Failed gun of the 80s/90s. That would have to be the TEC-9. It was in every movie back then and was a total piece of junk.

I have one. I wish i had bought a warehouse full of them in the 90's. (look at that retail price under $300)I'd be rich today. Great guns. highly desired still today. Takes Smith & Wesson pistol magazines , 5900,6900 series

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S&W BG380, S&W 915 9mm

Ruger started making them again in 9/40 take-down version

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S&W BG380, S&W 915 9mm

I see a military finish Steyr GB in that grouping. Pretty rare with only 937 imported according to most sources.

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Release the Kraken

It was a good pistol. I ended up selling it back in 2017. I was made an offer that I couldn't refuse and sold it. However I own a 4516-1, 4586 and I hope to own a 4513TSW (pre-rail) in the near future.

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I type. Therefore I am.

You got that backwards, the Styer came first with the Rogak attempting to make a cheap copy.

Snapped some pictures of my favorite failed gun, I just love this thing it's so nice to shoot:

No, that's not quite correct either.

As I mentioned in my previous post...the Steyr was designed first. But, before Steyr was able to bring the GB to market, Rogak had acquired a copy of the plans, and began manufacturing the P-18. It was poorly manufactured, and was a failure. Then came the Steyr, which ultimately failed, doubtless in some part due to the association with the Rogak.

So...they're both a result of the Steyr design. But, the Rogak was first to the market (at least in the U.S.)

Agreed. Beautiful pistols, and superb shooters!

I was GM of one of the largest gun stores in LA in the 80's, I saw just about everything mentioned on this list come in. We were a stocking dealer for S&W, Hk, Sig, Colt, Beretta, Ruger and more. I was amazed at what seemed was the new S&W monthly issued models and the prices of the Lew Horton guns. Little did I know.

The guns that come to mind that I haven't seen posted is the Bren 10, AMT Automag, Walther P88, Hk VP70 & Hk 4 with the 4 caliber kit. I have a gun that I doubt many have heard of before, it's called a Thomas 45. It was made in the 70's by a company near LA, it looks like a hammerless PPK on steroids and only 1520 were built. There were 10 Thomas 45 in nickel, I have oa nickel NIB unfired with paperwork that I bought from an investor in the company. The story is amazing, these engineers built a beautiful compact 45 auto before anyone else and it was ground breaking. The LAPD detectives were testing it, when a cop dropped it from his holster, it hit the ground, discharged and killed his partner. That was the end of Thomas.

Don't forget Cobray... "The gun that made the 80s roar!"

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Chief

How about those Stoeger "Luger" .22s??

Never had one, but I remember them.

God I loved the 80s!

Ah yes - it bombed. But it was a forerunner. Mine still works great!

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

They weren't an 80's-90's gun - they were older than that. I remember lusting over them in the early 70's when they were advertised in Popular Mechanics. I didn't get one then, but I have one now!

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Send lawyers, guns & money...

Released in 1999, the Mauser M2 bombed hard. Putting the safety on the back of the gun probably offended many, as well as the "safety on a striker gun" thing that some believe is a problem.

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Release the Kraken

Actually the VP70 wasn't a ****, it was an extremely robust and reliable gun, that Hk messed up when converting it to a semiauto. The original design was an 18rd full auto with a folding stock and front grip. Hk added the 194 pound trigger to the semiauto, thinking it would reduce AD's, but all it did was kill its success.

I have the Stoeger 22 & 380 Lugers, cute guns but they throw extractors. Mitchell Arms tried to bring back some guns like the Hi Standard 22 match, stainless Luger, but with the importation of WW2 Lugers from east Europe, their sales died. Talk about imported guns, does everyone remember when the M1 Carbines & Garands were imported from Korea ? I spent the weekend with a couple of buddies, going through a 40' container picking out the rare, early and original mint guns. We bought the Carbines for $59 and the Garands for $79, those were the days. Then again the 1950's USSR SKS were $99, SVT40 $199, Polytechnic AK47 under folder were $150 with 3 mags and 100rds. Now where did I put my time machine ?

Call Sherman and Mr. Peabody.

