Disappointing Guns

[Olim9]

J frames.

Hard for me to conceal in a pocket, pointless for me to wear in a holster. Outside of keeping one in a winter coat pocket, they are inferior to their contemporaries in every way. I'll take a Shield, P365, or a G43 over one as a deep concealment belt gun, or a Ruger LCP as a pocket gun.

Ditto. I initially got a 442 to use as a jogging gun but quickly discarded the idea once I shot it with wadcutters and it was horrible. No matter how much work I put into it, I would never shoot it as quickly and easily as I could with a 42/43. The draw with the holster I used was slow and awkward.

Some people dig snubbies and that’s OK but I genuinely despise them.

[gomerpyle]

That's akin to selling a car because you don't like the tires...

Hmm. good point..... time to sell the car

[CompressionIgnition]

For me, it would be:


7. The HKP30. This is what I got into once I dumped the G19. I probably lost 5 IQ points trying to figure out which grip panel/back strap combination "worked" for me. Spoiler alert - none of them did. It was accurate, but felt like a pogo stick when I shot it. Not sure why, but the P2000 felt WAY worse in my hand, but shot much better...

Funny you mention that. I have large hands, yet shoot my P2000SK better than my full-size USP.

[gomerpyle]

(As I have stated: they work OK for me)

im surprised how workable they are. was able to get good hits at 25yds. Just proof that trigger pull is A#1 in getting hits.

of course groups better with Dawson Precision

[Lester Polfus]

Ruger Redhawk .45 Auto/.45 Colt.

I had spun The Wheels of Justification pretty hard on that one. I like .45 Colt as a reloader. I thought I'd get that legendary Ruger tolerance for really hot loads and have the ability to carry .45 Colt in the woods and .45 Auto on the way home. I liked the idea of moonclips. I was excited enough it's the *only time ever* I've bought support gear before getting the gun in hand. I ordered a Simply Rugged holster and moon clip pouches before ever having the Redhawk in my hands.

What I didn't think about is the .45 Auto and the .45 Colt aren't going to have the same POI unless they are loaded the same, which defeats the purpose.

What I didn't know is the trigger mechanism is unique to the Redhawk and it doesn't feel like the GP100. The Super Redhawk does, but not the Redhawk. It's heavier and breaks...oddly if you're used to the GP100.

What I also didn't know is that Redhawks apparently have a known issue with light strikes. Enough so that Bowen has a very lengthy discussion on it and offers parts to remedy this.

What I had no way to know is my particular example would come with a burr on the frame that drug the hammer, exacerbating both problems above. The trigger was even worse then a normal Redhawk and since the hammer was being slowed by the burr the gun was more primer sensitive.

So out of the box I had a gun that was unreliable, that didn't fit my hand with the aesthetically pleasing but too small for me wood grips, that had a sub-par trigger, and that failed to fire routinely. It was also not particularly accurate with .45 Auto, since it was sized for .45 Colt (which it was pretty accurate with).

I finally got it to a functioning gun. Bigger rubber grips that fit my hands, some trigger work and de-burring, a Bowen lengthened firing pin. I never shoot .45 Auto through it because I don't want to adjust the sights back and forth. I could, in theory, get a second front sight on the cheap since it's a quick disconnect, and have one for each but after all the hassle to get it to where it is now I set it aside for awhile as the passion had died. I like the gunsmith who did the work and take more pride in ownership of having him work on it then the gun itself these days or I'd have probably off-loaded it.

If I had it to do all over again, I wouldn't. I'd have just bought a dedicated .45 Colt, and probably an N-frame. I quickly figured out that loads that are within my tolerance for more than cylinder or two's worth is nowhere near "Ruger only" territory and the fun of something I was only willing to shoot 6-18 of, tops, died quickly.

You detailed at least some of those experiences on here and saved me a bunch of money because I was super close to buying one of those.

[TheNewbie]

Sig P232- Small, easy to carry, DA/SA and not reliable. At least the two I had were not. There are about four changes I would make to the P232, and it would be a fantastic carry piece for me.

Glock 42- Excited about an easy to shoot small gun. My two examples were not reliable. It may have been my grip, but I wasn't going to change my grip for one gun.

