Good Riddance!!

[Stephanie B]

So, to round out the New Year's Eve Trio, how about guns that you sold/traded/gave away and you're glad that you did.

For me, one was a Glock 23. I could never get comfortable with the notion that the gun was, in essence, cocked and unlocked, like a Colt with the thumb safety always off. I traded that for a...,

Taurus 605, which I filed the front sight badly. it was an OK carry gun, one that I had about as much affection for as a claw hammer. When I bought a police-trade-in Colt Detective Special, it went away.

One I don't remember the details of, but it was a S&W single-stack 9mm with a bobbed hammer. It was inaccurate AF. I tried several kinds of ammo and it always hit at the lower right corner of the target. I traded it away at the first opportunity. S&W later recalled that model.

A Spanish 1916 Mauser that had been converted to 7.62 NATO. It shot 6" high at 100 yards. it was a $69 special back then and wasn't worth it. Sold it.

[Joe in PNG]

Let's see... a Kel-Tec PF9 that was painfully unshootable. I traded it towards a Model 15 which I later sold to a friend (and that has been replaced by a pre-15).
Then there's the also painfully unshootable Glock 27 that got turned in to something else, but it was a while back.
The Interarms Walther PPK that would cut me to ribbons went away.

I also sold off a couple of semi-fake SMG's- a Walther Uzi .22 and one of those GSG Schmeisser 9mm's, as they were fun for about 2 range trips.

Then there's the couple of postwar commercial M-1 Carbines that are inevitably sold on.

[Stephanie B]

Let's see... a Kel-Tec PF9 that was painfully unshootable. I traded it towards a Model 15 which I later sold to a friend (and that has been replaced by a pre-15).
Then there's the also painfully unshootable Glock 27 that got turned in to something else, but it was a while back.
The Interarms Walther PPK that would cut me to ribbons went away.

I also sold off a couple of semi-fake SMG's- a Walther Uzi .22 and one of those GSG Schmeisser 9mm's, as they were fun for about 2 range trips.

Then there's the couple of postwar commercial M-1 Carbines that are inevitably sold on.

I thought about getting a Glock 27. The range had one for a rental. Two magazines' worth of ball convinced me otherwise.

I have an Interarms PPK/s. I took a mill file to the bottom of the slide, rounded off the sharp edges and hit it with some cold blue.

[DDTSGM]

A Glock 27. Just didn't have any use for it, never could figure out why I bought it aside from 'a bargain.' One of the very few pistols I've sold.

[Duelist]

KT P11. I learned a lot on it, but it wasn’t that fun to shoot, and needed constant shooting to maintain proficiency. The sights were made of some plastic crap that mostly made me think of milk jug plastic.

I think the G27 is fine, if you put a 9mm conversion barrel in it.

Star Firestar M40. Shot itself to pieces. Should have gotten the 9mm instead.

[RoyGBiv]

I traded a Star Firestar.40 in on a Kahr 9mm back about 20 years ago (I think it was a Kahr). The Firestar was my first EDC, was a solid gun at the time, but was heavy enough to anchor a container ship. I'm still glad it's gone.

[lee n. field]

So, to round out the New Year's Eve Trio, how about guns that you sold/traded/gave away and you're glad that you did.

For me, one was a Glock 23. I could never get comfortable with the notion that the gun was, in essence, cocked and unlocked, like a Colt with the thumb safety always off. I traded that for a...,

Taurus 605, which I filed the front sight badly. it was an OK carry gun, one that I had about as much affection for as a claw hammer. When I bought a police-trade-in Colt Detective Special, it went away.

One I don't remember the details of, but it was a S&W single-stack 9mm with a bobbed hammer. It was inaccurate AF. I tried several kinds of ammo and it always hit at the lower right corner of the target. I traded it away at the first opportunity. S&W later recalled that model.

A Spanish 1916 Mauser that had been converted to 7.62 NATO. It shot 6" high at 100 yards. it was a $69 special back then and wasn't worth it. Sold it.

OK, let's see, a whole long litany of crap guns:

Taurus 66. After a decade it started eating firing pin springs. Second time it happened I by that time had a S&W 19-4, which was a better gun, so the Taurus went away. If I had it now I'd probably be more knowledgeable and methodical about troubleshooting it.

FIE .38 Derringer. Found it in in a holster, in a washing machine, one place we moved into about 1985 or so. Horrible, dangerous piece of crap. It and its Bianchi leather holster got me $30 in store credit at a gun store.

Jennings J22. Worst POS ever. I think I traded it for a 40MB backup tape, back in the low '90s.

Moving ahead, let's see. CZ-100. Never reliable, back to CZUSA 3 times in the warranty period. Never off probation, it and the Taurus 66 got traded even up for something I still have. This is the gun you can't find anything about on CZUSA's web site.

Star Firestar 9mm. OK quality wise, but i could never quite get dialed in to where the gun was shooting to. Heavy, and an orphan, and the magazines are expensive, so off it went.

Kel Tec PF9. Worked OK after a trip to KelTec. Just, "meh". Sold it, plowed the funds into something I still have.

[TC215]

Anything that said “Les Baer” on the side.

A S&W 940 (9mm j-frame). Cool idea, totally unenjoyable to shoot.

[fatdog]

AMT 380, jamomatic, stainless steel galling was awful
Grendel 380, jamomatic, bent barrel pins
PPK/s stainless US made in the mid 80's, jamomatic, steel galled like crazy
Sig P230, mine was not totally reliable with any ammo I tried, lame sights with no recourse to replace them, internal slide lock that required an empty mag
Taurus PT92, 1985 vintage, they sucked, horrible trigger and grip
Charter Arms bulldog, out of time in 200 rounds I think
S&W M37 I had to shim twice because the frame kept stretching
S&W 669, horrible shooter, grouped like a shotgun, grip like a 2x4, horrible ergonomics
Keltec PM30, never made it through a full magazine even once without jamming, 6 types of ammo it would not digest
Taurus 82, .38 special, out of time in less than 500 rounds
Glock 23 early gen 3, horrible recoil, unpleasant to shoot with any full power round, unimpressive groups, broke one locking block and one trigger pin
S&W M&P9 gen 1, slick grips, patterned like a shotgun, KKM barrel did not even fix it

[TGS]

FNX 9.

