your worst shooting gun?

[troy_mclure]

since everybody has a best shooting gun, you must have a worst shooting gun!

what is it, and do you still have it? why?

i have 2:
a mossy 500 with a rifled barrel that cant shoot a 4" group past 20 yds to save its life. it has a smooth barrel on it for hd now. still have the barrel tho.

a mosin nagant m44 carbine that had been bubbad to remove the bayonet lug before i got it. the front sight was also broken off in the process.

i put a ati stock on it, scope mount, and bent bolt handle.
with hand loads i was getting near moa(1.5") groups, but it recently went to pot, and 4" is as good as i can get it.
just havent got rid of it yet. figure ill pawn it off on some new shooter as a learner gun.

[Muddy Creek Sam]

That would be my Dad's old Sears Single 12 Ga with the Plastic stock that kicks you harder than it hits what your aiming at.

Sam :D

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

hmmmmmm...

After I spend fifteen to twenty minutes cleaning and working up a load, everyone shoots in the
1/10th to 1/8th of an inch range at 300 yards. Offhand, with iron sights, standing on one leg, chewing Red Man. And I can spit the eye out of an eagle fifty yards in the sky!

Seriously, I did have a Krag that had so much cupro-nickel fouling it took the Outers Foul-Out two weeks to show me rifling. I did get it to go under 2" at 100 by end of the year.

Rich

[captaint]

I once had a Savage Mod 24V? I think. It was a 22mag over, 3" 20 ga under. 22 mag shot really crappy. You could see where the hole in the barrel was even off center!!! No wonder. it shot patterns. Sold it many years ago. Enjoy Mike

[mooman76]

I have a Spanish Mauser 7x57 that I bought from a friend( more of a work aquatence) that said it was a shooter. I can hardly get it on paper at 25y. Yes I still have it because I can't seem to give up on it. It still has good rifling even though it has an oversized bore. Even with jacketed bullets it shoots bad. I could throw rocks better and I can understand why it shoots so bad at such a close range. You would think even if it was a smooth bore it wouldn't shoot so bad. I have no issues with the guy that sold it to me. I just figure I've got lucky and got allot of good guns and this kind of makes up for it.

[chevyiron420]

I had a 98 mauser that looked new in all respects inside and out. I couldnt reliably hit a 4x8 sheet of plywood at 25 yards. I worked with it for years and couldnt figure it out. I swapped it to a guy that is always telling storys about his fantastic shots, but realy never shoots. He came back about a year later telling me how accurate it is !---phil

[Echo]

I have a Walther P1 (Alloy frame P38) that shoots patterns at 25 yards. Six to 10 inch "groups" are about the best I have come up with. I certainly need to spend more time with that gun!

[Buckshot]

...............A 3 band 58 cal Snider, but it doesn't matter because it's so much fun to shoot :-)

..............Buckshot

[dromia]

An early Savage No 4 MK1 (not a Mk1*) with an experimental 6 groove barrel.

The barrel doesn't fit the stock properly as the woodwork seems too long and is jammed against the foresight protector thus not allowing the barrel to play.

The point of aim moves around as the recoil gradually shifts the barrel into a different position against the stock.

Must get round to bedding it with some cork to see if that makes a difference.

[Tom W.]

I have a Convertible Blackhawk in .45 Colt/ .45 acp that I can't hit squat with too awfully well. But it's fun to take out and try! Another plus is that when using the .45 acp cylinder I don't have to chase brass....

[NickSS]

I have had some real winners in the category of worst gun but the one that took top honors is a Savage Model 24 (I think???) that looked really nice bolt action with a peep sight on the cocking piece of the bolt in 300 Savage. I bought two boxes of factory ammo with it. Now the rifle looked real good inside and out so I was expecting to shoot well with it. My first 5 rounds missed the 100 yard target completely. So I started moving closer and when I got to 20 yards one bullet out of three hit the paper sideways. Needless to say I sold the rifle shortly there after.

[lead-1]

I had a Ruger Blackhawk in stainless, great looking handgun but I couldn't hit the ground with it if I dropped it. Factory UMC ammo netted me 12-14 inch groups at 30 feet. That was shooting it from sand bags.

[Shepherd2]

My worst was a Ruger SP101 in .357 Mag. I looked for 2 years before I found one and then it was one big disappointment. It always shot about 4 inches high and 4 inches left. I sent it back to Ruger and they put a new front sight on it. Then it shot about 6 inches high and 8 inches left. I passed it on soon after that.

