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What turned out to be the worst gun you've ever owned ???
- Thread starter shooboy
- Start date
I had the same experience with a Taurus 17c. 8 shot 17HMR with a 4 inch barrel. Rounds would stick in the cylinder and ends would split. Bought it at auction and with shipping and FFL I buried myself in it. Sent back to Taurus and was told the splitting cases were designed into it. Yea right someone got happy with the reamer IMO. Worst part is the bullets would not stabilize and were all over the paper target at 30 feet. Traded it at a show for good down towards a Henry Golden Boy in 22MAG. I'm a happy camper now.
OP
shooboy
US Veteran
OLDNAVYMCPO
US Veteran, Absent Comrade
Many years ago, my father gave me an R-G .22 SA revolver. The thing sprayed lead out of the BC gap on each shot. You could not shoot it in the company of anyone, the side spray was deadly. Someone stole it, served him right.
RJJ 1971
Member
HP 22
Too many safeties - yes.
A great shooter - yes
Had 2 of them for almost 20 years and their still selling new for under $130.
Ranger514
Member
The absolute worst was a Ruger Mini-14 that I had the misfortune of owning in the early 1990s. It was ridiculously inaccurate regardless of what ammo I fed it. I sold it cheap just to get rid of it. Supposedly the problem has been remedied, but I'll never take another chance on one.
David LaPell
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I think it was a toss up between a Rossi .17 HMR and two others. At 25 yards one shot off a rest would be on target, next several inches to the left, and when I mean several inches, it would be almost a foot. It did it with no matter what ammo I used. It was horribly inaccurate.
The other was a newer (10 years old or more by now) Marlin 95 rifle, not the guide gun. At 25 yards it would shoot a 3 inch group of about an inch, but about 3-4 inches left. No matter how far I drifted the sights I could not get it closer, I replaced the rear sight with a receiver sight, no better. It was a shame because I really liked that gun.
I think the next would have been the T/C Renegade in .54 caliber. I have shot and own muzzleloaders up to .58 caliber and none of them recoiled like that beast even with the lighter loads. It left a bruise on the right side of my face that took a week to go away.
The other was a newer (10 years old or more by now) Marlin 95 rifle, not the guide gun. At 25 yards it would shoot a 3 inch group of about an inch, but about 3-4 inches left. No matter how far I drifted the sights I could not get it closer, I replaced the rear sight with a receiver sight, no better. It was a shame because I really liked that gun.
I think the next would have been the T/C Renegade in .54 caliber. I have shot and own muzzleloaders up to .58 caliber and none of them recoiled like that beast even with the lighter loads. It left a bruise on the right side of my face that took a week to go away.
THE PILGRIM
Member
It was a 22 Jet. It backed up and hung up just like I'd heard.
If you backed the load down to about 22 Mag, no problem!
Ok, it gets worse. About 5 years after selling the first one, I bought another one. I just knew that I was more experienced, talented and skillful.
I wasn't! It still hung up. I sold it.
Later on I met a Texican Good old Boy who has a ranch up near del Norte, CO. He has shot more 22 Jet than anybody I ever met.
He says spray the chambers with electronic cleaner after cleaning and before every shoot. The chambers must be absolutely oil , grease free.
I guess mine never were!
If you backed the load down to about 22 Mag, no problem!
Ok, it gets worse. About 5 years after selling the first one, I bought another one. I just knew that I was more experienced, talented and skillful.
I wasn't! It still hung up. I sold it.
Later on I met a Texican Good old Boy who has a ranch up near del Norte, CO. He has shot more 22 Jet than anybody I ever met.
He says spray the chambers with electronic cleaner after cleaning and before every shoot. The chambers must be absolutely oil , grease free.
I guess mine never were!
I never buy the second rate stuff such as Taurus, Rossi, Charter
Arms, ect. I do end up with them on trade deals, but don't
expect much out of them. The third rate stuff is not worth talking
about. Like another poster above. I was sucked in on the 22 cal
Sig-Sauer Mosquito. It rates with the 3rd rate ****. I bought one
when 1st on market. Paid $400+ for it and $40 for extra mag.
Sold outfit for $400 and was glad to send that pig down the road.
Arms, ect. I do end up with them on trade deals, but don't
expect much out of them. The third rate stuff is not worth talking
about. Like another poster above. I was sucked in on the 22 cal
Sig-Sauer Mosquito. It rates with the 3rd rate ****. I bought one
when 1st on market. Paid $400+ for it and $40 for extra mag.
Sold outfit for $400 and was glad to send that pig down the road.
sipowicz
Member
1966 PPK....jamomatic....really bothered me too since I loved 007 movies and heard these black forrest guns were supposed to be flawless shooters....
Weird on the bad experience with the Mosquito. I have one I bought second hand and have only put a couple of hundred rounds through it - but it's been great so far.
My worst ever was a French MAB 22. Fred reliably and grouped just fine - "only" a foot low and a foot left of POA at 10 yards!
My worst ever was a French MAB 22. Fred reliably and grouped just fine - "only" a foot low and a foot left of POA at 10 yards!
