High(er) end or Brand name firearm disappointments.

[jmorris]

Would need a definition of “high end” I suppose. Heck, glocks cost more than some of those mentioned in this thread but I never considered them “high end”. If people don’t mess them up with “improvements” they are up there on the list of reliable pistols.

 

[Pistolay]

My SCCY CPX-3 has been far more reliable than my Glock 42 ever was.

 

[Meeks36]

My SCCY CPX-3 has been far more reliable than my Glock 42 ever was.

Have you sent the glock back?

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

S&W M41- jammed constantly, pinched knuckles
Colt 1908 Pocket Hammerless- jammed constantly
Walther PPK- jammed constantly
Walther P1- terrible trigger, inaccurate
Star Firestar- inaccurate
Springfield Armory 1911- jamming
Beretta Tomcat- frame cracked
S&W 22A- jamming
Charter Arms AR7- jamming
Rossi Princess- frame erosion
Colt Trooper MK3- broken trigger
Ruger Mini-30- inaccurate

Just the ones off the top of my head, lol.

As far as guns that earn their price tag, I would say vintage Smith and Wesson Revolvers are usually worth it, as are Dan Wessons. Colts are hit or miss depending on what point in Colts endless bankruptcy cycle they were produced in. I like my Luger well enough for what I paid.

The one crazy $$ pistol I have is a P7, and for me it was worth every penny. YMMV, of course.

 

[BigBore44]

I think we need to define what a “high end” gun is. Are we talking Purdey, Caesar Guerini, etc? Or are we talking about just more expensive factory firearms?

I don’t own any high end firearms by my definition. But I have been pleased with my nicer factory rifles.

 

[Pistolay]

Have you sent the glock back?

I gave up on it a year ago, after about 4000 rounds. But yes, it did go back once. They replaced several parts, and when I got it back, it was better, but still couldn't go a hundred rounds without a couple of malfunctions.

 

[Obturation]

I gave up on it a year ago, after about 4000 rounds. But yes, it did go back once. They replaced several parts, and when I got it back, it was better, but still couldn't go a hundred rounds without a couple of malfunctions.

Luck of the draw I guess. My g42 is an early one when they were still chopping chunks off the magazine's at the factory and all that. Probably 1000 rds down range , never one single hiccup and it's even had a swim or two in the ocean, didn't bother it at all.

 

[Vern56]

Well, I bought a Colt Combat Unit 1911 pistol unseen. .45acp. Took it out of the case and the whole thing rattles. Slide, mag well, grip safety. Sounds like a maraca.
Very disappointed. Spent 1300.! Thought the guy who put it together must have been drunk.
Then I took it to the range and expected the worst.
To my surprise the trigger was amazing. On par with a Les Baer I have. The barrel had NO play. Fit perfect.
No malfunctions with anything. Reload target loads were in 1 hole. That SOB could shoot.
Whoever put it together was a genius.

 

[Steve S.]

You can find problems at all price points and brands - you can find quality at all price points and brands. You buy what you like, you spend what you like, you owe no one an explanation nor does anyone care about how you rationalize your purchases/ ownership.

 

[bihj]

Ruger Mini-30. Three times back to the mother ship and I still felt lucky if it keep more than two shots on a 24 x 36 inch target at 50 yards. Ruger said "It meets our accuracy standards for that rifle". No more Rugers for me.

 

[commygun]

Everybody makes a lemon now and then. I’ve had a Beretta, a Star, a CZ, a S&W, two AMTs, and a Winchester that all had mechanical faults right out of the new box. In every instance the manufacturer (or my crude persistence) made lemonade out of them. Not ideal, but I was pleased to get them back reliable. Guns really are a crapshoot and I learned to temper my expectations and assume nothing as given, regardless of the price tag.
And don’t even ask about the two Jennings, the Lorcin, and the Protec (I had a phase of curiosity about cheap guns).

