Tamara
Senior Member
All Brands: Substandard as manufactured. In need of probably a trigger job, at least. 
What do you think about various brands - a fun experiment
- Thread starter Grant C.
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Glock - ugly, bad ergonomics, very reliable, almost foolproof
Colt - Pricey, some great stuff, some junk
Springfield Armory - 90% of the way to being great 1911's, need more fine-tuning
CZ - good pistol for the money
Magnum Research/IMI - not worth the $
Smith & Wesson - wheel guns are great, pass on the auto's
Ruger - wheelguns are great, auto's are truck guns & ugly as sin
SIG, SIG-Sauer - expensive, big, solid, dependable
Kel-Tec - flimsy, triggers are horrible
Walther - well-made, accurate, smaller frame
Kimber - Heard much about parts failing, personal experience is 50/50
Colt - Pricey, some great stuff, some junk
Springfield Armory - 90% of the way to being great 1911's, need more fine-tuning
CZ - good pistol for the money
Magnum Research/IMI - not worth the $
Smith & Wesson - wheel guns are great, pass on the auto's
Ruger - wheelguns are great, auto's are truck guns & ugly as sin
SIG, SIG-Sauer - expensive, big, solid, dependable
Kel-Tec - flimsy, triggers are horrible
Walther - well-made, accurate, smaller frame
Kimber - Heard much about parts failing, personal experience is 50/50
Black Majik
Member
Heh... actually the opinions are suppose to come from people that dont own a gun from the company. Hence I dont own any Beretta's.
My opinions do come from experience though. I've stated my feelings on this board before about what I thought of the 92 FS. Even just last friday I had a friend look into a Beretta 92 FS, and it continued to malfunction (continue because it did previously). This time I shot the gun, the slide was replaced because of a previously cracked slide. The times that the gun did cycle to the next round the slide would "lag" before returning to battery.
I also had a guy that let me try out his 96FS which for some reason I also wasn't really impressed with. And I do like shooting the .40 S&W round.
The one that I have the most experience with is my dad's 686 Onyx Pro O/U. Its a great gun, but sometimes it misfires. For a gun that expensive, my 870 works a lot better than that...
Scary thing, I had a dream last nite that after a night of trap I took out the Beretta O/U to clean, only to find that it wouldn't close. After fiddling around with it I found that it was a crack in the stock. Heh.... funny how in dreams you do things that you normally wouldn't do, cuz I showed my friend and he suggested that we super glue it back together!
Berettas.... maybe someday I'll like it, or have one. But I do respect the company because they have satisfied a lot of customers. They just aren't the company for me.
Rupestris
Member
Glock - utterly reliable. goes BANG no matter what.
Colt - I wish they still made the Trooper III for the publics consumption.
Springfield Armory - Mfgr of 1911's for those that can't afford 1911's. I won't get into the overpriced rifles.
CZ - dependable as they come but ugly and uninspired.
Tangfolio - never got close enough to one.
Magnum Research/IMI - DE is a Hollywood dream come true but useless to most. The baby eagle is what the CZ should look like.
Smith & Wesson - classic revolvers and reliable autos. Not marketed well at all.
Beretta - Good enough for the US Government. Synthetic/Poly attempts (9000) have kinda flopped.
Ruger - big, heavy centerfire autos, classic revolvers and the "keeper" of .22s.
Dan Wesson - Market the revolvers and don't jump on the 1911 bandwagon.
SIG, SIG-Sauer - If I were a LEO I'd carry a SIG.
Kahr - Not enough knowledge. The price scares me away. Well marketed tho.
Taurus - Still has that imitation Beretta feel. (more the company/name than the actual guns)
Browning - The do a fine job at selling shotguns but the HP seems to be the neglected child of the Browning family that gets straight A's on the report card.
Kel-Tec - Not enough knowledge. Small pocket carry guns is all I know.
Walther - Still reminds me of James Bond. I'd spend the extra coin and get a H&K or SIG.
Kimber - Have one. Want several more.
Freedom Arms - Not enough knowledge. Never gave 'em much thought. Apparently not marketed well at all.
