Leap of faith...

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barnbwt

barnbwt

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What's the biggest leap of faith you've made on a firearm purchase, and why?

The forums are always awash in folks soliciting opinions in search of a "safe" bet for their next firearm purchase. But unless you have the opportunity to shoot the gun in question for quite a while before hand, you ulitimately have to accept some risk that the purchase may not be everything you'd hoped when you plunk your money down.

What finally pushed you past your hesitation? Clever/novel marketing? Low price? Aesthetics or a unique design? Or just plain 'ol fashioned peer pressure? :D

TCB
 
I live in the sticks, and get the chance to shoot very few guns before a purchase. I bought an AR15, a 1911, a P3AT, etc. all without firing. Price is ussually a factor, but want, and fullfilling a role is alot of it.
 
Kel Tecs, particularly a P3AT instead of a nice J-frame. Cost me time, money, and frustration until I sold it and bought the 'safe' J-frame, which has been 100% for years.

Even bigger, though...Glock 30SF. On the Glock forum you get all but crucified these days for suggesting there are models of Glocks not up to par. Well, the 30SF is not up to par. I read enough that I 'knew' that, but let the apologists and the die hards convince me otherwise. At least Glock ended up exchanging it for a different gun (21SF) after they couldn't fix it the first time.
 
floorit76 said:
I live in the sticks, and get the chance to shoot very few guns before a purchase. I bought an AR15, a 1911, a P3AT, etc. all without firing. Price is ussually a factor, but want, and fullfilling a role is alot of it.
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There are a crap load of different "AR15" rifles and 1911 handguns, though. What specifically did you get that was a leap of faith?
 
I had never fired a weapon of either pattern, not the particular one I bought. I bought them from gunbroker without handleing them. How is that not a leap of faith? I had read about them only, nothing more.
 
^^^And what caused you to finally stop looking for alternatives or opinions and send off your money?:) I like this question because we gun guys are notorious for shrugging off anything not already in the mainstream, which makes it hard for new ideas to gain a foothold.

When I started out, I didn't know an AR-15 from Adam, but I did a ton of research, and found the 700 SPS in 308 is about the "safest" gun purchase there is (or was, as some would have you believe ;)). Seeing no strong reasons to specifically go with a Ruger, Savage, etc. over the Remington, my choice was easy. Since then, it's gotten hairier to determine subsequent purchases;

My TRR8 for a full size, light weight trail revolver, fit every criteria I was looking for perfectly, but is such an uncommon gun (and expensive) that it was a very large leap of faith for me that both S&W would pull through, and that I would be compatible with the gun. Fortunately, it worked out great for me, and was worth taking the chance. I finally made my decision to buy after about 3 weeks of looking for any negative reviews, or a similar product from someone else; nada.

TCB
 
I asked opinions, read alot, found a decent name brand for a decent price and went with it. Identifying the need, and what fills that need is harder for me than deciding which one.
 
When I saw that essentially every nation on the planet used the Hi-Power as their military sidearm around 35 years ago I bought my first one in good faith without firing it first, around 35 years ago.
 
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Bought a rare pistol on gunbroker, and it had to be imported from Switzerland. Fortunately, it was advertised accurately, and it tuned out to be every bit as nice at the descrription and photos.
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I live in the middle of nowhere. My wife is terrified of snakes, and we have A LOT of them out here in the sticks. She wanted a snake gun, specifically a Taurus Judge. I've heard a lot of bad things about Taurus and basically just bought one for her to keep her happy. Turns out to be an excellent gun! No problems what so ever! She has carried it literally one time outside, so basically I got a new gun!
 
Probably my first handgun, a Taurus M66 purchased in 1987, the day after I turned 21. I knew very little about handguns, and had not realized how expensive it would be for me to try to teach myself handgun marksmanship with a .357 (even when loaded with .38 Special ammunition.) I was back in the store two weeks later picking up a Ruger Mk-II pistol.

I still own both, and they have been fine performers.
 
Bushmaster ARM Pistol.

Always wanted one for their unique nature and odd history. Got one in spite of the negative evaluations and was lucky enough to get one that ran properly.
 