 

[bearcreek]

nor does anyone care about how you rationalize your purchases/ ownership.

I'm not so sure about that. There'd be a whole lot fewer posts on internet gun forums if that were true.

 

[Erief0g]

If I had the time on this little phone keyboard to detail the entire jamomatic send it to factory, get it back jamomatic, call call call send it back without authorization, social media, emails to their top people, FINALLY get a response that it appears they machined the lower wrong... replaced.

Stag arms 9mm ar.

Once it was fixed and functioning i sold it happily for a loss.

That was five or six years ago... I think I'm still pissed

 

[Old Sandman 71]

Shortly after Sandy Hook and fearing the worst, I went to a LGS hunting for an AR before they were banned. I came to my senses and bought a Browning Miroku 1885 low wall in 22-250 and topped it with a Leupold VX-2 scope instead. Beautiful gun.
I broke in the barrel correctly, tried top of the line factory ammo, spent a year working through different load combos and finally sold the thing after a trip to the range with an early Winchester M1 carbine that shot consistently smaller groups at 100yds with iron sights than that expensive, gorgeous Low Wall with a scope.
(I’ve won quite a few medals at Camp Perry over the years with that carbine too)

 

[bdickens]

That surprises me.

The earlier "p" series was OK, but more modern ones use very small pins & tension springs. If you take one apart you will see what I mean. Bring your magnifying glass & tweezers.

I see absolutely no reason to ever take anything down further than field stripping unless you have to fix something.

 

[tarosean]

I think we need to define what a “high end” gun is. Are we talking Purdey, Caesar Guerini, etc? Or are we talking about just more expensive factory firearms?

I don’t own any high end firearms by my definition. But I have been pleased with my nicer factory rifles.

Was my question too.

Just about everything named in the thread has been mass-produced on an assembly line. I dont consider that high end.

 

[BigBore44]

Was my question too.

Just about everything named in the thread has been mass-produced on an assembly line. I dont consider that high end.


View attachment 977304

See? Like....No. I just can’t. That’s almost half my house!

 

[tarosean]

See? Like....No. I just can’t. That’s almost half my house!

Neither can I. esp. since I didnt win that huge Mega Millions jackpot some weeks back.

Just found it laughable that people are calling Colt, S&W, Ruger, Glock,, etc. "high end". At that point what is low end?

 

[halfmoonclip]

Had a SIG MPX 9mm carbine that wouldn't run 100% even after a trip to the mothership; really liked the gun. And they have a great rep.
I've had some Smiths with out of spec chambers (fixed with their wonderful CS), and a PPK that never would run 100 straight...but that was their rep.
It comes down to reputation, and the individual gun. One of those 'trust but verify' things.
Moon

 

[Dirk Pitt]

Well ill probably get flamed.... but I was a bit disappointed in my Kimber 1911

Just change one thing instead of a Kimber mine would be a Glock 17 ! I bought a Glock when they very first came out, I have a Gen 1? Before there were Gens! Anyway it was a total jamomatic! Could not get through one mag without multiple malfunctions, regardless of ammo or mag. I was really pissed. I had saved up my pennies to get that new gun with all the hype about it. I did some examination and the bolt face was extremely rough, and no I did not send it in. The next line usually ends in disaster but I got my dremel out and used jewelers rouge and polished the bolt face. That fixed it, and ever since it has been 100% reliable. I still have it and use it all the time.

 

[Old Dog]

I'm still trying to figure out what the OP intended this thread to be about... Is this simply a thread in which to bash all the popular, big-name brand guns that we have decided we don't like? Or a brand we have decided we hate because we picked up one bad example?

If so, I'll throw Ruger and HK under the bus; I like pretty much everything else (including Colt, Kimber and Taurus, so there). But I still own Rugers and HKs.

Otherwise, who really cares? Because every major manufacturer puts out some lemons, either specific models, or production runs. And every company has gone through cycles in which their customer service has not performed up to the level we'd wanted...