I remember seeing a rack of those $99.00 Russian SKS carbines. The problem was how to figure out which one to take home. Each of them had the year of manufacture on the receiver, so I resolved that by picking one that came off the assembly line the same year I did. I wish I still had it. I sold it when I lost my job in 2009.

I don't think many of these were produced. Ramline made these back in the 80's. Remember the scary dawn of the plastic guns that could be smuggled onto airplanes. I have a pair of them---one blue and this black one. They work fine but rarely make it into my rotation of getting shot much. Maybe some day they will be worth a fortune?

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"Tastes just like chicken"

I had a Walther P88.

I paid a stupid amount for it. And then sold it some years later for an even stupider amount of money.

Ditto the VP70. The sights on it were weird too, along with the abysmal trigger pull.

I also had a HK P9s, which IIRC was the 1st polymer frame pistol?

Lots of "different" handguns came out of West Germany in the 70's and 80's.

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BTDT, Got The T-Shirt

I too have an AA2000. I like the idea for a rotating barrel to reduce recoil. Mine shot good enough for me to use it for a few local USPSA matches. Colt also had an offer for a short barrel kit, which I bought. Anyone else buy the short barrel kit? Maybe it will increase its sales value if I get rid of it!

I have the Marlin Camp Carbines, they had a fairly long production run.
I would distinguish between guns from major companies that didn't sell and those from smaller companies-Dornaus and Dixon, Security Industries of America that had business problems-usually under capitalization-and never achieved proper production runs, etc.

Nice grips. I have the P88 but with factory originals. I spent the first few days trying to figure out how that combo slide release and decockers worked.

I bet there are a lot of others reading this thread saying "got that one, got that one. That one too ….."

A very eclectic group.

I'd forgotten that part of the story - you're correct.

I bought a BG a few years back, hard to get in CA. It was a face to face deal and the 18 round mags were a no-no in CA. I persuaded the seller to mail them to my OR address, I even provided the postage and packaging and volunteered to bring it to the post office.

Funny, Numrich carried Rojak magazines for about $35.00 back then and I got the last few. Managed to modify them enough to work in the GB. I think GB mags are the most expensive I've ever seen - makes old Coonans seem cheap.

The Virginian Dragoon from Interarms qualifies.

IMG_0239.jpg

Very easy shooting for a 44 Magnum.

I snagged a couple of GB mags a few years ago. At the going rate for them I got the accompanying gun for about $50.

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Release the Kraken

Ditto for the 4.75" .45LC fixed sight version.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

DETONICS POCKET NINE
What could be neater than a 9 Thrill- O- Meter Stainless S- D Action?
Small, pocket carry? OMG!
It has an Blowback action and a set of recoil springs straight from Caterpillar.
Slightly embarrassed to admit that I owned 2.

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

Ruger 'XGI'. My recollection is receivers on prototypes released to gun writers for evaluation failed pretty quickly. Mini14 on steroids wouldn't take 7.62 stress. Bill R pulled it from the market. Later on SHAZAM: Mini30

Sorry sir, didn't see your post.

Doublesharp u stole my thunder. I always wanted and last yr got one of the “original “ PC9. I looked long and hard to find one with original tang mounted peep (ghost ring) site. I love it. It probably went out of production because of cost. It is WAY overbuilt. Another gun that went away quickly was Walthers 9mm CREED. I have one and as a full size high capacity 9mm u can’t beat it for the price. I guess the world just didn’t need another WONDER 9.

I've got PCs in both 9mm and 40S&W. This pic was a quickie for a thread about .40 bedside guns and that's what both of these are. I do love the ghost ring sight - I painted the middle front blade day glo orange and it really shows up.

After the newness wears off I'd like one of the new take down 9mm PCs.

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God spelled backwards is dog.

I have a 1997 model Ruger PC4. great home defense gun.

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S&W BG380, S&W 915 9mm

I was just reading a review of this Pistol in the 1995 Handgunner (UK) magazine. Article was written by Jan Stevenson who thought very highly of it.

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I bought one of these "failed guns" just yesterday. At least I guess it's a failed gun. The company sure failed, or merged or something.