[Bret4207]

Hardest to shoot well would be either my S+W Perfected or IJ 32. Both have those tiny, tiny 1910 type sights and I just can't see them.

Worst shooter? I don't really have a bad shooter at the moment, but I did have a M-69A Winchester that wouldn't group 2" at 50 feet and a Remington Nylon 66 that was worse then that. Those 2 were freaks as I've used other models of the same rifles that shot great.

[Wayne Smith]

I have a Daisy .22 Bolt gun. I got it for the kids, was disappointed that, even with the barrel cinched down - takedown design - I couldn't put five rounds into 10" at 25yds. Called Daisy, they sent me an new barrel free - can't complain about the service - and now I can hit a 5" circle at 25yds four out of five! I still have it cause I can't imagine passing it on to someone hopeful.

[bruce drake]

I've had my share of "difficult" rifles.

Right now, the one that is being the most difficult is a No4 Enfield sporter that has a schnabel foreend that I think is not providing the proper upwards pressure. Tap that in with keyholing boolits at 50 yards and I'll figure the thing out eventually. Oh and the bore is not pretty at all.

Probably swap foreend back to standard and than see about either scrubbing out the bore with JB and recrowning or swapping for a "new" barrel from Numrich.

a few years back it was a Type 99 Arisaka (Last Ditch) that kept blowing gas back in my face no matter what .312 or .311 bullet or boolit I used. Eventually learned that if I resized jacketed 8mm bullets down to .314 that I would have a bullet that actually fit the bore on that thing. Now I resize 32 Special (.321) bullets for this one. Now it keeps them in the black at 100 and is one of my nicer shooting rifles. Ugly as sin but it can shoot when fed properly.

Bruce

[Hickory]

I bought a 5" Model 27 S&W once that shot so bad that I took it back to the dealer and demanded my money back and got it.

When sighting it in at 25 yds. I could not hit the target least of all the back stop.
I setup a 20ft target, 4'x4' backstop and target, and only scored 4 hits out of 5 on the backstop.

It was a Banger-Puma S&W if I remember correctly.:veryconfu

[softpoint]

When the Ruger Alaskan .454's first came out, I salivated over 'em for some time. Then, I finally got one. Expecting 2" groups out of the snubby at 25 yards, I couldn't get that pistol to keep 'em all on a sheet of notebook paper at 15 yards. :shock:It got traded away pretty quickly.

[pdawg_shooter]

Ruger Mini 14. On a good day 7 to 8 inch @ 100 with a 12x scope.

[44man]

Marlin .44, nothing else to say! [smilie=b:

[1Shirt]

:No longer have any worst shootin guns! They get traded or sold off quickly!
1Shirt!:coffee:

[Ricochet]

Mini-14. Hard to hit paper at 100 yards with the issue sights.

[part_timer]

I had a mini 30 that you couldn't hit the top of a 55 gallon drum with at 50 yards. I also had a winchester94 in 375 winchester that wouldn't group on a paper plate at 25 yards. Both are loooooong gone.

[rtracy2001]

I have an old RG revolver in 22 mag that can't hit a playing card held against the muzzle. I still have it for three reasons:

1. It was my dad's,
2. Only RG rimfire I've ever seen where the cylinder lines up with the barrel. (doesn't shave lead off the bullet and embed it in your hand like most.)
3. Lets face it, no one would give me anything for it anyway.

[Hip's Ax]

My cut down Krag rifle. I tried jacketed bullets from 150 to 220 grains in both pointed and round nose and about 5 different powders plus Winchester and Remington factory ammo. 5 inch groups at 100 yards every time, same size every time, no matter the combination!! I'm going to try cast in it soon.

[wildwilly]

Winchester 94/44-40WCF. It only handles one load...5.0 gr/231/200 gr Lyman 42798.

[runfiverun]

marlin 375 win
finally did get it to shoot under 2" at 50 yds but it hit 12" below point of aim.
talked my dad out of it so i'm keeping it,it shoots j-words fairly well.
only gun i ever saw my dad actually shoot a deer with and he dropped two that day.

and a blackhawk in 41 mag, i am still looking for the impact marks on the backstop.
i did finally get it to shoot 200 gr swc's to generally the same area at 25 yds though.
i like the gun,and it carrys nice it's just been shot so much in trying to get it to shoot i think it's worn out now.

[August]

I acquired a stainless Colt's Python back in the eighties. Important to the story is that I had been shooting a Smith 629 for several years before that. The Smith, of course, would put any load into one hole. I loved that Smith, and still have it.