Guns, like every other consumer product, are viewed through intensely subjective prisms by both their supporters and their detractors (haters, for you young'uns).

I've had disappointments from every single firearms manufacturer out there (well, except for Hi-Point, 'cause I never bought one). I'm over it. Doesn't stop me from buy from any particular brand again.

 

[mnrivrat]

Just so they don't escape scrutiny I have owned 6 Colt revolvers. 3 SA and 3 DA . 2 of the SA's were .22RF Scouts which wore out prematurely with cylinder side wobble caused by elongation of the center pin holes in the alloy frames. 1 was the newer Peacemaker steel frame - it was a great gun. 2 of the DA's were trooper models, 1 - 4" and 1 - 6". Bad barrels. The last was a Diamondback with less than 500 rounds through it the cylinder lock broke.

 

[gnappi]

I'm still trying to figure out what the OP intended this thread to be about... Is this simply a thread in which to bash all the popular, big-name brand guns that we have decided we don't like? Or a brand we have decided we hate because we picked up one bad example?

If so, I'll throw Ruger and HK under the bus; I like pretty much everything else (including Colt, Kimber and Taurus, so there). But I still own Rugers and HKs.

Otherwise, who really cares? Because every major manufacturer puts out some lemons, either specific models, or production runs. And every company has gone through cycles in which their customer service has not performed up to the level we'd wanted...

Guns, like every other consumer product, are viewed through intensely subjective prisms by both their supporters and their detractors (haters, for you young'uns).

I've had disappointments from every single firearms manufacturer out there (well, except for Hi-Point, 'cause I never bought one). I'm over it. Doesn't stop me from buy from any particular brand again.

You will note that no name brands were mentioned in my OP so clearly bashing was not intended. YMMV

I've had really good luck with many products but there's a bit much of the brand war thing, and I wanted to point out that not every premium priced firearm is a premium product. As far as Who cares? Regarding 1911's for example, there's not a single thing Colt does with the platform that others have not done better, and less expensive. Same for their AR's.

Regarding not buying X brand over another, absolutely I have blacklisted a number of brands. New shooters read accolades on uplevel handguns and I thought I'd offer a different perspective. Fair enough?

 

[P5 Guy]

See? Like....No. I just can’t. That’s almost half my house!

LOL that is my whole house

 

[bassjam]

Not sure what the confusion is here, OP said "high(er) and OR brand name".

I've had 2, one I'll put up to a quality control issue, the other is a larger problem.

My first handgun was a Glock 23. Bought it off a buddy who had bought it 6 months prior, rarely shot it and decided it was too big for carry. I put 1500 rounds through it and experienced several FTE's in that time, to the point where I couldn't trust it. It had a habit of splitting spent brass open and I'd need a dowel rod to eject the case out of the chamber. Now I know Glock has a solid reputation and this isn't a normal problem, what bothered me more about that was OTHER Glock owners who tended to act like I was making this up. I sold the gun and don't intend to ever buy another, but that's for other reasons. I never could shoot the gun accurately, even though friends of mine could, and ergonomically the gun naturally pointed high for me.

My other issue is what I'll refer to as "higher end", at least for my budget. My grandpa bought a Colt Anaconda new in 97. He never shot it, but one of my cousins did sneak it out of the house and put 3 shots through it before he'd had enough. After he passed Grandma gave it to Dad, who has no interest in guns so he gave me this practically LNIB Anaconda. I'm not one to just let a firearm collect dust so I shot it occasionally, and dry fired it more often. By occasionally I mean 50-100 rounds, and possibly 1,000+ dry fires. That's all it took for the cylinder to go out of time. In doing research, it's not a completely unheard of issue and it seems in general Colt revolvers typically needed more "maintenance" than their S&W & Ruger counterparts. It's kind of soured me on owning another Colt, especially since they ask for a premium for their products which I don't think is justified.