Pistols that just did not suit me

[GunGuy2756]

Over the years I have bought and sold many pistols. The ones that suit me I usually keep and the ones that don't I sell. No sense in keeping a pistol that I don't really care for regardless of the cool factor. All of the guns listed were in very good condition. Here's a list of the ones I have sold and the reasons why.

East German Makarov 9x18- Stingy recoil, very uncomfortable to shoot, grips too small.

Broomhandle Mauser 9x19- (Not mine) Very unpleasant recoil. I think because of the round grip shape. My hand hurt like hell after 10 shots.

Steyr w/tip up barrel M1908 (I think) 32acp- Very pretty with awesome bluing and machining. Couldn't hit a damn thing. Unpleasant recoil.

Astra 400 9mm Largo- Very unpleasant recoil due to blow back design with a fairly powerful round. A major PITA to clean.

Astra 600 9x19- Same as the 400

Astra A60 380acp- Very stingy recoil. Web of my hand was bleeding after 3 mags.

Beretta M1935 380acp- A nice gun but I could not shoot it with any kind of accuracy.

CZ82 9x18- Stingy recoil, unpleasant to shoot. Grips too small.

Hopkin & Allen revolver 32S&W- Grips way too small. Couldn't hit a barn from the inside.

Star Megastar 45acp- Shot well enough but was very large and heavy. Magazine was a bear to load after the first 6-7 rounds. Capacity was 12.

There are a few others that I can't remember. What is your list?

[Thumbcocker]

I have a different problem. I spend way too much time and effort trying to get stubborn guns to shoot as well as my good ones. The result is much shooting is done with guns that don't hit for me while my good shooters languish. I plan on getting into therapy.

[Hickok]

I had an East German Makarov, and it was a finely made pistol. It shot accurately. But I just felt it was too much size and weight for the power I got from the cartridge. Same thing with a Walther PPK in .380 I once owned. My opinion only, but neither caliber suits me as to "power". Others may find them suitable, but to me they are lacking.

The S&W J-frame revolvers in .38 Special or .357 are my favorite "in the pocket" carry guns. THe recoil of these revolvers can be "brisk", but they offer me good power and light weight carry.

[Mica_Hiebert]

S&W sve40 trigger was like a sponge horid reset, grip contour dug into my thumb, spingdield xdm45 nothing wrong with it I just don't like how loud 45acp is, kahr cw40 I liked it as a cary gun but I broke 3 slide release springs on it and didn't trust my life with it and it wasn't a good enough shooter to keep as a kit gun. I sold a ruger single 6 22lr that I never should have but I was young and short on money for bills.

[GunGuy2756]

I had an East German Makarov, and it was a finely made pistol. It shot accurately. But I just felt it was too much size and weight for the power I got from the cartridge. Same thing with a Walther PPK in .380 I once owned. My opinion only, but neither caliber suits me as to "power". Others may find them suitable, but to me they are lacking.

The S&W J-frame revolvers in .38 Special or .357 are my favorite "in the pocket" carry guns. THe recoil of these revolvers can be "brisk", but they offer me good power and light weight carry.

Your PPK post made me remember another one that I should have listed. A Walther PP in 32acp. Functioning and accuracy were good but it chewed up the web of my hand after a few mags.

[Walkingwolf]

I have a two fold problem with guns. I have never had one I did not like, and when younger I had a bad habit of trading or selling when I thought it was a great deal. I regret every gun I sold or traded, but I was young then so not too wise.

[osteodoc08]

I can get along with most pistols, even a Glock. However, there are some that just seem so natural. My favorite by far is my P226 Tac Ops with extended grips and 20 round magazine. I dont know if it is the extended grips or what, but I've never handled a pistol that fits so naturally. I've handled other P226's and P229's and it just isnt the same, but when I pick mine up, it just fits.

If I'm not shooting my P226, it is my 1911's that I love. I may have to try a P220 one day.

Other than that, I've found the M&P line fits me better than Glock, but I dont mind shooting my 2 glocks. One is out of necessity because the M&P line was never made in a 10mm, but would be nice. I have gravitated to my Colt Delta Elite, however, it is not fully supported like the Glock. I dont load them super hot anyhow, so I'm not that concerned.

I have various ones come and go, but I cant recall them all, but as far as the ones I've kept, those are the ones.

