does anyone have a gun that they consider a beater

Norinco .45 bought for $200

Any of my Glocks, nothing bad ever seems to happen to them. They go a long time between cleanings and the finish never rusts.

NS

I have a well worn 1984 vintage SIG P226 that has been beat to crap on the outside, mainly the slide. I got it for free from a friend that can no longer own firearms. I have no idea how many rnds through it, I'm told around 4k. I did a thorough rebuild on it, springs, pins, etc. Runs great and is super-accurate. It's stamped Tyson's Corner on one side of the slide. It has been rained on, carried against a sweaty body IWB during the summer, gone hiking, rafting, etc. Only thing that ever rusted were the grip screws. I was going to have the slide parkerized soon, but I figure why bother, it's still fine as it sit's with about 40% of the original slide finish worn off. Has character

Hi-Point 9mm

I have many inexpensive surplus pistols like a Polish Tokarev, Russian Makarov and a Romanian .380ACP. They're alll in excellent condition. The only pistol I would consider a beater is my Hi-Point 9mm. I figure I can shoot the crap out of it then send it to Beemiller for repair or replacement. It's a good gun! I also have a polymer frame .45acp. It's too big for carry unless it's cold weather and I put it in my vertical shoulder holster. If you really want to see it I will post a picture. It's sexy too!

Zastava Model 70......this is my "beater" gun if I needed one.

Baby Tokarev

How do you like your Zastava? I almost bought one about a year ago. It looks like a baby tokarev only shorter, fatter and in .32ACP.

Well I cant complain for the money.

Its a little larger and heavier then the pictures would make you think. The trigger pretty much sucks, not really heavy but you can literaly "feel" the parts interacting thru the trigger.

Accuracy was suprising. Reliability was so-so. I have about 100 rounds thru the gun with 2 failures. One was with me shooting, I can almost be certain it was caused by limp wristing. The other was my friend shooting, not sure what caused it.

For $110 its more than I expected. Its a pretty interesting gun when you take it apart. The trigger is a seperate assembly that just "sits" inside the gun, handy for cleaning.

They're all beaters, really.

I didn't buy any of them with the intention of pampering. Typically the first thing i do with a new gun is put a noticable scratch on it so i won't feel bad later when it gets scratched. I try not to give any gun more special treatment than any other.

If the gun can't handle that, and malfunctions, then it probably isnt a very good gun--and I shouldn't own it.

My Sig P226 that I bought LNIB. I do not intentially abuse it (or any firearm including my military issue), but I intend to shoot the snot out of it. I hope to wear the finish off from drawing so many times...then I'll just have it re-finished. Actually, the frame shows zero wear...the slide might need help in 2-3 years though.

Agree with Arkady.

I don't have any guns that I treat "special". I don't intentionally abuse any of them, but do use them as the tools they are. For example, my carry pistol looks like it's seen a lot more miles than it really has. Finish is almost gone, but I keep it clean. Works fine, I don't care what it looks like.

I confess, I pamper all my "babies". Maybe I need a "beater".

I have a 50ish year old S&W Model 10 that I purchased for $80. If you look up "holster wear" in the dictionary, you'll see a picture of this gun. The stocks are practically worn smooth but it shoots straight, has a super smooth DA trigger, and goes BANG every time I pull the trigger. This is the gun that goes in the glove box, tool box, and tackle box, and comes with me to the range every time.

I have a charter arms snubby .38 I paid 50.00 for and it gets abused bouncing around in the truck etc.

A buddy gave me a Llama 45 that was a rusted chunk of metal. I had to beat the slide off with a brass hammer. I refinshed it and it is a pretty good shooter now. Don't look too good!

I have a Ruger P89 that is pretty battered. Shoots great but looks like heck.

I buy all mine to carry. I don't want to cry if it gets lost, stolen, or confiscated. It's like buying a hammer and being afraid to hit a nail with it.

Beater

S&W Model 19. It's an ex prison guard piece and shows a lot of holster wear but is otherwise in good shape.

My carry guns are beaters - holster wear, marks from tossing them in the glove box or sliding around in the trunk. All others I keep in a case and take care of.

Everyone's beater is a handgun? Mine is my Enfield No4MK1*. FTR 1943 Longbranch, no numbers match anywhere, paid $50 from a buddy, with handloads will give me MOA, works perfectly everytime.
I don't "beat" my CZ PO1, but it goes with me everywhere...finish is good enough that it may take a while for holster wear and travel to show. Brass grips screws help, too.

I've got the same S&W model 10 as Eddie Coyle...

My wife got it as an even trade for a Raven .25 Auto back in the 70's. It was pretty beat up, but functioned flawlessly.

I had it refinished at S&W back in '81, added Pachmyer grips then carried it as a duty weapon.

I made the mistake of leaving it on a shelf next to a jug of pool acid a few yrs ago. Had no idea that the fumes from the acid would escape in the cabinet. Left light discoloration all over the gun. Probably need to get it reblued again.

It shoots straight, has a really nice trigger, and goes bang every time. It currently resides in a kitchen drawer as one of the "stash pieces" around the house. I keep it full of +P Hydra Shocks.

Rossi .357 snubby.

AFS

Yep, otherwise known as the "Toolbox Piece", my Ruger GP100 with the CAI Georgia markings...it ain't pretty but it is very reliable.

My Ruger KP93DC, looks good in the respect that I polished the Stainless Slide to a mirror finish. But its a beater, because it will digest any kind of junk surplus ammo you want to throw at it, and keep begging for more. Very accurate to boot.

I inherited an old Rohm .22LR SA revolver. Since it is a cheap POS it was never treated well by me or before me. It has been on a million camping trips, submerged, buried, cleaned with a screwdriver, lubed with vegetable oil, stripped and re-blued dozens of times, wrong ammo fed through it, etc. Despite all that it has never failed and still shoots true.