does anyone own a saturday night Special ?

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Just use a file to square up the flamecut area, and put a steel insert in. That's what they did with the high(er) quality Zamak guns. I have had a couple which were built that way...but they were centerfire guns.

I thought about that, but it was eroding away the frame around the barrel extension too.....would only have extended the life of the gun by a hundred shots at most. I still thought about keeping it for an emergency only gun, but ended up using it for trade goods at the gunshow. IIRC, I got an old tasco scope and a milled M1903 top band for it. Think I did pretty good in the trade...lol.

 

[kozak6]

Nah.

A buddy of mine has an HP22. It might jam on every single round in the magazine, and with a different malfunction every time. Failures to feed, extract, and eject, light strikes, stovepipes, double feeds, hammer follow, everything. But that doesn't get the point across. When I say failure to feed, the slide might close on an empty chamber, it might just get hung up partway, or it might even stovepipe and crunch a live round. That's a little concerning for a rimfire!

It had severe accuracy issues as well. It couldn't hit an empty soda can at an arm's toss. It defies comprehension how a pistol can be so bad.

Another buddy briefly owned a Bryco 9mm. It was a much better pistol. The first round in the magazine would accurately fire right to POA, every single time. After that, it might go as many as 5 rounds between malfunctions, compared to the HP22's 2 or 3. It had an additional malfunction type, though. The recoil impulse would sometimes activate the takedown button, and the slide would unhook itself from the frame up firing. That was always worth a laugh.

If you're broke and desperate, you have to take what you can get.

I'm just glad I'm lucky enough to be able to save up for what I want.

 

[kBob]

I do get tired of being told "Saturday Night Special" is a term made up by the antis'

It is a term HIJACKED by the antis that was already around. When I was a kid it was pronounced "sat'day nite special" in a faux southern black voice. So I guess you could say it had racial but not necessarily racist over tones.....I did grow up in a southern majority black community. Having a Sat'day nite special meant you had a gun you could flash if someone wanted to start cutting down at the club to make them take their excessive Y chromosomes elsewhere.

Don't recall seeing a lot of anti's around back then...............

-kBob

 

[WessonOil]

In about 1981 I had an RG 38 Special given to me.
I shot it at a local outdoor range with powder puff wadcutters.
After several cylinders it just stopped working.

 

[farm23]

Not for 50 years. My first pistol was a Spanish 380 that would not go thru a magazine without a failure, so never again. For next 50 years only quality weapons, life is too short to take a chance on cheap. When you look at time owned the most expensive thing to do is to buy less quality.

 

[aarondhgraham]

Yep,,,
I paid 5.00 for it at a garage sale in the mid 60's.



.22 Short only,,,
The front sight fell off immediately,,,
The action stopped turning the cylinder before the first box was finished.

Aarond

.

 

[Hasaf]

My mother has a Jennings 22. She purchased it because it was the cheapest thing available.

She still, sort of, has it. My father had me put it in the Attic at their house. My instructions are to be "unable" to find it if she asks for it. They still have the Pre-Kimber DanWesson in the house; so it isn't a case of completely disarming them.

 

[saiga308]

Not for 50 years. My first pistol was a Spanish 380 that would not go thru a magazine without a failure, so never again. For next 50 years only quality weapons, life is too short to take a chance on cheap. When you look at time owned the most expensive thing to do is to buy less quality.

but they are good toss guns when yah need too

 

[Jim Watson]

A friend worked in a gun store in the 1970s. They had an RG .44 Magnum. I wanted to pass the hat and collect the $129 and shoot it to destruction, but could not get anybody to go in with me on the project.

 

[hdwhit]

If you are using the term as a euphemism for an inexpensive handgun, then, yes, I have an RG-25.

Of all the guns I own and have carried, the RG-25 is the only one I have had to produce for use in a self-defense situation. In both cases, however, when the pistol came out, the bad guy retreated so fast that there was no longer a threat nor a requirement to shoot.

 

[sean m]

Have owned a Cobra derringer, several Jennings J22, and Leniad 410 derringer, Rossi Princess, and several others. Fun range toys.

 

[Sistema1927]

The original term was "N****R Town Saturday Night Special". It was a racist insult, and it shows the racist nature of gun control. If the "uppity n*****s" were able to bear arms they might be able to overthrow the status quo Jim Crow rules that existed to "keep them in their place".

 

[JTHunter]

You might call three of my handguns "SNS" but only one qualifies on size. That would be a Colt Junior in .25 ACP and I can hide it between my two hands. It's overall length is 4.5" (muzzle to beavertail), 3.25" magazine to rear sight, and 1" thick. It had never been fired - until I inherited it. In fact, it was NiB, still in its plastic bag.
Somewhat larger, a very old (~90-95 years) Colt .32 ACP. It's barrel is pretty well shot out so it's only for "show" and short range (5'-25').
Lastly is my 40 y.o. Spanish-made Astra, .380 ACP. It is my CC choice but I rarely carry. Too many restrictions in Illinois.

