Top 3 handguns that you regret buying, and top 3 that you regret selling!

[Gary W. Strange]

I can’t think of any I regret buying. They have all been learning experience. I don’t care for anything plastic or the new S&Ws revolvers, with the lock. I have a S&W with the lock right now and it will go in a trade when I find something.
The one gun I regretted selling, even at the time I sold it, was a Colt Woodsman Sport. It was a third series. I always thought of it as the finest semi-auto ever made. It was just a very well made little pistol. It to me, was like a fine double shotgun would be to a shotgunner. I was just out of college, in the late 80s married and had a baby. I sold it because I knew it would sell fast and I would get my money back out of it. I missed that little pistol for years. A few years back, I found one, new in the box, never fired. I bought it. This one will be with me until the end.

 

[DanK3Pos]

Regret Buying:
1) Kel-Tec PLR-16, a .223 pistol with a 9.2" barrel. No hand guard or muzzle device from the factory. I think I paid about $400 for it and still probably paid too much. Not a good impression for a first Kel-Tec. It did run reliably and was reasonably accurate. Put an aftermarket aluminum hand guard (Redlion Precision) on it and an A2 birdcage. Muzzle blast is so loud and there is such a large fireball, I can't stand to shoot the thing. Easily the most obnoxious gun I own. Fireball makes it very difficult to shoot a followup shot. May as well be shooting a Contender. I put a Crimson Trace laser on it to shoot it from the hip. That made it a fun range toy, but, unfortunately, the handguard gets hot so fast you can't hardly get through a 30 round magazine. I should hang it on the wall to make sure it is stolen if the house is ever broken in to.
2) Inherited a Jennings 22lr. It is brand new in the box. Pot metal frame has corroded with time. I have absolutely no interest in shooting it, would not trust it to carry, embarrassed to sell it.
3) A nickel Uberti 1873 Cattleman. Didn't realize how difficult nickel is to maintain and my (getting old) eyes can hardly see the front blade in any light. I really like the old 45 Colt cartridge, but that is the only gun I have chambered in it. I should trade it on a stainless Vaquero one of these days.

Regret Selling:
Honestly, I don't sell many guns. Those I sell I don't have any attachment to. I had some stolen years ago. Police recovered 2 of them. I sold one immediately, but the other was a Ruger 10/22 my parents gave me when I was a teenager. By the time I got it back my dad had passed away, so it had considerable sentimental value. Besides, it is a 10/22 and there are a ton of parts out there for those guns. It became a project.

 

[bannockburn]

DanK3pos

3) A nickel Uberti 1873 Cattleman. Didn't realize how difficult nickel is to maintain and my (getting old) eyes can hardly see the front blade in any light. I really like the old 45 Colt cartridge, but that is the only gun I have chambered in it. I should trade it on a stainless Vaquero one of these days.

A German made metal polish called Flitz works wonders on cleaning up nickel plated guns. This Colt Combat Commander is over 40 years old yet still looks good thanks to regular applications of Flitz.

If you get yourself a stainless Ruger Vaquero try Mother's Mag Polish on it and you can get it bright enough that everyone will think it's nickel plated too! Can't miss that shiny front sight!

 

[Ernie Bass]

DanK3pos


A German made metal polish called Flitz works wonders on cleaning up nickel plated guns. This Colt Combat Commander is over 40 years old yet still looks good thanks to regular applications of Flitz.

If you get yourself a stainless Ruger Vaquero try Mother's Mag Polish on it and you can get it bright enough that everyone will think it's nickel plated too! Can't miss that shiny front sight!

View attachment 926710

Beautiful gun there bannockburn. Ditto on the Mothers mag polish. Really shined up my Kahr's.

 

[Howland937]

Regret buying: A whole pile of RG revolvers, some broken, some not (wasn't much difference really)
Regret selling:
Single Six convertible from the early 60's. My dad still has it.
1908 nickel finish hammerless in .32 auto. With box.
Springfield V10

 

[bangswitch]

Three biggest purchase regrets. G20. I love 10mm, just never warmed up to the Glock. Gee, I can't think of another handgun I regret buying.

The biggest sell regrets. 1- the Model 19-2 6" I bought in 1978 and sold less than a year later. Shoulda kept it. It had a Patridge front sight, was a beautiful gun. 2- The Model 66-1 I bought after selling the M19. It was a 4", and I kept it for 25 years before selling it. And I can't think of a 3rd one. I don't sell many after I buy, and will never sell another one.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

Regret buying, the original Ruger LC9
Somewhat regret buying a Steyr M40 A1. It is a great gun but I would shoot it much more if I had bought the M9 instead. I have nothing against 40 S&W, 9MM is just more economical. Also my patio is covered with 9mm brass already and I hate sorting brass.

 

[Mosin Bubba]

Regret buying:

-Sig Mosquito. Garbage. I can't even think of one good thing to say about it. It's just irredeemable, and spending $400 on it makes it hurt so much more.

