What is the most unreliable semi auto you have shot ?

[w2fnt]

Glock will never make a single stack nine so your PF9 is totally safe. However, I would keep an eye out for the CM 9 from Kahr. That seems to be targeted, no pun intended, right at the Kel Tec and Ruger pocket rocket nines!

 

[HankB]

Tie: Colt Mk IV Series 70 Government Model Jammamatic. Wouldn't get through a full magazine of hardball without a jam. Tried different ammo, different mags, to no avail. Went back to Colt's repeatedly for "warranty" work, remained a jammamatic. Vowed NEVER to get another pistol with the pony on it, largely due to Colt's NON-service.

Kahr P9. Lots of problems. Failure to go into battery. Failure of slide to lock back. PREMATURE slide lock. Trigger pin walked out. Trigger failed to engage the striker. After the 3rd trip to the factory, Kahr replaced the pistol Traded the new - unfired! - replacement for a G26, which has the virtue of actually WORKING. (To Kahr's credit, unlike Colt's - they TRIED to make things right, and paid for shipping each time it went back.)

Surprised to see someone else pan the BHP . . . my Mk III works exceptionally well, even with cheap ProMags. (I carry it with "real" Browning magazines.)

 

[Effigy]

With all due respect Sig is hardly the a standard of quality. Apparently it is just your choice. It was the choice of my department as well until Glock came along. I own both and each has it's own merit and detraction.

In my own experience the SIGs have run flawlessly for over 3000 rounds. I can't say whether that will be true after 30,000 rounds, but so far I'm very confident in them. I agree that Glocks and SIGs have their own pros and cons and wouldn't argue for over the other. I just like most of the SIG's features.

 

[w2fnt]

Glock, Browning and S&W have logged millions of rounds over any Sig. When Sig lost the LEO market to Glock and S&W their fate was set in stone. They are over and yesterdays news sorry to say. Their Customer Service just plain sucks and is killing them softly even more. Real shame!

 

[1858remington]

I worked on a gun range as range officer for 4 years. During that time I encounterd a lot of unreliable crab weights, here are a few:

1. Colt 2000 9mm. Probably the worst thing to come out of the Colt factory
2. S&W Sigma series 380, 9mm, & 40S&W Our local Police retired theirs after ony 1 year of use due to reliability issues.
3. Colt mustang 380 they were just to ammo finicky
4. Desert Eagle: Mainsprings held in place by weak "E" clips, clips break and springs damage the gas system.
5. Anything by Bryco, Jennings, Davis, & RG.
6. Beretta Tomcat 32 auto. no extractor, relies on recoil to eject
7. Cobray Products Jammamatic!!!

 

[Apocalypse-Now]

an XD45. what a steamy pile that was.....

 

[franco45]

Cobra Patriot 45 and Diamondback DB380.:banghead:

 

[Ronin6]

Browning Hi Power FTE and feeding issues, essentially a single shot.

 

[Flintknapper]

Kel-Tec

Hands down the worst...I've ever experienced.

 

[momano]

Kel-tec P3AT. 3 trips to the mother ship and still jammin.

 

[Ruger Redhawk]

Beretta M21A Jam O Matic. It might need some more breaking in. It has never fired a full mag without jamming.

 

[marb4]

My friend who was going to "get into guns" paid $1200 for a Kimber 1911 that had been "accurized" whatever that meant. You're extremely lucky to get through a 7 round mag without at least 1 FTF or FTE regardless of ammo. The pistol gets shot maybe once a year.

 

[splattergun]

Lorcin 380.
My nephew wanted to buy it, so after giving him the lecture of what a dummy I was to buy it myself, he gave me $75. He polished the ramp, slide and trigger, shoots it at least once a month and says it has never FTE, FTF or AFUd. After 13 years it's still his primary carry piece.

 

[joneser49]

Kel-Tec Pf9

 

[Casefull]

I have never had an automatic that did not work well. They are all quite easy to correct if they do not run right out of the box.

 

[Leviathan5964]

Hands down, the Chinese knockoff of the soviet Tokarev Pistol, the "TU-90". I worked for an importer that brought some in from China. We test fired a few and they literally fell aprt in our hands. I refused to sell any. Garbage.

 

[scaper]

I was thinking it was a Phoenix Arms .25 auto, but it may be a Raven. Almost guaranteed not to work.

 

[kozak6]

The Phoenix Arms HP-22 is the winner.

It would sometimes malfunction on every single round in the magazine. Light strikes, failures to extract, failures to feed, stovepipes, everything.

The Bryco 9mm comes in second. It would reliably fire the first round in the magazine every time. After that, it might jam on every single round after that. It was a bit more creative in malfunctioning, though. Sometimes, recoil would activate the takedown latch and the slide would half detach itself from the frame. Hilarious.

 

[peacebutready]

I think the reason you see so many Kimbers listed is simply because Kimber sells so many 1911s and 1911s aren't all EXACTLY the same like a Glock or XD is. They are more prone to inconsistencies in the manufacturing process, no matter who the manufacturer is. That's why one guy will swear his Kimber sucked, but loves his Springfield or Colt. Works the other way around too...some guys will say they have 4 Kimbers and they are all flawless, but won't touch another Springfield or Colt after one bad experience.

I've read about Kimber's. The percentage of them with issues has been high in recent years. One L.E. Org. returned them to the distributor or wherever they bought them for credit. I think N.C. or S.C.

I surmise the many of the happy Kimber owners have ones that were made before a few or several years ago. Maybe others sent them back for work, and when they received them back, they were great. Another possible factor: aesthetics.

 

[ultramag44]

A fellow shooters Kimber! no it wasn't the magazine!

My Taurus PT1911 was w/ me that day. It ran w/o a hitch.

The other fellow was saying things about his Kimber you would not want the family to hear.

 

[Manson]

This is an epic thread. For the most part what I see here simply confirms what most of us know. Definitely some well known contenders for the most unreliable. Over the years I have owned a number of firearms but had very good luck. I now own guns (more than one each) from Sig, H&K, Glock, Smith and others. So reliability isn't much of a problem.

The one sad exception in my experience has been Kimber. I've owned three of them and will never buy another. My RIA is more reliable than any of the Kimbers were. Beautiful firearms that proved to be nothing more than a pretty face.

 

[csa77]

a Springfield 1911, the only gun iv ever shot to break in my hands.
the ejector came un-glued.


i was surprised to find out SA dose not pin there ejectors, they just glue them

 

[Silent Bob]

Kimber Ultra Eclipse. Could not get through a single magazine without a malfunction of some sort. Failures to feed, failures to extract, failures to eject, failures to return to battery, locking open mid-magazine, etc. Kimber could not fix it. Sold it at a loss. Left an enduring bad taste in my mouth towards Kimber products.

 

[WinThePennant]

Never had luck with 1911s.

AVOID.

 

[Winkman822]

For me it's a toss up between my Kimber Eclipse Custom II, Kimber Royal II, and my last Glock 23 (it's the only Glock I've ever owned or operated that was not stupidly, boringly reliable).