Biggest handgun disappointment.

[spoonman72]

I'm glad to see the ugly duckling,HP firearms haven't made the list haha... a gun so many put down on a regular basis just because there high end gun can't keep up with the over weighted life time warranty still firing after a beating 150 dollar hp lol ... i'm sure someone will now say how horrible there's was but i'd just like to say at least they made it 6 pages strong.. lol hk,glock,ruger,ccw and others didn't make it that far lol

 

[marineman]

That's a negative. The Glock 37 in .45GAP is an excellent weapon. The only downside is that the .45GAP has not caught on. As far as accuracy, controllability, reliability, and ergonomics, the Glock 37 is almost unmatched.

 

[RNB65]

Kahr P9.

Bought it NIB. 3 weeks and 500 rounds later, sent it back to Kahr because it was a real jam-o-matic. They fixed it and I still use it for CCW, but I'll never buy another one.

 

[benenglish]

It's tough to choose just one.

First, an honorable mention. My 4" Smith & Wesson M29 disappointed me in that it didn't stand up to continued use. In short order, it went from new to having cylinder end shake, lots of rattles, and the little plastic insert in the front sight departed for parts unknown. I shot it from rollover prone with my left forearm at about 90 degrees to the boreline and it spat enough bullet shavings out of the cylinder gap to leave my arm covered in blood after 20 rounds or so. Of course, this was back in the late 1970s when Smith wasn't known for ultimate durability and I was shooting full power, heavy bullet loads in high volume while competing in silhouette matches. But still...

But the winner is my Kahr K9. What. A. Piece. Of. Crap.

I have an early production piece. I accepted the jiggly front sight as the smooth trigger and nice function gave me reasonable confidence. Then, about 500 rounds in, the recoil spring jumped off the guide rod during recoil, stopping the slide about a half-inch out of battery. Emails to the factory were returned with instructions about how to retract the slide, remove the slide stop, then pull the trigger as the slide went forward to disassemble the gun.

Any pistol designed such that this can happen is fatally flawed. But did I learn my lesson? Oh, no. I reassembled the gun and went back to the range. Insert loaded mag, hit the slide stop to release the slide and it stops, again. This time, there's a round in the chamber and I can't eject it. I go home, attempt the previous repair, but can't get the thing disassembled, so I put the slide stop back in, intending to forget it for the night. Then I tried one last time to move the slide forward by pulling the trigger as I pointed the loaded gun in a safe direction.

If you know Kahrs, you can guess what happened. I had put the slide stop back in out of alignment. The slide went forward to a point about a quarter-inch out of battery where it is now locked tight. My research has thus far told me that I must send the pistol back to Kahr for disassembly and repair. And there's still a round in the chamber.

Any pistol that can be reassembled in a way that renders it completely inoperative and impossible to fix by simply disassembling and reassembling correctly possesses an unforgivable design flaw.

That round in the chamber? It's been there for years. It may just stay there until my heirs deal with it.

If anybody knows any tricks for dealing with this (or a gunsmith near Houston who can and also won't laugh at me), I'd be appreciative.

 

[Confederate]

A Taurus 66 stainless .357. It was beautiful. It was polished, it had counterbored chambers and felt great in the hand. Wouldn't hit the broad side of a barn. I took some 125 JHPs and dropped them through the chambers and they all fell right through. I think Taurus just drilled six holes in the damn thing! There didn't seem to be any taper whatsoever.

Gave it to my girlfriend at the time for protection. It was good enough for across the room accuracy with semi-wadcutter .38s.

Real POS. Oh, and a Virginia Dragoon by Interarms. On the second shot the hammer shattered like ice. Interarms fixed it and it was fine. Still, I thought no transfer bar was a bit backward. If you loaded it with six shots, you had to push the center post in to block the hammer. When you were ready to shoot, you had to ease the centerpost out and lock it in shooting position.

 

[crzbiker]

Flashman,
I had the same problem with a Ruger Blackhawk that I bought about 1962(?). I used to carry a sewing machine screwdriver to tighten it back up after almost every full cylinder. I was told later that Ruger tried to stop this with an insert made of nylon. Wonder if it worked.