[Walkingwolf]

Not sure I have a favorite, every one that I still have is special. I do agree my Glocks are my less favorite, I just never have warmed up to the way they feel. They sit in the safe mostly collecting dust, even my wife does not like hers, she prefers a SMC380, or my Star Super A.

My carry is based on need, I do carry the Glock when the weather is bad. Rest of the time I rotate between different guns, depends on mood I guess. Lately I have been carrying the Star, it is a comfortable gun to carry.

[GunGuy2756]

I can get along with most pistols, even a Glock. However, there are some that just seem so natural. My favorite by far is my P226 Tac Ops with extended grips and 20 round magazine. I dont know if it is the extended grips or what, but I've never handled a pistol that fits so naturally. I've handled other P226's and P229's and it just isnt the same, but when I pick mine up, it just fits.

If I'm not shooting my P226, it is my 1911's that I love. I may have to try a P220 one day.

Other than that, I've found the M&P line fits me better than Glock, but I dont mind shooting my 2 glocks. One is out of necessity because the M&P line was never made in a 10mm, but would be nice. I have gravitated to my Colt Delta Elite, however, it is not fully supported like the Glock. I dont load them super hot anyhow, so I'm not that concerned.

I have various ones come and go, but I cant recall them all, but as far as the ones I've kept, those are the ones.

Even a Glock. :D

[Earlwb]

Heck, all of the guns worked for me OK. Granted some had problems that needed fixing. Probably a Llama .45 ACP 1911 style pistol might be my biggest disappointment. Right out of the box, it had extraction problems. The gunsmith fixed the extraction problem and then it was OK to shoot. But it used non-standard size grips. Plus the parts were all a little off from a real 1911 so you couldn't customize it any. But it did shoot OK though.

Now then I did get a Glock 9mm when they first came out. It turned out to be a disaster, I never found any easy to get ammo that would work with it. The ammo all seemed to be just a hair too large for the chamber in the gun. it seemed to only work with expensive European made ammo. At the time the import ammo was very expensive. So I sold it and never regretted that sell. That was way back before we had the internet, etc. if I remember right, the Dallas Tx PD also had that same problem and cancelled their contracts for using it as a duty gun way back then.

The broom handle Mauser worked great with .30 Mauser ammo, which is light on the recoil. Converting them to 9x19 caused the recoil to become uncomfortable then due to the oddball hand grip setup. I had a similar situation with a 7.62 Tokarev pistol. Someone made a .38 Super barrel for it, so I had to get one. Now then firing .38 Super rounds in a little thin pistol then became very uncomfortable. But it worked though. Sort of like having a small derringer that fires .357 Mag rounds.

"Couldn't hit the barn from the inside". I like that analogy. "It helps to close the doors".

That reminded me of my old 6.5mm Carcano carbine. When I first got the rifle, I wanted to use it as a range gun and carry it in my pickup truck. But when I went out to shoot it, it would miss the target. I had setup a target to shoot at, but when I fired it, the bullets went somewhere, but not anywhere on the target. I did fire it a number of times, and no bullet holes. It confused the heck out of me. I even tried it at 25 yards and still had no holes in the target. It was later I finally figured out that the sights were regulated for 300 meters, thus the rifle shot really high. I found a scope mount that would work and put a scope on it. It then turned out to be a fine shooter and was quite accurate.
:D

[Outpost75]

I may have gotten lucky with my particular Beretta 1934 .380 which is a postwar commercial model made for the Italian police with 1951 dated slide and 1952 dated frame. It is my most accurate pistol in that caliber and outshot a Mauser HSc and Walther PP in .380 which I both sold. I kept my two Walther PPs in .32 ACP, being most accurate in that caliber, but sold 1910 and 1922 Brownings, a CZ70 and Mauser HSc.

The other .32s which I kept are my Beretta 3032 INOX Tomcat, a 1935 Beretta Postwar and a Colt Type III Pocket Hammerless.

168224

[GunGuy2756]

Heck, all of the guns worked for me OK. Granted some had problems that needed fixing. Probably a Llama .45 ACP 1911 style pistol might be my biggest disappointment. Right out of the box, it had extraction problems. The gunsmith fixed the extraction problem and then it was OK to shoot. But it used non-standard size grips. Plus the parts were all a little off from a real 1911 so you couldn't customize it any. But it did shoot OK though.

