Pistols that just did not suit me

[Outpost75]

That is another good rule. I seldom buy new firearms though. They seem to work better for me after they have some experience. I just make sure they are in good condition.

Another rule I learned from the late Charles S. Lanham, dating from the time he worked at Davis Gun Shop in Falls Church, VA, before he was on the NRA Technical Staff or with the BATF Firearms Technology Branch in DC is that:

"Knowledgeable people will pay more for an old gun that works, than for a new one which doesn't!"

[GunGuy2756]

I used to have that problem. I cured it by making a rule.
No gun stays at my house if after 4 trips to the range and getting a good workout each time, I can't get it to shoot as I think it should. My standards are fairly relaxed since I am not an outstanding shot, but some guns just don't measure up.
Life is too short to struggle with inaccurate firearms.

I couldn't agree more Tazman.

[GunGuy2756]

No fluke, here is a 25-yard group! Accurate now lists bullet as 35-122T.

Attachment 168250Attachment 168251

The group would put the 1935 Beretta 32 I had to shame.

[Char-Gar]

Over the years, I have had many handguns. I don't remember any that just proved out to be a bad purchase. Some have stayed in my house longer than others and some have taken on the status of never sell and never trade. Those that have gone away have done so because I needed to capital to acquire some new toy.

I need to say that I am immune to impulse buying and to being sold anything by anybody. I decided what I want and then go about searching for what I want. I have rejected many pistols because they had some kind of problem with them. The ones that were purchased proved out to be what I expected. I can't recall any surprises once I got the pistol home and to the range.

I was raised by Grandparents who were born in 1886 and 1891. They were raised hard scrabble and raised their kids during the Great Depression. I picked up their values about money and possessions. I learned not to turn loose of a dollar on a whim, but make each one count like it was the last one I would ever have. This is the reason, I don't get stuck with bad guns.

[hp246]

I was on a tactical team when our Department started the transition to semi-automatic pistols. Our team were the guinea pigs. we'd seen great performance from our Steyr SSG sniper rifles and Steyr AUG tactical rifles. One of our higher up thought it would be a wonderful idea to stay with the Steyr GB pistols. WRONG!!!!!! The GBs had a double stack 18 round magazine. Almost impossible to go through two consecutive magazines without a malfunction. They were sent back several times for modification. We eventually went to the SIG P226 which was a great pistol.

[MT Gianni]

I had a Ruger P-89 that the trigger never broke in on. The first time I tried to shoot it DA I reread the manual as I was sure I was missing a safety, SA pull was over 10 lbs. I finally got it under 5" with jacketed at 25 yards. Sold a old Mossburg pump, S&W mod 19 and a Super Blackhawk to buy this, a Redhawk and a Rossi 44 Mag 92. I had to finally sell the P-89 down the road.
Looked for a long time for a 2 1/2" K frame 357 RB. I shot it for a while but it never grouped the way I thought it should, replaced it with a 4" DW and a 3" Mod 15.
Taurus Millennium pro I bought for $225 did not stick around long. It shot OK but I always wondered when it would come apart. Never felt right to me.
On the other hand I have found a few treasures like the Pre-regulation police in 32 Long. Nickle with franzite grips it looks like it came of the set of a pimp movie but is as accurate as any I have. i just have to treat it gentle. Good and bad are both around.

[GunGuy2756]

Over the years, I have had many handguns. I don't remember any that just proved out to be a bad purchase. Some have stayed in my house longer than others and some have taken on the status of never sell and never trade. Those that have gone away have done so because I needed to capital to acquire some new toy.

I need to say that I am immune to impulse buying and to being sold anything by anybody. I decided what I want and then go about searching for what I want. I have rejected many pistols because they had some kind of problem with them. The ones that were purchased proved out to be what I expected. I can't recall any surprises once I got the pistol home and to the range.

I was raised by Grandparents who were born in 1886 and 1891. They were raised hard scrabble and raised their kids during the Great Depression. I picked up their values about money and possessions. I learned not to turn loose of a dollar on a whim, but make each one count like it was the last one I would ever have. This is the reason, I don't get stuck with bad guns.

