Stirling
Member
A friend of mine loved the Star PD but it had the habit of cracking the frame above the slide release hole. I saw it happen on two of his pistols and one he wanted to buy.
Handguns from the 80's/90's that didn't make it.
- Thread starter Checkman
- Start date
A friend of mine loved the Star PD but it had the habit of cracking the frame above the slide release hole. I saw it happen on two of his pistols and one he wanted to buy.
clubleaf206
Member
How about the Grizzly Win-Mag? A slightly enlarged 1911 type pistol, chambered for the .45 Winchester Magnum round. You could also get other barrels/recoil springs for the pistol in .45 Auto, for example. My cousin had one of the Grizzly pistols and the .45 Winchester Magnum ammo was never seen by either of us, so the .45 ACP barrel and recoil spring was installed (in this case without any fitting needed). Very soft recoil, due to the size and all steel construction, and functioning was perfect, we never suffered any jams, failures to feed, etc.
cowart
US Veteran
A larger version of the Mini-14, called the XGI, was developed by Ruger in .308 Winchester and .243 Winchester. Although it was advertised in 1984–1985, it never entered production due to unresolved mechanical and production issues.
Wow! The list is so long. Guns that never caught on enough to continue production;
I thought they were ok, but apparently these never 'caught on' enough that anybody thought they should continue producing them: Colt Python, Anaconda, Agent, Detective Special, S&W 610, 620, 60 no dash, Ruger MkII...
Just kidding. I know this isn't what the OP meant...or is it?
Funny stuff, but I was referencing handguns that were introduced during that time period and never caught on.
Pig Hunter
Member
How about the Wildey (sp) auto or the High Standard Crusader, the large frame revolver with the gear interaction between hammer and trigger?
oddshooter
Member
And one really sad loss of a great caliber from an ego-wounded, butt-hurt gun writer.
The 357 Maximum.
That killed guns from Ruger, Dan Wesson, T/C, Magnum Research, Remington, and I'm sure a few others.
Prescut
The 357 Maximum.
That killed guns from Ruger, Dan Wesson, T/C, Magnum Research, Remington, and I'm sure a few others.
Prescut
What? Page 2 and no one has mentioned the promising high cap 9mm that died because of no large supply of high cap, 15 round mags to grandfather in, when the 1994 law banning new high cap pistol magazines went into effect.
Yep, the Browning BDM . . . a pistol as slim as a 1911, a grip slimmer too than any previous double stack including the High Power . . . a law enforcement targeted dual action mode pistol.
They designed it in '91 to compete for an FBI contract. It lost. However, the final blow was a lack of any 15 round magazines for new pistols . . . just 15 round mags with their bottoms cut off and a plastic plug on the bottoms to only accept ten rounds.
I got a call from a LGS around '98. He knew I shot a two-toned Colt Combat Elite 1911 in competitions, as well as double action S&W revolvers, and thought I'd be interested in a two-toned BDM he'd just gotten a great buy on from Browning. I'd read about the smaller grip (I have smaller hands) so I told him I'd take it.
Alas, shooting pin matches at the time, what good is a 9mm! LOL. I traded it off.
Two years ago I ran into a pair of like new BDMs in a gun shop, one the ugly black finish but the other a Practical model like my first one. Both had a mag with the pistol plus boxes, etc.
The Practical one had a FIFTEEN rounder though, probably because some looker accidentally switched the mags. So, I bought it and kept it a little while.
The bugs in the pistol could have been worked out, but Browning didn't give it a good chance, and the world has moved away from 35oz. steel framed high cap 9mm pistols and will never return.
Killed by the high cap ban. Still beautiful . . . the failed Browning BDM.
Here are a couple of photos I made with the new BDM a couple or three years ago, comparing it in size/WIDTH with an officer's sized .45.
Super slim and concealable. WHAT IF it had been made on an aluminum frame with a 3 1/2" barrel?!!!
I have two of these with 15 and 10 round mags. Excellent pistol with a couple of novel features. The first was the capability to convert from DA/SA to DAO by simply rotating a screwhead on the frame (and the mags had a small lip that would do this). The second was the safety. It is a movable lever just above the grip that can be moved to fire as you draw by simply moving your thumb very slightly up (about 4 mm). However, if you were left handed, you had a problem. Dave_n.
Two absent comrades, The Kernel and Cyrano, in one post. 
TheHobbyist
Member
I missed this post back in 2015 because I was getting married the next week.