 

[foghornl]

Had a couple....

One of the snubby RG double-action revolvers in .22LR (Don't remember the model number) Could not hit a 9" paper plate beyond 2 yds....yes 6 feet away.

F.I.E. knockoff of the Colt SAA in .22LR/.22Mag. Sent more lead sideways than downrange. IIRC, the model was called a Buffalo Scout

 

[bigmike45]

This is going to seem impossible, but I had a Kimber TLE 2 that shot 12" high at 25yards, from a bench, ransom rest or several other fixtures and I shot 8 different brands & styles of ammunition through it. I even had 4 other 1911 shooters shoot the darn thing. I finally sent it back to Kimber twice and they changed sights both times and finally got it to shoot only 9" high. It became trade fodder.

bigmike45

 

[Z-Michigan]

Worst - Steyr M9. And not really that bad, just don't like that it flings empties into my eyeglasses once it's dirty. Otherwise pretty decent.

I'm going to defend some pistols here:
-Springfield 1911 "mil-spec" - have one, runs totally reliable with ball ammo. Don't carry so haven't tried hp's. I decided I don't really like the 1911 ergos that well, but it runs just fine and seems well made.
-Ruger revolvers - have three (SP101, GP100, single six). All are 100% reliable, very well made, and have better than decent triggers.
-Ruger autos - P89, P94, P95. All totally reliable, recoil is quite manageable, really like the style of mag release. For those complaining about the trigger, you can make it two times better just by carefully and lightly oiling all joints in the mechanism with FP-10, or probably any good brand of gun oil. I have done that and the pull is much smoother and somewhat lighter in both SA and DA modes.

I'm not real inclined to buy a Taurus or a P22 after reading this. And I'm not surprised about the P22 given my not so great experience with the Walther G22 bullpup.

 

[hemiram]

Revolver:

My first gun, a Taurus Model 83n (nickel). Bought brand new. It looked great. The nickel plating was done very well, better than other Taurus models I had seen before I bought my gun.
Timing was horribly off, front of cylinder wasn't parallel, action would jam after about 6 shots, and the rifling was so bad, I could have done better with a file. I quickly bought a Dan Wesson Model 15-2 and then a S&W 28, both great guns.

Semiauto:

Colt Commander .45ACP. Jamtastic! Tolerances way off, sent off to Colt, came back, still not able to go though one mag without jamming. Slide bound up before Colt worked on it, but it rattled after it came back. I don't remember what it cost after all these years, but it, and the AMT 1911 I had before it turned me off to 45ACP's for a long time. I don't like the grip on a 1911 anyway, so it wasn't a big loss.

 

[Big Daddy Grim]

Walther P22 had it a week and the sucker quit shooting got it back 6 weeks later from the company and it still don't shoot right.:banghead:

 

[nelson133]

I specifically asked the gun shop clerk for the "good guy handgun", but mine won't shoot around corners, won't shoot accurately through walls or glass or other obstructions, requires periodic reloading, and won't hit reliably at 500 yards.

 

[Slappy McGee]

I had a colt "government" .380. Real neat little gun that looked like a 1911 that had been left in the dryer too long. Below the surface, the recoil spring looked like it came from a toy, and the blued finish started rusting almost immediately unless slathered with lots of oil. Sold it at a profit.

I handed an M&P in .40 that was a range gun and it had 2-4 FTE's each magazine and almost totally soured me to the M&P. I tried one in 9mm and it was fine, and the one I purchased has been flawless for about 2K rounds.

 

[leadcounsel]

My first semi-auto a Beretta 92fs. Too frequent fail to eject. Probably bad magazines or worn spring.

My second semi-auto handgun - Taurus PT140 when they first came out. I looked at it as an affordable Glock 27. FT feed and fire regularly.

I thought it was me.

It wasn't. Years later I've determined it was the guns. I traded up on both of them.

Honorable Mention: Keltec P3AT. So many problems I sent it to KT and they replaced it. Works fine now, so really just a big inconvenience.

Conversely, my biggest surprises have been my CZ 75s (several) and my Glocks (several). I absolutely love them. And both of my Ruger revolvers were 2nd hand and are flawless.