A Star Ultra Star, 9mm, conventional DA/SA compact, 9 +1 capacity. I'm guessing it's from the 90's, maybe late 80's. I know parts for them are pretty much unobtainium, but if it breaks, it's no big deal. It was cheap, and I liked the way it felt. I've wasted more money for less I'm sure.



I think I see a little Sig, a little CZ and a trace of HK in there. Maybe not. Am I the only person who actually likes the front hook trigger guard?

I hope to get it to the range before too long, but I have been "shooting" it with an ELMS laser cartridge, and it shoots a laser beam, like a laser. (If you think that thing won't rat out a trigger or sight alignment problem, try one.)

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John 3:16 .

The Ultrastar is truly odd, a mostly metal gun inside a polymer shell. I have one, and it's built like a brick outhouse. Many don't realize that it is a single stack. It does fill my hand well.

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Release the Kraken

You couldn’t give a 610 away. Now you pay dearly for a no dash, dash 1.

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213th FBINA

This one predates the '70s and '80s, but it was a notable failure in spite of its space-age looks, ergonomics and reliability. It was well liked at the time, and finding one today is a grail project for many.

The reasons for its demise are very complex, and my research on that resulted in a chapter in my book 101 Classic Firearms.

I'm lucky enough to have found one and its even rarer original box.

The Whitney Wolverine has become legendary over the years.

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

I had a chance at a new in the box Whitney just like your picture. It was about a year ago at a place that was closing down. I didn't know a lot about them but tossed out a $1000 offer at their $1200 price. They didn't take me up on the offer. I did some research and figured I should have bumped it a bit. Went back 2 weeks later and it was gone. They said they had buckled under and taken $850 due to only keeping the doors open till the end of that week. Win some and lose some.
I have a pretty interesting article on them and some Rugers that had a short stint at being made in Mexico. I can e-mail it. If you would like a copy send me a PM with e-mail address.

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"Tastes just like chicken"

Heizer PKO-45

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I have the Erma PPK 22, it's not safe to shoot.

I also have the Erma 'baby Luger' in 380, but no matter what I do, I cannot get it to feed after firing the first shot.

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Han shot first.

I had a .22RF that tried to look like an AR-15. It was a simple blowback semi auto with a carry handle. Funny thing was it had a wood stock and forearm. Can't remember brand but I think it actually said "Armalike" ! Only worked about half the time. Got rid of it.

-HK P7

More recent examples of terrible guns which never made it:

-Hudson

-Maxim

Colt Double Eagle. Carried one on duty for awhile. Sold it, wish I had it back.

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Keep Shootin' and check 6

I like the Iver Johnson TP22 better. PPK clone in miniature, and the TP25 is the 25ACP version.

I have one of the Erma KGP69 - their better quality 22LR version of the Luger. They made another one in 22LR that was lower quality EP22 was the model number I think.

Your 380acp version is the KGP68a. They are pretty well made, I'm surprised to hear yours functions so poorly. I looked at one at a gunshow last year and just couldn't bring myself to shell out $750 for it.

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Send lawyers, guns & money...

There were a couple of articles in gun mags back in the 80s. The 308 was too much for the prototypes, so the Mini-30 was developed instead.

I know that these were earlier than the 80-90s but the Whitney Wolverine 22lr pistols were a really a great design and a very natural pointer.

One that's not seen often, PHP pistol. It was the first pistol made in Croatia after they gained their independence. The same company that makes the XD series guns for Springfield armory made it.

Very much like a P38 and a Beretta 92, it's not a bad gun but not great either, trigger is pretty terrible but it's actually pretty reliable.

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I had one back in the early 80s, but did not fire it much. No reliability problems that I remember. Sold it to one of my employees who wanted it for his wife.

I found one in a small town pawn shop, LNIB for $600. Owner wouldn’t deal on the price so I didn’T buy. Wish I had.

I miss my STEYR GB, but sold it to buy something I NEEDED MORE - I sold it for enough to get what I needed + had enough left over to buy - This DA/SA, SARSILMAZ 2000, Turkish Stainless CZ-75B Clone - to replace my Steyr GB. So far it has been a great choice.

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