You may have misunderstood my post. I don't do impulse buys either and I am not saying they were bad guns. They all worked fine for what they were but for whatever reason I did not like them. Instead of reading about them, I buy, try, and if they don't suit me I sell them.

Many I have sold for more than I paid because I am always on the look out for good deals. Sure, I've had an occasional lemon but they were few and far between. I either had them fixed before selling or sold them with disclosure.

I have had many Star pistols that were good guns, now I am down to one. After a while I get bored with some and sell them for something else. It's part of the fun.

[historicfirearms]

Probably the worst one that I've ever had was a Russian nagant revolver. The trigger pull was literally 20 pounds. I tried to like it as it is a unique design and the cartridge was interesting, but come on! It was practically unshootable with that trigger pull.
My second worst was a Ruger LCR. It would occasionally fail to rotate the cylinder in dry fire. Under live fire it would happen very often. Not a good thing in a self defense revolver.

[DerekP Houston]

ruger lcp.....a gun I loved the look and feel of but hated firing.

[GunGuy2756]

Probably the worst one that I've ever had was a Russian nagant revolver. The trigger pull was literally 20 pounds. I tried to like it as it is a unique design and the cartridge was interesting, but come on! It was practically unshootable with that trigger pull.
My second worst was a Ruger LCR. It would occasionally fail to rotate the cylinder in dry fire. Under live fire it would happen very often. Not a good thing in a self defense revolver.

I also had a Nagant revolver. It was refurbished to like new but as you said, the trigger pull was absolutely horrible. The gas sealing cylinder was interesting though.

[GunGuy2756]

ruger lcp.....a gun I loved the look and feel of but hated firing.

My buddy has one. Great for carry but not fun to shoot.

[Char-Gar]

You may have misunderstood my post. I don't do impulse buys either and I am not saying they were bad guns. They all worked fine for what they were but for whatever reason I did not like them. Instead of reading about them, I buy, try, and if they don't suit me I sell them.

Many I have sold for more than I paid because I am always on the look out for good deals. Sure, I've had an occasional lemon but they were few and far between. I either had them fixed before selling or sold them with disclosure.

I have had many Star pistols that were good guns, now I am down to one. After a while I get bored with some and sell them for something else. It's part of the fun.

You are being defensive for no reason. You are reading far to much in my post and it was about me and not about you. I was simply trying to respond in a truthful way as I could not recall buying a pistol that just did not work out, and I was trying to figure out why that was. It says nothing about you and the handguns that did not suit you.

[johnson1942]

i had a colt single action arm 45 long colt, seven and one half inch barrel. a real colt.never ever liked the feel of it. sold it to a collector. now i have a uberti 1872 open top colt repo in 38 special and love it, love the feel of it in my hand and points like a finger and very very accurate. also have a 51 uberti colt navy converted to 38 special. also very very accurate. fits like a glove in my hand and also is very very accurate. both are easy to aim and are fast on target. never will own a single action army again, too clunky.

[GunGuy2756]

i had a colt single action arm 45 long colt, seven and one half inch barrel. a real colt.never ever liked the feel of it. sold it to a collector. now i have a uberti 1872 open top colt repo in 38 special and love it, love the feel of it in my hand and points like a finger and very very accurate. also have a 51 uberti colt navy converted to 38 special. also very very accurate. fits like a glove in my hand and also is very very accurate. both are easy to aim and are fast on target. never will own a single action army again, too clunky.

It's interesting how different people like or dislike different guns. I am kind of the opposite, I have 2 SSA's with 5.5" barrels, a Colt and Cimarron in 45 Colt and like them very much. I did own a Uberti open top conversion is 44 Colt and while it was okay, I wound up trading it for a Star Megastar in 45acp.

[GunGuy2756]

You are being defensive for no reason. You are reading far to much in my post and it was about me and not about you. I was simply trying to respond in a truthful way as I could not recall buying a pistol that just did not work out, and I was trying to figure out why that was. It says nothing about you and the handguns that did not suit you.

Okay. No harm, no foul. I appreciate your input.