Anywho, back to the Python. I tried every reloading angle known to man and could not make that gun shoot. Sometimes it would be on target. Other times it would be on the target backing board. I never could get it to group and every load I tried shot to a different point of aim (unlike the Smith).

So, at the end of a couple of years of this, I professed my love for the .44 and gave up the Python for some trade. I have never regretted getting rid of that gun. I always chuckle to myself when people start discussing Pythons in hushed tones. My general attitude about Colt's products cannot be shared in internet forums.

[45 2.1]

I acquired a stainless Colt's Python back in the eighties. Important to the story is that I had been shooting a Smith 629 for several years before that. The Smith, of course, would put any load into one hole. I loved that Smith, and still have it.

Anywho, back to the Python. I tried every reloading angle known to man and could not make that gun shoot. Sometimes it would be on target. Other times it would be on the target backing board. I never could get it to group and every load I tried shot to a different point of aim (unlike the Smith).

So, at the end of a couple of years of this, I professed my love for the .44 and gave up the Python for some trade. I have never regretted getting rid of that gun. I always chuckle to myself when people start discussing Pythons in hushed tones. My general attitude about Colt's products cannot be shared in internet forums.

Hee hee......there are Smiths just like that Python out there. Hope you don't run into one. All the Pythons i've shot were like your Smith though.

[OutHuntn84]

I've only had one gun that ever gave me alot of trouble. Was an AR-15 I got off a fella for 400 bucks (many moons ago) I figured out quick why it was so cheap. Dang thing was very accurate, but would jam every round. Tried everything I could thnk of, passed it around to some of the guys to try and nothing, pull trigger jam no matter what. Had a freind who was in love with those lil black rifles. He tells me one day that he begrudgenly took a glock 22C for a trade that he would feel guilty about giving away(he hated glocks) I then told him about a certain AR that I felt the same way about. Well we decided that we wouldn't feel toooo guilty about a straight trade. After that I loved the Glock great shoot'n gun and I think he ended up gutting the upper and putting new parts in it.

[jlchucker]

The worst shooting gun I ever had was a new H & R Classic in 38-55. Many have posted on this model. It was my first try with a 38-55 single shot, and there was no hope for this *** with any sort of cast bullet load. I'll never buy another H & R or NEF single shot again. I've owned a lot of rifles over the years, but this model came with a requirement that the owner needs to have it re-machined in order to shoot. I sold it to somebody that wanted to fool with it, and got most of my money back--but my experience with it showcased an obvious lack of quality and engineering by that particular manufacturer. That rifle looked good, but performed far worse than even a Carcano I once bought for $8.95.

[sdelam]

I have a Taurus .357 snubby that might do 12inch groups at 10 meters. I also have an AK that gets 8 in groups at 50yds and POI changes considerably with different ammo. Not just up and down but 154g's shoot 6-7 inches to the right.

[Lead Fred]

Right now my Winnie 94, cant hit ship with it.

It seems not to like FTX at all

[EMC45]

Had 2. One was a Mini 14 Ranch Rifle. Shot like lightning. Never hit the same place twice! Had an AK SAR1 shot poorly! Even reloaded ammo through the AK did nothing for it!

[docone31]

I had a fairly new Marlin 45/70. I had coveted a 45/70 for so long, and now here it was!
I did me up some loads, and went to the range.
I set the target, a 24" bullseye with 4 X 4 paper background at 100yds.
Back to the table, round in the chamber, close the lever, pull the trigger, I have no idea where the bullet went.
I fired 100rds. I have no idea where they went. I couldn't even see where on the backdrop the impacts were. People gathered to help me. They couldn't see. No one had any idea where they went!
We bore sighted the scope, rough sighted the scope. We put up a plain sheet of paper. Nada.
I sold the rifle off. Dang. I so wanted that rifle to work!
I dumped that rifle and have not had another Marlin since.

[405]

Several.

Worst ALMOST owned-

Ruger mini-14 when they first came out... UGHHH what terrible shooters... the new one I tried and most others I see being shot on target!

H&R single shot 22 Hornet. Brand new. Was able to try several known loads before purchase... Random shot dispersal in excess of 2 feet at 50 yards!


Worst owned-

Ruger 1022. Two inch groups at 25 yards. Jam-O-Matic with some brands of ammo. Didn't own it long. I let someone else drop the $450 into it to get it to shoot.

