating back and forth with the customer service of European American Arms. It was a nightmarish mess costing me shipping cost for 3 returns to the factory with no improvement of function (though always with a "test fired-ok" description on the invoice). I have been hands-off with EAA/Tanfaglio Witness pistols since.

Now I'm wanting to pick up a couple more 10mm handguns and have heard the customer service has improved. I may pick up a Witness in 10mm in the next few months.
 
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Two. An Auto Ordnance M1 carbine that was super finicky about the ammunition it shot. When I figured out what worked best, I'd still get a 5 FTE per 100 rounds. Sold it to a friend with a detailed list of what it liked, since it was a plinker and I gave him a great price. I replaced it with a rebuilt and parkerized mixmaster that has had one FTE in maybe 1000 rounds and eats everything.

The second was a Sig 229 in 40S&W. It shot low, I mean damn low. Even cover-hold (which I finally have started to embrace), it was shooting 3-5" low at 15 yards. I got out of 40SW entirely soon after.
 
It would likely be almost toss up between 3 guns, which all were bittersweet affairs. A KelTec P11 (I had two, actually!), a S&W model 59, and my Bersa Ultra Compact Pro in 45ACP..

The P11's stiff DAO trigger sent it's accuracy into the toilet even though it was very carriable and could even take 20rd model S&W 59 mags.

The grip on the 59 was so thick I had to shift the gun in my hand to reach the mg release. Never had this problem with any other gun.

And my Bersa always gave me hammerbite every few rounds. I'd always had a little blood on the web of my thumb at the end of every range session.

I got rid of the S&W59.
At this point the Bersa would probably go before the P11. But I'm always tempted to give it one more chance not to bite! . The P11 can share mags with any member of the 59-family, which I think gives it great potential as a BUG to a 69xx...IF I could find a 69xx with a grip that fits me. What a wicked triangle I have going on here, dont I??
 
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
I bought the Turkish version of the Hi Power(Regent BR9SS) and the trigger sucked. After removing the magazine disconnect, it was much better.

Ruger SP101 22lr.
I have one and I love it!!!

Kel-tec P-11, I struggle with POI.

I’m a brand specific shopper and this gun is a brand I wouldn’t normally own but I traded with my Son because I didn’t have a 9mm.
I had one and got rid of it, must have gotten a bad sample.

A Taurus 44 special snubby.
Timing went after about 150 rounds.

Taurus 22 lr revolver. Lead spit from the cylinder gap and rounds keyholed the target.

Guess what brand Ill never buy again
Kind of funny, people have gotten bad Sigs and they keep buying them saying, "they'll improve". I've owned several Taurus guns and they've all been pretty good.
 
M1-D sniper rifle (international , the corn binder folks1943) make. They issued this pig to me as a special weapons recovery team member to safeguard nuclear weapons at An army depot and refurbish facility. I could have chosen the M16 with scope on the carry handle but no I had to pick the “classic”.
Some classic. The ammo , Korean War vintage match grade was much of the problem. You could give one a rap with something and see the seating change or possibly pull one out with your teeth. I’ve seen bullets fly off in the arms room when the CQ dropped one . They usually just swept the power back in and reseated it as far as I know, . Paperwork hassles ya know. We were sitting on millions of rounds of 30.06 leftovers at the depot but some Leuy genius thought that the ancient “match” ammo that fell apart was better.
As any sort of accuracy goes I never did trust that thing much. It was ok to 200 yards but nothing more really. I always swore that if I had to use it for real I’d go with the irons. Honestly for a sniper gun the trigger was nothing but stock GI. I believe my regular A1 was far better with so much less creep. The scope whatever it was was nothing but a 4 x probably cheap Weaver with just crosshairs. That offset scope, ughh I had never even seen one before . Terrible to use and I never got even remotely used to it. I just never could find a way to like that gun.
On reflection years later I realized that most of this could be blamed on the Carter Administration. .sign of the times everything being half assed ,WW 2 facilities, no budget and just generally left to decay. Use whatever you have laying around as long as it’s cheap! Pretty pathetic though considering we were guarding the nastiest of bombs. Many were the kind you can transport in a pickup truck if need be, Lance missile warheads and even a few SADOM. Demolition charges right in their own backpack 60 lbs. Just what terrorists wanted the most.
 