[Blackwater]

I wish I could say what Char-Gar did, but I've done a few impulse buys in my time, in spite of our pasts being very similar. I'm pretty tight with my money, but occasionally, something comes over me. What saddens me the most, though, is the guns I've traded off that I should have kept! The old pinned and recessed M-19 with 3 T's I have been trying to buy/trade back, and the guy just smiles one of those knowing smiles, and says, "No." That sure keeps me humble. Another is a '39 vintage M-64 Win. Those are rare as hen's teeth in my parts, and I let a buddy trade me out of it for a pre-64 M-70. It was a fair trade, value wise, but I'll miss that extremely fine and VERY accurate old tapered barrel rifle 'till the day I die. A collector has it now. My buddy traded it off to get a M-1886 he really wanted. I guess it's in the right place, because I babied that neat old gun, and hated taking it out. I'm a shooter, not a collector, but I'll still miss that gun forever.

When it comes to milsurps, I've never been very lucky, and both a No. 4, Mk I Enfield .303 and a M-44 Mosein have very oversized bores that are significantly bigger at the muzzle than the breech. I still have them, and hope to run into a couple of barrels I can put on them. I really like those old guns and what they did in history HAS to be respected, but again, I'm a shooter when it comes to guns. One day, maybe I'll finally get my round tuit to make them into something nicer and usable. I like tinkering with things and customizing guns to get them just the way I want them. It's absorbing, intriguing, and .... well, it keeps me out'a jail, too! Now THAT is a REAL asset!

[FergusonTO35]

Hmm, let's see here.

Ruger SP-101, 3" .357. Bought it for the princely sum of $225.00 in the early 2000's when no one wanted wheelguns. Stout beyond belief, recoil was pretty tame even with .357's. Horrid trigger pull and nothing could be done about it without spending more than I paid for the gun. The front sight was way too tall and it shot low unless I sighted across the top like a shotgun. Traded it on a cherry 1979 Marlin 1895 for the same price I paid, very good decision!

Kahr CW9. Very well made pistol, perfect size for a carry 9mm. Comfortable to shoot and fit many different holsters made for other guns. Unfortunately, I have big fingers. This means that the trigger guard always caught my finger, pulling me off target. The curvature of the trigger itself only exaggerated this effect. Kahr said they couldn't do anything about it and I decided life is too short to waste time with a gun that just doesn't work for me so down the road it went. I gave Kahr another chance with the CW380. Sadly, the exact same experience happened. The CW380 got replaced by a Glock 42, an EXCELLENT decision!

S&W 642. I love Smith revolvers and got the 642 because I've always been pretty good at shooting them double action and the 642 can be had without the stupid, ugly frame lock. Neat gun, unfortunately the trigger pull was almost as bad as the aforementioned SP-101. My usual tricks of 8 pound rebound spring and lightly honing sear surfaces made no difference. I also came to realize that one of the chief advantages of a wheelgun is the option of a single action pull for when you need a precise shot. The 642 was mustered out, and later replaced by a 637 which has an awesome trigger pull and the dumb lock neutralized. Interestingly my brother in law also had a 642 and reported the same awful trigger pull.

Ruger P95. Excellent pistol for the price, tough as nails, and comfortable to shoot. I saw the writing on the wall when Ruger discontinued it and so sold mine before parts completely dried up. Replaced it with a Glock 19 and haven't looked back.

[marlin39a]

Polish P-64. At least a 30 lb trigger pull. No kidding. Slams your hand hard. Not a fun gun.

[Bent Ramrod]

I had a High Standard H-D Military. Very cool looking, shot well; fed and ejected well, nice balance.

Except for the fact that I would have sworn I'd left the safety on when I tried to pull the trigger. The trigger pull weighed more than the gun did. Also the rear sight would loosen and slip down while firing was going on. I'm more a Revolver guy anyway, so I traded it in on one.

[jimb16]

My list is the MAK, Tok, N.A. .22 mag revolver and the Charter Arms .32 mag. I've shot a lot of other pistols. Some were fine and others just so-so. but those 4 just didn't cut it with me. Heck, I've even got an Iver Johnson .38 short DA only that works just fine and and will keep them all in the black a 7 yards.