In 2010? or so I saw an RG revolver at a gun show, thought it was odd and picked up. Seller was a character and told me it stood for “Real Gun” and it’s not for sale but to educate because they blow up, break on their own, etc. Basically it was his public service announcement.
In 2010? or so I saw an RG revolver at a gun show, thought it was odd and picked up. Seller was a character and told me it stood for “Real Gun” and it’s not for sale but to educate because they blow up, break on their own, etc. Basically it was his public service announcement.
I missed this post back in 2015 because I was getting married the next week.
In 2010? or so I saw an RG revolver at a gun show, thought it was odd and picked up. Seller was a character and told me it stood for “Real Gun” and it’s not for sale but to educate because they blow up, break on their own, etc. Basically it was his public service announcement.
Glad you could join us.
Here is my addition to the thread:
Rare Failed Designs: CAC Model 45-1 Combat Model
Mossberg\Carson Arms CAC Model 45-1
Rare Failed Designs: CAC Model 45-1 Combat Model
Mossberg\Carson Arms CAC Model 45-1
Don’t forget the 296. The same as the 242 but in .44 Spl w/ five rounds. Pretty slick designs in my opinion, But probably “too big” for most peoples taste. I disagree, carry a larger guns which are easy to shoot in a real holster makes sense for most occasions.
In a way, the Smith and Wesson 696 kind of lives on. The shorter barrel M 69 is essential same gun just this time chambered .44 magnum.
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Oh what sacrelige! LOOK AT THAT STUPID HIGH BORE AXIS! How can a Glock fanboy EVER shoot that!!?!!?!?!!?!!
All sarcasm intended....I am a wheel gun lover at heart, taller bore axis is part of the game.
The gun industry is as bad as the golf equipment industry when it comes to flooding the market with the latest "gotta have" guns.
How many best ever new carry guns can the market support? Or 1911s? Or the newest cartridge? It never ends. Gotta keep pumping out the new products.
When's the last time you saw ads for the latest Rawlings baseball gloves?
Probably never.
How many best ever new carry guns can the market support? Or 1911s? Or the newest cartridge? It never ends. Gotta keep pumping out the new products.
When's the last time you saw ads for the latest Rawlings baseball gloves?
Probably never.
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medic15al
Member
Ruger XGI. IIRC they could not get an accurate barrel made up for it and didnt meet expectations.
I wanted one bad when they advertised it, thought it would be the perfect deer rifle for me. .308, carbine, semi-auto...
medic15al
Member
What? Page 2 and no one has mentioned the promising high cap 9mm that died because of no large supply of high cap, 15 round mags to grandfather in, when the 1994 law banning new high cap pistol magazines went into effect.
Yep, the Browning BDM . . . a pistol as slim as a 1911, a grip slimmer too than any previous double stack including the High Power . . . a law enforcement targeted dual action mode pistol.
They designed it in '91 to compete for an FBI contract. It lost. However, the final blow was a lack of any 15 round magazines for new pistols . . . just 15 round mags with their bottoms cut off and a plastic plug on the bottoms to only accept ten rounds.
I got a call from a LGS around '98. He knew I shot a two-toned Colt Combat Elite 1911 in competitions, as well as double action S&W revolvers, and thought I'd be interested in a two-toned BDM he'd just gotten a great buy on from Browning. I'd read about the smaller grip (I have smaller hands) so I told him I'd take it.
Alas, shooting pin matches at the time, what good is a 9mm! LOL. I traded it off.
Two years ago I ran into a pair of like new BDMs in a gun shop, one the ugly black finish but the other a Practical model like my first one. Both had a mag with the pistol plus boxes, etc.
The Practical one had a FIFTEEN rounder though, probably because some looker accidentally switched the mags. So, I bought it and kept it a little while.
The bugs in the pistol could have been worked out, but Browning didn't give it a good chance, and the world has moved away from 35oz. steel framed high cap 9mm pistols and will never return.
Killed by the high cap ban. Still beautiful . . . the failed Browning BDM.
Here are a couple of photos I made with the new BDM a couple or three years ago, comparing it in size/WIDTH with an officer's sized .45.
Super slim and concealable. WHAT IF it had been made on an aluminum frame with a 3 1/2" barrel?!!!
This is one I really regret not getting a couple of with a bunch of 15 rnd mags. Felt really good in my hands and the switchable DA-DA/SA made was fun to play with.
medic15al
Member
And was the slide release from slide lock as well.
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