Have you ever owned a "pretty" gun that just didn't shoot right?

[JDR]

I had a CZ 75B DuoTone .40 S&W that was one of the nicest looking guns that I've ever seen. This gun choked on just about every type of ammo I tried with it. I would like to find a 9mm DuoTone 75B, but I can't find one.

 

[bikemutt]

Yup, had a Sig 1911 target that I could not figure out, I hope the new owner has it figured out. No failures, just no bull's eyes, for me.

 

[Kiln]

Walther P22. Looked nice but in this case, function followed form, big time.

 

[silicosys4]

I have a sig 1911 nitron rail thats back at the factory right now for ftf issues, its a pretty gun.

 

[orionengnr]

Yes, but in general terms, the higher-priced guns that came with built-in trouble were easier to get fixed (and more likely to be fixed by the manufacturer, whether bought new or used) than the actual POS handguns (cough cough Rossi, Kel-Tec x 4).

 

[AK103K]

Kimber Ultra Carry



Cute as hell, but I dont remember it ever making it through a mag without a stoppage.

The follower in the factory mag was also wearing a nice groove in the feed ramp, until I finally swapped them out for a Wilson plastic followers.

Ill take ugly and reliable over cute any day.

 

[Teachu2]

Handgun, no. Never owned a "pretty" one. I've owned some "pretty" rifles that took a fair bit of "tuning" to shoot straight, though.

 

[Twiki357]

I sure have. A Beretta Stampede in 357 Mag. Very inaccurate and once the hammer is cocked it won’t release other than by firing it. Not good when an RO calls a cease fire. Oh, and Beretta wants $75 to see what’s wrong with it.

 

[heycods]

Ruger P85, POS till I found out it liked 147gr loads, problem solved.

 

[bannockburn]

No because my pretty gun (nickel plated Colt Combat Commander), shoots as great as it looks.

 

[anothernewb]

Had a argentine hi Power. I couldn't hit a barrel from the inside, everyone else that tried it pretty much shot the black out of a target.

 

[ArthurDent]

I've had TWO very pretty handguns that just did not work. I bought them both used, and in both cases the factory made everything right!

The first gun was was a Seecamp 32. It is a magnificent piece of equipment, and can be somewhat rare. I found mine used at a local shop and jumped at the opportunity. Unfortunately the previous owner had badly "bubba'd" the insides and it was incapable of working at all.

I called the factory and Mr. Seecamp answered the phone himself!!! He was very cordial and restored the pistol to like-new condition at no charge!

The service from Seecamp was fantastic! I cannot say enough good things about them!


The second gun was a gorgeous, stainless steel 1911 made by Springfield. I bought it in 2011 as a 100-year tribute. Same deal. It also was a beautiful piece in a used shop that immediately failed to work at all despite my best in-shop inspections.

After [thread=634558]several failed attempts to try simple fixes[/thread], I sent it back to the factory. The shop helped me out by shipping it back to Springfield without charging for the FFL transfer. Springfield fixed it to perfection for free.

The gun has worked flawlessly since then.

Sometimes stories DO have happy endings!

 

[loose noose]

Had a highly engraved nickel plated Llama in .380, man that was a beautiful and very accurate little handgun. Until one day out at the range after a couple of magazines had flawlessly went thru it, it stopped firing.

Took the gun home and checked it out, discovering the firing pin had broken. Went ahead and ordered a new firing pin thru Numerich. After a couple weeks, received the new firing pin and after installing it, noted the pin to be too long. Removed it and refitted it, re-installed, and took it out to the range, and noted it was piercing the primers. Took the gun home again and did a very light filing on the firing pin, took it out again and noted the thing would fire when it wanted to.

Needles to say I sold it to a mutual friend for little of nothing, who happened to be a very accomplished gunsmith, after having it for several months, he described the gun as a very beautiful p.o.s. that he couldn't get to fire consistently either. Such is life, as they say.

 

[torqem]

Doesn't sound like he was all THAT "experienced". I once had a MK 4 gold cup that couldn't be trusted to feed ball ammo, until I built up the mag catch 'shelf" with the tig welder.

 

[SDGlock23]

Kimber Eclipse II 10mm.

Very handsome looking gun, wouldn't function hardly at all and wouldn't group worth a darn. I worked out the kinks and got it functioning pretty good, but the accuracy was never there.

 

[Jitterbug]

Kimber Compact CDP II, after 3 trips to the factory, the last for a cracked frame and it still doesn't run right...over $1500 currently invested in this paperweight.

Looks nice though, and ya gotta love their ads.

 

[meterman]

A couple of like-new Walther P1s, and a new Ruger Vaquero stainless .357. Didn't screw around with them...just dumped them.

 

[MMCSRET]

A Lew Horton exclusive from 1985; S&W Model 624, TH, TT, TS, RB, 3". Absolutely the most gorgeous revolver I've ever owned. Wouldn't shoot for sour owl snot. I tried every load I had ever developed for my other 44 Specials, it failed to perform with all of them. I paid 5 times as much for it as I did my Taurus Model 441; the Taurus out shoots the Smiff, 5 to one. The only saving grace was that I made money on it when I sold it.