 

[Charliefrank]

Yes. an RG in .22. Taken off a subject in 1987 who tried to use it against me, and awarded to me by the court when convicted. They did that sometimes back then. One chamber only goes off about half the time because it had been dry fired and made a dimple in the cylinder under the cartridge. That's why I'm still around.

But I must say, I would like to see one of the gun mfg's make a DA .22 small like this. It really is handy in a tackle box or slip in a pocket. S&W used to make small frame .22 and .32's Ladysmiths years ago that were small like this.View attachment 775837

My father had one that looked just like that back in the 60's when I was a kid. He would never let me shoot it, said it wasn't safe.

 

[TTv2]

Jeez, 40 posts in and I'm the first one to say Raven MP-25. The original and the best of all the .25 Ring of Fire pistols. I only shoot FMJ, JHP's are expensive, don't expand, don't penetrate, and probably won't feed well.

Been meaning to get another magazine for it, but I don't shoot it much and have other things ahead of it. I enjoy owning it and looking at it more than anything else.

 

[MedWheeler]

Jeez, 40 posts in and I'm the first one to say Raven MP-25. The original and the best of all the .25 Ring of Fire pistols.

You know, that is weird..

I wanted one for a while a couple of years back. Never found any except at gun shows and, well, we all know how stuff like that gets priced at those things. I was developing a fascination with the caliber (ended up with a Bauer and two Taurus PT25s, but never did get a Raven.)

 

[ray15]

A friend worked in a gun store in the 1970s. They had an RG .44 Magnum. I wanted to pass the hat and collect the $129 and shoot it to destruction, but could not get anybody to go in with me on the project.

Not surprising, the self-preservation instinct being what it is.

 

[theotherwaldo]

I've got about a dozen Saturday Night Specials, some of which go back to the 19th Century. R/Gs, Rubys, Iver Johnsons, Cobras, NEFs, the list goes on and on.
Some I even paid cash for.

 

[ourway77]

I think the term Saturday Night Special was used by the liberals to mean guns that any body can afford Then I guess my Browning 25 is a Saturday night special cause I could afford it

 

[TTv2]

You know, that is weird..

I wanted one for a while a couple of years back. Never found any except at gun shows and, well, we all know how stuff like that gets priced at those things. I was developing a fascination with the caliber (ended up with a Bauer and two Taurus PT25s, but never did get a Raven.)

It's heavier than what a pistol in the caliber should be, but that's due to the design. Carrying it today is dumb, but I think for a stash gun or maybe a woman's purse gun... it could find a role doing those things. I think it's best for a woman simply because the grip is so small and smooth, it's really difficult to hold it in a position where you can draw it and aim in a repeatable manner.

While there's no recoil in the gun, a finger and a half grip is not easy to work with, especially when there's no texture to get any traction. Maybe in the heat of the moment that wouldn't matter?

You'll never get them for a good price at a show or a store, you really have to go through gunbroker. You can get them for $100 (including shipping with this price) and for that price, I can't think of any better pistols as small as the Raven that are as good as the Raven is. Maybe the Cobra derringers in a more appropriate caliber, but that has a lot of drawbacks. You may get lucky and score used LCP's for around $150, but the LCP is not a fun gun to shoot or something that has any charm to owning, which are qualities the Raven's have.

Besides, it's not like they're making Raven's anymore.

 

[d2wing]

I had a few that I picked up here and there. I sold all but one. Then that one was stolen out of my truck one night so I will probably never have one again.

 

[If1HitU]

I own Jennings .32 auto Saturday Night Special.

 

[ChanceMcCall]

Not trying to be "that guy", but my understanding is that the term Saturday night special was a term that originated with the anti-gun left, and that it has some racist connotations. I read that years ago in a gun magazine, which of course doesn't make it true. Anyone else heard this?

According to knowledgable LEOs of the 1950s, the term originally applied to a particular kind of pocket knife frequently carried by recent arrivals to the US via the Rio Grande.

I believe one of the "brands" produced in Mexico was Navaja Estilete which would lock open but in the USA they were just referred to as "toothpicks" and were made by many companies. When I was young these were widely available for very cheap prices compared to a straight razor. Of course, so were switchblade stilettos.

The hype in the late 60s moved the use of the name to guns. One of the guns, that was not cheap, that disappeared because of the Gun Control Act of 1968 was the "Baby" Browning which I already owned and still own.

 

[icanthitabarn]

oh wow how cool chrome a pimp gun for sure View attachment 775839

Thats my gun!.. As to the slow safety, I made Kydex holster and mounted it in a old leather holster. It is nice and allows for a instant firing, with it unlocked and loaded Cept I don't carry it and not sure if I trust whatever sear is holding hammer.

 

[montanaoffroader]