Factory Imperfections

[schmeky]

Was wondering if anyone else has had them and how you felt about them. I've experienced several through the years and although these p_ss me off, for the most part, unless they were glaring or caused function problems, I shrugged it off.

Colt Series 80, .38 Super - Rear of slide and frame mis-matched, ejector sticking out
Colt Series 70 Commander 9mm - very, very gritty trigger when cocked
Colt XSE .45 Commander - light scratches on the slide
Rock Island .38 Super - frame scratched up from the 2 fired cases in the box
Witness Elite Match .45 - deep scratch on the rear of the slide
Bernardelli PO-18 - defective trigger, would not release the sear (sent it back)
CZ-SP-01 - matte areas on the frame in certain spots

 

[bannockburn]

schmeky

I've had a few, including a 1966 Browning Hi-Power, that while it looked spectacular with its polished blued finish and checkered walnut stocks, was an absolute clunker when it came time to actually perform. The whole slide to frame fit was very loose, and you could actually hear the barrel rattle inside the slide if you moved the gun around a little bit. The thumb safety required a plastic mallet to move it up and down, and the trigger was off the scale at somewhere in the range of 14 to 16 pounds. I never did have any idea as to its accuracy potential only because I never could get any sort of grouping together on a target worth measuring. I think I would have gladly traded off some cosmetic imperfections in return for a more functional gun.

 

[G. Freeman]

I've had lots of them. Whenever I buy a gun, it's just one of those things that may happen, so I always keep my fingers crossed. Even close inspection in the gunshop was no guarantee that the gun would be perfect. Once you come home and field strip the gun and take your time, you start to see things.

Few examples of brand-new guns I bought in past 18 years:

Ruger P95 -- badly eroded barrel leade

Colt Enhanced ser. 80 -- ejector pin poked cleanly though the frame and stuck out in the mag well.

Another Colt: barrel had nasty machine marks inside bore.

2 springfield milspecs: slide was slightly bowed out at the ejection port

S&W 945: improperly fit barrel, rust under grips, grip screws stripped at factory

S&W 625: locks up when shooting 45 AR

Multiple 1911's: feed probs, sights flying off, leaning hammers, loose plunger tubes, etc.

This is just a very small list of what I've encountered. I sold off more than half of my collection in the last 3 years and just own 15 guns. I'm happier for it but still think I should lower my collection to a dozen guns which is very hard to do since I love guns so much. They also give me a huge headache at times.