P2000 V2 9mm- Several hundred rounds through it, and I just couldn't get used to the LEM. That's on me, but in my mind it was the ideal carry gun. Too bad it didn't work for me.

[BWT]

A CZ-75B in 9mm.

I was shooting my Glock 34 with a friend and thought - geez this may be expensive as I may be suddenly not be able to refute how good this is. I had a lengthy first attempt at handguns with a Dan Wesson 1911 (ironically pre-CZ).

I was concerned I’d like the DA/SA trigger, and that the ergos of a thumb safety, slide release, etc. would persuade me.

Definitely not my experience - my thumbs are more curved and couldn’t hit the slide release or mag release without shifting my grip or using my other hand for the mag release. The safety wasn’t in the same universe as a 1911 safety.

The trigger wasn’t great, and probably could be tuned and be a lot better.

But I felt good and re-assured that my Tactical Tupperware was still #1 in my heart.

I was scared it was going to be like my experience with a SA TRP and I just had to eventually get one (I did). It was not that for me.

ETA:

Something about considering something everyone else loves... when you have hundreds (if not over a thousands of dollars) in Glock 17 and 19 mags... own four different pistols that can use them, holsters nights sights, and you pick up something new to try... you’re like “Whew - dodged a bullet on that one”.

[FNFAN]

Colt Officer's model.....ultimate stainless finish.

Found it used at a gun shop I spent way too much money at in the early 90s. Just always loved the Officer's model and this shiny thing was just what my young heart desired.

It would run hardball fine.......but any and all HP loads were a stoppage per magazine. It was either the fifth or sixth round that would hang that gun up.

Every. Magazine. Full.

Took it to a local smith......paid whatever to get it to reliably feed the Speer flying ashtray load (200 grain?) so I could carry it with that much feared .45 load of the times.

Picked it up and took it out.....mag full of the Speers.......first few shots were fine and then that fifth one jammed..........

I can distinctly remember holding it at belt height, turning it to the side, and glaring at it like a jilted lover.

I had two Springfield Armory government models at the time that ate pretty much everything I fed them so I was hating that Colt. Decided to carry it with hardball and drive on.

Ended up selling it for a loss in 97.

I sort of hope it's at the bottom of some river and a catfish is eating the grips right this second.

Regards.

I had a bright stainless Officer's before they came out with the "Ultimate" package with beavertails. Mine did the same thing until a gunsmith suggested using Detonics Combat Master magazine followers. Ran well with those and the ramp polished. Yes the ashtray's were 200gr!

[TheRoland]

Ditto. I initially got a 442 to use as a jogging gun but quickly discarded the idea once I shot it with wadcutters and it was horrible. No matter how much work I put into it, I would never shoot it as quickly and easily as I could with a 42/43. The draw with the holster I used was slow and awkward.

Some people dig snubbies and that’s OK but I genuinely despise them.

I have pretty much the opposite experience. I got a G43 and expected it to be like a single-stack Glock 19. I was disappointed to find it was basically a J-Frame in 9mm that was harder to conceal.

I still carry it because 7 rounds of 9mm is better than 5 of.38SPC, but I'm not any faster or more accurate and I can't safely use floppy deep-concealment holsters with its shorter, lighter trigger. Disappointing.


I've also found every single 5" 9mm 1911 to jam at critical match moments, no matter how great they were outside of matches.

[ReverendMeat]

SIG P225: Always liked single stack 9s for carry purposes and wanted a good ol west german P225 figuring it would carry like my P239 but look not as goofy. Used one came in the shop and I was able to take it out to test fire and gd was that thing unpleasant to shoot. Happily went back to the P239.

SIG P228: I always had a thing for these when I first started getting into guns, I remember buying them in counterstrike every time (even as a CT which is stupid because it does exactly nothing better than the USP they start you off with but whatever I was in love), heard everybody rave about them, praising the lighter weight, shootability, balance, all sorts of things that somehow made them better than the US made guns. Carried well, was reliable, but even after it passed the 2k challenge with flying colors I could not shoot the damned thing for shit and found the recoil impulse downright annoying even compared to my P229 .40.

Traded it in along with my trusty P239 for an M11A1 which was a piece of shit and fuck SIG forever after that one.