I'm not sure that's the reason they closed down, but I like to think it is. The SP series are fantastic pistols, many still around. Basically an updated version of their Z88, which was a Beretta 92 copy.Originally Posted by RevolverRob
I'm not sure that's the reason they closed down, but I like to think it is. The SP series are fantastic pistols, many still around. Basically an updated version of their Z88, which was a Beretta 92 copy.
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Last edited by Skaaphaas; 06-28-2014 at 09:26 AM. Reason: Duplicate post, sorry
I'm going to submit any name brand firearm that uses zinc for any of the parts. Bryco I can understand - but not Walther. The P22 and the like are an embarrassment.
The gun of the future will feature a zinc slide, a fiberglass wrapped MIM barrel with internal galvanized finish and a paper mache frame with all nylon trigger parts.
Of course, this gun will sell for $700 because it features miracle metal Zamec slide, composite barrel, innovative corrosion resistant plating, ecologically friendly cellulose composite frame and precision polymer internals. Sounds better, right?
I shall submit that the Sig Mosquito is in the same category as the Walther P22. Sample size of one here, but I tried twice to shoot one, and both times the gun suffered a total failure. First time, the magazine just fell apart, and second time, I squeezed a DA shot and heard a snap and the gun worked no more forever. This is why my friends don't let me shoot their guns.
I still remember my Sterling .22. I wish I had it back because it didn't jam as much as my Taurus PT-22.
Of course, there is the Clerke .22 revolver I posted a picture of in the revolver battery thread.
I looked them up ... according to Wikipedia they got started by buying the molds and machinery from the Bryco bankruptcy
I had a Jennings J22 once that I bought from a Army buddy that needed $20 to go buy beer. Was completely reliable for thousands of rounds as long as I fed it CCI Mini Mag HPs, and I once shot the single best group I ever shot with a handgun using that thing, a 25 yard standing barricade 6 shot group that could be covered with a quarter. I have witnesses.
:-p
The Jennings/Lorcin/Bryco/Jimenez/Davis genre is alive and well. I believe only Jimenez Arms and Davis Industries are currently in production; but all of those pistols work the same way (blow-backs, using the firing pin as the ejector). Hi-Points were copied from this "model".
We still see a lot of these weekly in the lab… although not as many as when I first got there five years ago. We began seeing more and more Stigmas; with them being available for as little as $250 at Academy Sports, the homies and gangers embraced them. Now we begin seeing the "new/improved" Stigma; aka the SW9/40SD series… which, actually, is a pretty nice piece for the money. They cleaned up the trigger and the lines. If I didn't already have too many Glocks, and was looking for a "bargain" truck gun or something similar, I'd drop the cash for an SD 9mm in a second.
We're also seeing more Rugers and Glocks. By use of the word "seeing", I'm talking about the guns that local agencies are taking from miscreants on the street. I dunno whether its due to lack of availability or better financial times for the thugs… but we see practically none of the REALLY el cheapo junk guns like the Rohms (i.e., the infamous RG .22 revolvers), previously mentioned, anymore.
The OP's question is a difficult one to answer, because there are SO many "bad" guns out there. And that's not even taking opinion into consideration. What, exactly, constitutes a "bad" gun? Many here would no doubt opine that the Hi-Point guns are among "the worst". I'm here to tell you… it ain't so. I have handled and shot hundreds of those things, including all the various iterations of it, and, given one that has not been abused (i.e., tossed out of a car window while running from the po-lice, etc.), they are actually quite reliable with ball ammunition. That's because the guy who makes them is genuinely interested in his product working (as opposed to just cranking them out for volume sales) and is personally involved in the day-to-day production. Also, having seen how slight tolerance differences on the Davis/Jennings?Bryco/Jimenez/et. al. metal frames can lock one up tighter than Dick's hatband, I think the polymer frames on the Hi-Point are more forgiving of casting imperfections on those pot-metal slides.
And then you have "bad" features on supposedly quality guns. Many folks consider the original Walther slide-mounted safety, as found today on Beretta and other pistols, "bad' because it allows one to inadvertantly engage the safety and render the piece non-functional until said safety is released/moved to off safe.
My point here is, we could play this game forever. And that, until I became more deeply exposed to the "underworld" of guns (those found below the commonly-accepted baseline), I too was like many here… unappreciative of the fact that some of these supposedly "junk guns" actually work pretty well. I don't own any (except for an Iver Johnson TP-22 which could considered "sub-par"… unfortunately for those who think so, it works like a champ), and wouldn't if I had a choice. That doesn't alter the fact that many of them work quite satisfactorily.
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LSP,
One thing I always noticed about those POS guns of my LE career is that they always seemed to work on the good guys (robbery victims, police officers, etc.).
Regional Government Sales Manager for Aimpoint, Inc. USA
Co-owner Hardwired Tactical Shooting (HiTS)
I bought one when a friend of mine had good luck with his. I used mine when checking traps or during the summer I throw it in my tackle box.
Now I wish I could shoot as good as you. I never shot paper with it just cans and the coons that I caught.
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