What gun surprised you the most?

[J-Bar]

Most negative surprise: A Smith and Wesson 6" 686 .357 mag that I accepted as payment for a debt. Point of impact was 10 inches low and 12 inches to left of point of aim at 10 yards, even with sights adjusted to the max. It continued down the trading trail (new owner informed of course.)

Most positive surprise: How well a pair of Ruger Old Army percussion revolvers shot with round balls. Both are fixed sight guns for use in CAS Frontiersman category. They print to point of aim and give cloverleaf clusters at 10 yards with blackpowder under round balls.

 

[D*N*R*]

My kids 770 rem. 270 win. i would not want to be a golf ball at 100yrds. on practice day.

 

[mberoose]

xDm .40. Figured it would be about the same as a Glock (not a bad thing at all) but the ergos were fantastic. Fit my hand like a glove.

 

[Dnaltrop]

Most surprising Good- 50th anniversary Ruger Blackhawk .44, nearly cloverleafed with a few mild flyers the first time it was in hand. Great feel.

Most surprising Humorous- Shooting my first bowling pin on a steep hillside... with the Argentine Mauser... Standing arrow straight with my feet much closer together than they should have been. Down the hill I went, end-over-end, but the Pin lost everything above the neck.

Most surprising Bad- Finding out that my hands are large and oddly built enough that the slide of a Glock is aimed at the tip of the bone of my thumb. Not the flesh... the bone. Just too stupid to own one I guess

I know that I can get aftermarket Beavertails, but sticking things on annoys me.

 

[PapaG]

My Bushmaster, looks just like the Nam era M16s. Added a scope to the carry handle, took the first load out of the book, LC brass, 55 Sierra sp, and the starting load of Varget and it gave me, after sighting in, 1 1/2", 1", and 5/8" with a follow up 3/4" groups...all five shots, all at 100 yards. Never had a box stock, milspec gun do anything like that. Heck, even my pre-64 Model 70, "rifleman's rifle", pride and joy, took several years of fooling around to find that magical inch group.

 

[Geno]

T/C Arms Contender, with a 10" blued barrel. Chambered in .22LR match. That was the most accurate firearm I have ever owned.

 

[BigN]

300 WSM. It didn't hurt me nearly as bad as I thought it would...

 

[speedway]

Most negative surprise: A Smith and Wesson 6" 686 .357 mag that I accepted as payment for a debt. Point of impact was 10 inches low and 12 inches to left of point of aim at 10 yards, even with sights adjusted to the max. It continued down the trading trail (new owner informed of course.)

Most positive surprise: How well a pair of Ruger Old Army percussion revolvers shot with round balls. Both are fixed sight guns for use in CAS Frontiersman category. They print to point of aim and give cloverleaf clusters at 10 yards with blackpowder under round balls.

I had the same gun. I couldn't hit a bull in the ass at ten feet with that gun no matter what you did with the sights.

 

[Dazen]

CZ-82, I heard good things about it and I thought what hell for $200 I'll get one. I wasn't expecting something all that great for $200 Wow was I surprised.

 

[Tinpig]

Savage 1917:


I bought it because:

I like collecting and shooting old guns
I thought it was good-looking
I like Savage
I enjoy shooting .32ACP in my 1903 Colt
I thought I could fix the hard, crunchy, springy, trigger

I sold it because:
I couldn't fix the hard, crunchy, springy trigger,and I could not hit a thing with it. I was fortunate to get back what I paid for it, so no harm done.

Tinpig

 

[Mousegun]

My new Smith & Wesson model 638 Crimson Trace Airweight 38 +P. After I got the laser dialed in I put 5 shots in almost the same hole at 15 yards.

 

[Phantom Captain]

TennJed said:

Honestly it was a Makarov. I know these guns have a good reputation, but after buying one for $199, I am shocked at what a great value it is

Totally agree 100% and feel the same way. I expected it to be good but not this good. It's utterly reliable, accurate and concealable. Mine goes literelly everywhere with me and it's always on me. No FTEs or FTFs and that's with about 1200 rounds through mine. I LOVE it. I was honestly really surprised at how taken I was with a completely affordable eastern bloc milsurp but there it is.

PS I'm carrying Buffalo Bore FNHC 115 grainers and am completely happy with them and have total confidence in both the pistol and the ammo.

 

[Scuba_Steve]

For me it is a used customized 10/22 I picked up a couple of weeks ago. I was one of the neglected children, never had a 10/22 as a kid.

I was absolutely shocked how accurate and fun to shoot this thing is.

 

[finnfan]

Picked up a Rossi .357 for $250 at Academy awhile back. A nightstand gun, I just wanted something to go bang every time and didn't expect much more. It's definitly not pretty but it turns out the trigger is really nice and the thing is freakishly accurate with cheapo Walmart .38's.

