Biggest surprise, biggest disappointment???

[10-Ring]

What handgun was your biggest surprise & which was your biggest dissapointment? You know, something that you saved up for, dreamed about & finally got one to the range just to find out it wasn't all that??? ..or that garage sale purchase you got for $5 and was an absolute tack driver and would have been worth 100's more???

 

[Starter52]

OK, I'll start.

Biggest surprise: A Charter Arms .357 Bulldog that I bought used and cheap 20 years ago. It turned out to be a great little gun.

Biggest disappointment: Mauser HsC .32 automatic. Painful to shoot. Also the Colt Python. Good gun, but it doesn't live up to all the hype. IMO the S&W Mod. 27 is a better gun at half the price.

 

[Lou22]

Fortunately I haven't yet had a major disappointment. Did recently get a nice surprise. I won a bid on a new EAA Windicator .357 snub - got it for $195 including tax. I thought it would be fun to play with at the range.

When I received it through my dealer I thought it looked cheap -had me wondering why I wasted my money. But it turned out to be a great shooter at the range - reasonably accurate, decent double-action pull and mild recoil with full-powered loads. I figure it'll might make a good truck gun - it's inexpensive, you don't care about the appearance, it's built like a tank and functions well.

Lou

 

[Geronimo45]

Surprise - the 1911. After shooting it for the first time, I found out that the recoil wasn't nearly as bad as people seem to think - now, after a hundred rounds, you can get a sore hand. But the recoil wasn't bad at all... the racket it made was, though. Never shot with ear protection before that.

Disappointment - the CZ 70. Not a major disappointment, but it's definitely not CZ's best effort. Some magazine problems when loaded to full capacity, and the firing pin broke recently. Not a bad gun by any means, though. The way the firing pin is set up is very odd - no firing pin spring (per se).

 

[ZeSpectre]

Biggest surprise - CZ-52. It wasn't even on my radar until a friend let me fire his and after one magazine I knew I just had to get one. After I got one I put a new spring and firing pin in it and loved it even more.

Biggest disappointment - Taurus Gaucho SAA. I've had three (I still have the last two). Although they serve me decently well for cowboy action shooting, they have -all- been plagued by one sort of annoying little bug or another and have required a silly amount of my time to tweak them into reliability. If I had to do it over I would have saved up a little more cash and bought Ruger Vaqueros.

 

[Fun2Shoot]

Biggest dissapointment was my nib Ruger P345 45acp. To me it seemed like a great cross of a commander-sized and feel 45acp combined with a poly frame and decocker. Sad to say, it never ran right, even after a trip back to Ruger for repair.

Now, the biggest surprise was a used Bersa Thunder .380. What great little shooter! That little .380 fed & fired every & all ammos and was quite accurate and easy to put on target quickly. Great pocket gun too.

 

[Harry Paget Flashman]

Biggest surprise was the Armscor Model 300 .38 revolver for $159. Well built and fun to shoot.

Biggest disappointment was the KelTec P3AT. The first one had frequent FTF's so I sold it "as is" to a friend cheap. I bought another one (a gen 2) and it was also unreliable. Both were uncomfortable to shoot. I gave that one to a nephew. I really wanted to make this my CCW gun but they didn't work out for me.

 

[RNB65]

Biggest disappointment was definitely a Sig 228. Beautiful gun, 100% reliable, never skipped a beat. I owned it 15 years and never warmed up to it. I just found it boring to shoot. I eventually sold it (for more than I paid for it new) and bought a CZ SP01 which I enjoy shooting much more.

Biggest surprise was my Kahr P9. I figured I'd never be able to hold a tiny little sub-compact with a looooooong DAO trigger pull on targer well enough to hit anything over 10 feet away. It turns out the trigger is so smooth, I have no problem at all with holding it on target. I can't shoot ragged holes with it, but I can certainly hit a BG at 15yds with no problem.