I had three ***'s.. First was a Taurus PT-92..Reliable as all get out.. Accuracy?? I've shot tighter groups with a skeet gun...but not with a Browning 4 bbls skeet set. 8 barrels and no two shot to the same point of aim...not just inches apart..feet... and one of the 410 bbls was so tight it would have made a turkey shoot gun...then there was an Arminius double action 22 with an extra mag cylinder. First shot with the mag cyl and the bbl landed 10 ft in front of me. Held in place by a pin. never kept the bbl on the frame more'n 4 rounds after that. I finally threw it off the Chesapeake Bay bridge one night. Right in the channel. Immediately felt better!
GatorFarmer
Member
An Accutstrut and a flash hider will generally fix the problem had by pre 580 series Mini 14s of shooting a pattern.
I will gladly adopt any orphan Jennings that anyone wants to send to a good home. They generally just need tinkering and actually can be made into nice plinker or tackle box guns for growing boys.
The Phoenix HP22 can have the magazine safety removed in seconds by ...well ripping it out with pliers and throwing it away. Then just use Gorilla glue to put the hammer block safety forever in the fire position. Now you can run it cocked and locked.
My worst gun was a worn surplus PA63 that fired when decocked and put a bullet into my futon.
I will gladly adopt any orphan Jennings that anyone wants to send to a good home. They generally just need tinkering and actually can be made into nice plinker or tackle box guns for growing boys.
The Phoenix HP22 can have the magazine safety removed in seconds by ...well ripping it out with pliers and throwing it away. Then just use Gorilla glue to put the hammer block safety forever in the fire position. Now you can run it cocked and locked.
My worst gun was a worn surplus PA63 that fired when decocked and put a bullet into my futon.
shouldazagged
Absent Comrade
On an impulse (read "wild hair") I bought a NIB Kel-Tec P32, thinking it would serve as a backup gun or, if an occasion wouldn't allow for anything heavier or bulkier, a primary.
Ddidn't shoot one first. My hands are medium-large with long fingers.. No matter how I tried I couldn't squeeze the trigger through its arc without pulling the little pistol off target. It never failed to feed and fire, I just couldn't hit with it even at close range. It would have been fine for sticking up an assailant's nose, but much beyond that he'd be pretty safe. Bid it a not-so-fond adieu.
Ddidn't shoot one first. My hands are medium-large with long fingers.. No matter how I tried I couldn't squeeze the trigger through its arc without pulling the little pistol off target. It never failed to feed and fire, I just couldn't hit with it even at close range. It would have been fine for sticking up an assailant's nose, but much beyond that he'd be pretty safe. Bid it a not-so-fond adieu.
Rastoff
US Veteran
My worst was a Colt Delta Elite 10mm. What a pile. It had at least one malfunction on every magazine. Returned it and got a Dan Wesson .357 and never looked back. Funny, but that Dan Wesson is probably my best gun buy ever.
About the Mini 14...
I have one that is 1.5MOA out of the box. I'm sure it will be sub MOA if I get it bedded and the trigger tuned.
I understand the accuracy complaints. Originally the Mini was intended to be a <50 yard gun. It fits that function well. Alas, mysteriously, Bill would not let them upgrade it.
In 2008 they finally upgraded the barrel to a larger, stiffer one. What a dramatic improvement. I did a bunch of testing for the maker of the Accustrut. We learned that it really didn't help the newer barrels appreciably.
Don't sell it short. The new model is really nice and I will put mine up against any AR, any time.
About the Mini 14...
I have one that is 1.5MOA out of the box. I'm sure it will be sub MOA if I get it bedded and the trigger tuned.
I understand the accuracy complaints. Originally the Mini was intended to be a <50 yard gun. It fits that function well. Alas, mysteriously, Bill would not let them upgrade it.
In 2008 they finally upgraded the barrel to a larger, stiffer one. What a dramatic improvement. I did a bunch of testing for the maker of the Accustrut. We learned that it really didn't help the newer barrels appreciably.
Don't sell it short. The new model is really nice and I will put mine up against any AR, any time.
On the cheap end a Bersa 380
On the Very High end, a Rohrbaugh R9s stealth, The finest looking, precision made, piece of useless, non functioning junk.
Went back to the company 3 times and still would not function reliably. That said the owner was very nice a gave me a full refund.
On the Very High end, a Rohrbaugh R9s stealth, The finest looking, precision made, piece of useless, non functioning junk.
Went back to the company 3 times and still would not function reliably. That said the owner was very nice a gave me a full refund.
Scott in NCal
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A couple of candidates. My first new rifle in high school I think dad got for me at Sears early 1970's. A Winchester Model 190 tube fed semiauto. The barrel would fall out of the reciever. I taped the barrel shank with scotch tape and pounded it back in. It worked, sorta. The trigger pull was similar to pulling a toilet plunger through a bucket of rocks. As for the free scope that came with it, I would rather listen to a Hillery Clinton speach than mess around with it for even a minute. The revolver, Taurus 85. No explaination needed.
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