-Rossi M713. Got it cheap, but it's never been any good. Just takes time and rounds away that I could have used for shooting better revolvers.

-Taurus PT 92. It's not a bad gun, but it's a regret because I really wanted to like it more than I do. The trigger is a mile long and I can't hit anything with it. I've handed it to friends who've nailed spinning targets at 50 yards with their first shot, so I'm confident that it's a me problem rather than a gun problem. Some pistols are just that way.

Now on the selling side, there's none I regret selling. I sell very few guns, so whenever one leaves the safe, it's already long outstayed its welcome there.

 

[brutus51]

Funny thing is when I started looking back I've bought and sold a lot of semi's but have kept every revolver purchased except for two Ruger Blackhawks, just couldn't warm up to the plow handle grip, still have my single six though.

 

[commygun]

Regret buying-
Noble .22 pump. Seller lied about functionality. Only time that’s happened to me.
Star BKM. Like new but wouldn’t feed anything.
A heap of pot metal pistols. I knew better but always found them intriguing. Hoping to find reliability on the cheap. Now I really know better.

Regret selling-
Minty S&W 29. Got it by trading an Astra A-100 straight up. What were they thinking? What was I thinking when I sold it?
Minty Singapore Police Webley. Will never touch another for the $140 I paid for that one.
Like new Sig P225. Paid $250 for it. Traded it for a Ruger 77RSI. Lovely carbine but I really wish I had kept the pistol.

 

[cfullgraf]

I do not feel I regret buying any handgun, they have all been worth the experiment. But I have been disappointed in buying a Glock 42, Remington R51, and an AR-15 handgun. The first two did not live up to expectations and the AR-15 handgun is just plain useless.

I have only sold a few handguns and have not regretted selling any of them. Those model handguns will never grace my gun room again.

 

[hemiram]

Regret buying:

Taurus Model 83n N stood for nickel. Nice looking gun, but 2 trips to FL couldn't get it fixed. My first gun ever.
Colt Combat Commander. Never should have made it out of the factory, it was junk. Pretty though. For many years, it was the most expensive gun I bought.
AMT Hardballer Longslide. MUCH better than the Colt, but still not a good gun at all. It and a friend's collection of "picky" 1911's killed any desire to buy another 1911.
Any new gun bought between 1982 and 1985, they all had some issues.

Regret selling:

Browning BDA 380, great gun, needed money, so off it went.
Dan Wesson 15-2, my first good gun, bought at a pawn shop when the Taurus went to FL and I needed a gun for work. Needed cash again.
S&W 66 4", with custom grips. Had a trigger job, and was so smooth. Again, needed money.

 

[czhen]

I only have regrets for not buying.

czhen

 

[Rex in OTZ]

Mainly regret selling.
Husqvarna M1940
Calico -110
Ruger single six

Even a Tec-22 with laser

 

[Ernie Bass]

Regret buying a a Bersa Thunder 22.. Love the feel of the gun, the trigger and love shooting it when it does shoot. But so many failures and so much time trying to get it to work.

 

[JBB]

Regret buying - Chiappa SA revolver in .22, what a POS. Ruger 22/45 Mk 3, just never liked it. Glock 30SF, pinched my trigger finger every time I shot it.
Regret selling - Buckmark Hunter, Colt Trooper, Glock 17.

 

[FFGColorado]

Have 3 or so I regret buying...have none that I regret selling tho...Maybe a Glock 19 but I already had a Glock 17 and wasn't going to carry the Glock19(Have a Glock 26 for that). The ones I didn't like, I sell or trade pretty quickly...

 

[Terry G]

Regret buying a a Bersa Thunder 22.. Love the feel of the gun, the trigger and love shooting it when it does shoot. But so many failures and so much time trying to get it to work.

I have two BERSA .22's, the older M223 and the T22. Both are very reliable but only with ammunition that is over 1200 FPS. I was cursing BERSA until I ran strictly Golden Bullet and CCI Mini-Mags. No Stoppages. Blazer works fin also if your looking for bulk.

 

[2ndtimer]

Let’s see, Three I regret buying:
EAA Witness in .45 ACP. My first .45, jammed a lot, destroyed brass even when it didn’t jam, was glad to trade it off
S&W Model 59, only because I traded a 4” Colt Diamondback .22 that I bought new for it.
Llama Comanche .357 Magnum, my first centerfire handgun, bought it because it was cheap and looked cool, like a cross between a S&W Model 19 with. Vent rib like a Python. Unfortunately those were the only ways it resembled either one.