It was just "okay", as if the gun wasn't fully fleshed out. I'm sure it would've done okay if forced into service, but there's just better mins out there. I have an old post on here documenting my issues with it

[jh9]

Honestly, all of them.

I suppose I should have the god-given shame needed to regret selling the Colt Viper... but I don't. Same for the 1970s Python, The Delta (a 'milspec' Colt 1991 in 10mm they made like 500 of) and the M45A1. On the S&W front the Frank Glenn 627, the 25-5, the 629 Mountain Gun, the 3" 65... all of them really do it for some people but just weren't for me. If the 25-5 had a 4" barrel instead of 6.5" I'd probably still have it. Probably. Maybe.

[Clusterfrack]

Good riddance (not to any revolvers though):

S&W 669 and 1006. Troublesome and disappointing. I have no idea why people like these guns.
Dan Wesson Valor, with custom work by Dave Severns. A really nice 1911, but it had reliability problems and slide stop peening. It was helpful for me to figure out that 1911's weren't as great as I thought they were.
Springfield EMP .40, with custom work. Another really nice 1911, except for the broken ambi safety, FTF, FTE, and kaboom. Other than that it was great.
Sig p238. This was actually the only 1911-type gun I had that didn't have too many problems. Just a few.
STI Trubor, 9 Major open gun. Where do I begin? The crummy trigger that I replaced? The cheapass C-more that drifted? The janky mags that never worked? The expensive MBX mags that didn't help?
4 Sig p320s. Good riddance to shitty dangerous guns, at a significant financial cost.
LWRC M6A3 16" AR-15. Not a bad rifle, but it didn't provide any advantage over a standard DI gun.

[awp_101]

.30 Carbine Blackhawk. It made sense (sort of) when surplus .30 Carbine was cheap and plentiful. Which it was not in the late-00s and I was not a loader at the time. On an outdoor range that was covered but otherwise open, it gave me a headache after a couple of cylinders. Probably should have kept it and had the cylinder reamed for .32-20 which would have turned it into a .30-20 really.

TEC-9 and Cobray M-11, both bought when the AWB expired and sold/traded for whatever else it was that my heart desired after getting them.

Martini Cadet that had been converted to .32 Winchester Special.

[ACP230]

I had a repro Remington Rolling Block pistol in .357 Magnum.
Bought it intending to shoot Hunter's Pistol Silhouette with it.
Never did. Did not like shooting it much at all, as it happened.
Sold it off.

Several months back the guy I sold it to came up to me.
He had a pic on his phone of the pistol lying on a dead deer.
So, I know what the old gun has been used for lately.

Did not want it back. Still don't.

[awp_101]

I had a repro Remington Rolling Block pistol in .357 Magnum.
That reminds me of the .44 Mag Contender barrel I briefly had. It was part of a package and it only took a couple of shots with factory ammo for me to realize the factory wood grip sucks with magnum loads and .44 Mag wasn't going to be my jam anyway.

[1911Nut]

That reminds me of the .44 Mag Contender barrel I briefly had. It was part of a package and it only took a couple of shots with factory ammo for me to realize the factory wood grip sucks with magnum loads and .44 Mag wasn't going to be my jam anyway.

BTDT. Ouch!

[Borderland]

How about a Beretta 682 (shotgun) that I couldn't shoot worth a damn. I paid about $2500 for that gun. I decided I could shoot my Remington 870 better. I paid about $200 for that one in 1970. What a complete and total failure.

Goes along with the proverb you can't buy happiness.

[Bruce Cartwright]

Stephanie:

Good riddance guns? Yep

1. GSG 1911 in 22LR.

2. Springfield SA-35

Bruce

[TDA]

Definitely the G23 that was my late 1990s carry gun.

Around that time I also had a special run bead blasted 640. My then girlfriend asked me if I ever worried when I left it in our apartment that when I came back she’d shoot me with it, so I parted ways with both of them since they were a little too much.

I didn’t really love the S&W 422 or 2206.

A Desert Eagle in .50AE that I bought for the hell of it when it came out, then realized that I had no use for whatsoever. I wish I’d bought a .41 mag (which I still have no use for) though.

[BobM]

I had to have an AR-7 after seeing From Russia with Love in my teens. Some years ago I came across a new one marked down in the rack. I tried three different magazines and it didn’t run well plus I think the front sight was loose. A friend bought it knowing my complaints. He said he was able to get it to work.

[TDA]

And furthermore… the DeVel 59 is not the equal of most off the shelf 59XX 3rd gen smiths despite being a full house custom gun.

[Malamute]

May be shocking to some. M1A. It had a pile of mags, scope and base, some other extras I forget. I shot it a couple times, tried carrying it around a bit in the hills....GADS!! What a heavy bulky clunker!!! I had a Colt SP1 AR at the time, it was a fine walk around gun for whatever I was doing at the time if i wanted something other than a Winchester 94, the M1A was sent down the road in about 2 weeks. I liked M1 Garands, but not the M1A.


Ive been sort of off and on about ARs. Ive had several over time, they end up getting sold, a few years later I think I missed them, get another, shoot it a bit, it sits around, i sell it..... Pretty hard for me to justify as a plinker when the cheap ammo of the early 2000s is gone. Theres other stuff id rather spend the money and energy shooting. In general id rather shoot a bolt action.

[Joe in PNG]

Another couple:
-Taurus PT-100 fotay. Like a Beretta, but fotay, amirite? Had horrible trigger slap, and got gone.
-CZ-52. Broke the trigger return spring on the second shot, but would reset if I held it upside down and shook it (we were outside in a cow pasture). The old commie milsurp would hangfire half the time, or just go click. Traded it for a Winchester 94.
-Norinco NMH-91 RPK clone. Crunched ammo like a peanut.

[CarloMNL]

Walther PPK and PPK/S, both stainless. Shaken nor stirred fantasies notwithstanding, those pistols were painful to shoot. These also taught me how valuable a slide stop is if you have to clear a malfunction.