Now then I did get a Glock 9mm when they first came out. It turned out to be a disaster, I never found any easy to get ammo that would work with it. The ammo all seemed to be just a hair too large for the chamber in the gun. it seemed to only work with expensive European made ammo. At the time the import ammo was very expensive. So I sold it and never regretted that sell. That was way back before we had the internet, etc. if I remember right, the Dallas Tx PD also had that same problem and cancelled their contracts for using it as a duty gun way back then.

The broom handle Mauser worked great with .30 Mauser ammo, which is light on the recoil. Converting them to 9x19 caused the recoil to become uncomfortable then due to the oddball hand grip setup. I had a similar situation with a 7.62 Tokarev pistol. Someone made a .38 Super barrel for it, so I had to get one. Now then firing .38 Super rounds in a little thin pistol then became very uncomfortable. But it worked though. Sort of like having a small derringer that fires .357 Mag rounds.

"Couldn't hit the barn from the inside". I like that analogy. "It helps to close the doors".

That reminded me of my old 6.5mm Carcano carbine. When I first got the rifle, I wanted to use it as a range gun and carry it in my pickup truck. But when I went out to shoot it, it would miss the target. I had setup a target to shoot at, but when I fired it, the bullets went somewhere, but not anywhere on the target. I did fire it a number of times, and no bullet holes. It confused the heck out of me. I even tried it at 25 yards and still had no holes in the target. It was later I finally figured out that the sights were regulated for 300 meters, thus the rifle shot really high. I found a scope mount that would work and put a scope on it. It then turned out to be a fine shooter and was quite accurate.
:D

I have shot a small Derringer in 357 mag.....once! The grip was very small and gun very light. I held as tight as I could and the barrel latch still came back and ripped a large chunk of skin from my thumb. I won't be doing that again any time soon.

[GunGuy2756]

I may have gotten lucky with my particular Beretta 1934 .380 which is a postwar commercial model made for the Italian police with 1951 dated slide and 1952 dated frame. It is my most accurate pistol in that caliber and outshot a Mauser HSc and Walther PP in .380 which I both sold. I kept my two Walther PPs in .32 ACP, being most accurate in that caliber, but sold 1910 and 1922 Brownings, a CZ70 and Mauser HSc.

The other .32s which I kept are my Beretta 3032 INOX Tomcat, a 1935 Beretta Postwar and a Colt Type III Pocket Hammerless.

168224

Nice group Outpost.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

A couple come to mind, both high quality pistols: First, I bought new one of the first Ruger Blackhawks in .30 carbine. I was about age 16 at the time and WW II surplus .30 carbine ammo was readily available. When I fired it there was a huge circular flash just past the muzzle and a shock wave that made me feel like my nose was going to bleed. I only fired 3 shots and set it aside. After a hitch in the army and the passage of about 15 years I thought, "It really couldn't have been that bad!" I got it out and fired 3 more shots. It was that bad. Sold it. Second one that comes to mind was a Sig Sauer P-220 .45 ACP, only it was the rarer Browning variation. For it's size it was very light, and it was very accurate and a pleasure to shoot. But it was bulky, not nearly as graceful as my 1911. I just didn't like it's looks or overall size. It sold quickly.

[Hickok]

Gunguy, that brought back a memory, (nightmare) of a .357 mag derringer I fired one time, and one time only. When I pulled the trigger, the derringer was gone. Nothing in my hand! It had recoiled out of my hand and landed behind me in the grass. How it missed hitting me in the face I don't know, but I didn't shoot it again. Told the owner, "Blanketedly blank blank, you can keep it.":lol:

[rondog]

The only pistol I've ever owned that I can honestly say I didn't get along with was my S&W Model 59. The grip was just too fat for my hand and the trigger was just awful. I honestly couldn't hit squat with it and just didn't enjoy it, and I bought it brand new because a buddy had one and liked his.

Still regret selling it though, guns are for collecting, not trading! Lord knows I've let far too many get away and I wish I could have every one of them back. And let's not even talk about Harleys and cars.....

[tazman]

I have a different problem. I spend way too much time and effort trying to get stubborn guns to shoot as well as my good ones. The result is much shooting is done with guns that don't hit for me while my good shooters languish. I plan on getting into therapy.

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.

[Outpost75]

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.

THAT is a good rule!

Another one is that if it doesn't work out of the box, take it back and don't frustrate yourself tinkering to make it "work."

[Outpost75]

Nice group Outpost.


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

168250168251

[tazman]

THAT is a good rule!

