Guns you thought you’d like but didn’t…

I really wanted to like the SIG XTEN especially since I'm a 10mm and P320 enthusiast. The magazines on this one choked on some of my reloads like HPs and WFNs and despite a front sight change, it generally shot low for me. The magazine issue is common, and it works just fine if all one shoots is factory FMJs. Not for me. The X-grip module felt great in the hand, but sadly down the road it went.
 
I've bought several old Savage/Stevens shotguns off of GunBroker, only to find that they did not shoot to point-of-aim..as in, waaayy off of point-of-aim, useless for anything but point-blank-range defense shots. :mad:
 
Old Dog said:
S&W 640 PD (*** was I thinking?)
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Those scandium 357 magnums are their own special brand of misery.

On a completely different note I recently bought a Ruger LCR in 22 LR and don’t really love it. The DAO trigger isn’t conducive to precision shooting at all.
 
Taurus PT908. This goes back quite a few years when they first came out. It was fairly reliable but the trigger was pretty poor and the blued finish would wear off by looking at it. I traded it for a Kahr and have never looked back.

Browning Hi Power. I know there is a lot of love for these but I've tried them several times and they just don't fit me.

FN FAL. Again, some guys love them. I've only had the opportunity to shoot one a couple of times and didn't find them to be all that.

Ruger American Ranch. This was when I was going through a budget gun phase and had several other makers to compare it with. The action and trigger were decent, but the plastic stock was terrible. Accuracy on the 5.56 model I had wasn't that great either. Nothing I could do, even with match bullets in a handload, could get it to shoot under 1.5 MOA. Back then, I think I paid $350 for that rifle, and now they are approaching $600, hope they improved the barrels.
 
CZ-75
HK45
AR Pistol with a brace. Still like my AR's but didn't care for the pistol.

I don't dislike 1911's, but think they are overrated in the 21st century. I've had several but sold the last one a few years ago. Their time has passed.

Lever action rifles. Once again, I don't dislike them, just overrated. I've kept a couple just for nostalgic purposes but see no practical role for one.

I've owned a bunch of guns over the last 50 years. I used to be a prolific gun trader, so I've let a lot go that didn't fill a role for me. But the ones above are the ones that stand out the most.
 
henry big boy steel 357- beautiful but i couldn't hit with it also the sights had to be drifted all the way to the left. i didn't slug the bore but suspect the bore was oversized.

ruger single ten- beautiful but i never shot it well. i traded it towards a 617 which had it's problems but after getting fixed i much preferred over the single ten.

sig227- the additional 2 rds made the grip blocky for my hand, lucky for me someone wanted a straight up trade with a sig220 which i am much happier with

charter arms undercover- cool little snubby with crimson trace grip, had to file off half the sight to make it go to point of aim
 
#1)
Kel-tec P40.
A delight to carry but brutal on my hands. Sold days later.

#2)
That aluminum framed FEG Walther pp lookalike in 9mm Mak.
All the recoil went right between my index and thumb. One magazine and nope. Moved it on.
 
There's been quite a few over the decades. Surprisingly for me have been some of my Sigs; specifically the P290RS in both 9mm and .380 and my P225.

P290RS small-01.jpg

225.jpg

Two other examples that I really really tried to like but failed totally was my Colt Series 80 and my Dan Wesson Pointman/Patriot.

No images of the Colt but here's the DW.

DWstuff800.gif

The Sigs functioned and were reliable but the P290RS stung my finger on each shot and the P225 simply never felt right in hand even though my P226 and SigPro 2009 were delightful. The two 1911s though were simply unreliable.
 
A Ruger Blackhawk (wearing my flame retardant clothing) in 44 mag comes to mind. The top of the frame under the hammer would cut the web of my hand between the thumb and trigger finger and the trigger guard would smack my fingers hard enough to make them numb. (but not numb enough)
 
lightman said:
A Ruger Blackhawk (wearing my flame retardant clothing) in 44 mag comes to mind. The top of the frame under the hammer would cut the web of my hand between the thumb and trigger finger and the trigger guard would smack my fingers hard enough to make them numb. (but not numb enough)
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My experience with that gun was the same. Even with .44spl.
 
