What is the most unreliable semi auto you have shot ?

Status
Not open for further replies.
So far I have not come across too many auto loading pistols with relibility issues. My father once had a Taurus copy of the Beretta 92 that had some issues several years ago, but I think he said it had to do with the magazines. The only other semi-auto pistol I have fired was a High- Point 916 (.9X19mm) that kept jamming up on this one girl that was at the range with us once. I had to keep clearing the jams, and really started to get annoying.
 
Last edited:
Colt All American 2000. It was so loose that the takedown pin kept walking out and would cause it to lock up. Never did get it to run a full mag. Sold it to a pawn shop for more than I bought it for...
 
Kel tec pf9. It's at the factory now.

Surprised to see this many sigmas. Mine ran flawlessly. Still sold it cause of the trigger.

Too bad there isn't a running total.
 
Chippawa 1911 .22lr. Would fire maybe 2 rounds before FTE or FTF or FTB or any and every other kind of problem an auto loader can have.
 
gun4funtime said:
kimber and colt have more than Taurus, Hmmmm.
Click to expand...
I've had three Taurus PT 99's, two blue and one stainless. When Lethal Weapon came out in the mid 80's, when we were building a GM Plant in Kansas City, KS. My boss and I watched the movie, then I called my then father-in-law (firearms dealer) and ordered us each a 9mm. They came w/back to back serial #'s, shot just about everthing fed thru it. Then about 1992 when working in TX (Supercollider), I bought a stainless PT99 and it jammed on just about everything I ran thru the pipe. She was pretty, but pretty don't get you home.
 
gun4funtime said:
kimber and colt have more than Taurus, Hmmmm.
Click to expand...
I've had three Taurus PT 99's, two blue and one stainless. When Lethal Weapon came out in the mid 80's, when we were building a GM Plant in Kansas City, KS. My boss and I watched the movie, then I called my then father-in-law (firearms dealer) and ordered us each a 9mm. They came w/back to back serial #'s, shot just about everthing fed thru it. Then about 1992 when working in TX (Supercollider), I bought a stainless PT99 and it jammed on just about everything I ran thru the pipe. She was pretty, but pretty don't get you home.
 
My most unreliable gun was a Springfield Armory xd40sc. It would constantly FTE. Even after i had a couple smiths look at it. I traded it for a CZ75b which has been flawless. The only Springfield Armory firearm ill ever buy again is a 1911.
 
Too bad there isn't a running total.
Click to expand...

Nope - we need a Not Running total! :D

My father-in-law owns what was the most unreliable factory-built semi-auto I've ever fired, a Beretta 92 FS. With factory 115 gr ball ammo, it would FTF or FTE 30& of the time for me, and 100% for him. Changed out the recoil spring to a 11lb and now it's 100% reliable.
 
TreeDoc said:
Jenning 22, a remarkable POS made from pig iron type alloy. Held 7 shots, but came apart in my hand before I got to 50.
Click to expand...
I almost lol when I see these posts. They do jam but normally only come apart if the takedown button isn't seated properly.

Two guys over at the Bryco forums got 9,000+ rounds through their JA22 pistols before the slides cracked and were replaced under warranty.
 
unreaible

jimnez arms 22 i got instead of a Beretta i was a kid it was a dumb mistake ill never make again.
 
Walther P1. Nonadjustable sights are way off, and it keeps jamming (ejected round doesn't fully clear)

I think the jam might just be that I'm babying it too much with light reloads, so I haven't given up on it yet. I'll probably have to file down the front sight like on an old revolver to bring up the POI; it shoots *way* low.
 
My father's Ruger Mark I. My father and I have never known this to be a reliable gun, and it's only gotten worse over the years. I'm pretty sure I've finally fixed it, though. This gun experienced virtually every kind of malfunction you can imagine. Failure to feed (traced in part to the follower rivet dragging on the inside of the grips), failure to fire (light strikes) and more. I fixed the grips by dremeling a groove in them to eliminate drag, and wound up totally respringing the whole pistol with Mark III parts and a new firing pin, fighting with it significantly as 1972 parts tolerances clashed with 2011 tolerances. I really hope that thing is fixed. It's such a pain to work on.

The gun also seems to only like CCI Mini Mags. They feed more reliably, and are much more accurate compared to standard velocity ammo. With CCI standard exposed-lead ammo, it's all over the place. With Mini Mags, it's dead-on.
 
Last edited:
WardenWolf said:
My father's Ruger Mark I. My father and I have never known this to be a reliable gun, and it's only gotten worse over the years. I'm pretty sure I've finally fixed it, though. This gun experienced virtually every kind of malfunction you can imagine. Failure to feed (traced in part to the follower rivet dragging on the inside of the grips), failure to fire (light strikes) and more. I fixed the grips by dremeling a groove in them to eliminate drag, and wound up totally respringing the whole pistol with Mark III parts and a new firing pin, fighting with it significantly as 1972 parts tolerances clashed with 2011 tolerances. I really hope that thing is fixed. It's such a pain to work on.

The gun also seems to only like CCI Mini Mags. They feed more reliably, and are much more accurate compared to standard velocity ammo. With CCI standard exposed-lead ammo, it's all over the place. With Mini Mags, it's dead-on.
Click to expand...
That is a first. Guess there are lemons with every manufacturing company.
 
Kiln said:
That is a first. Guess there are lemons with every manufacturing company.
Click to expand...
The primary problem seems to have been defective springs. All the springs in this gun were shot. The tempering on them, and the recoil spring assembly itself, seems to have been defective as they degraded significantly just sitting, without even being left compressed or cycled. The recoil spring assembly's legs were actually bent to the point that it was jamming up the bolt by dragging on the walls of the tube.

The mainspring assembly replacement created some interesting issues related to tolerances. I spoke with Ruger on the phone and confirmed that the Mark III assembly and the Mark I assembly are identical. After installing it, I could not pull the bolt to the rear. It was friction-jamming, somehow (NOT because I reinstalled the mainspring housing wrong; I know how to avoid that). Yet it appeared completely identical to the original assembly. I wound up swapping the vertical receiver strut from the old assembly into the new one. Guess what? Problem solved. I never did determine exactly how it differed that caused the jam. Visually I could not tell anything that would cause that problem.
 
Last edited:
Lorcin L9 in 9mm Luger. At least one failure to extract of eject on every magazine, even after a thorough cleaning and polishing. I can't complain too much, I got it pretty much for free.
 
The mainspring assembly replacement created some interesting issues related to tolerances. I spoke with Ruger on the phone and confirmed that the Mark III assembly and the Mark I assembly are identical. After installing it, I could not pull the bolt to the rear. It was friction-jamming, somehow.
Click to expand...

That means you didn't do the little dance correctly when you assembled it. (I have to refer to the manual *every* time I try to reinstall the bolt in my Mk II, and I still sometimes need to do it twice to get it right)
 
I'm surprised to see so many Kimbers here. Both of mine are the most accurate pistols I have and haven't had an issue after ~1200 rounds. I have changed my recoil springs though. Worst was a little Davis 22 it was such a pile I was afraid to shoot it and have it blow up in my hands.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

O
  • Locked
Pocket Semi Auto
Replies
9
Views
567
oldfella
O
L
  • Locked
If you dangled a semi-auto by a string, and fired it...
Replies
10
Views
876
Popov
P
A
  • Locked
Ruger autos reliable?
2
Replies
47
Views
1K
LeonCarr
L
S
  • Locked
Is the model 21 improved yet?
Replies
10
Views
537
TomN
T
F
  • Locked
Beretta 21A Tomcat range report
Replies
11
Views
2K
firestar
F
Back
Top