Old Stevens 22 single shot bolt gun. A freebie so still have it. Might ream the bore to smooth one of these days and turn it into a 22 cal shotgun:) Won't keep two shots on a paper plate at 25 yards. I leave it behind the door in the utility room so a burgler will think they're getting something special :veryconfu

[JesterGrin_1]

Hands Down my Marlin 1894SS in .44 Mag the best group I can get out of it at 100 yards is 2 to 2 1/2 inch groups. :)

[corvette8n]

A 6.5 Carcano, factory ammo rattles down the bore, can't hit a 4x4 foot target at 25 yards.
a .270 sized cast boolit shoots 4" groups at 25 yards. still playing with this one.

[gerrycan]

I have a few "worst shooters." my current champion is a British Martini Henry 577/450 . Barrel is not much so sleeved to 45/70. At 50 yds some go straight some go keyhole,I,ve even had several 1 inch groups keyhole. 6 months and still going. Gerrycan [IN OZ]

[44mag1]

any ruger double action and a few single actions Ive owned were the worst shooters Ive ever had. I do have a bisley 45 that shoots great so I keep it.

[Marvin S]

I just know I have everyone beat. My first handgun when I was about 13 or 14 was a Clerke 1st 22LR revolver. They where a chrome plated die cast *** with the only part being steel was the springs and barrel liner. These things had a forceing cone big enough for a 38cal slug. When you would shoot the thing you would swear that the boolit did not come out of the barrel. Hey it was all I could afford. Funny thing one time was a rabbit ran by and I just hip shot at it and killed the rabbit. I think that was the only thing it ever hit.

[76 WARLOCK]

I have a Ruger OM 41 mag that I bought in the 70s that would group about 3' at 50 yds, I kept it because I could not pass on to some unsuspecting fool. One day I read about slugging it to find out the bore and cylinder sizes. Well bore was .413 the cylinders were .410, so I used a 3/8 dowel and 400 wet or dry and opened up the cylinder bores to .413 then I searched long and hard to finf a mould to produce a .414 boolet. Well all was well I now would not part with that gun, by the way I paid $78.00 for it in Fort Morgan Colo today I would not sell it for $780

[Hickory]

I just know I have everyone beat. My first handgun when I was about 13 or 14 was a Clerke 1st 22LR revolver. They where a chrome plated die cast *** with the only part being steel was the springs and barrel liner. These things had a forceing cone big enough for a 38cal slug. When you would shoot the thing you would swear that the boolit did not come out of the barrel. Hey it was all I could afford. Funny thing one time was a rabbit ran by and I just hip shot at it and killed the rabbit. I think that was the only thing it ever hit.

Marvin: you should have kept that gun, because it would be
a classic today. It sounds like you had in your possision was a
true "Saturday Night Special"

[S.R.Custom]

Of the guns I own and plan to keep, the loosest shooting is the RIA A2 .45 ACP. At minute of pop-can at 25 yards, it's still pretty decent.

The rest are guns I had. Some of the more noteworthy entries in the SuperMag hall of shame...

1. Winchester 94 trapper in .44 mag: Had a groove diameter of .438" (!!!), and as you might expect from a barrel of that dimension, keyholed everything at 7 yards.
2. Taurus PT145: Couldn't hit the broad side of a ****e house while sitting inside.
3. Taurus model 67: ditto.
4. Taurus model 92: ditto.
5. Charter Arms Bulldog: ditto.
6. Remington 572 Deluxe: ditto.
7. Ruger convertible Buckeye in .44M/.44WCF: Dear Ruger, a barrel with
a .432" groove diameter doesn't work for the 44-40.
8. S&W M 29-10: defective barrel

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

Ruger new model .357 with four and five-eights barrel. Can't get it to shoot any cast bullet load with a group better than four inches at 15 yards, not much better with jacketed factory loads. It is heading to the gun store on a one-way trip.

[monadnock#5]

A Ruger stainless mini was my earliest disappointment. It was a Thompson Center Hawken that really took the cake though. Dad's Hawken shoots like a dream come true, so I knew the one I got was junk. Sent it to the factory with a note that said I wasn't the original buyer, and wanted a quote on a new barrel. They sent it back with a note that said it had been fired for accuracy and function, and neither could be improved upon. Too bad. I like the looks and reputation of many of their products, but... Dad's old Hawken is the only TC product that will ever see the inside of my safe.