Legionnaire said:
1911s. Thought everybody should have one. I've had several at this point and the platform just doesn't work for me. I find that double-stack Glocks fill my hand and point better. Nothing wrong with 1911s; I'm just not a fan.

Lever guns. Again, I've owned multiple Marlins in .30-30, .44 mag, and .357 mag. I still think they look cool. I had a very slick 1894 in .357 that looked and functioned beautifully. But much as I want to like lever actions, I've proven over and over to myself I really don't. So no 1911s or levers in the safe.
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Wow, I could just copy and paste this response.

I still have a single 1911 and my Marlin 1894c (.357) but never shoot them. I could certainly make a buck if I sold them. I've calculated the appreciation on my guns and I think that Dan Wesson PM-7 is one of the highest. I bought it for $570 in 2004 and now they sell for a lot more.
 
lightman said:
A Ruger Blackhawk (wearing my flame retardant clothing) in 44 mag comes to mind. The top of the frame under the hammer would cut the web of my hand between the thumb and trigger finger and the trigger guard would smack my fingers hard enough to make them numb. (but not numb enough)
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That was my experience, too, but I couldn't bring myself to trade the gun. So I converted it to a Bisley. My Bisley looks a little "different" because it still has the fluted cylinder of the standard SBH. The grip made a huge difference. It usually gets shot with lighter loads these days, but even with full power magnums, the Bisley grip is much more comfortable.

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USP 45 and FNX 45.

I picked up the USP many years ago on one of those deals you can't pass up. But I found the double stacked .45 was just a bit large and never fell in love with the trigger. And I shot it like crap and finally let it go. Many years later, and after I became a better shot with a handgun I thought "maybe that USP wasn't that bad". Eventually a good deal on an FNX 45 came up and I figured it was a pretty similar gun. And it was. Same ergos that just didn't work for me, a trigger I didn't love. I shot this one OK but I just never "loved" shooting it, so I sold it 6 months later.

Although I did always like the paddle style magazine release on the USP. I kind of wish all pistols were like that.
 
I once bought a Coonan .357 thinking it would be a good Personal Protection Gun. However, the grip is too long for my pudgy vienna sausage fingers that I couldn't shoot it well at all. Had to get rid of it.
 
I bought a Remington R51 9mm, the "improved" one. It got off to a bad start and the improvements claimed to solve the problems it had. The R51 looks great and felt good in my hand. I really wanted it to work. So, I take the new pistol to my friend's country place and try it out. Couldn't hit squat with it. I'm not a good pistol shooter, owing to my genetic tremor, so I kept trying to no avail.. asked my buddy to shoot it. Even though he is a much better pistol shooter than I am, he didn't fair much better. Frustrated and having my sling shot in the car, I tried it and found that I hit better with the sling shot!!! Sold the R51 the next week. and was glad to be rid of it.
 
KelTec Sub 2000 here. I had to have one when they were all the rage. I got one, and I found it to be flimsy in the grip, with not enough screws keeping the two halves together. It never would eject the last casing, it stove piped nearly ever single time, even after doing the KTOGs fluff and buff suggestions. Shame, because I thought it was pretty nifty.
 
Man, there are a bunch that I haven’t been happy with. YMMY:

Rifles:
AK series rifles. They look so cool, but the ones I have fired have all been too small for me to shoot.

.338 Win Mag in a Browning A-Bolt. Brutal recoil impulse with this combo sent it down the road fast.

Browning Auto-22. I recently bought one after wanting one for decades. Now that I have it? I am so-so on it.

Shotguns:
Any SxS. The design punches me in the beak with every shot.

Revolvers:
The S&W 317. It is not an easy revolver to shoot well. The packability factor allllmost cancels that out, but it’s still not as cool as I thought it could be.

