What's the worst handgun you ever bought and still have?

If1HitU wrote:
What's the worst handgun you ever bought and still have?

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Rohm RG-25.

It was in terrible condition when I got it. It would fire, but it wouldn't extract, cycle or feed. Took it apart. Cleaned it up with solvent that stripped the "bluing" off the zinc frame. "Reblued" the slide. Fabricated a retainer for the safety. Replaced the magazine. Reassembled it. Hasn't missed a beat since.

I can hit what I aim at with it at 10 to 12 feet, but much beyond that it's luck. Clumsy. Anemic. No way is it drop-safe. But it has probably saved my life on two occasions, so I can't bare to part with it.

Very early Detonic pistol. Took a couple trips to the mother ship to get it to function. Then as a carry gun its to heavy, muzzle is to short to anchor in a leather holster. Butt is to short and heavy. Stupid milled off rear sight relocation. Hammer bite was common. Blued steel and blood and sweat.

Herr, between the gritty feel and (for whatever reason) the heavy pull weight, the AMT that I have is just yucky.

It is what it is, and that's certainly not a target piece. Since AMT is no more, and their old Irwindale location was close to my old commutes, I hang onto it for sentimentality.

I don't have a worst gun... that I want to admit anyway. I want to know all of yours though, so I'm subscribing to this thread!

Ruger P95 -lame, heavy, big, slow, dim witted pistol. Perfect for cops with dismal skills and a propensity to shoot themselves.

Keltec P32 -useless junky pistol with no sights. Bought during the CCW craze, before I knew that mouse guns were useless fighting pistols.

Kimber CDP -1000 round breakin. Frame finish was gone by then. Magazine ate the feed ramp. Barrel was made from melted Dodge trucks and rusted instantly. MIM thumb safety failed. FP safety mistimed. Rough machined finish.

jonnyc said:

Iver Johnson .22 Auto. One of these days I'll get the sucker running!

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That's that spirit!! I'm with you on this.

I wish there was just one standout. My list includes those "project" guns that just need a little more TLC, like my:
- S&W 22A
- Iver Johnson TP25
- S&W 1905 revolver

There are probably others, but I don't like to admit it.

I have had some crappy guns in the past, but I got rid of them.

The worst gun I bought that I still have. I would have to say my Ruger LCP, but in its defense, it's not made for pleasurable shooting. I shoot it every once in a while and it still sucks to shoot, but it is 100% reliable with my carry ammo.

If a gun doesn't please me as "above average" or better, it goes on the chopping block (or is never bought in the first place)... guns are tools. No need to hang onto tools you won't use.

Springfield P9C Subcompact in 40 S&W.

Actually it was not a bad shooter but it would bend the slide stop/take down lever over time. Disassembly would become virtually impossible if left unattended.

Springfield discontinued the gun, orphaned it and would not support it. Needless to say, I was pissed and would not touch a Springfield product for a couple decades. (I just had to have an M1A ended the boycott)

Fortunately, the pistol was built by Tanfoglio and Witness parts would work on the gun. When I sold the gun, I had several spare slide stop levers that went with it. Don't know or care what the store did with the extra spare parts.

Gen 1 Ruger LCP. Very reliable, very accurate, with very terrible sights, and terrible trigger. I carry it every damned day. I wish I could stop - as I have a Gen 2, a Custom, and an LCP II which could readily replace it, let alone the plethora of other NON Ruger LCP pocket and micro pistols and revolvers we have in the safes, but I just can't help myself, I saddle it up every day.

Polymer80 framed G34. Everything about the pistol is great - except the Polymer80 frame is a turd, it's like gripping a 2x4, and somehow I let my wife talk me into ordering it in WHITE. Some day I'll stop being lazy and change it out for either a factory take off or a Lone Wolf, until then, I have this thing, I shoot it a lot, but I F'ing hate SO MUCH about the grip... It does shoot incredibly well, two handed at least. I wear a size 13 wedding ring, XL gloves, and even for my hands, the grip is so large it is difficult to manage one handed. Maybe it'll live up to the hype and break after 10,000rnds or so and I'll force myself to replace it.

Confederate said:

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You actually shoot that thing? Isn't Davis part of the "Ring of Fire"?

EAA Witness .45 Compact with the “Wonder” finish.
I see I’m not the only one to have a worthless Witness.
This gun worked just fine for a few years and then started locking the slide back with rounds still in the magazine.
Please don’t suggest a cause for this. I’ve been through everything with the experts; replacing parts and springs, polishing this and that, everything. Nothing works.

I called EAA and talked to their “gunsmith”. Without any mention of ammo by either one of us, he told me the problem was the result of my shooting high-pressure handloads (a lie) and my warranty was void. Then he hung up on me.

EAA has the worst customer service in the industry and they can kiss my ass. I’ll never own another EAA import.

Japle said:

EAA Witness .45 Compact with the “Wonder” finish.
I see I’m not the only one to have a worthless Witness.
This gun worked just fine for a few years and then started locking the slide back with rounds still in the magazine.
Please don’t suggest a cause for this. I’ve been through everything with the experts; replacing parts and springs, polishing this and that, everything. Nothing works.