[chboats]

I had a Spanish Mauser in 8x57. It was free so I had to try it. Bought a box of factory ammo (was not setup to reload 8MM) Could not keep them on a 12" target at 50yds. There was rifling for the first 2 inches of the barrel. The bolt was soooo loose that the back end would move 1/4" with the bold closed. Only one of the bolt lugs had ever made contact.
Other than that it looked great with matching SNs.
Traded it for a couple of Argentine Mauser barrels. i got the better end of the deal.

[mooman76]

I have a Taurus .357 snubby that might do 12inch groups at 10 meters. I also have an AK that gets 8 in groups at 50yds and POI changes considerably with different ammo. Not just up and down but 154g's shoot 6-7 inches to the right.

I had a Taurus snubby that shot almost as bad. The only improvement I could get was with full W/C bullets. I had other problems with it so I got rid of it.

[theperfessor]

My worst shooting gun? The one I'm shooting on a bad day!

[MtGun44]

S&W 1937 in .45 ACP with "normal" cast bullet handloads. It shot around 8-12" at
25 yds. When I finally got a big enough version of Elmer's 452453 (.454") and loaded
it hot enough (7.0 Unique - altho Elmer recommended 7.5 Gr Unique!) it shot nice
groups and they moved to the POA as the loads went from 5gr to 6 gr to 7 gr.

Never had a pistol shoot that bad before or since.

Bill

[dbldblu]

Many years ago I bought a 7mm milsup rifle from a neighbor. Everything I shot from it keyholed. I decided I better slug the barrel. I started the slug and tapped in in a few inches and then it free fell a foot or so and then I had to tap it the rest of the way. The neighbor took it back.

Currently I have an 1891 Moisin that looks like it was dragged through many trenches during WWI and maybe WWII too. There is hardly any rifling left at all. It will not shoot cast at all, giving many keyholes and wild fliers. It will still shoot jacketed. Nonetheless I like it; it has character.

[Gee_Wizz01]

I have had several; the first was my first .22 a Win Mod 270 pump, the barrel would always shoot loose, as it was screwed in to the aluminum frame and had jamb nut, that always shot loose, it was traded in on a wonderful Browning .22 Auto. The second is a Enfield No 4 MK 1 from Fazackerly and was FTR rifle in mint condition with a new barrel installed when it went through FTR. This rifle will not shoot a group smaller than 8" at 50yds. Because it is in beautiful condition it still resides in the safe and I still take it out and work with it occasionally. The third is a beautiful Mosin Nagant 91/30, that was in cosmoline when I got it, when I cleaned the barrel, it looked like a sewer pipe, and shoots worse. It still resides in the garage as I am thinking of using it for a project rifle. The last one was an SKS "Paratrooper" it shot about 2' to the left with sight drifted as far as it would go. On its third outing the rear sight fell apart, spring flew out and pieces flew everywhere. I bought a new sight that worked ok, but it was the only SKS I ever shot that jammed! It lasted 6 months, Slick Willy signed the assault weapons ban and I made $75 when I unloaded it at the next gun show.

G

[longhorn]

I actually owned 2 Mini-14's at one time--what on earth was I thinking? Maybe one of them was a good deal, but neither one would shoot. I own a SRH .454 custom cut to Alaskan configuration, and I've won a few dollars with it (amazing how many hotshot pistoleros can't hit a 12 ga hull reliably at 10 or 12 yards.....). The absolute worst, though, was a gorgeous Colt New Frontier in .45LC with factory ivory. I traded for it, and took it straight to a range. The first 6 were literally all over a (big) bullseye target at 25 yards-I put it down to overexcitement, nerves, whatever. The second 6 didn't even all hit the backer! I actually packed up, went to a shop, bought factory ammo in case my handloads were bad, and went back to the range--no improvement. I kept it for 2 years or so, throats were fine, rifling looked fine, eveything slugged OK--just wouldn't shoot with anything I could buy or put together; I took it to SASS shoots and let others shoot it, too--it was the gun. Finally traded it off--what a strange gun.

[Jon K]

I have had 2 that I regret buying.......................
1. Charter Arms Bulldog 44spl@ 25 yds I couldn't find a hit on the target or board, but did have the guy in the next lane over show me a key-hole hit on his target from ME............nuff said.

2. Uberti '73 45 LC......The gun/powder/ press/scale/chrono/boolits from .452-.455(bought 6 different moulds)......best group @200m 8"-12".....same best load@100m 8"-10". 3-4 days a week at the range for 6 mos, traded it in & lost my a$$ on that one.

Water Under the Bridge..........."Lesson Learned" don't look back!!!

