saturday night specials

I love little guns, but I certainly would not call that colt a SNS.

Just looking at those RGs shivers my timbers.

i have
1 jennings 22 w/ floral slide
1 jimenez 22
1 jimnez 32
2 raven 25s 1 chrome1blace
1 burgo 25
1 iver johnson 25
1 davis 380
1 lorcin 380
1 lorcin25
1 rg not sure of model but its 38 special

I don't collect 'em per se, but I do own both a Jennings J-22 (nickel, with wood grips) from 1987, and a Phoenix HP-22A, purchased in 2009. Both have been good at what they were intended to do; neither is a carry weapon.
The rest of my guns, for the most part, are "beer budget" guns (Taurus, Kel-Tec, Bersa, Charter Arms, etc), but they're not SNS guns.

I have a .25 ACP Baby Browning I slip in my pocket occasionally.

But I didn't know it was taboo.

I have no interest at all in cheap Saturday Night Specials.

rc

Oddly, one of those RGs is the ONLY gun ever, that I wouldn't take for free and that was just last month. The front would spin or fall off, the loading gate was a joke, the cylinder looked like slave laborers had machined it. it was altogether the single worst firearm I've ever personally held in my hands.
I didn't have the least bit of confidence that even in it's .22 short configuration it wouldn't cause injury in some way so a friend is making a lmp ppost outa it now.

Only one "SNS" here; a chromed Raven 25 ACP. Back in 1995 a local gun shop owner took in several guns on trade in for something else. One of those trade-ins was the Raven. When I asked; "what are you gonna do with that thing?" He replied; " I don't stock crap like that; if you wanna take it off my hands just gimme 25 bucks"........So I did. Just for grins.... I would never carry it as a defensive gun and I checked my shooting logs and since 1995 I've put 207 rounds through it. I'm almost afraid to fire it anymore after all the stuff I've heard about those things falling apart after several hundred rounds and this thing was used when I got it. Did have to replace the firing pin in the late nineties but Gun Parts Corp. has Raven parts. Recently took it back to the gun shop just for laughs and everyone just had to see it. Couple guys had heard of Ravens but had never seen one. I must be getting old. I can remember when these things were real common. So now I guess it's a real curiosity and conversation piece.

I dont collect old, inexpensive, guns with suspect reps but I do find them fascinating. Almost like slowing down to look at a car crash, with the attendent wow what a mess reaction.

I also have a Raven .25ACP in chrome. Cute gun. Very reliable and accurate for what it is (for me) which is a novelty. In the 70s, the SNS was all you heard about on the nightly news when there was a shooting. The Raven is a very hardy pistol with a fixed barrel which also makes it pretty accurate as well. It is not a light weight gun but it is small in size.

I'm almost afraid to fire it anymore after all the stuff I've heard about those things falling apart after several hundred rounds and this thing was used when I got it.

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The Raven isn't one of those guns that fell apart after a few hundred rounds. If your frame is solid and the barrel is still in good shape it should be good for as many rounds as you wish to put thru it. The frames are pretty solid. There are many good write ups about the Raven in years past if you Google them. It is from the Ring of Fire generation of crappy pistols but the Raven has stood above the rest. It's probably the best of the worst, so-to-speak.

My brother has an affinity for the el cheapos. I recall looking through his collection and seeing an RG, a Cobra derringer, a Jennings that actually pointed very well, a rough-looking Charter Arms Undercover, and a couple others. A friend of mine has one of those Italian .25s, a Tanfoglio I think? I kinda like that little gun.

SNS

I use a titan 25 auto as my tackle box gun. 65 bucks and that included a zippered pouch and two full boxes of shells. No worries if this one falls in the pond or gets muddy. I will just rinse it off and throw a little oil on it and back in the box it goes!

Tanfoglio actually makes a good gun, continuing the CZ line and the EAA Witness as well.

I started my police career in '68, and back then the typical SNS was an old "owl's head" type revolver. Break-top, .32 or .38 S&W, and generally in bad shape.
We were slightly past the era of "zip guns" which had been popular a decade earlier; I never saw one on the street.
Another popular weapon with the criminal element was the sawed-off; most commonly a cheap old break-open 12 gauge single with both butt and barrel cut off.
These became vastly less common right about then due to the '68 Gun Control Act.

Have a few of these. . .

Jennings J-22 around 30 years old, lots of rounds fired. Saftety broke long ago, so it is a range toy now.

Cobra FS-380, 100 bux and came with 3 boxes of ammo.

Accutek AT-380, Got it for about 3 hours work. Hammer broke off after the 9the round fired. Still haven't sent it in to the factory.

IntraTEC Protec 25. Love this one, it shoots and does not jam.

larryh1108: I hope you're right about those Ravens not falling apart after a few hundred rounds. Other than replacing the firing pin once my Raven has been trouble free and always fed & functioned with no problems whatsoever.
It's just that I heard so much negative stuff about them that I guess I had a fear of it falling apart. Mine looks like a clone of yours and is actually a better gun than I thought it would be. Not that I would want it as a carry gun or have to depend on anything in 25 ACP for defensive purposes.

I bought mine used 5 years ago or so. I've put at least 1000 rounds thru it and it has been perfect, literally. The frame is solid, if you look at it. It is a simple design with a fixed barrel. Change the recoil springs and shoot away. The Raven you can shoot. The others are suspect, at best, and aren't built as solidly as the Raven. The .25ACP is a weak round and does not batter the frame like the heavier rounds do if the springs are fresh.

you know that now you have posted that, you are going to light on fire and all those guns will melt....

I'm actually kinda OK with the import ban, helped domestic production, that said, I like early Continental pocket guns, they are NEAT.

I had a Jennings J-22 that lasted for about a year, but I put a LOT of rounds downrange during that time. I ended up giving it to my brother, who promptly dropped in a lake while fishing...probably better off that way.

I also had a Targa .25 that I carried as a last ditch gun on my vest. I shot the heck out of it until the firing pin flew out of it. The gun cost me $35 when I bought it, and I figured it gave me $35 worth of service ofver the couple of years I had it.

I don't collect them, but I have a Jennings J-22 that was given to me by a friend that found it in their attic. I've heard all the negative feedback there is to hear about these lil guns and have decided I must've got really lucky with mine, as it's literally 'unbelievable-accurate', I've made shots with it that just left me scratching my head in wonder while sceptically staring at its 1" barrel (not including chamber which would be 2"). I've also found it to be 100% reliable with CCI ammunition, and 90% reliable with most other types, and I've put thousands upon thousands through this little gun. I've heard from a lot of folks that hate 'em, but mine is a really fun gun and I'll never get rid of it, I shoot it every time I go shootin'