Colt - I wish they still made the Trooper III for the publics consumption.
Springfield Armory - Mfgr of 1911's for those that can't afford 1911's. I won't get into the overpriced rifles.
CZ - dependable as they come but ugly and uninspired.
Tangfolio - never got close enough to one.
Magnum Research/IMI - DE is a Hollywood dream come true but useless to most. The baby eagle is what the CZ should look like.
Smith & Wesson - classic revolvers and reliable autos. Not marketed well at all.
Beretta - Good enough for the US Government. Synthetic/Poly attempts (9000) have kinda flopped.
Ruger - big, heavy centerfire autos, classic revolvers and the "keeper" of .22s.
Dan Wesson - Market the revolvers and don't jump on the 1911 bandwagon.
SIG, SIG-Sauer - If I were a LEO I'd carry a SIG.
Kahr - Not enough knowledge. The price scares me away. Well marketed tho.
Taurus - Still has that imitation Beretta feel. (more the company/name than the actual guns)
Browning - The do a fine job at selling shotguns but the HP seems to be the neglected child of the Browning family that gets straight A's on the report card.
Kel-Tec - Not enough knowledge. Small pocket carry guns is all I know.
Walther - Still reminds me of James Bond. I'd spend the extra coin and get a H&K or SIG.
Kimber - Have one. Want several more.
Freedom Arms - Not enough knowledge. Never gave 'em much thought. Apparently not marketed well at all.
Since I own or have owned all the others from your list, I can only respond to the following guns:
Tangfolio
Magnum Research/IMI
Freedom Arms
Tangfolio, don't know much about this company except that they are Italian (I think) and the made some CZ-75 clones. My friend has an old .25 auto made by this company. I think of it as a cheap knock off of CZ I guess.
Magnum Research/IMI. I mainly think of the UZI and the Desert Eagle. I think of them as military type guns that are expensive. My experience with Desert Eagles may have tainted my view because I never saw one that worked!
Freedom Arms. I think of purely American guns. Revolvers for outdoorsmen. High quality and high price but you get what you pay for. Guns for hunting. Seems like a good company.
Tangfolio
Magnum Research/IMI
Freedom Arms
Tangfolio, don't know much about this company except that they are Italian (I think) and the made some CZ-75 clones. My friend has an old .25 auto made by this company. I think of it as a cheap knock off of CZ I guess.
Magnum Research/IMI. I mainly think of the UZI and the Desert Eagle. I think of them as military type guns that are expensive. My experience with Desert Eagles may have tainted my view because I never saw one that worked!
Freedom Arms. I think of purely American guns. Revolvers for outdoorsmen. High quality and high price but you get what you pay for. Guns for hunting. Seems like a good company.
PigPen
Member
I agree with Tams. Occassionally I can buy a new pistol (or a used one) and it needs nothing but as a rule, they all need something.
Custom shop specimens do tend to be better.
PigPen
Custom shop specimens do tend to be better.