Jon

[Southern Son]

I owned a Gecado Mod. 22 air rifle. .177 cal. My mum got it from a garage saile in about 1980. I can remember shooting a cat standing on the roof of my dad's bird cage. The cat jumped up and bolted, but then I could hear the slug rolling along the fibreglass roof. You could rest the muzzle against an aluminium beeer can and the slug might make it through one side, but it would not even dent the other side.

Then there was the Parker Hale Mauser I bought. I paid $450.00 for the rifle with an old Redfeild target type scope. I wanted a heavy barrell .308. The gunshop where I bought it said that the previous owner had put a target barrel on this P/H action and I thought I might be able to get it to shoot. WRONG.:confused: The previous owner had put a STUFFED target barrel on the action. I tried bedding the action, so many different handloads I lost count, every J-bullet I could find and the best I could get it to give me was 4-5 inch groups at 100 yards. I went to change the scope mounts one day, thinking the mounts might be the problem, only to find SEVEN holes in the top of the action, and one more that had been welded up. No three of these holes lined up and then I noticed that someone had also tried to silver solder a scope mount on the rear bridge. I went to call the gunshop I bought it from and found out they went broke and closed.

I recently got a new stock and barrel put on this action and it looks like it is a shooter now. New barrel cost me $700.00 fitted and the stock was about $300.00, which means I could have bought a new Remmington 700 Varmint and probably have some change. [smilie=b:

[lylejb]

Once, for a week, I owned a Ruger P85.

It looked like new inside and out, nice wood, perfect blue, not a scratch on it. Came with a matching case and extra mag. The price was little more than half of new, WHAT A DEAL!!!

I bought this on a wed. , and it was the weekend before i could get to the range.

At the time, I was a beginning pistol shooter. The club had some rapid fire pistol targets that were about 2ft x 2ft, with about a 6in black bull center that I liked. I also owned a Smith 629, and could usually keep 5/6 in the black with the smith.

Out of a 50rd box, i think i hit the black 4 or 5 times with the P85. Not sure all 50 hit the target. The rest of the target looked like a buckshot pattern. Actually, I think i could have done BETTER with my Browning 12ga.

Now I know why it was so cheep......what a deal:sad:

It was returned that monday.

Later, I found out the P85 had recalls for barrel separation, and for broken firing pins.

Glad I returned that one promptly.

[ETG]

LOL - when I was around 12 I found a Remington falling block 22 stuck in the rafters of my Grandpa's barn (he said it was a Remington - it was so rusted no printing was visible). He gave it to me. The thing was rusted solid. After weeks of soaking in oil I finally got it apart. Cleaned and sanded the parts - the front stock was rotted off and the buttstock wasn't a lot better. The barrel was rusted closed. Spent a week with a coat hanger and a drill opening up that barrel. Put it back together and fired it using a long string. It went bang and didn't blow up. Shot it about 10 more times before I held it and shot it. Slugs came out twice as long as they were supposed to be and half the diameter :D It would shoot forward most of the time but forget hitting anything more than 10' away. I still have it because it was my Grandpa's.

[Dave C.]

Ruger 77/Hornet best group with factory 8" @ 100 yds.
Best group with hand loads 3.5" @ 100 yds.

[SharpsShooter]

Uberti SAA clone. I tried everything under the sun to make that thing shoot. At 25 yards on a good day you could put all 5 shots into a unfolded newspaper. At 50 it was entirely possible to miss the 4'x8' target board.

SS

[Bullshop Junior]

Contender 256 WM -
Sears & Robucks 22 LR Auto.
:groner:

[papa bear]

I had a ruger Blackhawk in 357 that shot 8" high and three inches to the left at 25 feet. It was so off I could not adjust the sights enough to make it anywhere close.

[Tazman1602]

Savage 10ML-II muzzleloader. Bought it because (in 2000...) it was rated to be "able" to shoot smokeless powder if one wanted to. No problem, don't want to shoot smokeless from a muzzlyloader. I burned up two pounds of pyrodex trying to get groups under a foot. Tried minnie balls, maxi balls, saboted bullets of various weights to no avail. Daggone shotgun primers this thing uses and it doesn't have an extractor, had to take a rawhide mallet out back to beat the bolt handle back because my hands couldn't take the pounding. Finally found a load of two pyrodex pellets and .44 saboted Hornady's would shoot 2" groups but was so frustrated with it it's sat for 8 years now, just don't trust it, my 25 year old Knight will put 'em in every time....