Dropping a grand on an AR when I still didn't know much about them. I'm more of a "learn as you go" type :D

Plus it was the rifle style I wanted, with the fixed handle, and it was a Colt, so I figured, what the hell.

Had some feeding problems at the range (posted in the Rifle forum) but so far consensus seems to be a mag problem. I hope that's true; mags are cheap and I'd hate to have to send the gun out for fixing!
 
Stress_Test said:
Dropping a grand on an AR when I still didn't know much about them. I'm more of a "learn as you go" type :D

Plus it was the rifle style I wanted, with the fixed handle, and it was a Colt, so I figured, what the hell.

Had some feeding problems at the range (posted in the Rifle forum) but so far consensus seems to be a mag problem. I hope that's true; mags are cheap and I'd hate to have to send the gun out for fixing!
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Are you sure it's a Colt upper?
 
Yeah, it's a Colt upper. Just verified in the other thread (thanks to RCmodel).

I was worried there for a minute!

It's stamped C MP 5.56 NATO 1/7 HBAR
 
Still no RFB, PMR, SCAR, Boberg, or similar "prototype" responses? Pretty sure a lot of folks bought those without shooting them :)

Bought a rare pistol on gunbroker, and it had to be imported from Switzerland.
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Pretty gun, Que es eso? I, too, have an annoying attraction to "the rare" in firearms :eek:. Right now I'm stuck on a Brugger&Thomet MP9 even though it will never be (not for $3K, at least). I'm not ballsey enough to take that leap of faith for a shooter:D

TCB
 
Bought an unfired walther 9mm p1 from buds over the net. An interesting and different gun at a good price. Mine was made in 1958 and did indeed appear unfired and all original (not refurbished) pistol. I shot a couple of bullseyes with it at the range today.
 
Virtually all of them required a leap of faith. The only one I got to shoot beforehand was a nice Inland M1. $125 from my favorite brother-in-law.
 
Hmmm...bought a 4" S&W 629 for comp & carry, without ever having fired a .44 Mag before.

Turns out, that was a fine choice.
 
lets see, I fired exactly 0 of my firearms (neither the ones I bought nor any just like them) before buying them, and didn't handle about half of them before buying. Now, there are some that are similar, such as since my first 1911, I have purchased 3 others, though all different brands. Bought a model 29-5, sold it because I didn't like it, and then bought a model 29-2 and love that one, but there is a big difference between those two.
But in answer to the question, I find something I want then read reviews, look for threads on forums about them, research all I can before making the plunge, and for the most part, this method serves me well. It breeds the confidence that I need to take the plunge.
 
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Still no RFB, PMR, SCAR, Boberg, or similar "prototype" responses? Pretty sure a lot of folks bought those without shooting them
Click to expand...

I got one a couple years ago. Not the very first iteration, but still a fairly early one. It ran pretty good, but had occasional failures to extract. A slightly longer extractor spring and some sharpening of the extractor hook with a file made it run 100%. I also forwarded my fix to KT. It did also break a takedown pin at about 1,200 round, but KT had two new one in my hands in 3 days, so no biggy. Gun was still running with the busted pin, too. I just noticed it sticking out more than it should after awhile.

I would absolutely take the leap on an RFB if I could ever find one.
 
I think I just took my biggest leap of faith, but on the other hand I think I've got a good deal. I just bought an SVT-40 for $950 shipped on Gunbroker. I did a few negotiations with the seller before buying that made it a better deal for me. The SVT-40 has always been on my "bucket list" of guns to get, but they're just getting harder to find in good condition and more expensive. Just a couple of years ago you could almost always find them with excellent bores. Now, too many idiots have ruined them with corrosive ammo. Seeing that made me realize I better snap mine up before it's too late. I'll be sure to post pictures of it once I get it in a couple of weeks.
 
Del-ton AR-15. Never had a single problem with it. Some people say they are junk but a friend had one and said it ran great so I took a chance.
 
My "leap of faith" was probably purchasing a FEG PA-63. Mixed reviews, but the price was the deciding factor and turned out to be a good purchase. I did put some new springs in it to improve the trigger.

Shawn

Ten shots at 10 yards.
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