[mikey357]

Traded into a BEAUTIFUL S&W Model 17-3 at a Gun show one time--8 & 3/8" Barrel, Blue, 3 T's, Box, Paperwork & Tools, the whole Shebang--Even looked unfired...
It wasn't until I got home & REALLY looked it over & started playing with it that I realized the error of my ways--There wasn't a straight line on the Gun, the Action felt like it had ROCKS in it when the Hammer was thumbed to Full Cock & the DA Trigger Pull was the roughest, grittiest thing I had ever felt...

When I pulled the Yoke & Cylinder from the Frame to examine, I found that the end of the Yoke Barrel where it contacts the inside of the Cylinder looked like it had been cut with a dull piece of BROKEN ROCK--!
It was the embodiment of all that was wrong with Bangor Punta-era Smith Revolvers wrapped up in one steaming pile of CRAP right there on my Work Bench...

[Hemiram]

I had a real bad run of new guns starting in 1977 and continuing almost without a break until about 1983. Used ones were pretty good.

Taurus 83. First gun and worst gun. Spit lead badly, barrel was totally trashed. Taurus fixed the timing, but refused TWICE to admit anything was wrong with the barrel.
FTL Auto-Nine. Extractor blew off at about the 3rd shot, FTL claimed I had too powerful ammo in it. FIxed, it blew on the second shot using the exact ammo they specified.
Colt Python. Used, but "certified", whatever that really meant. Broke the hand about 100 shots in. Repaired, but I never loved it, and didn't trust it, so I sold it.
AMT BACK-UP 45. Amazingly bad trigger, after one mag, my trigger finger was done. I had it worked on, and he was able to get the pull down to about 16 pounds. Never reliable.
S&W /Walther PPK. Hammer biting bastard that never made it more than one mag without a jam.
S&W 19. Cheese Grater Grips had to go. Insanely sharp checkering. Painful to shoot regardless of power of the ammo used. Gun was OK new, but improved tremendously with new grips and an action job. A friend toned down the cheese graters, and refinished the stock grips. Nice after that.
Any one of the little .22LR pistols I tried as a BUG, with the Erma PPK clone being the worst. Unreliable every one, and I finally gave up and bought a Beretta 950 in .25ACP. Still have it.
AMT Hardballer Longslide. Galling and tool chattering made it totally untrustworthy, unless run soaking wet. First of a bad run of 1911 type guns. Those guns are probably why I own not a single 1911 platform gun.

Home runs, all new, about the same period:
S&W 66, 4" Came with custom grips.
Dan Wesson 15-2.
Beretta 84
Browning BDA 380.
Beretta 92S

[mikey357]

I was deeply involved in shooting "Tactical Matches" when the Smith 686 Plus first came out--Think low round count, six-shot-neutral affairs with Stages not requiring a lot of movement--Kinda' like what IDPA ended up being a few years later...

It was immediately apparent to me that a SEVEN-Shot Revolver had the potential to be a "Game-Changer", at least in the Revolver Class, so I bought the first 686 Plus that I could find in Middle Georgia--And in my haste to obtain one, I may not have examined the Gun as closely as I should have...

Turns out, that early specimen did not "Pre-Time" correctly on two of the seven Holes when shot in DA mode--Damn, THAT made me MAD--At MYSELF!
I contemplated sending it back to Smith & Wesson to have it made right under warranty, but I figured that the Gun would always be a source of annoyance to me, so I carried it over to Franklin's in Athens, GA & traded it on a Sako Rifle in 7mm Rem Mag I had had my eye on for a while...

[MichaelD]

I had a Ruger MKIII 22/45 that I sold off back in 2014. It was heavy, had terrible sights, was painful to shoot for long sessions because of the sharp edges on the grip's backstrap, and I lost count of how many times I managed to pinch my finger while releasing the slide. I got a Smith & Wesson M&P22 with the proceeds of the sale and it's been my favorite gun ever since.

[Hambo]

A 1990 Colt Anaconda, the fucking POS.
Glock 27 in the days of Cor-Bon makes everything better. It was like hanging onto a DefTec 25.
Every HiPower I tried to love.

[willie]

Star, Ilama, Rossi, Taurus, Springfield XD, Kel-Tec, and FN pistols.

[RJ]

I looked over my gun sales history logbook...I tend not to keep guns around when The Next Cool Thing arrives...so most all of them were sold without looking back.

Some however stand out: Walther PPS M2. I thought this was the bee's knees, and was the pistol I took to my first "real" training, a private coaching session with this Gabe White dude out in Portland, an up and coming trainer in Clackamas OR that shot USPSA AIWB. You might have heard of him. Anyway, I realized it was heavy as a boat anchor for a slim 9mm, and after the non-reversible mag release inadvertently released carrying it, twice, I realized a single-shot automatic was less than optimal for a carry gun. Sold it for a HK P30SK V1.

Which didn't work out either. I could never get my head wrapped around LEM. It was sold along with my VP9 when the Gen 5 Glock 19+SCD arrived in 2017. I don't miss it, at all.

Some honorable mentions, two Glocks, oddly enough: Glock 43X. I could never get used to how snappy this felt to me. It was just a pain in the butt to shoot. It went for my first P365XL, which in retrospect, I should have kept. Glock 26. I shot this gun 200 rounds, and owned it 15 months. It carried about the same as my G19, and realized it wasn't doing much for me. So it was traded for my wife's original P365. Which is another one I should have kept, I guess.

[SWAT Lt.]

The most recent ones are:
1. SA Prodigy
2. SA 35
3. LCP Max

[jh9]

It was helpful for me to figure out that 1911's weren't as great as I thought they were.

Yeah, I keep thinking one day I'm going to find a 1911 and "get it." I don't know how much Les Baer spent on advertising in gun magazines back in the 90s but it was effective. I'll probably always want a blued TRS because that defines retro-cool to me. But at this point in life I know better.

If I'm going to drop north of $2k on something now it's going to be another Colt SAA. Pragmatic needs can be met with a $500 plastic 9mm and a $300 holosun.

[Stephanie B]

Noticed more than one mention of the SA-35. Which suggests that Springfield hasn't fixed the problems with them.

[Pacioli]

Kahr PM45, my first carry pistol, many years ago.

Bought it for the form factor and the caliber. I foolishly thought only small guns were concealable. And I didn't want any stinkin' euro-pellet laucher.

