A gun so miserable to shoot, you want it anyway?

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Candyman87

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Finally got to try one of the guns I've been itching for for a while... got to put a few magazines through a S&W Bodyguard in .380. I've held them but never had one available to try. Long story short, S&W Day at my local range and they had one I could check out.

The thing was MISERABLE to shoot... can't imagine every getting excited to shoot even a box of ammo through that thing... but when all is said and done, carries the same amount and type of ammo as my PPK weighing significantly less and being significantly smaller, and was a veritable tack driver at 7 yards?

I'll be keeping my eye out for one. Sometimes my S&W Shield 9 is a bit too big for what I'm wearing. Would like the option to pocket carry the Bodyguard.

Any of you guys experience something similar?
 
Yep. I have a Kel-Tec P3AT, which is the gun that started this whole craze. I shoot it enough to stay proficient, recognize its shortcomings, and keep it for its strengths.
 
Exactly... my girlfriend shot it too. Her reaction was "I hate it" and "you'd never shoot it"

My reply was "yep, the recoil sucks, but I'll shoot it enough to stay proficient".

Keeping an eye out for a good deal now :)
 
I have a 45 double tap derringer that no one has ever been able to shoot more than 4 times in one session, I still like it and carry it as a back up sometimes.
 
Same. Mine is also a P3AT. It is wonderfully easy to carry, but not fun to shoot. I'll put a few magazines through it every once in a while, but a whole box would be punishment on my XL hands. If you can put virtually all of them onto a paper plate at 20 feet, you are doing plenty good for its intended purpose, imho.
 
I have the new m&p no laser model. The trigger is long, feels like a j frame double action to me. What I like about mine is it eats anything marked 380acp. Not ammo sensitive like others out there. If you shoot it enough you'll find the trigger to be not an issue.
 
I have the new m&p no laser model. The trigger is long, feels like a j frame double action to me. What I like about mine is it eats anything marked 380acp. Not ammo sensitive like others out there. If you shoot it enough you'll find the trigger to be not an issue.
Trigger's not the issue... I shoot a J-frame regularly. It's more the recoil just pounds your hand with that skinny grip. I don't mind it... but anything more than 3-4 magazines, I'm calling it quits for the day.
 
The pain was miserable when I shot a 454 Casull but I wanted it anyway. Ruger, IIRC. But I already had a 44 magnum that hurt to shoot so I did not need something else to inflict pain :D

(I did replace the grip on the 629 so now it hurts only with the balls-of-fire loads)

If it hurts to shoot after 3-4 magazines, just switch to another gun. Or bring gloves. Or an ice pack.
 
If you could handle an extra 3-1/3 ounces, the recoil of a Sig P238 feels like a .22 LR and it is fun to shoot. The downside of that is the ammo cost rather than pain.

If you still want the Bodyguard, just shoot 3 magazines a few times a month and you still will be more proficient than most.
 
I have had a P3AT for years.

Yes, it's a handful due to the small flat grip.
And loud due to the short barrel.

But painful?
Far from it to my 71 year old hands.

A PPK/s Walther I used to own spanked me harder.
It downright stung your hand with decent SD ammo.

rc
 
I had a Makarov. Something about the grip angle is not good for me and it hurt to shoot. I traded it off at a gunshow.
 
I have had a P3AT for years.

Yes, it's a handful due to the small flat grip.
And loud due to the short barrel.

But painful?
Far from it to my 71 year old hands.

A PPK/s Walther I used to own spanked me harder.
It downright stung your hand with decent SD ammo.

rc
Got my own PPK... and while that's not the most pleasant thing to shoot, it's not nearly as bad as the Bodyguard at half the weight.

Long story short, the gun is what I want, I'll deal with the recoil. Not the most enjoyable to shoot but I'll be able to shoot it often enough to stay proficient.

Thanks for the input.
 
Had a Scandium framed S&W .357 Mag J-frame. Talk about miserable to shoot... Actually, I had three of them (two 340s and a 360). Guess I'm a glutton for punishment.:)

Haven't had one for a few years, and my wrists aren't any younger than they were ten years ago...but every time I see one, I want it again. :uhoh:
 
For some reason, I really like the old J frames with the steel frames and small wood grips - not pleasant to shoot, but exciting if that makes any sense. If you hang on tight, they shoot fine for self defense.