 

[BADUNAME13]

Suprise: CZ452... I let a guy shoot one of my guns, so he insisted I shoot his .22. I was thinking 'Another .22'
After I shot it I asked him where he got it and how much, and then went right there and ordered one.

I LOVE IT!

Disapointment: Kahr PM9
POS gun POS company.

 

[Black Majik]

Of the guns I've owned...

Biggest Surprise: Colt .380 Government stainless. I'm not much of a .380 shooter, but this thing was soft and accurate! I could easily squeeze 2" groups on such a small little pistol. Accurate for its size and reliable.

Biggest disappointment: Colt .380 Government. It was a great shooter, but the craftsmanship as a huge disappointment. It never malfunctioned and was a accurate shooter, but the fit and finish was lackluster at best. Sloppy barrel to bushing fit, unfinished rails. When racking the slide, towards the end of the slide movement there were heavy burrs that made the slide feel gritty against the frame. The slide and frame was filled with tool marks, along with uneven edges. The cheap plastic trigger as horrible, not to mention the trigger pull. It became an eyesore to own and just had to get rid of it.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

Biggest suprises - cz452 Scout, browning hp, colt 1911 (my first pistol) it was used and had been accurized. Everything I'd heard about the 1911 - innacurace, kicks like a mule - all garbage. One of the most accurace/reliable pistols I've ever owned.

Biggest dissappoinemt - ruger redhawk. Waited about 2 years before I could find one - couldn't hold a candle to my model 29. Trigger s/a & d/a sucked. Don't get me wrong - rugers are known for their strength, but not for slick actions.

 

[mmissile]

Suprise.....CZ99

Bummer....S&W Shorty Forty

 

[Trempel]

Biggest dissapointment - Remington 597. Unreliable piece of crap.

Biggest surprise - Glock 17. I used to hate Glocks. Could never shoot them well, and they're ugly as sin. Plus, in CA could never take advantage of capacity. After moving to free America, got the opportunity to buy a G17, cheap. Didn't really want to, but 17-round standard capacity mags and 33-round extended ones. With all that combined, I couldn't resist. By now, after 1500 rounds through it, I'm completelly converted. They're simple, light, have capacity for days and don't have too many external controls to confuse things. They're still ugly, but I found beauty in functionality and reliability.
I'll be buying a G19 to keep my G17 company and to use as colder weather carry.

 

[MikeRussell]

surprise -- CZ75 SP01
I figured being a CZ that it would be a good pistol, but didn't realize how good until I got one. Also didn't realize the potential it had until I started tinkering with it. It's my favorite pistol now, and I'm not exactly a 9mm fan.

disappointment -- Glock 20
It was a good pistol and a 10mm to boot, but not what I expected it to be with all the hype. It wasn't as accurate as I'd been led to believe and it wasn't what I wanted in a pistol.

 

[skeeter1]

Knock on wood, I've yet to be disappointed with any I've purchased.

My handguns have all been fairly expensive (Smiths, Berettas) and there hasn't been a stinker in the bunch. I sold one (Smith M66) to a friend because it was a bit too much for me to a friend and he's going to use it when he goes backpacking where he lives now -- Alaska.

Now that my safe is full, I doubt I'll be chancing buying something I'll be disappointed with.

 

[Legionnaire]

Surprise: Two-inch Ruger SP101 .357 mag. Had been intrigued by the SP101 from discussions here on THR. Found a used one on consignment at my local dealer and picked it up for $250. What a great gun! Handles full power .357s like a champ, is a breeze with .38 specials, carries well IWB with a clipdraw ... quickly became one of my favorites.

Disappointment: Glock 27. Love my Glock 23, and thought I'd like the smaller 27. It was fine gun, and worked great, but I never took a shine to it. It just isn't enough smaller than the 23 to merit consideration (IMHO). Sold it after less than 500 rounds, and don't miss it a bit.

 

[bensdad]

Disappointment: Remington 597. POS. FTFs, FTEs, about as accurate as a slingshot.