.45 in a 3 1/4 barrel was unpleasant enough, but the cheesegrater texturing on the front and backstraps made it painful. Not just unpleasant, bleeding hands painful if you didn't wear gloves. After shooting the required 500 round break-in rounds (boy what a sucker I was!) my hands were pretty beat up.

After that it took a lot for me to go the range for a pain session. Then one day I woke up and realized I was trusting my life to gun I didn't train with. It went away post haste.

[gato naranja]

That reminds me of the .44 Mag Contender barrel I briefly had. It was part of a package and it only took a couple of shots with factory ammo for me to realize the factory wood grip sucks with magnum loads and .44 Mag wasn't going to be my jam anyway.


BTDT. Ouch!

And I thought I was the only one. Even after being ported, that barrel sucked to shoot and was put on consignment tout suite.

Alas, it was just one of a long list which I won't enumerate. But...

The absolute worst piece of crap I ever bought new, and the generator of my most intense, "white-hot rage version" of buyer's remorse despite being relatively inexpensive: a Walther P22. At least real manure is useful as fertilizer; that P22 was useful for nothing... and dangerous in the bargain. Even my sole Jennings J-22 provided more entertainment (and actually worked, until it pounded itself into senility).

[Glenn E. Meyer]

I've gotten rid of decent guns for various reasons, financial, not fitting what I wanted at the time. Various Glocks and some revolvers. Nothing wrong just not for me then.

Things which were no good:

1. Glock 27 - just to snappy for the round loss, nor the gun's fault
2. SW 317 LS - terrible trigger, I could not overcome
3. Taurus 94 - cylinder locked up
4. Kahr PM 9 - never ran, didn't want to futz with it.
5. Taurus PT-22 - totally jammer, ejected live rounds, closed on live rounds, it was trying to eject, bending it in half.

[Half Moon]

There are many that have gone their way, for one reason or another, but standouts for glad they went:

AMT Automag III. Lots of galling. Frequent jams. Went in trade for an International Harvester Garand. Got the better side of that trade 😀 Then again, depending on my mood, this one could go into the Regrets thread too. Fickle? I've heard of it...

Coonan Compact .357. The worst of 1911 jam-o-matic legend and lore. Coonan went under a handful of months after I bought it. Wonder if they were all like this one or if the QC was dropping as the headsman drew near.

Beretta 950BS. The BS should have been a clue 😀 Got it for the deep carry, NPE or PCP roles. Fat hands and that small pistol did not work well together. Slide bite? I've heard of it.

Star Firestar .45. All the gun rags convinced me I had to have one. Traded a perfectly reasonable snub revolver plus some cash too to get it. Pure pain. Not so much recoil as ergonomics. The grip tang managed to consistently hit my hand just un-right to leave one spot tingling and painful for hours after. After maybe a dozen range trips (slow learner!) it made its way to a new home.

[okie john]

I was raised to be something of a gun snob and that kept me from buying a lot of the makes and models listed in this thread. I've sent plenty of guns down the road because I didn't like something about them, but the only true POS I ever owned was a Firestar in 40 S&W.

That was 30+ years ago and I'm still not sure what I was thinking when I bought that one...


Okie John

[Malamute]

It was helpful for me to figure out that 1911's weren't as great as I thought they were.



I missed this when reading earlier. 1911s were the stuff of legend for many in the gun world in years past. Ive had a few, shot them a fair bit, but never quite became a full fledged true believer. Not ever being able to shoot them as well as Smith revolvers, even with concerted effort was a significant part of that, as well as the big letdown after shooting jack rabbits with 230 gr RN ammo and having them get up and run off. I like them in the historical sense, but now have no interest in carrying one or even shooting one much, perhaps more how most people look at Colt SAAs, but to me a Colt SAA is a more useful, practical, fun and interesting gun. You know, sort of how ARs relate to Winchester levers. :D

[awp_101]

Yeah, I keep thinking one day I'm going to find a 1911 and "get it." I don't know how much Les Baer spent on advertising in gun magazines back in the 90s but it was effective. I'll probably always want a blued TRS because that defines retro-cool to me. But at this point in life I know better.

If I'm going to drop north of $2k on something now it's going to be another Colt SAA. Pragmatic needs can be met with a $500 plastic 9mm and a $300 holosun.

After spending way too long and way too much looking for The Perfect Pragmatic Pistol™, I've come to similar conclusions. Most of my recent non-pragmatic purchases/trades have been for Passion of the Gun types that I can take out of the safe and admire for whatever reason I'm drawn to them (visual, historical, etc) and not worry about how well or how often I shoot them.

[T Smith]

A couple come to mind - I wanted a Ruger LCR since they first came out and rented one before I bought it. Kept it just about one month - too big for my pockets and too painful to shoot regardless of the ammo used. The other was a Glock 43 that I really wanted to love. Couldn't beat the squirming in hand after each shot. Kept it 18 months, put 2500 rounds through it, and finally said goodbye to (as I like to refer to it) "that wee bastige."

[Borderland]

After spending way too long and way too much looking for The Perfect Pragmatic Pistol™, I've come to similar conclusions. Most of my recent non-pragmatic purchases/trades have been for Passion of the Gun types that I can take out of the safe and admire for whatever reason I'm drawn to them (visual, historical, etc) and not worry about how well or how often I shoot them.

I gave up a long time ago looking for the perfect carry pistol. I stopped at P-239 and called it good. I guess that happened about the time I bought a P-30 and an HK45 to explore the polymer trend. I don't shoot those but still have them. IDK why. Probably just too lazy to do the work to sell them. Most of my recent purchases have been old revolvers and shotguns. None of them have anything to do with pragmatic.

[gato naranja]

Slow night, so one from the "long list which I won't enumerate"...

Shiloh Sharps 1874 Military Carbine (as in "saddle ring with bar") in .45-70. It was from Wolfgang's first production run in NY, and I was in reduced circumstances at the time, so I got the lowest-priced model. The thing was really nice, except for a soft hammer spring (which they replaced quickly), and best of all, I had a new "Sharps" made in USA!

Recoil, however, was unpleasant with anything but mild loads due to light weight and a relatively narrow steel buttplate; the sights were rudimentary and too closely coupled for distant work; the plain trigger was nothing to write home about, and I grew to hate the ring/bar. I persisted for a while, babying the thing and leaving it in the safe a lot just to keep gato's precious tchotchke in pristine condition.