But I can imagine the ultra light weight alloy J frame size guns would be a little beyond the pale. I ultimately decided my vintage model 37 was too much of a bear, as much as I liked it, so I sold it. My Taurus Poly Protector has a very pleasant carry weight, but even the big squishy rubber grips can't soak up all the recoil. Believe it or not, it's not as "pleasant" to shoot as my old wood grip model 36's. But I still like the Taurus because I'm intrigued by the design. And I may someday want a gun for a humid environment that will suffer less from corrosion.

I own a lot of guns just because I'm fascinated by the design. And I like mechanical things, I guess.
 
DoubleTap Defense DoubleTap derringer

By all accounts shooting this gun is like getting whacked across the palm with a length of rebar, but I want one anyway.
 
For me it'd be the Luger.

I had one way back when - sold it to get something else and always figured I'd get around to finding another, better Luger one day. My first was a parts-special and I bought into the whole "matching numbers" thing to justify selling it.

Turns out, I didn't much miss it.

Then, a year ago last November, a pal called me up to tell me he ran across one in the hands of some desert rat and he'd grab it for me if I wanted it.

Why not? I began to convince myself that I really missed my old one but couldn't rightly remember why. I don't like the grip angle, magazines can be a bear to load, I don't like the toggle bolt actuation at all and the sights suck.

Well, at least they're expensive.

So he grabs it for me and I end up with a matching 1918 in a 1917 holster.

I get it out to shoot it, am reminded of all the above issues which I can't stand and start to consider what the money might get me again.

Almost a year to the day, I sold it on at a cool 400 profit and never looked back.

I know there are folks who think they are the bee's knees but I can't stand most anything about them and still sorta went out of my way to get one.

Oh well... It's outa my system again for at least another 25 years.


Todd.
 
My "uncomfortable to shoot but was interesting to have" would be an Astra Model 600. All it took was about 50 rounds to make my hand feel like someone smacked it several times with a claw hammer. And still I was impressed with the overall design and build quality of the gun. Just no more straight blowback 9mm.s for me; one was quite enough!
 
The only gun I have a problem with is my 9mm P-11. Not recoil or accuracy, but the shape and texture of the grip. I can’t get through a 10 round mag without it taking a layer skin off my knuckle. I won’t even shoot it without a band-aid over my knuckle, even after I’ve sanded that part of the frame as smooth as a baby’s butt.
 
Funny you should mention it; I've just been thinking about whether to get rid of my Airweights. Even a 36-3 was painful yesterday with standard loads. Big rubbery grips might fix that, but would go against its general purpose of carry and self-defense. I can still shoot an SP101, but it weighs as much as my car (approximately).

When I got my first Airweight-- a 642, thanks to the owners' club chatter on this very site-- I could put a hundred rounds through it in a session. Now, it's more like ten. My hands have aged a lot in the last ten years, it seems. I don't know if it makes sense to have something I can't shoot enough to stay practiced with.

Take my advice: don't get old.
 
I've never shot one, but my answer would be a COP .357 derringer. I know it would be hand-punishing to shoot, but I still kick myself that I didn't buy one ten years ago when they could still be had for a decent price (like one I saw for $400 with a good holster).

Another is the North American Arms Guardian .380 my wife has. Neither of us likes to shoot it - 25 rounds will have my hand hurting for a day or two - but she won't trade it off for something else. I don't entirely blame her; it's a beautiful gun, all stainless, and a simple design. My Taurus TCP - which I can shoot all afternoon with no problems - is an ugly duckling beside it.
 
AZAndy writes:

Take my advice: don't get old.

I hear this a lot from patients of mine. I tell them that I've never met anyone who tried the alternative, came back, and told me it was much better, so I'm gonna go with getting old.

To the thread, I've never sought out a gun I knew would be uncomfortable to shoot, but have ended up with a few, including a Kel-Tec PF9 (my EDC), a PPK/S, and a Grendel P10. I also have two old-style .38 snubs with thin wood grips. Shooting one of these is like trying to hold onto a chicken leg with a live turkey attached. But, I always shot it well relative to its purpose, and didn't know it was supposed to be a "rough" shooter until the internet came along to tell me..
 
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I have large hands. Wound up with a Ruger LCP. First time I shot it within one magazine my trigger finger knuckle was angry red and sore and I was bleeding from the side of my thumb. I thought what on earth am I gonna do with this thing? I paid much more attention to my grip and keeping bits of my hand away from the slide and put a few more magazines through it. My trigger finger was sore for days. It has no sights to speak of but I can hit the cap from a one liter Gatorade bottle at 10 yards. I'd say 90% of the time I still choose my full size auto but there are those times it's much more prudent to have something more discrete.

I bought it another holster at a gun show today. :confused:
 
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