Three I regret selling:
The aforementioned Colt Diamondback .22. Just stupid trade. Had bought it for my wife, and she never wanted to shoot it. Kick myself for not keeping it as a companion to my “grail gun” 6” Diamondback.
A mint 4” Colt Diamondback .38 Special, I guess I let it go because of the small frame and didn’t think it would hold up to +P loads. (Simple solution - load mild wadcutters for it - Duh!)
Colt Cobra .38 Special snub nose. Was a marvelous lightweight carry gun, but also sold when I got married (along with a 4” Ruger Speed Six .357 Magnum, a 6” S&W Model 28 and a 2.75” Stainless Ruger Speed Six in .38 Special) to pay off my credit card bill. On the other hand, I guess you could say it was a good trade, since I still have my wife as we approach our 39th wedding anniversary.

 

[Legionnaire]

I bought some I didn’t like and sold them again; no real regrets, but I think this is what the OP meant. Three that fall into this category are:

NAA mini revolver in 22 WSM; a novelty that has no practical use for me.

SA 1911; fine gun that taught me I don’t care for 1911s.

Ruger SP101 in .22LR; heavy, gritty trigger, rough chambers, and weighed like a brick. A real disappointment as I generally really like Ruger revolvers.

Some I truly regret selling:

Taurus M44; great revolver I sold before I got into reloading. Wish I still had it.

Kahr PM9; functioned flawlessly and rode in my pocket easily. Don’t remember why I decided to sell it; wish I hadn’t.

S&W 317 kit gun; super cool super light pre-lock 8-shot revolver I stupidly sold to buy the SP101 noted above. Sold the SP and went on the hunt for another pre-lock 317. Found one. It’s not going anywhere.

 

[Phaedrus/69]

Yeah, I know you said 3 but there are only 4 guns I ever regretted buying:

• Norinco AK with the thumbhole stock: A real POS, and the stock was unbearable but it was during the ban years.
• SKS: To me it had no redeeming values but it was super cheap (back when the LGS had crates of 'em piled up by the door and sold 'em for $89).
• Ruger Mini-14: Utterly useless rifle but it was half the cost of an AR. I soon learned why.
• Glock 22: The ergos of a brick, garbage trigger, pitiful sights. I bought it shortly after they became available and it soured me on striker fired guns for decades.

I probably regret selling at least 4 or 5 but the main ones:

• HK USP45 Tactical: I knew I'd regret it at the time but I had a time-sensitive opportunity to pick up an HK USC. A great gun as well but I wish I could've kept both.
• Stainless Colt Commander in 38, Super: A great shooter but extremely loud! Ammo is relatively less common with less loadings and few take advantage of the potential. At the time I didn't have dies for it and didn't want to buy them for whatever reason.
• S&W N-frame .357 Mag: Can't recall the model anymore but it was a 4" .357 Mag on an N-frame. It's probably the most accurate handgun I've ever fired. Honestly if I'm going to carry N-frame weight it might as well be a .44 Mag but that gun just shot so well!
• 2 x BHP Practicals: I had 3 BHPs, one in black and two of the two-toned Practicals. I sold them to buy something else thinking I'd just pick another one up in a few months, then Bush banned their importation and the price doubled. Eventually the bans sunsetted but the price of the BHP never seemed to dip back under $900 again (I paid $450 each for the Practicals).

 

[d'zaster]

Regret buying:
Kahr P380
Rossi 92 .357 lever

Regret selling:
8" colt python
HK911
SW 686 6"

 

[Archer]

There is nothing I’ve regretted buying so far, but I tend to do my homework on anything I’m considering.

I’ve never sold a firearm, and hope never to have to. Money is transitory, it comes and goes, but a good firearm is something to hold onto.

 

[triplebike]

Regret Buying;
TAURUS TX22 - Biggest piece of crap ever, fell apart after 4500 rds, Most horrible chattered barrel I ever saw, Terrible designed recoil grinder and paper thin slide that cracked. - TRADED
TAURUS G2C - Cheaply made, developed spider cracks in slide assembly after 3000 rds fired - TRADED
S&W EZ9 - Sloppiest feeling gun ever, felt like the slide would fly off after every rd fired. Purchased on Saturday, fired on Sunday, sold on Monday.

Regret Selling;
BERETTA 92FS - Beautiful firearm, smooth as glass. Pure class. Just wish it fit my hand better
RIA 1911 9MM - Super reliable, accurate. Very lite recoil. Great value 1911
SAR ST10 - Incredibly made firearm , Accurate, easy to shoot. Flawless in every way (fortunately it was sold to my son for one dollar), so it's still in the family) I do miss that gun ands he's not about to give it up. Took him to the range with all my 9MM's.Told him he could have any one he wanted (his 1st gun) for a dollar. He picked the ST10.

 

[chicharrones]

Regret buying:
NAA Guardian .32 ACP (should've bought a Ruger LCP)
Taurus TCP732 .32 ACP (should've bought a Ruger LCP)
Taurus 85UL (should've bought a S&W J-frame)

Regret selling:
Beretta 92FS only because the mags would match my Beretta CX4. Sold the 92FS to get a CZ75 due to hand fit and controls reach.

I don't regret letting go of the rest of the guns I've sold.