In the end, I sold it for nearly what I paid originally, and in doing so was happy as a lark with a pint of stout in him. I then bought a heavy-barreled rolling block that let me know when it went off but didn't rattle my teeth.

[Nick B]

Ruger revolvers in any caliber . All are gone now and good riddance.

[Malamute]

Slow night, so one from the "long list which I won't enumerate"...

Shiloh Sharps 1874 Military Carbine (as in "saddle ring with bar") in .45-70. It was from Wolfgang's first production run in NY, and I was in reduced circumstances at the time, so I got the lowest-priced model. The thing was really nice, except for a soft hammer spring (which they replaced quickly), and best of all, I had a new "Sharps" made in USA!

Recoil, however, was unpleasant with anything but mild loads due to light weight and a relatively narrow steel buttplate; the sights were rudimentary and too closely coupled for distant work; the plain trigger was nothing to write home about, and I grew to hate the ring/bar. I persisted for a while, babying the thing and leaving it in the safe a lot just to keep gato's precious tchotchke in pristine condition.

In the end, I sold it for nearly what I paid originally, and in doing so was happy as a lark with a pint of stout in him. I then bought a heavy-barreled rolling block that let me know when it went off but didn't rattle my teeth.


This triggered an unpleasant memory. I had an early Shiloh percussion 50 cal carbine (serial 874 I believe), it shot very well with the lyman 450 gr 50-70 bullet seated up into the bullet throat of the chamber. I foolishly sold it. Yes, the carbines had some hurdles to overcome, the trigger can be improved or replaced with a set trigger, the noisy clanging sling ring removed from the bar, or, as in so many of the originals, the bar removed and ground down flush when making cartridge sporters from them. The most interesting of the buffalo Sharps were the guns made from percussion military carbines, converted to cartridge either by the factory or by gunsmiths. The modern favorite seems to be heavy octagon guns with all the special order bells and whistles, but the more common guns were the medium heavy 28" round barreled Business Rifle, made with the military butt, set triggers and basic sights. The later 1874 models were made in the same configuration, but the conversion guns paved the way and reeked with character and panache. The gun used in the film Valdez is Coming appears to be a conversion Business Rifle.

Some modern guns are using the name Business Rifle, but are not like the old ones so far as i can tell, theyve just appropriated the name and not the actual style.

So, much like many guns, the basic carbine is a great start to the desired end result, though Id enjoy an original conversion carbine in 50-70. Lighter loads of course can be made for any gun. The 40 cal chamberings, 40-77 straight or bottleneck is flatter shooting and less recoil due to lighter bullets and heavier barrels. One post i recall mentioned using half the sight elevation in 40 cal at 1000 yards as in 45-70 cal.

In a huge Sharps fan. One could be a part of a basic Luddite working group of Sharps, Winchester 1866 or 1873 carbine and Colt SAA to cover most of lifes needs.

[45dotACP]

Good Riddance to:

-Every Glock 19/23 I've ever fired (That particular frame size just hurts me)
-Sig SP2022 (I thought it would be as awesome as the 2340 I shot as a kid and had great affection for...it wasn't.)
-Rock Island Armory 1911 in .45...not a great 1911 but even that one wasn't nearly the same grief I had with a....

...Colt Combat Commander in 9mm. Unreliable, inaccurate, terrible sights, shitty thumb safety engagement, painful grip safety. That gun was absolutely horrible.

[jtcarm]

Yeah, I keep thinking one day I'm going to find a 1911 and "get it." I don't know how much Les Baer spent on advertising in gun magazines back in the 90s but it was effective. I'll probably always want a blued TRS because that defines retro-cool to me. But at this point in life I know better.

If I'm going to drop north of $2k on something now it's going to be another Colt SAA. Pragmatic needs can be met with a $500 plastic 9mm and a $300 holosun.

I quit reading gun mags in the early 90s because of Les Baer advertising.

A cover of American Handgunner announced a “feature” article titled “Les Baer: Best .45 auto there is. Period”. Or something to that effect. There may have even been a picture.

Turned out that title had been lifted verbatim from the banner of a full-page Les Baer ad, which coincidentally, was the backside of the cover.

[jtcarm]

Getting rid of guns I don’t shoot enough is a perennial New Year’s resolution for me and
lasts about as long as all the others.

Actually, I did lose a little weight in ‘23, but the gun count went up.

[Lex Luthier]

I was raised to be something of a gun snob and that kept me from buying a lot of the makes and models listed in this thread. I've sent plenty of guns down the road because I didn't like something about them, but the only true POS I ever owned was a Firestar in 40 S&W.

That was 30+ years ago and I'm still not sure what I was thinking when I bought that one...


Okie John

I sold a 1962 Ost-Deutsch Makarov for a .45 Firestar in Starvel in 2006. It worked reliably, it shot fairly well, and was more accurate than I was at the time. The trigger had funny creep due to the external linkage. Tetra grease helped considerably. I think it actually weighed more than the S & W 66-1 6", to be frank. Once it became impossible to source even a replacement firing pin, and I was moving to a state where I could actually, y'know, carry legally again, off it went to a delighted collector in Wayzata and a friend's P99 QA came to stay here.

The other real dog was a Bubba-spec Franken-Colt Commander I received as payment for a debt. I made him pay the transfer fees. Commander slide, AMT Ranger aluminum frame, unknown parts. It mostly worked, but was unpleasant. Gun show fodder it was, and I got all of my money back.
Also, there is a Chinese Type 53 Mosin carbine mounted on a friends wall in another state that I do NOT want back. I think it was made with two groove rifling, but only had most of one groove remaining, and couldn't hit the broad side of a war from 10 yards.

[jtcarm]

Slow night, so one from the "long list which I won't enumerate"...

Shiloh Sharps 1874 Military Carbine (as in "saddle ring with bar") in .45-70. It was from Wolfgang's first production run in NY, and I was in reduced circumstances at the time, so I got the lowest-priced model. The thing was really nice, except for a soft hammer spring (which they replaced quickly), and best of all, I had a new "Sharps" made in USA!

