What do you do when the pistol you just bought is a complete rip-off?

[BHPshooter]

You're correct, something isn't right. My FEG is quite accurate from a standing two-hand hold; from a rest it would be pretty darn stellar. There are a lot of things it could be, but a gunsmith should probably be able to fix it.

You might want to have a BHP savvy 'smith look at it, like Ted Yost or Don Williams. I'm sure they could fix it no matter what was wrong with it.

Hopefully you can get that Hi Power working, they are capable of great performance.

Wes

 

[cratz2]

The last time I had a pistol that got this bad of groups it had the name "Jennings" stamped on it.

Actually, I can shoot my .380 Jennings Bryco 38 better than that though I'll have to clear it about 5 times to get ten rounds out of it.

I can't see the gun disliking any ammo that bad and then liking a different ammo to the point of keeping the shots in 5" from the same distance... but I'm sure someone's seen worse. When you go back out, I'd try two other kinds of ammo along with more of the Winchester.

Either way, hope you get it straightened out... so to speak.

 

[SaLted_peanUTs]

IMHO, I can't believe that an ammo picky gun would be so picky as to "spray" bullets in in such a large pattern with no consistency at all. The first 3 mags Rat fired were fired with both of our jaws on the floor. It was the most dumbfounding thing I had ever witnessed at the range. I usually get decent groups. With a focused trigger control, all I was getting with the bang and no hole to show for it (on the paper).

 

[RatFink]

Well I took this pistol and my Springfield 1911A1 to the range today just to shoot some more to see what was going on. I started off with my Springfield .45 which I know I shoot OK. the target below was shot at 10 yards and is basically what I shoot with most pistols including my Springfield, Steyr S40, S&W 342 (actually a bit bigger groups), and my Cimmarron Arms SAA .45 LC, I also do this well with my brothers XD 40.

Me and my Springfield

I then shot the FEG again, I shot more slowly and really paid attention to what I was doing because I wanted to know what the pistol was really capable of, I did much better than yesterday, but my groups were still about 8 inches. I thought I had brought one of those targets home, but apparently I didn't.

Then I asked one of the Range officers if he would be willing to shoot my pistol so I could see what somebody else could do, he had never shot a Hi-Power before and actually got bit in the process, but below is his grouping from one Mag (13 shots) using the same Winchester White Box ammo.

Range Officer and my FEG

It seems that the fault is mine. Neither me or my brothers could do well with this pistol yesterday, in fact as Salted said, at first we weren't even sure where the bullets were hitting because they weren't even hitting the target.

I think Josey was right and it's the sights and maybe a bit of the trigger, but at least now I know the pistol isn't screwed so I have no problem spending a bit of cash to get it fixed up a bit.


BTW, Yes I feel like an idiot.

 

[SaLted_peanUTs]

I forgot to ask, what did you do differently this time?

 

[Old Fuff]

RatFink:

An idiot is someone who's to stupid to ask questions. You ask, and you learned. Continue to experiment.

 

[BHPshooter]

This may be a case of triggertooheaviosus. Then again, it may just be amplifying a flaw in your form.

When I got my FEG, I shot terrible groups too... not really huge, but around 4 and 5 inches.

My trigger pull has improved a lot since then, and so have I. Dry-fire is the answer, my friend. It works miracles.

Wes

 

[P95Carry]

Rat .. glad things seem to be panning out better. I'm only posting to mention that when I got my FEG .. it was a ''temporary fix'' until I got my BHP practical.

It has std sights and I was amazed at how much it felt and shot just like my old BHP ... which was IIRC a 50's model.

It can and does shoot excellent results ... as will I think most all FEGS. The BHP platform tho does IMO require a suitable grip method ... and some familiarization with sights. Mine of course does not knock out the X ring but ... even tho slightly high and left (I think) .. it is very acceptable .... makes a viable carry option.

To be honest, I think it'll shoot every bit as well as my genuine BHP.

 

[Josey]

An idiot is an eagle asking a chicken for flying lessons. I did have troubles with my sights. High mount worked for me. The triggers usually clean up around 1,000 rounds. I have had a FEG, a Arcus that I feel is a Hi-Power made by Ruger: BRICK and my current Browning MKIII 9MM. I am shopping for a real blued FEG 9MM. They are fine pistols. They do take a little getting used to.

 

[RatFink]

Thanks for not beating up on me guys. I'm just glad to know that the pistol itself is not functionally wrong. I'll see what I can do with the sights and the trigger.

 

[Longbow]

Ratfink,
Maybe the BHP/FEG is not made for your hand. It maybe like my experience with the Beretta 92F. I like the way the gun looks, the way it feels in my hand, but I just can't shoot it for crap! So I gave it up after 1k of ammo spent trying to adapt to it. I went back to 1911's and Glocks and never looked back. Good luck!

 

[Mr. Mysterious]

I know where you are coming from...when I first got my SW99 .45, I was disappointed with my groups.

I always shot fine with everything else I shot...

Then I was about ready to sell it or send it back to SW, when I decided to shoot while resting it on the bench. It grouped much better. It seems that there is some error in my form that is throwing me off. I have been going back my BRM days in the army and my grouping is improving.