A marlin 44 mag lever gun, I bought it on an impulse since I had money burning a hole in my pocket in 1979. I don’t understand why but that thing kicked harder than anything I had at the time. The lever did not fit my hand and cut my fingers up. The worst was out shooting in the desert and went to cycle a round and the action froze solid. I could not free it up no matter what I did, and I did not have any proper tools with me. I had to drive home with a live round half chambered. I did not like that AT ALL. Dad and I took it apart at home and found a machine shaving that acted like a perfect wedge and it had jammed the entire thing up. It took awhile but we finally got it unstuck and put it back together. Sold it later that week.
 
Springfield XDs .45 ACP. I had high hopes for this as an EDC after hearing so much praise about it. The trigger was absolutely horrible and not only did the trigger perform poorly but the machining was so sharp that it would make the pad of my finger raw after a couple of boxes of ammunition. It would also have a bunch of misfires from light primer strikes. Another issue was that it had some sort of inherent issue where, once a cartridge was chambered, and he slide came slightly out of battery for any reason, it would cause an issue in the FCG that would make it so the trigger would not release the striker. I was never so happy to get rid of a firearm. I purchased during the “panic” buying era of Obama election so it was hard to find guns in stock. I had an acquaintance that begged my to buy it when he heard I wasn’t happy with it. He thought my issues were self induced so he offered me $50 more than I paid for it so I sold it. He had the same issues after he took possession. Soon after apparently Springfield did a recall and repaired some things in the FCG. According to him it works much better now.
 
A couple Colt 1911s...after all, my dad's WWII 1911 was the first pistol I ever shot, back in 1967 or so.
When I got old enough to start buying guns for myself, second gun I bought was a Colt 1911--total POS.
Gave it a pass and bought several more in the course of the next ten years...they weren't much better.

I have owned a bunch of different 1911s since, from a variety of manufacturers. I am done with Colt 1911s.

Dan Wesson 1911s...second worst choice I have ever made. Over-priced, over-rated, no support.
Still own it, but had to pay a good 1911 smith to make it work right. Shoots good (finally). For its price, should have worked right or the manufacturer should have made it work.

My Kimber and S&W 1911s have worked perfectly from day one, with many thousands of rounds downrange.

Rossi/Taurus revolvers...IME, crap. Never again.
 
Two guns:

1. Taurus PT-22, total and scary jammer
2. Glock 42 - one of the first ones out, also a total and really scary jammer. Fired out of battery!
 
Remington 241 in .22 short.
At shooting galleries I was able to clean the clock with the ubiquitous 241.
When I was finally able to purchase my own, I couldn't hit the broadside of a barn from inside the barn!
 
Can we get some info on the sp101 22lr.
Thats one Id like to try someday.
I also had one, bought with high hopes after getting my 101 in 357. Worst trigger on a revolver in my lifetime. Our Smith worked on it twice and threw up his hands. He made my 357 version into one of the best. Single, double action, both horrible. Hard, gritty. Accuracy was nowhere near as good as my 63 Smith. Don't miss it at all.
 
P320. Couldn't get over the height over bore. Some people love them and they're great guns. Just not for me and was disappointed I couldn't adjust to it.
 
An Italian Colt Walker repro. Didn't cost much and had some issues that needed fixing but it was just too big and far too heavy for me to shoot safely. I never trusted the wedge to hold the barrel on and the loading lever fell down after every shot. The sights were terrible and the trigger was sloppy. High novelty value but that was all for me. Sold it on for what I had in it.
 
This was only because of the standard sights: I was not 'into' any type of gun improvements back then. Zero.

A) The 90's Mini 14 and '04 Mini 30. Very thick front post sights.
B) Yugo Mauser 48. I'm well-aware of the reasoning in the combat design, but aiming about 6"-8" low at 100 yards to hit near the bullseye got very old. Also, the rear sights 'stink'.

The Squire: When did it finally become illegal to own a functional handgun in the UK?

Many of us realize that bolt-action rifles (even Mini 14s must operate as a 'bolt action') are legal and even shotguns can be kept on rural land.
It seems that we never read about any handgun subjects over there.
 
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