Recoil, however, was unpleasant with anything but mild loads due to light weight and a relatively narrow steel buttplate; the sights were rudimentary and too closely coupled for distant work; the plain trigger was nothing to write home about, and I grew to hate the ring/bar. I persisted for a while, babying the thing and leaving it in the safe a lot just to keep gato's precious tchotchke in pristine condition.

In the end, I sold it for nearly what I paid originally, and in doing so was happy as a lark with a pint of stout in him. I then bought a heavy-barreled rolling block that let me know when it went off but didn't rattle my teeth.

Ok, along that note of guns I’m glad to be rid of:

Savage Model 99 .308.
Beautiful. Classic. But between the steel butt plate and way too much drop, yeeouch!

Walter PPK/s. It bites in multiple ways. Good riddance.

[gato naranja]

In a huge Sharps fan. One could be a part of a basic Luddite working group of Sharps, Winchester 1866 or 1873 carbine and Colt SAA to cover most of lifes needs.

I sort of fell out of love with the Sharps after the that .45-70 carbine, though I remain fascinated with them. I eventually found that rolling blocks had their own issues, and came around to wanting to get one good High Wall or Remington-Hepburn but never could settle on what I wanted and the itch left me.

My own Ned Ludd tendencies would probably dial me back to a .40-65 High Wall, a Marlin 1894 and a S&W DA Frontier (both in .44-40), topped off by any decent quality 12 gauge SxS shotgun that came close to fitting me. More of an 1890's "townie" than wild-and-wooly Westerner.

[Malamute]

I sort of fell out of love with the Sharps after the that .45-70 carbine, though I remain fascinated with them. I eventually found that rolling blocks had their own issues, and came around to wanting to get one good High Wall or Remington-Hepburn but never could settle on what I wanted and the itch left me.

My own Ned Ludd tendencies would probably dial me back to a .40-65 High Wall, a Marlin 1894 and a S&W DA Frontier (both in .44-40), topped off by any decent quality 12 gauge SxS shotgun that came close to fitting me. More of an 1890's "townie" than wild-and-wooly Westerner.


Ive had a newfound interest in the Browning B-78 rfiles, Id like one in 6mm Rem or 25-06 for general fun longer range shooting and possibly some hunting, and lower recoil. Most of the B-78s seem to have really nice wood, some are outstanding. They made them in heavy round barrel and octagon. id be happy either way.

[Malamute]

Ok, along that note of guns I’m glad to be rid of:

Savage Model 99 .308.
Beautiful. Classic. But between the steel butt plate and way too much drop, yeeouch!


I dont know when or which models, but later 99s had better stock designs than most earlier ones. Im thinking 250-3000 might be the sweet spot for a 99 also.

[farscott]

A few come to mind.

1) Kel-Tec CP33. Great idea, but loading the magazine took all of the fun from shooting the pistol.

2) USFA ZiP .22. OMG, what a piece of junk.

3) Bond Arms derringer. Worst trigger pull ever. Had to be sixteen pounds and was more down than back.

[Bucky]

The one that comes to mind most is an XD45 compact. Now, to be clear, I really like the gun and never had an issue with it. The problem was the circumstances of the acquisition. I had made a deal with a shop owner. The day I was supposed to pick it up he was late, but one of his employees assured me that he was up to speed and can do the deal. Turned out, that was a lie. The shop owner and I are friends and we quickly got past this misunderstanding, but it just never felt right until I got rid of it.

An honorable mention is the Cougar in 45. I had a Cougar L in 9 mm, and I absolutely loved it. In fact, it is mentioned in the regrets thread. However, the 45 was just so bulky and clunky and thick, yet still only held eight rounds. it was awkward with its short slide and long grip. Admittedly, never had an issue with it. It was very reliable just like the 9 mm.

[LockedBreech]

Believe it or not, Sig P226 and two different P229s, both in .40 with .357 barrels. Two certified pre-owned, one normal used.

Despite their stellar reputation, my examples all experienced multiple failures with good ammo.

I have come to believe it was likely me insufficiently greasing them, but I've never had a stoppage with almost any of my guns (I'm snobby about ammo and clean my guns a lot), so going from like 9 problem-free Berettas, 5 problem-free Glocks, and 5 problem-free Smiths to three Sigs that all choked at some point soured me on the P-series.

I believe they are very reliable guns and I was likely burned by bad used-gun luck or bad lubrication practices. But I'd still have a hard time going down that road again.

Edit: I never checked manufacture date but it's also possible I just got Cohened and all 3 of mine were from a bad QC period at Sig.

In contrast, both SP2022s I've owned (one sold, one I have currently) have been utterly reliable, as has my P365 thus far.

[4RNR]

CZ Scorpion trade towards WC AR15 when it became pretty obvious that the braces were going away

Colt 6721 Hbar 1/9 twist traded towards DD M4A1

Glock 19X traded towards gen5 17 with a red dot



Have been thinking of letting a few others go just dont have anything to put them towards. Theres a few things I want but the guns Im thinking af letting go are pedestrian and would put much of a dent towards a new purchase

[Hambo]

The most recent ones are:
1. SA Prodigy
2. SA 35
3. LCP Max

That happens to coincide with my "don't buy these" list.

[Wonder9]

Steyr M9A1. Did absolutely nothing better than a Glock, sights are terrible, and miniscule aftermarket.

Beretta 90-two. Hated the grip module and parts incompatibility. It did shoot good in fairness.

Springfield XD. For obvious reasons. Did love that it turned into a Beretta 92G via a trade.

[jtcarm]

I sort of fell out of love with the Sharps after the that .45-70 carbine, though I remain fascinated with them. I eventually found that rolling blocks had their own issues, and came around to wanting to get one good High Wall or Remington-Hepburn but never could settle on what I wanted and the itch left me.

My own Ned Ludd tendencies would probably dial me back to a .40-65 High Wall, a Marlin 1894 and a S&W DA Frontier (both in .44-40), topped off by any decent quality 12 gauge SxS shotgun that came close to fitting me. More of an 1890's "townie" than wild-and-wooly Westerner.

I once stopped at a gun show to look at an 1885 Highwall, I think it was .45-120 or similar caliber.