 

[mister2]

Only in the beginning....

Very new and very foolish, I bought a Para P14.45 with all the bells and whistles, but with a very poor trigger and (probably due to) the heaviest combination of main and return springs in a 1911. And it came with fiber optic sights that scratched and cut everytime I racked the slide. Since it was an internet buy, I decided to keep it and fix it, which eventually came with time. It shoots as good as any 1911 now. Also removed superfluous magwell and +2 baseplates. Maybe IF I get serious about competing. An even bigger WHEN?

CDNN had FNHPs for less than $400, remember them? Horrible trigger due to mag disconnect. I kept checking the safety to make sure I hadn't left it on. It was that difficult. Didn't help that the mags supplied were parked. Tried everything to keep the disconnector in, eventually I got so mad at the gun and whacked the stubborn trigger pin REALLY hard. It moved! Shoots as good as any other BHP w/o disconnector now.

 

[ATAShooter]

Glock 36 for handguns - Jams

Perazzi MX-15 for long guns - $10,000 and Hated it.

 

[mndfusion]

I nvr bought one that I can complain about...

but my buddies walther p22 really sucked...it failed in everyway when i was shooting it.

 

[BlindJustice]

I'll add a S&W 686P 4" Bbl. - the 7 shooter.... there's not a darn thing wrong with it, others shoot it, and it's a good shooter for them just not for
me. It has Guy Hogue Compact size finger groove/checkered grips in Rosewood along with a Milt Sparks #200AW Llined w/basket weave Cordovan holster FBI Cant, carries well, and clears leather quick, it just isn't
working for ME. I think the slow buring magnum powder is better used in a
6"+ barrel so perhaps I'll look for a 4" 696 .44 Special that will fit the rig.
Trade the 686P for a 27 with the longer tube and greater N-frame weight

I have no problem hitting the 10 ring with my 625 617 and like the little model 60 3" Bbl. with + P .38 SPecial but it still doesn't get shot a lot
but it's a handy one, to grab for traveling light the 686P is the same weight
as my S&W 1911 but I have so much more confidence and familiar time with the 1911 - same gun I carried on Watch in the USN. My first gun as a teen I bought was a Model 18 so I know Revolvers.

My disappointment isn't in the quality of what I bought or getting a lemon.
R-

 

[silent knight]

think the worst gun on the planet by far is anything made by Glock. I hear all the hype about what great guns they are but I have never found a good one yet. They are worthless beyond about 7 yards. I've never seen one hold better than an 8 to 10 inch pattern beyond that distance. They jamb every 4 or 5 rounds (at least once every magazine full). They come all to pieces after about 2000 rounds. I've owned 3 different ones and traded each one off. I have never liked the feel of a Glock. They just don't sit well in a big hand. The angle of the grip feels wrong and I just can't get used to that feeling.

Wow.. of all the guns i've shot Glocks the only one that gave me no problems. A buddy of mine whos LAPD trusts his life with his Glock.

 

[CZ223]

springfield XD40.

 

[texagun]

springfield XD40.

I don't own one but have considered one. Would you expound on why it was a disappointment?

 

[bigmedicine]

The only danger to anyone from my Kimber TLE II would have been if I would have thrown it at them. The thing never operated correctly and the problems got worse for each of the 3 trips back to the factory. Thankfully, I found someone who thougth that they wanted to invest the $$ to fix it correctly and we did business.

 

[baker437]

colt cobra. no new parts and you have to send off for any repairs.

 

[rino451]

Beretta PX-4. Not that it didn't work or shoot, but for the $ it felt cheap and didn't do anything that any other pistol (G17 inclided) couldn't do as well or better. Couldn't find mags, holsters, or the alleged interchangeable backstraps for it. HATE the slidemounted, decocker safety.

 

[tattedupboy]

Not sure if this counts as a handgun (a Cobray Mac 10 assault pistol chambered in .45 ACP), but the damned thing just would not ever fire 2 rounds in succession. Even after a 500 round break in period and feeding some of everything I could find, including FMJ (the non expanding variety), still the same thing. Needless to say, I do not have that gun anymore.