I called EAA and talked to their “gunsmith”. Without any mention of ammo by either one of us, he told me the problem was the result of my shooting high-pressure handloads (a lie) and my warranty was void. Then he hung up on me.

EAA has the worst customer service in the industry and they can kiss my ass. I’ll never own another EAA import.

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I had an EAA Witness 45 and it was a pretty good gun.

It is pretty common for firearm manufacturer to not cover a gun that has been shooting reloads. Key is, don't tell them you shot reloads. I doubt there is any way the manufacturer can prove you shot reloads.

I know all the reloaders will get up in arms, but most ammunition problems occur with reloads. I've seen many a gun at the range be destroyed by people's "quality" reloads.

A Rogak. Nuff sed.

Jim

My problem child was an FIE Titan II, 22LR.
Got it for next to nothing, and I may have paid too much.
The only thing it did right, was feel really nice in the hand, and it seemed to point pretty well.
It wouldn't feed, fire, extract or eject.
Replaced all the springs, new firing pin and extractor, polished the feed ramp and fiddled with the magazines. It still had erratic ignition, and I found that pin wasn't protruding through the firing pin stop. It was about flush. I carefully whittled the pin stop on 400grit and a piece of glass to thin it a bit, and now the pin is proud a few thousandths of an inch.
Now it does everything well, so long as I keep any Winchester ammo away from it. It doesn't care for those at all.
Here's a pic I stole from the net, that looks exactly as mine does.

Many years ago I purchased, brand new, a model 629 4" S&W. The exterior finish of the gun was good. The cylinder, crane area and internals were rough. There were sharp edges [I remember cutting my finger], burrs and metal chips hanging off the cylinder. After disassembly and many hours of stoning, polishing and filing not to mention a trigger job with spring replacement, this gun is one of my favorites and one I will never part with. At least while I'm still alive!

stchman said:

I had an EAA Witness 45 and it was a pretty good gun.

It is pretty common for firearm manufacturer to not cover a gun that has been shooting reloads. Key is, don't tell them you shot reloads. I doubt there is any way the manufacturer can prove you shot reloads.

I know all the reloaders will get up in arms, but most ammunition problems occur with reloads. I've seen many a gun at the range be destroyed by people's "quality" reloads.

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Stchman, if you read my post, you’ll see that I didn’t say anything about ammo when talking to EAA. The “gunsmith” – Paul was his name – came up with that on his own and used it as an excuse to cut me off.

This is not, by any means, an isolated incident. Google “EAA” and “customer service reviews”.

Japle said:

Stchman, if you read my post, you’ll see that I didn’t say anything about ammo when talking to EAA. The “gunsmith” – Paul was his name – came up with that on his own and used it as an excuse to cut me off.

This is not, by any means, an isolated incident. Google “EAA” and “customer service reviews”.

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It seems the Compacts have more issues, my full size .45 was bulletproof......

Charter Arms .357 MagPull. A certifiable POS. 50% misfires, after less than 200 rounds. Company cannot fix it.

Got a Davis .22 mag derringer as part of a trade. Bottom barrel won't fire even after being reworked at nearby Cobra Arms in SLC. Just waiting for a gun buyback.

I do not know if mine really counts. I bought it because it was the most terrible gun I had ever seen, so I expected it to be bad. It is a Cobray "Pocket Pal", which you can see thoroughly described here: http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/20...ire-cobray-pocket-pal-22-lr-380-acp-revolver/

It is what you would get if tried to convert a Mossberg Brownie into a revolver and decided you wanted to fire either 22 LR or 380 ACP, and were not too fussy about the results. The trigger pull is horrendous, and I never considered firing it, because I value keeping my skin intact. It is very heavy, and really just an awful idea for a pistol.

I am surprised to see the KelTec P-32 mentioned above, because mine is a nice gun as far as reliability goes, and is more accurate than I expected. It is flat and light and in all ways better than the the Cobray, except maybe as a sap.

The worst that I still own? I'm tempted to say my .40-cal Hi Point- it's an awful gun. I bought it for $75 because- well why not? I wouldn't have paid $100. Heavy, ugly, cheaply made... the problem is it works. Flawlessly. It's also accurate. Even so I only keep it because it's not worth getting rid of.

Mine was actually awarded by the court to me. In the early '80's after a pursuit the driver came out with an RG .22 revolver and went "snap". He dropped it and started running. After he was convicted, the court awarded me the gun. (was fairly common here in those days) I still have it, and sometimes carry it in my pocket when hunting squirrels for snakes and such.

It still won't go off on the one chamber 9 times out of ten. You can tell it had been dry fired and made a dent there. Just glad it was one of the 9 times back then.

It keyholes about every round you shoot, but I still have it.

It was around 1963-64,,,
I was at a garage sale with my Mom.



There was this little German made .22 short revolver,,,
It had the box and 44 shorts left in a box of 50,,,
It was only $5.00 which I had in my pocket,,,
And Mom wasn't looking in my direction.

The front sight fell off somewhere in the next two cylinders of shooting,,,
The gun completely failed to turn the cylinder before the box of ammo was all shot up.

But hey, you could still fire it if you turned and indexed the cylinder manually.

And yes, I still have it.

Aarond

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