The guy at the table noticed me cringing at the crescent steel butt-plate & said “That one kills at both ends.”

[gato naranja]

I once stopped at a gun show to look at an 1885 Highwall, I think it was .45-120 or similar caliber.

The guy at the table noticed me cringing at the crescent steel butt-plate & said “That one kills at both ends.”

I believe I would have declined the honor of touching it off. So many of the stocks with narrow crescent buttplates also have enough drop to smack the right side of my noggin with a vengeance.

[Malamute]

Stopped at a shop today, the guy had a Ballard 32 rimfire he was going to reline the barrel to 32-40. The guy I was with started in on the several Ballards he has and others he had owned in the past....

[Duelist]

Stopped at a shop today, the guy had a Ballard 32 rimfire he was going to reline the barrel to 32-40. The guy I was with started in on the several Ballards he has and others he had owned in the past....

I have a box of .32-40 in my collection. I am a such a dork: i have never even seen a rifle in the caliber, but had to have this ammo.

[Toonces]

Benelli M2 Tactical. What a beautifully machined functional work of art. Then I shot it. Hated the controls. Hated the pistol grip. Really hated the outsize recoil. Sold it through Gunbroker to a woman who bought it as a birthday gift for her husband. I was really happy to see it move on. She was having trouble finding one at the time, so was happy to get it. I ended up talking him through some technical details regarding it's assembly. He was happy to have it.

I used the money to buy a 1301 Comp Pro. Now I'm really happy.

[dogcaller]

I don’t sell too many guns, definitely don’t wheel and deal. One that I’m glad to be rid of was a Super Blackhawk in 44 magnum— the one with the squared off trigger guard that was sure to leave you with bloody knuckles. I took it in on a trade. That gun convinced me I’m not a big bore guy. Was glad to see that one go.

Just tonight I sold on GB an HK-marked Benelli M1 Super 90 that I had purchased in the mid 90s. Short barrel, pistol grip, rifle sights (I was too impatient to wait for the ghost rings). I mostly loved that shotgun for all these years though the stock was 2” too long. Anyway, I really love that I sold it for a bit more than I paid for it. I jumped in the 1301 Tactical craze awhile back and I like it even better, making the M1 superfluous.

[Malamute]

I have a box of .32-40 in my collection. I am a such a dork: i have never even seen a rifle in the caliber, but had to have this ammo.

I was meeting a guy at a place he was staying part time, an old ranch, log buildings and all. I looked down on the ground, there was a very old, mouth crushed, partially corroded through 32-40 shell.

[Redhat]

Jumping on the 40S&W band wagon back in the mid '90's

HK USP40 - limited to 10 rd mags back then. Big and blocky plus it never displayed much accuracy. I suspect due to 40 being new, they hadn't figured out bullet weights /profiles. It was reliable though. Traded it for a G23.

Glock 23 - More size efficient than the HK with 10 rd magazines....still was only minute of pie plate accurate for me so traded it for a CZ75B in 40S&W. THAT pistol was all kinds of accurate for me and anyone else I let try it.

Winchester Model 94 30-30 - Push button safety broke in half...took Winchester a month to repair it so in my youthful disgust, I immediately traded it for a Marlin 30-30 and was much happier. Killed my first 2 deer and a pissed off hog at CQB distance with that rifle.

[4RNR]

If we're just talking firearms that were traded/sold in general, and not just this year, then i went trough a buying/trading phase probably for about a decade starting in the mid 00s. At one point I had a firearm on layaway at every gun store in the area (about 4) at the same time.

Just the Sig 228 i think I had 4 or 5 of but not at the same time. Dont even want to think about all the 3rd gen SW guns, which were all hitting the surplus market at that time! Dozens of Mosins! It didnt help when one of the stores deals with tons of police trades and is very very lax on their 60 day layaway policy.

99.9% of the guns were traded locally for the next thing.

[oldtexan]

An AMT Hardballer, stainless 5" 1911, in the late '70s. It was unreliable, had bad galling issues, and a tendency to shed the front sight.

An unreliable Kimber TLE RL II (with the external extractor) in the early 2000s. It broke the thumb safety at about 1200rds.

An unreliable Remington 700P with the detachable magazine, in the late '90s or early 2000s.

[the Schwartz]

Only gun I ever disliked (well, actually hated) enough to dispose of was a SCCY CPX-2 (9mm).

While the enormously heavy and ''all day long'' trigger pull was something that I was willing to try and work with, the fact that it had to go back to the manufacturer not once, but twice for the same issue (pulling the trigger all the way to the rear yet the sear would never break and release the hammer) after less than 200 rounds each time, was enough to shake my trust in the design forever.

To their credit, SCCY did honor their lifetime warranty in both instances and I never went out of pocket one red cent. Just the same, I got rid of it because a pistol that spends more time at the factory than in my possession is a little use to me if/when I need it.

Sold it to an LGS for $50.00 and considered myself fortunate to have gotten even that for it.

[Duelist]

Only gun I ever disliked (well, actually hated) enough to dispose of was a SCCY CPX-2 (9mm).

While the enormously heavy and ''all day long'' trigger pull was something that I was willing to try and work with, the fact that it had to go back to the manufacturer not once, but twice for the same issue (pulling the trigger all the way to the rear yet the sear would never break and release the hammer) after less than 200 rounds each time, was enough to shake my trust in the design forever.

To their credit, SCCY did honor their lifetime warranty in both instances and I never went out of pocket one red cent. Just the same, I got rid of it because a pistol that spends more time at the factory than in my possession is a little use to me if/when I need it.

Sold it to an LGS for $50.00 and considered myself fortunate to have gotten even that for it.

I babysat one of those for a friend who had a mentally ill and unstable family member, and needed it locked up somewhere inaccessible to the family member. Someone had previously given my friend the pistol, and he had never fired it, so he asked me (the gun guy) if I could make sure it worked.

I ran some ball through it, and it functioned fine through most of the magazine. I tried to run some JHP through it, and it turned into a single shot.

One of the most uncomfortable to fire guns I’ve ever shot, but at least it sort of worked. You couldn’t pay me $50 to take one, or even to shoot it again. I’d rather shoot another Ruger Alaskan in .500 - that wouldn’t be much fun, but at least it would work while it beat me up. (If I bought an Alaskan, I’d get it in .44 Magnum or .454 so I’d have easy options to shoot reduced loads instead of $2 + per round to destroy my wrist).