Surprise: Federal Ordinance Ranger Lite 1911A1. Rattles like a bag of car keys, has a hick-up once in a while, accuracy is comparable to my Hi-Point and it's ugly. For some mystical reason I love that gun. Got it free from a good friend.

 

[modifiedbrowning]

No disappointments so far.

Surprise, Bersa Thunder 9.
I bought one Thunder 9 Ultracompact because I liked the idea that it was based off the Walther P88. It was such a great little shooter that I bought a Thunder 9 Fullsize. Then I bought a Firestorm Mini-9 (Bersa Thunder UC under a different importer and rounded triggerguard). The Bersas have been completely reliable and I can't complain about a Walther P88 copy for 1/4 the price.

 

[coelacanth]

great thread - thanks

My biggest surprise a Charter Arms Pathfinder revolver in .22 - cheap and butt ugly and shoots CCI Blazer .22's like it was an Olympic target pistol being fed high zoot match fodder. My biggest disappointment was inheriting my Dad's Reminton 700 in .243 Win. because he's getting too old and broke down to shoot it anymore. I guess you'd have to call that bittersweet - yeah, I got a nice rifle but it sucks all the same.

 

[TexasP226]

Surprise: HK USPc. 45. It was one of the 1st guns I ever bought and didn't know much about HK at the time. I have shot it more than any other gun I own and it was my bedside gun for the longest time (recently replaced by a P220, and I may very well go back to the HK).

Disappointment: Browning Hi-Power. Its not a bad gun and it looks great, but I can't hit a darn thing with it and I rarely shoot it anymore.

 

[-terry]

Big Suprise: CZ 75B Stainless. Love the look, the feel, and the accuracy of this gun. Everyone who shoots it loves it.

Bigger surprise, a used Sig P220 (twenty years old at least). Never shot a .45 before and expected all kinds of drama. What I got was a trigger so smooth that you can't even feel it move, the gun just fires. Very accurate, lovely soft decocker, fun to look at. $395.

Nice surprise, the UltraDot MatchDot. My daughter loves it (and the CZ) but she ain't gettin' either one.

 

[Plink]

I tend to be a lemon magnet. If there's one crappy gun in the shipment, I always seem to get it. I ordered a Bersa Mini-Firestorm in .45 ACP (same gun as the Ultra Compact). I had heard they could be hit or miss, so I expected the worst. It turned out to be a real little jewel. Reliable, accurate, easy to shoot, and almost no muzzle flip.

I guess another positive surprise was a Traditions Trapper muzzleloader pistol I built from a kit. I mostly built it as a partner to a similar rifle, but didn't expect much from the gun in the way of accuracy. It turned out to be a tackdriver, easily shooting with my T/C Patriot pistol, and it even has a better trigger.

 

[chris in va]

Disappointment...XD9. I tried to like it, didn't happen. Same goes for the CZ 52, too many sharp edges. Not fun to shoot.

Thoroughly enjoy the ergos on the CZ 75. Just perfect.

Sig 220...mixed bag. I can't shoot it very well but trust it with my life.

 

[Gustav]

Biggest disappointment Auto Ordnance Pitbull that loved splitting the thin barrel bushing.
Biggest surprise an old Smith & Wesson 10 with little blue left on it and worn down grips an absolute jewel to shoot and a tack driver to boot.

 

[Sean85746]

My biggest surprise was a well used and worn Auto Ordinance 1911. I picked it up for $225.00 at my local gun emporium.

I let it sit in the safe for a LONG time.

Then, one day when I was rooting around, I found it again, and went to the range with it, and lo and behold...it shot 2" off sandbags at 25yds.

It was dead nuts at 15yds.

It gobbled up EVERYTHING I stuffed down it's pipe.

So, I put on a beavertail and cleaned up the trigger JUST A BIT. Then gave it to my nephew when he was promoted to Staff Sergeant over a year early in the USMC.

My biggest disappointment...Kimber Ultra Carry II. Didn't feed anything but ball reliably, and the slide stop kept flying out of it.