Another one is that if it doesn't work out of the box, take it back and don't frustrate yourself tinkering to make it "work."

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.

[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.

168250168251

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.

[johnson1942]

today i went out in my rural yard and shot a fair number of 45 long colt out of my ruger old army conversion cylinder at a small metal gong at 15 yards off hand. couldnt do any better than 5 out of six rounds hitting it. the miss would have downed the bad guy anyways, just not in the heart. if i would have took my two open top colt uberti 38 special out their i would have shot faster and done 6 out of six. the ruger is fine tuned with wolf springs and the back sight is stone honed to point of hit at 15 yards. a good gun but not as easy to shoot to point of aim as the open top 38/s. by the way, when i travel off for a few days the ruger old army is with me. it is good enough to save me in a bad situation. it is the real deal for knock down power.

[Outpost75]

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

I have an LCP of recent production, put a Hogue grip sleeve on it, and I love it. Gobbles anything, very tolerant of any reasonable handload, and quite accurate enough for what it is. Sights and DA trigger pull are as good as on my Colt Detective Special
168308168307168309

[DerekP Houston]

I have an LCP of recent production, put a Hogue grip sleeve on it, and I love it. Gobbles anything, very tolerant of any reasonable handload, and quite accurate enough for what it is. Sights and DA trigger pull are as good as on my Colt Detective Special
168308168307168309

That is true, I only shot the first gen product and with stock grips. I heard they made a new version with an improved trigger, nice to know it worked out well for you. At this point i've already filled the roll with others but maybe if I catch a good sale ;).

[tazman]

I have owned several handguns over the years that were not very accurate. Part of the problem might well have been me as the operator. I didn't learn how to shoot a handgun properly until recently(3 years ago).
I have owned a few that were just plain bad for one reason or another. 2 of them broke(can't remember the names, too long ago), one shaved lead(S&W 28), and 2 of them just plain beat me up(single action revolvers).
I can't shoot any Ruger single action larger than 357 mag and that one only with replacement grips. I could have just as much fun by pounding on my knuckles with a hammer.
I recently owned a GP100 6 inch that would not shoot accurately with any load I devised or factory loads either one. It made four trips to the range and then left the premises.
For some reason, the 1911 design just doesn't work in my hands. I love the design, but it just won't work for me.
Now due to arthritis, I am limited to power levels of 357 mag or lower. Higher levels of recoil are just too painful.
I now have some excellent revolvers and a couple of very good semi-automatics that are working well for me.

[Bigslug]

Outrage at the invention of the DA/SA semi-auto trigger system: the REAL reason Germany was bombed flat in 1944/45. The Nazis are gone, but their stupid triggers remain. At least they seem to be steadily falling out of favor. . .:kidding:

Any mindset that would grossly compromise the ability of the average shooter to hit their target and negate a threat with the first couple of shots (the primary purpose of a handgun after all) in a mostly futile effort to keep them from shooting themselves in the foot needs a straightjacket and a padded room.

Sooooo. . .pretty much any handgun derived from the PPK, P-38, and S&W 39 families.

[FergusonTO35]

Not a fan of DA/SA on bottom feeders myself, especially not DAO. I will put up with it on a pocket rocket like the LCP simply because there is no such thing as a striker fired version and Ruger did manage to give it a decent pull. I like Sig pistols and wouldn't mind having one, I would just consider the double action pull to be the "fire at close range in an emergency" mode. I think CZ's DA/SA with a cocked and locked option is pretty cool, you only have to fire double action in the event of a hard primer.

[prsman23]

Your PPK post made me remember another one that I should have listed. A Walther PP in 32acp. Functioning and accuracy were good but it chewed up the web of my hand after a few mags.

Easiest way to remedy that is by slightly changing the grip. These are my favorite guns to shoot. Just have to slide the thumb down about half an inch. Unless you have really big hands.

[AK Caster]

My worse two (4) were both Rugers. They were the P95 and P345. Neither would shoot better than 6 inches at 20 yards and both could not make it through one full magazine without experiencing 2 or 3 jams. Both went back to Ruger and came back "fixed". Both shot like they did before going back to Ruger.
Sold both and bought new ones. Same story all over again.

I wouldn't own either of these pistols if they were given to me for free.

[GunGuy2756]

Easiest way to remedy that is by slightly changing the grip. These are my favorite guns to shoot. Just have to slide the thumb down about half an inch. Unless you have really big hands.