 

[RatFink]

Longbow,

Actually it feels great in my hand, the reason I wanted this is because it's really one of the few double-stack 9mm that do feel really good in my hand. My first pistol I bought was a FN built HP Mark III, I had no problem shooting that. After awhile I decided to get the pistol I had always wanted, a 1911, but I had to sell the HP to buy it. We all have pistols we regret selling, the HP was mine.


I'm pretty sure these dinky little sights are most of the problem, made worse by a less than perfect trigger pull (actually it's better than I thought it would be) and probably a big dose of bad form thrown in.


So, what are my options for new sights on this thing? is there anything decent that fits the existing dovetail?


Mr. Mysterious,

I feel like buying a .22 pistol now just do work on my shooting, this just might be a good thing, forcing me to deal with problems and making me a better shooter all around.

 

[Brian Dale]

Thanks for not beating up on me guys.

Rat, you've given another example about what I like the most about THR. You started a thread with (paraphrasing here) "Hey! I'm frustrated! Here's what I've done and what I've seen; can you help me to diagnose the problem? What data SHOULD I expect when I run this test?"

People posted their thoughts, then you refined and repeated your tests.

Now here's the cool part: you CAME RIGHT BACK and posted: "Aha! here's what I saw when I ran the test again (even got the Range Officer in on it)." Your conclusions:

1) OK, I want to work on my form; and

2) "I think Josey was right and it's the sights and maybe a bit of the trigger, but at least now I know the pistol isn't screwed so I have no problem spending a bit of cash to get it fixed up a bit."

The short version of this post = I like your style. Good thread.

 

[stealthmode]

I wonder about that problem also when buying a new gun. if it doesnt shoot as good as it should what to do?

From now on I think I will ask before I do business this question.

Can I exchange the gun for full store credit towards another gun if this gun does not perform like you told me it will?

 

[CZ100B]

I'm pretty sure these dinky little sights are most of the problem, made worse by a less than perfect trigger pull (actually it's better than I thought it would be) and probably a big dose of bad form thrown in.

Have you removed the magazine safety? I took that out of my FEG after the first range trip, and the trigger is much smoother.

Jeremy

 

[RatFink]

Have you removed the magazine safety?

Yup, the first thing I did when I got it home and a bit of polishing on the trigger parts to smooth things up, I haven't touched the sear though.

 

[WonderNine]

That's insane for ten yards. Something has to be wrong with that gun.

My 1982 MKII BHP shoots 5" groups at 30 yards from a benchrest with me using the crappy 50 meter sites that I have to compensate for distance with. I shoot with Winchester NATO 124gr. most of the time these days.

I have removed the magazine safety. First thing I always do....

 

[albanian]

Some gun designs just don't work for some people. With practice, you can get better but sometimes, a gun comes along that just reacts in the wrong way with the shooter.

I have heard about how accurate the Mak is but when I got mine, I couldn't shoot it well at all. I sold it before I had other people shoot it to see see if it was just me or if the gun was inaccurate. It really doesn't matter at this point. There are so many guns out there that when I get one that doesn't shot well for me, I sell it and move along. In the process, I have found several guns that shoot very well for me and several that I have no time to master.

Sometimes it is the ergonomics of the design and sometimes it is things like the trigger pull and sights. If it just doesn't fit me and I have a hard time holding it, I get rid of it. If it is a good gun but needs better sights or trigger, I will deal with those issues if I like the gun enough. I am a experimenter and I want to try as many different guns as possible. I have to buy some and sell some to get to try enough of them but some day, I will know what I like. I hate to say it but slowly, the 1911 is growing on me. It is such a ergonomical design that most people can shoot it well and some people can shoot it REALLY well once they get used to it.

The BHP never really grew on me. I had one and got rid of it. I think about getting another one sometime but with prices being what they are for them, I would rather try something I haven't tried yet.

 

[Sean Smith]

Something to keep in mind is that gun accuracy + shooter accuracy = total accuracy. Thus, a gun that can theoretically group 3" @ 25 yards + a shooter with 3" of wobble @ 25 yards gives you groups, on average, of 6".

Therefore, if the guy who shot your FEG was any good, your gun is still pretty inaccurate. If the group size was half him and half the gun, your FEG is about a 5" @ 25 yard gun. That isn't too implausible when you consider how much your own group size shrank by going to a different gun; the difference in hardware accuracy might actually have been bigger than the difference in shooter skill. After all, he out-shot you with the FEG, but you out-shot his FEG shooting with your 1911 shooting.

Food for thought... sometimes hardware DOES matter.

 

[RatFink]

I'm going to try fixing the sights and a little trigger smoothing and see what happens.

The thing that kind of bugs me is that I had to choose between getting this or a full sized Steyr, since I already have a compact Steyr I went with this. I know I would have been happy with the Steyr, but I'll tuff this out a bit since I really feel I need a 9mm, and I'm hoping I can smoth this out into what I want. I'll get the Steyr soon hopefully, before they sell out.