....then I find the Savage Shooter forum. Instead of being helpful like cast boolits these people are like in "LUUUUVV" with this gun and barbequed me for stating facts. Appears in the recent years Savage had changed the recommendations for this rifle and evidently it will shoot ONLY certain .45 cal bullets with MMP sabots and one of two rifle powders that I don't have and isn't worth a hoot with Pyrodex. The people over there gave me the suggestion to "shoot the recommended load (WASN'T a recommended load when I paid over $500 for this gun....) with the proper powder and quit wasting your time. Powder is available from Midway so buy some....blah, blah, blah" Uh-huh, I'm gonna pay $23 for a pound of powder and $35 in hazmat shipping fees, RIGHT.

It's a real nice rifle and I suppose if I got the right powder/bullet it might shoot very nice but, and I don't know if you'll understand this or not, but I have ZERO confidence in this gun now. Never had a muzzleloader or rifle so hard to work up a load for.....OK except for an old CVA percussion with a 1-66" twist that I couldn't hit anything with. No wonder Dan'l Boone and Davey Crockett and them boys was so skinny, they were starving to death!!!

[Bob.]

Biggest disappointment, a Springfield V-16 long slide 45.
I like 1911's but not this one, never did get it to shoot like it should.
It sure was purty though ,,

Bob.

[tommag]

I had a mini-14 that I couldn't get to shoot better than 4 or 5" at 100 yds. It was a handy rifle to carry, but not so handy to hit with.

[Wally]

I had one as well (Mini-14)..I thought that I was the problem. I sold it and bought a 700 Rem .223 ...what a difference.

[wistlepig1]

Mine is a Ruger M77 243 I got new in 1973-4, The lead was so long, who long was it, about 6 inches or so. No one has a bullet long enough to get within .60 of the rifling. no joke
The good news is I got a lathe about 3 years ago, rechambered it and now it's not bad.

[Ed Barrett]

Many years ago I got a deal on two rifles in 32 Winchester Spl. One was a win 94 the other was a Marlin pre micro-groove with a peep sight. The Winchester I sold for more than I paid for both guns before I even got a chance to shoot it, so I figured I was ahead of the game. A friend had a Little Martini Cadet rechambered to 32 Spl. That he bragged about, so I thought I would get the marlin to shoot. I bought a set of RCBS dies and ordered a Lyman mold and bought some J-bullet. First try with j-bullets had difficulty keeping the any shots on paper at 100 then 50 then 25. Found someone had sanded and reblued the peep sight, and in doing so had taken enough metal off the slide to make it loose, bought new Redfield sight. While waiting for the sight the mold came in, so I cast some bullets, and then ordered a sizing die and top punch. All the orders finally came in and I had to go out of town for a month. Got back slugged barrel sized and lubed bullets loaded up 100 rounds (30-30 brass opened up) and went to the range. I think all the shoot hit the berm, could have left the spotting scope home, nothing hit the paper. Sent off for another mold and custom sizing die and some more j-bullets. At this point I was less than eager to continue my low cost rifle was less than low cost and getting less low cost by the minute, but I had bit of stubbornness kick in and I was going to get this thing to shoot or know why. Had a friend of mine bring over some sulpher and showed me how to do a chamber cast, this revealed a lot of wear in the lead. Tried some more j-words, got on paper, nothing great but it was progress. Seated cast out to where they were touching the rifling, OAL was too long to work through the magazine feed but could single load them. With peep sight at 50 yards could get 6” groups. Let a few people know the gun was for sale and the problems it had. A friend of a friend from the range asked me if the gun was still for sale. I explained the problems again and he said that was fine, but he wanted some of the long OAL shells. I found out what he wanted to do was give the gun to his brother in law, who was always saying what a good shot and reloader he was, but it was 90% hot air. He had lost his guns in a fire so this was going to be a gift. He was going to show him how it shot with the long loads. I still had the boxes for Dies and molds, so he bought them too.
I sure hope none of you on this board were the one who got that Marlin from your brother in law about 30 years ago. I have owned several other Marlins over the in both types of rifling and they all shot well except that one.

[Ole]

Colt Mustang .380 Pocketlite. If you haven't seen one, it's a very small pistol. I can't hit the broad side of a barn with it, but it's very concealable.