 

[J_McLeod]

For me it was my XD40. I'd always thought that 40s were very snappy and unpleasant to shoot. Even high range loads out of it just feel like a stout 9mm. It's my favorite pistol now.

 

[kd7nqb]

My father has a colt detective special snubbie that is crazy accurate. I shoot tighter groups with that than I do with most of my guns. If I get one gun from his estate that would be my choice.

 

[wlewisiii]

Glock 19. It couldn't be as good as all that blather made it out to be could it? Well, no, it couldn't - because it was actually even better once in hand and fired. Especially with hot ammo like my carry load - RA9TA. It's actually more pleasant to shoot that than the lower pressure stuff I bought for practice... :doh:

 

[Ranger30-06]

What gun surprised me the most in a good way? A Russian .380 Makarov that belongs to my Grandfather. It has an unbelievably comfortable fit to my hand. Do I wish the caliber was a little larger? Yea, but with heavy loads it's about equal to a standard 9mm, so I wouldn't be too upset about it. Hopefully, I'll own one for myself soon.


What gun surprised me the most when I first shot it? My 16" Saiga .308. I had to be careful because I was gonna set off a few car alarms if I shot quickly enough!


The gun that surprised me the most in a bad way though was my EAA Witness polymer framed .45 ACP. It was a ported compact model. Magazines cost a small fortune, the gun only worked *maybe* 60% of the time, the trigger was so bad God would have thrown up using it, and the muzzle blast out of that little 3" ported barrel was like setting off a firework 18" in front of your face. I didn't keep that one around too long...

 

[TonyDedo]

Biggest surprise: My brother-in-law's Browning 1922 .380. Picking it up, it felt like a rusty old slab of war junk, but off hand I shot silver dollar sized holes at 10 yards all day long. I didn't want to put it down. It was nuts.

Biggest disappointment: Browning High Power. Always wanted one, expected it to shoot like a 1911 chambered in 9mm, but the mile long trigger felt like it was dragging on sandpaper, it felt unbalanced (top heavy) in my hands, and my targets looked like I'd been shooting a 12GA. Sold it and bought another, hoping for a better result the second time around. Beautiful gun, mildly better trigger, but still shoots like ****. I can't feel the trigger reset to save my life.

It remains a safe queen. I'm sure eventually I'll sell it, and two years later buy another one.

 

[hermannr]

Best: Beautiful (98%?) High Standard Trophy, three barrels, two slides (one for LR one for short's only) one mag for LR, two mags for shorts, tools, book, custom case. Only things missing were the barrel weights. Bought it for my wife for her birthday a couple years ago.

Our 13 year old grand-daughter shot out a 1" bulls eye (5X for 5 rounds) the second magazine she shot with it. First magazine (5 rounds) would have scored 47 with 2X (@25' measured) I'm not that good anymore, but that Trophy is...super weapon

 

[Sheepdog1968]

For me, it was my 30-30 Marlin lever action. I had been shooting for about 25 years at that point and got one just to have one (round out the collection). I was mostly a semi-auto shooter. I think it sat for 3 to 6 months before I took it out. I fell in love with it to the point that about 75% of the time it is what I take out to shoot. If the house were burning (I have insurance for the replacement value on the firearms) and I could only grab one (and no family members were at home - photos have been scanned and have back ups elsewhere), the lever action is what I would grab without hesitation. I never would have thought I wouldhave liked it some much. It's good that surprises can still happen in life.

 

[shuvelrider]

A Spanish made STAR semi in .22, made in 58. Bought on a whim because I liked the old style looks of it. Reliable and very accurate, when I get home from deployment, it will be my open carry gun. Now to keep a eye out for more STAR pistols.

 

[MedWheeler]

Bersa Thunder 380. Hadn't heard much, if anything, about them when I bought mine. I was truly pleasantly surprised with its performance, particularly in digesting multiple types of ammunition mixed together in the mags, some of which was 20-year old aluminum-cased stuff.

 

[Dr T]

Most pleasant surprise: The 22 LR barrel of my M-6 is far, far more accurate that I would have expected.

Negative surprise: The accuracy of my 44 Mag Marlin 1894 with cast bullets is non-existent. (we are talking 3 ft. groups at 25 yards...)

 

[iLikeOldgunsIlikeNewGuns]

out of what I own, it is most certainly my 1943 Mosin Nagant 91/30. I had never held or fired a mosin before I purchased it -purely for its price. I kind of feel bad for my other rifles because it's quickly becoming my favorite! Due to its weight, the recoil is more 'cushy' and pleasant than my Marlin 336 30-30, and it's more powerful, and cheaper to shoot! So glad I bought it, definitely going to buy at least one more if not several.