What is the most unreliable semi auto you have shot ?

Status
Not open for further replies.
I hate to say it, but a Springfield EMP. Dealer sod it to me used and I took it downstairs to their range. Slide wouldn't lock back and shells were hitting me in the head. Occasional FTF using TAP ammo. Dealer sent it back to S.A., and when it returned with a bunch of work done on it, I had multiple FTFs, still wouldn't lock back and shells still hitting me in head.

Since I never made it out of the store with it, they traded me for a new Para PDA. It had some teething pains, but after several hundred rounds has settled down and I'd feel comfortable carrying it. Actually it was for my wife.
 
Awesome thread! Note to self: Avoid:
Jennings 22
Kimber 3" 1911s
Colt
Keltec PT32
Walther/S&W PPKs
Kahr PM-9s
AMT anything
Llama anything
Para anything
Ruger LCP

Anything I missed?

Mine, it was a Para Warthog. Cool gun, I wanted it to work so bad, but it just wouldn't cooperate.
 
Last edited:
A borrowed Sig P220 that had an FTE once out of every fifty rounds or so.

A Glock 17 rental that locked open in the middle of the first mag I'd ever shot through a Glock. The palm of my support hand (thumbs forward grip) was pushing up the slide release lever. That pistol had lots of wear, multiple other problems, and is no longer available for rent at my local range after a breakage of some sort.

Every rimfire I've shot with bulk ammo, but especially the Walther P22.
 
Daewoo anything
Click to expand...
The Daewoo rifles are actually pretty darn goo....uhhh... well never mind. Yeah they're complete and utter junk. Don't ever buy one! In fact, there so crappy you better send them to me to dispose of. email me for my FFL's address. I'll even pay shipping.
 
Springfield 1911 Milspec. It broke three extractors (one while I had it and two for the guy I sold it to) and had less than 150 rounds through it.
 
I bought a Jennings J-22 in 1980, that thing kept jamming on any type of ammo. I sent it back to the factory, they sent a new one. After I decided to try Remington Hi-Power ammo, it worked perfectly for years until I traded it.
 
It kind of shocks/amazes me that so many guns, a pretty simple device, actually, can have so many problems! When I think back of all the many "turkey" guns I bought new, it's amazing to me that of the last 7 seven I've bought (6 used, 1 new) ALL have been flawless in function. The closest to a "Whoops" would have been my latest, an early Dan Wesson 44 mag. If I didn't have the habit of taking my guns apart before I shoot them, I never would have discovered the barrel nut was about 3 turns loose, and the only thing holding the barrel and shroud together, and keeping it from moving was the crud, er lube, that DW put on the threads when it was made, about 27 years ago. I wouldn't have put a 44 mag cart in it it start with anyway, so it probably wouldn't have hurt anything, but it would have given me a scare.
 
My friend's Ruger 9mm - because he hadn't clean the damn thing in like forever. FTF one after another. So I field stripped it / cleaned it up / and he was amazed at how it operated. So I asked him how often he cleaned his guns - ... like a deer in the headlights.
I shoot only my guns now.
 
Star model b. It's a shame because I really like the pistol. The heft, size, the fact that it's old (~1944). But it's been a headache and very unreliable from day one. I'm not done with it yet, but it doesn't go to the range much. I was given a RIA 1911 tactical by my wife. At first it was totally unreliable. But I seem to have worked out the kinks on that. Now it's my most reliable, and I'm the most accurate with it over all my handguns.
 
All steel S&W 4006 in 40 S&W, POS, jammed every third shot, every magazine. I got my money back on this one.
 
Paraordance .45ACP Compact 1911. Shot hollow points real well, but hated FMJ's with a passion, which made no sense since I tried many different companies and the bullet was rounded. Gave up and sold it.
 
Take a look at the total of all the posts

With the exception of the really cheap guns like the Jennings and Lorcin the rest of the list looks like a "who's who" in the world of firearms. Bottom line: I guess anyone can build a lemon.
 
Everyone seems to be trying to find a reliable handgun. They make 'em too!

They are called revolvers! Six for sure. Truly, the wheel guns are best for civilian self defense.

Turn off the tv and face the facts . . . it's gonna be over before your six for sure shots are needed. You are NOT gonna need 33 rounds of 9mm as you swing from a rope on the side of a cliff shooting down helicopters like Rambo with a 9mm.


Umm . . . back to the original topic. Most unreliable semiauto I've ever owned? A new Browning BDM Practical that I properly broke in before having it choke in several matches. I really wanted to like that pistol. In the end, it was traded off.

The more I shoot, the more I love revolvers.

T.
 
Worst I've seen was a Kel-Tec P11 rental, my wife tried shooting Failed to feed every other round. Should have been renamed a Kel-Tec POS11. Mechanically things looked ok, ramp didn't look rough, but not too polished either, but didn't have any serious powder buildup either on the ramp, in the chamber or in the bore, using 9mm FMJ target rounds so feeding shouldn't have been a problem.

Best defensive use I could imagine for it would be to throw it at the bad guy, but it weighed like 1lb fully loaded, so you'd be better off with a brick.
 
Its funny that guns that are popular and have a lot of sales are the ones being brought up here.

Anyway, my Kimber UC II has been flawless after the first hundred rounds and the removal of the factory mag. With Wilson mags mine has been great!

Colt series 80 Officers model= Awesome
Para P14 .45 Gun Rights model= My all time fav. carry gun

I guess I've been lucky, but all of mine have been almost flawless and after a few hundred rounds and maybe a mag change they all have been PERFECT
 
A Ruger P-90, .45acp. Brand new, inaccurate as hell, kept jambing, stovepiping, traded it to a friend for a Ruger Security Six, Stainless steel .357, and a police pistol belt. Since then i also replaced the .45 with a Springfield, Mil-spec. Both shoot fine a 25 yards. Still got 'em.
 
FEG PMK380.

Ironically, I carried it concealed for years, until I finally had enough and got out of .380ACP entirely.

It would not feed anything but ball, which it fed perfectly. Incredibly, not even ONE round of hollow point would load normally. I had to manually put the shell into the chamber with my fingers.

The mainspring was so strong that racking the slide was a difficult and taxing maneuver. The double action trigger pull was at least 15 pounds. I perfected a one-handed draw, safety disengagement and hammercock, but it was quite a trick.

Finally traded it and a little dough for a like-new Beretta 92FS, and have never looked back. No more little carry guns for me.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

O
  • Locked
Pocket Semi Auto
Replies
9
Views
562
oldfella
O
L
  • Locked
If you dangled a semi-auto by a string, and fired it...
Replies
10
Views
872
Popov
P
A
  • Locked
Ruger autos reliable?
2
Replies
47
Views
1K
LeonCarr
L
S
  • Locked
Is the model 21 improved yet?
Replies
10
Views
532
TomN
T
F
  • Locked
Beretta 21A Tomcat range report
Replies
11
Views
2K
firestar
F
Back
Top