Anyway. The SCCY. It’s a nope from me.

[CSW]

I tried to carry both the G23 and G27.
Both went away after a valiant attempt.
A Springfield XDS 45, that was like getting hit in the web of the hand with a bat after the 10th shot.
An FR-8, which, while really cool looking, recoiled like a bus to the shoulder.
A Smith 639, which had edges that were razor sharp. Terrible accuracy as well.
A Walther pps m1, that while a good weapon after the trip back to the mothership, went away after several bites while performing mag changes.

[Moped]

I had several. A Keltec PF9, that dropped the magazine every 2nd or 3rd shot. Also One of the most painful pistols I've every fired. It was right there with s SIG P230, which was a beautiful pistol! I really wanted to like it, but on range sessions, a couple of magazines was enough for me. Call me a wimp, if you want. Next up, a S&W 2.5" Mdl 19. The barrel would never stay screwed in. A box of 50 was enough to shoot it lose. Being older and wiser (It think) now, I would have hung onto that one. I would have at least dropped some money with a smith to see if it could be salvaged. Lastly, a couple of Mini 14s. They were accurate for about 15 or so rounds and then the groups progressively got larger and larger as the barrel heated up. I'll never waste money on a Mini again.

[JHC]

Early production 320 shortly after it hit the shelves. 800 rounds later I wasn't feelin' it and down the road it went. I'm rarely so lucky.

[Super77]

Hungarian FEG PA-63

How they engineered the weak ass 9x18 Makarov to feel like a hot .38 Special through a J-Frame is beyond me. Actually it was worse than a J because it managed to focus 100% of the recoil directly into the web of my hand. The trigger was at least 20lbs double action. Sights, minimalist. And they’re ugly to boot.

[awp_101]

Hungarian FEG PA-63

How they engineered the weak ass 9x18 Makarov to feel like a hot .38 Special through a J-Frame is beyond me.

https://i.postimg.cc/ZYpFqm0T/rofl-498-x-373-gif-fvzmkb9y9uqkhaca.gif

[Lex Luthier]

Hungarian FEG PA-63

How they engineered the weak ass 9x18 Makarov to feel like a hot .38 Special through a J-Frame is beyond me. Actually it was worse than a J because it managed to focus 100% of the recoil directly into the web of my hand. The trigger was at least 20lbs double action. Sights, minimalist. And they’re ugly to boot.


Yeah, those were objectively pretty bad.

[Paul D]

Walther CCP: 1) Terrible trigger. Long hard pull with long mushy reset. 2) Hot has hell in the trigger guard after two mags. 3) Weird take down procedure. 4) Not a good shooter. Only saving grace was that it was reliable.

[Lex Luthier]

Walther CCP: 1) Terrible trigger. Long hard pull with long mushy reset. 2) Hot has hell in the trigger guard after two mags. 3) Weird take down procedure. 4) Not a good shooter. Only saving grace was that it was reliable.

I wanted so badly to like them, and couldn’t. I tried two rental range samples; an M1 .380 and an M2 9mm. Both were pretty big letdowns.

[Lunker]

My 10mm obsession took several years to wane.
I got rid of:
S&W 1066
S&W 1006 (aka “The Beast”)
G20
G40
G29
Dan Wesson Commander sized stainless 1911 that wanted to batter itself to death with anything but pussycat loads
And a Ruger revolver that also had a 44-40 cylinder

After going through my phase of reloading to the ragged edge of safety and enjoying the blast and recoil, I realized that I had no practical need for anything in that caliber. And 10mm in a short 1911 is stupid. One day that slide would have embedded itself in my head.
I came close to breaking even when I sold them. The cult of the 10mm was still going strong then.

If I needed to pick one up these days, it would probably be an M&P10 and get it milled for optics. I can envision sheared mounting screws using the CORE system coupled with 10mm recoil.


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[Stephanie B]

My 10mm obsession took several years to wane.
I got rid of:
S&W 1066
S&W 1006 (aka “The Beast”)
G20
G40
G29
Dan Wesson Commander sized stainless 1911 that wanted to batter itself to death with anything but pussycat loads
And a Ruger revolver that also had a 44-40 cylinder

After going through my phase of reloading to the ragged edge of safety and enjoying the blast and recoil, I realized that I had no practical need for anything in that caliber. And 10mm in a short 1911 is stupid. One day that slide would have embedded itself in my head.
I came close to breaking even when I sold them. The cult of the 10mm was still going strong then.

If I needed to pick one up these days, it would probably be an M&P10 and get it milled for optics. I can envision sheared mounting screws using the CORE system coupled with 10mm recoil.

What, no G29?

[Duelist]

My 10mm obsession took several years to wane.
I got rid of:
S&W 1066
S&W 1006 (aka “The Beast”)
G20
G40
G29
Dan Wesson Commander sized stainless 1911 that wanted to batter itself to death with anything but pussycat loads
And a Ruger revolver that also had a 44-40 cylinder

After going through my phase of reloading to the ragged edge of safety and enjoying the blast and recoil, I realized that I had no practical need for anything in that caliber. And 10mm in a short 1911 is stupid. One day that slide would have embedded itself in my head.
I came close to breaking even when I sold them. The cult of the 10mm was still going strong then.

If I needed to pick one up these days, it would probably be an M&P10 and get it milled for optics. I can envision sheared mounting screws using the CORE system coupled with 10mm recoil.


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We wants a 4506 or a 1006, because Miami Vice. Stupid, stupid wantsies.

We had a 4506 in hand, and a 4516 was also in the case. The 4516 was in better shape, and we had a small moment of clarity: the 4506 is *huge*, and we will never, ever carry it. Even if we get another Miami Classic that would fit.

We bought the 4516, and sometimes do carry it. It is stupid accurate, too.

[Lunker]

What, no G29?

It’s in there. :)

https://youtu.be/qwH01ual7KI?si=9Njk27OrjkS2ej_-


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[CSW]

I tried a Delta in 10. Came to the same conclusion....too much. Traded it away. Hindsight being crystal, should have put it away, and sold it later on.