My hands are on the large side and I did try lowering my grip but I can't seem to shoot good unless my grip is up high.

[GunGuy2756]

I have owned several handguns over the years that were not very accurate. Part of the problem might well have been me as the operator. I didn't learn how to shoot a handgun properly until recently(3 years ago).
I have owned a few that were just plain bad for one reason or another. 2 of them broke(can't remember the names, too long ago), one shaved lead(S&W 28), and 2 of them just plain beat me up(single action revolvers).
I can't shoot any Ruger single action larger than 357 mag and that one only with replacement grips. I could have just as much fun by pounding on my knuckles with a hammer.
I recently owned a GP100 6 inch that would not shoot accurately with any load I devised or factory loads either one. It made four trips to the range and then left the premises.
For some reason, the 1911 design just doesn't work in my hands. I love the design, but it just won't work for me.
Now due to arthritis, I am limited to power levels of 357 mag or lower. Higher levels of recoil are just too painful.
I now have some excellent revolvers and a couple of very good semi-automatics that are working well for me.

"I could have just as much fun by pounding on my knuckles with a hammer."

That line made me chuckle. I know what you mean about arthritis and pain, I'm with you there.
Yesterday I spent about an hour mopping up a mess on the floor at work and my hands hurt like hell today.

[Quickdraw4u]

My list would be long but off the top of my head...
The new Smith and Wesson 627 seven shot- expensive, heavy, big and poor metal work on the frame where it met the barrel. Only shot OK. A lot of hype about in the gun rags. Traded it for a 1911.
Kahr M1 Carbine- after two trips back to Kahr still could not get 3 shots off without it hanging up. Nicknamed it the "Jamster" and traded it a gun show.
Savage 308 starter rifle (forget the mod #) cheap plastic stock, bad trigger didn't shoot but about 3 moa. Sold it to my Brother-in-law. Hope he is not reading this.
Anything by RG- my 22 revolver is a single shot (sometimes). I am waiting for the next police gun buy-back program to turn it in. ;-)

[bichettereds]

I'll second the CZ82. Very unpleasant to shoot. Was going to use it as a ccw but it was heavy for its size, and I had trouble getting it to feed Hornady HPs reliably so I sold it.

[TenTea]

Glock (any)

Beretta 92

Davis O/U Derringer

S&W 2206

SIG P226

Colt New Agent

Kahr MK9

Browning HP

*some of these are good pistols, but didn't suit me for various reasons.

[35remington]

I know DA/SA autos have fallen from favor with the masses, but a second strike capability that many of them have is not a bad feature. In fact, it is quite desirable. A most common failure of autoloaders is a slightly out of battery condition on feeding and pulling the trigger (does not fire) that drives the slide/barrel to battery on the first strike and goes off on the second. In the event of a misfire the natural response is to pull the trigger again.

I don't like the pull transition from DA to SA myself, but hey, it's got at least one upside.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Two come to mind. The first was a beautiful replica Derringer made in Italy. It was all steel with a case hardened frame. I drove up to the mountains to try it out. Some scuds bag had dumped an old refrigerator beside the road. I loaded the little gun, aimed and let loose. When the pistol fired my arm went numb from my hand to my elbow and the bullet bounced off the door of the fridge. I don't remember if I ever fired it again. The second was also a pistol. I bought a stainless Ruger Old Army and fired it very little. I took it to the range twice. The beast was just too heavy. I found it was impossible for me to hold and fire it with one hand. Ruger should have named it the Dragoon. We parted company soon after firing it the second time.

[tazman]

"I could have just as much fun by pounding on my knuckles with a hammer."

That line made me chuckle. I know what you mean about arthritis and pain, I'm with you there.
Yesterday I spent about an hour mopping up a mess on the floor at work and my hands hurt like hell today.

In one respect I am lucky.The joints on my father's hands looked like a collection of walnuts connected by skin when he was 15 years younger than I am now. He always had trouble with them hurting. In his later years he couldn't drive a nail with a hammer since it hurt so bad. I can still work with my hands but must limit the impact somewhat.
I finally remembered the name of one of the guns that broke on me. It was an RG 357mag. The side of the barrel blew out between the frame and the cylinder. I didn't reload at the time so I can't take the blame for that one. I had less than 100 rounds through the gun when it happened. Quickdraw mentioned the RG name and that tripped my memory.