PigPen
Rival
Member
Glock - simple, light, reliable tool, has no value other than that of a tool
Colt - american made, famous name, nice horsey, pricey, would like one
Springfield Armory - own one. The gun never failed me, no bad things to say
CZ - a fine firearm, good quality, design, reliability, would like one
Tangfolio - don't know
Magnum Research/IMI - no appeal = whatever
Smith & Wesson - I like the 945 and most guns from performance center
Beretta - I really like the 92FS. The only bad thing is a wide grip. I'd get one
Ruger - own MkII, no bad things to say. I like GP-100 and SP-101
Dan Wesson - don't know
SIG, SIG-Sauer - seems to be a fine firearms, doesn't have the looks. I'd like P210
Kahr - don't know
Taurus - don't know
Browning - own BHP, really like it
Kel-Tec - don't know
Walther - I really like P99, that's one polymer gun I'd like to have
Kimber - heard good things. I'd take Kimber Royal
Freedom Arms - don't know
Colt - american made, famous name, nice horsey, pricey, would like one
Springfield Armory - own one. The gun never failed me, no bad things to say
CZ - a fine firearm, good quality, design, reliability, would like one
Tangfolio - don't know
Magnum Research/IMI - no appeal = whatever
Smith & Wesson - I like the 945 and most guns from performance center
Beretta - I really like the 92FS. The only bad thing is a wide grip. I'd get one
Ruger - own MkII, no bad things to say. I like GP-100 and SP-101
Dan Wesson - don't know
SIG, SIG-Sauer - seems to be a fine firearms, doesn't have the looks. I'd like P210
Kahr - don't know
Taurus - don't know
Browning - own BHP, really like it
Kel-Tec - don't know
Walther - I really like P99, that's one polymer gun I'd like to have
Kimber - heard good things. I'd take Kimber Royal
Freedom Arms - don't know
I'll give it a go
Glock - cop guns, ghetto homeys shoot sideways, fantastic plastic, weird trigger, Bruce Willis knows about the only porcelain one, great customer service, cheap replacement parts, easy for anyone to work on, bury it in the sand, freeze it, drop it out of a helicopter and it still works the same, .40's kb!
Colt - first great pistol, old West, Detective Special, perhaps the best factory (non-custom) 1911 again
Springfield Armory - Decent factory 1911's
CZ - bargain buy, quality machining until you look inside, reliable, underraterd, impossible to pronounce the full name
Magnum Research/IMI - Desert Eagle, the dudes in the Matrix, people in movies carry them everywhere and shoot fine with them all the time
Smith & Wesson - best revolver, cylinder rotates the other way, triggers aren't as good as they used to be, company was loved, then hated, now okay again since they're owned by someone else
Beretta - M9, Mel Gibson's smiley face in Lethal Weapon, really nice and freaking expensive over/under shotguns, oldest name in firearms
Ruger - great buy, garbage eaters, good .22's, GP100 used by ammo companies to test high pressure loads, Bill Ruger is considered by many to be better off resting in peace
SIG, SIG-Sauer - expensive as hell, elite, reliable, rust easily
Taurus - revolvers copy S&W, semi-autos copy Beretta, their own versions are iffy, customer service poor, quality control spotty, great deal for what you get, all shortcomings are improving and so is their reputation
Browning - BHP, Buckmarks, tradition, John Moses Browning pretty important in firearms history
Walther - "The name's Bond - James Bond.", Nazis
Kimber - decent custom 1911's, used by LAPD Swat
Glock - cop guns, ghetto homeys shoot sideways, fantastic plastic, weird trigger, Bruce Willis knows about the only porcelain one, great customer service, cheap replacement parts, easy for anyone to work on, bury it in the sand, freeze it, drop it out of a helicopter and it still works the same, .40's kb!
Colt - first great pistol, old West, Detective Special, perhaps the best factory (non-custom) 1911 again
Springfield Armory - Decent factory 1911's
CZ - bargain buy, quality machining until you look inside, reliable, underraterd, impossible to pronounce the full name
Magnum Research/IMI - Desert Eagle, the dudes in the Matrix, people in movies carry them everywhere and shoot fine with them all the time
Smith & Wesson - best revolver, cylinder rotates the other way, triggers aren't as good as they used to be, company was loved, then hated, now okay again since they're owned by someone else
Beretta - M9, Mel Gibson's smiley face in Lethal Weapon, really nice and freaking expensive over/under shotguns, oldest name in firearms
Ruger - great buy, garbage eaters, good .22's, GP100 used by ammo companies to test high pressure loads, Bill Ruger is considered by many to be better off resting in peace
SIG, SIG-Sauer - expensive as hell, elite, reliable, rust easily
Taurus - revolvers copy S&W, semi-autos copy Beretta, their own versions are iffy, customer service poor, quality control spotty, great deal for what you get, all shortcomings are improving and so is their reputation
Browning - BHP, Buckmarks, tradition, John Moses Browning pretty important in firearms history
Walther - "The name's Bond - James Bond.", Nazis
Kimber - decent custom 1911's, used by LAPD Swat
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