SRH in .454 Casull. Wicked fast, heavy recoil with full house loads are not fun.

S&W 642/442. (I have one of each) Ultralights are no fun to shoot. Even wadcutter target loads rap my middle finger knuckle with every shot. I keep them around, but shooting a box through one is No bueno.

Autos:
S&W 5906 Bad trigger, sharp edges, boat anchor heavy, mine jammed at a critical moment during a final qualifier so I had no faith in it ftom then on.

H&K USP 45. Mushy trigger, vague sights, just not worthy of the hype it received.

Walther PPK/s. Love the PPK/James Bond mystique. Sharp edges, snappy recoil, microscopic sights. Mine jammed with any JHP, then started doubling on me. Adios, sucka!

Glock 26. Just too stubby and plump to fit my hands well.

Stay safe.
 
I have two, the first might be spicy to some.

Browning Hi Power. Heaven in my hands but gives my high grip slide AND hammer bite, it’s awful heavy for what it does and recoils surprisingly more than one would expect with a heavy 9mm. Indifferent at best trigger and the slide stop/take down assembly (? Pin? Thing?) always caught my thumb on a thumbs forward grip and savaged my thumbnail (mostly annoying).

Let’s see. Oh yes, my particular model hated 147 grain ammo, couldn’t group for crap with it and was ok to good with 124 grain. Probably the gun I have been least sad to see go, despite a boatload of rounds down range and a few years of carry.

Second is my Wilson EDC X9. Wonderful gun, shoots great, carries well, it’s great.

But it’s not … GREAT. It doesn’t really feel like a 1911 and it doesn’t really actually shoot any better than a much lighter Glock 19 in any practical drills, in my hands.

I find that when I want to shoot or carry a SAO, I reach for a proper 1911 and often kinda wish I had just gotten a .45 1911 Wilson CQB instead.
 
Riomouse911 said:
S&W 5906 Bad trigger, sharp edges, boat anchor heavy, mine jammed at a critical moment during a final qualifier so I had no faith in it ftom then on.
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I’ll add poor accuracy.

And the safety. My 6906 had the ambidextrous safety which was attached with a Phillips head screw. Even lock-tight couldn’t keep it from coming loose and catching on the grip, resulting in a jam.
 
Riomouse911 said:
Man, there are a bunch that I haven’t been happy with. YMMY:

Rifles:
AK series rifles. They look so cool, but the ones I have fired have all been too small for me to shoot.

.338 Win Mag in a Browning A-Bolt. Brutal recoil impulse with this combo sent it down the road fast.

Browning Auto-22. I recently bought one after wanting one for decades. Now that I have it? I am so-so on it.

Shotguns:
Any SxS. The design punches me in the beak with every shot.

Revolvers:
The S&W 317. It is not an easy revolver to shoot well. The packability factor allllmost cancels that out, but it’s still not as cool as I thought it could be.

SRH in .454 Casull. Wicked fast, heavy recoil with full house loads are not fun.

S&W 642/442. (I have one of each) Ultralights are no fun to shoot. Even wadcutter target loads rap my middle finger knuckle with every shot. I keep them around, but shooting a box through one is No bueno.

Autos:
S&W 5906 Bad trigger, sharp edges, boat anchor heavy, mine jammed at a critical moment during a final qualifier so I had no faith in it ftom then on.

H&K USP 45. Mushy trigger, vague sights, just not worthy of the hype it received.

Walther PPK/s. Love the PPK/James Bond mystique. Sharp edges, snappy recoil, microscopic sights. Mine jammed with any JHP, then started doubling on me. Adios, sucka!

Glock 26. Just too stubby and plump to fit my hands well.

Stay safe.
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Dang it man, are you my clone? I agree on everyone of these, except strangely, the 5906. I've experienced every one of those negative aspects you mention except the jamming, but doggone if I don't still have great fondness for that boat anchor (and I have no idea why, I just like it).
 
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