[lwknight]

A few years back I had a BSA Interarms 243win that had about 9" groups at 100 yds and the best was 4 1/2 with certain ammo. Bore was clean Headspace was OK Tested OK for rifling engagement at about 0.060 jump. Nothing worked and I traded it off.
Compare to a 243 Weatherby Vanguard that shoot 1" or better with almost anything that I put in it. Traded it off too and now regret it.

[C1PNR]

Ruger 77 "Made in the 200th year of American Liberty" as it says on the barrel. And it's in .257 Roberts, which I really like.

At one time it seemed to want to shoot 87 grain factory, but then just seemed to change it's mind. After than, it wouldn't shoot into less than 3" at 100 yards, and that's pretty poor for a Roberts!

At one time a gunsmith friend of mine told me if I wanted it to shoot, all I needed to do was rebarrel! Shucks, the only reason I still have it the the roll engraving on the barrel.8-)

[kingstrider]

I had a Single Six that wasn't very accurate so I sold or traded it. Same for a Henry Golden Boy, not a terrible gun but it wasn't really up to snuff either.

[semtav]

my worst shooting gun was a pistol my brother and I decided to "modify" years ago. I think it was an Ivers Johnson. we took the grips off, and wrapped tape around the frame, then took a hacksaw and cut the barrel down from 6" to 3 ".
Our proofing shot was at a garbage barrel about 25 yds away. Instead of hitting the barrel, we broke the window out in the bunkhouse that was literally at a 45 deg angle to the right. since we knew that couldn't have been caused from our gun, we tried it again only to hear another shell hit the bunkhouse.

thats when we learned about crowning a barrel. an electric drill and a little experimenting had the gun at least hitting the barrel at 25 yds.

[saidnuff]

I had a 7x57 I couldn't hit a shotgun pattering board with it at 50 yards. I was luck enough to see some dirt kick up so I knew where it was shooting. Turned out the new sites someone had put on the old military gun were wayyyyyy off. I had new ones put on including a Williams peep site I can almost drive tack with it now, I love when a plan comes together.

[gerrycan]

Savage 10ML-II muzzleloader. Bought it because (in 2000...) it was rated to be "able" to shoot smokeless powder if one wanted to. No problem, don't want to shoot smokeless from a muzzlyloader. I burned up two pounds of pyrodex trying to get groups under a foot. Tried minnie balls, maxi balls, saboted bullets of various weights to no avail. Daggone shotgun primers this thing uses and it doesn't have an extractor, had to take a rawhide mallet out back to beat the bolt handle back because my hands couldn't take the pounding. Finally found a load of two pyrodex pellets and .44 saboted Hornady's would shoot 2" groups but was so frustrated with it it's sat for 8 years now, just don't trust it, my 25 year old Knight will put 'em in every time....

....then I find the Savage Shooter forum. Instead of being helpful like cast boolits these people are like in "LUUUUVV" with this gun and barbequed me for stating facts. Appears in the recent years Savage had changed the recommendations for this rifle and evidently it will shoot ONLY certain .45 cal bullets with MMP sabots and one of two rifle powders that I don't have and isn't worth a hoot with Pyrodex. The people over there gave me the suggestion to "shoot the recommended load (WASN'T a recommended load when I paid over $500 for this gun....) with the proper powder and quit wasting your time. Powder is available from Midway so buy some....blah, blah, blah" Uh-huh, I'm gonna pay $23 for a pound of powder and $35 in hazmat shipping fees, RIGHT.

It's a real nice rifle and I suppose if I got the right powder/bullet it might shoot very nice but, and I don't know if you'll understand this or not, but I have ZERO confidence in this gun now. Never had a muzzleloader or rifle so hard to work up a load for.....OK except for an old CVA percussion with a 1-66" twist that I couldn't hit anything with. No wonder Dan'l Boone and Davey Crockett and them boys was so skinny, they were starving to death!!!

You are right about so-called expert comments on other forums .Not helpful at alThats why I like it here we are all human so we can own this rubbish with pride and honesty ["only accurate guns are interesting" blah,blah,blah ] Cheers,Gerry.

[3006guns]

Ruger old model Blackhawk in .357.........for some reason it was the only revolver that I've owned that wouldn't shoot for sour apples...and the gun was basically brand new! Could have been the grip angle, sights or a dozen other "excuses" but I finally ended up trading it off. Too bad really....I was impressed with the Ruger lockwork.

[Farmall 1066]

Mine would be a Universal M-1 Carbine clone. It's a minute of washer / dryer at 100 yds.
I bought it from a well known gunshow vendor who told me it didn't shoot very well.

He is well known for his honesty!

Andy