Your Guns That Didn't Work

[Confederate]

This is a call for those of you with cheap auto pistols that you picked up and never got rid of to now post photos here and tell your stories!

Here are some of mine:



I can't tell you how many of these Sterlings I bought of varying
calibers and types, but I was into stainless steel in those days and
I couldn't find ONE Sterling in any caliber that worked. Some of you
lucky ones did. I bought some in both .22LRs and .25ACPs. They
were ALL paperweights.



Although others had problems with them, I had remarkable success
with nearly all of my Jennings J-22s. I had one that I shot hundreds of
rounds through. This one is remarkably reliable for four or five maga-
zines, then it begins jamming until cleaned. After I ascertained it's
reliability, I cleaned it and put it in my safe as a collector's piece. I also
bought a few new firing pins and an extra magazine. It's beautiful and
virtually new!



This stainless Beretta 21A .22LR (right)gave me fits when I first got
it. It jammed incessantly and was worse than my Jennings. Then
someone here recommended far better ammo (Stingers and CCI
Mini-Mags), and suddenly the gun worked! I wish Beretta still
made these little gems and wonder why they stopped. They're
fabulous, but I wonder how many hundreds or thousands of
rounds I can put through it! The other gun, a Beretta stainless
950 .25ACP, is an astounding gun that everyone should own.



This heavy little .380 is a remarkable little gun that has
never fired a complete magazine without jamming. People
have recommended me getting a new magazine, but at $25
for something that may or may not work, I'd rather put the
$$$ into a hi-cap magazine for one of my other guns.

If you have photos of any of the cheap autos you once used or abused, cursed or cherished, please tell your story and show a photo of them, if possible.

Also, did you have any guns you personally had to destroy they were so bad? Do you have any that you kept as fishing "kit" guns just to shoot tin cans with?

Let's hear your stories and see your photos!

.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I have a different problem - I bought expensive guns ($500 to over $900) that didn't work.

 

[AK103K]

I have a different problem - I bought expensive guns ($500 to over $900) that didn't work.

Me too.

Still havent learned my lesson either, but its getting better. I'm running out of makers not to buy.

 

[legumeofterror]

This guy has been pretty unreliable.

 

[non2os13]

this one had a problem or 9 itself.
it wasn't cheap though.

 

[Racinbob]

Don't have a pic anymore but my Kahr PM9 was horrible, even after an all expenses paid on my part trip back to the factory. Oh wait....it wasn't inexpensive.

 

[BlayGlock]

Two Para 1911s.

 

[schmeky]

Anyone remember the little Iver Johnson TP-22? It looked a lot like a Walther, but it shot like something carved from a bar of soap by Gomer Pyle.

J-U-N-K-I-E

 

[Russ Jackson]

I won a Raven Arms 25 auto in a card game once. I fired it once and actually threw it away...Russ

 

[Olympus]

This one is definitely unreliable. It's back at Ruger to see what the problem is.

 

[rklessdriver]

I HAD a nice Kimber Tactical Pro II that didn't work. Horrible gun.

The cheaper guns I've owned over the years all seemed good to go. Star's, Astra's, FM's... all were 100% functional.
Will

 

[45Fan]

Anyone remember the little Iver Johnson TP-22?

My dad has one, carried it just about every where he went. I guess he lucked into a good one, because it is a pretty reliable little pistol.

 

[Olympus]

The cheaper guns I've owned over the years all seemed good to go.

+1

That's been my experience too. My Polish P-64 was less than half the price of the SR9c (still what I consider a budget-minded pistol) and it put that Ruger to shame!

 

[Confederate]

I won a Raven Arms 25 auto in a card game once. I fired it once and actually threw it away...

What happened when you fired it?

I actually had quite a bit of good luck with Ravens. In fact, I never owned any of them that didn't work.

 

[sniper4usmc]

Sig PRO 2022 was POS....FTE/FTF, and empty brass hitting face area..

 

[Onmilo]

Sadly, I wasn't into photographing my guns when i owned the ones that didn't work but the worst offender was one of those Jennings J-22 pistols.

I never could get mine to function as a semi automatic but it would work as a manual repeater.
Accuracy was nonexistent and I ended up loading it with CCI shotshells to kill barn pidgeons that wouldn't leave of their own free will.

I have also owned two of the Beretta 950 style single action pocket guns.
One was an early Minx version in .22 Short rimfire caliber and the other was a .25 950BS which had the safety lever like a 1911.
Both were flawless performers, the .25 my first serious CCW.
This was back when packing a concealed weapon was a misdemenor in Illinois and it took three convictions before the forth became a felony.
$125 fine and wiped off your record in a year.
These were golden, wonderful years here.
I never even had an arrest and most of the cops I had dealings with knew I was packing a gun.
I used the .22 Short as a trapline gun and a plinker.
It was wonderful! I still miss that gun and wish I had it back 25 years later.

Those Sterling pocket guns were fairly popular with cops here as back-up guns.
Most chose the .25 because they felt they were the most reliable over the .22 versions.

 

[MedWheeler]

Grendel P-10. A bunch of us cops got in on a purchase-order deal from the company, which was marketing them to us as potential BU/OD guns when they came out in the late eighties. I think our order was in 1988. Rare was the occasion in which more than two rounds could be fired in succession without a failure in between them. However, its performance did improve substantially after a feed-ramp job. I still own the gun and shoot it now and then. If it's clean when I arrive at the range, it will fire flawlessly for the first two magazine loads. After that, it will fail about once per mag. So, if I didn't have others to choose from, I guess I could count on it as a defensive piece, at least for the first ten rounds (a combat reload is not an option with an internal-mag pistol.)

 

[vwfool]

Kimber Ultra Carry II...Stovepipe, stovepipe, stovepipe. :banghead: Never once fired a complete magazine full without a fialure of some kind.



I have another Kimber, a Custom Stainless (Series I), that is one of the most accurate and reliable guns I have ever owned.

 

[oasis618]

I bought a new Kel Tec P32 years ago that would only fire when it felt like it (light strikes). I took it back to the store I bought it and the gunsmith there made it right and it was great after that...right up until it was stolen. It is probably serving some Richard Head criminal very well right now.

 

[ulflyer]

I didn't know Beretta had stopped making the 22 cal 21a. Mine functions well even with inexpensive Mexican Aquila ammo. Keep it the garage where its handy for critters....

 

[hemiram]

My Colt Combat Commander was a total mess, Colt didn't do much to help it. It was and still is , the most expensive gun I've ever bought.
My Walther PPK was terrible. I had several of the clones, in .22, .32, and .380, and they all had issues, but the "real thing" was almost as bad.
I had about a two year period where every new gun I bought had problems, but the used ones, cheap, or expensive, worked great. The last 4 years though, they have all been great. I know it's bound to end soon, but it's been a good run of luck.

 

[benderx4]

I wanted this gun to work SO BADLY, but it never did. Sure looked cool, though. Should have known that any gun called a "Warthog" was apt to have issues.

 

[vikinggirl]

Colt Pocket 9. It was my first gun and I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with the darn thing. Was getting very frustrated when someone let me borrow a 1911. Amazed myself with my accuracy and wondered where all of the bullets went that came out of the 9?

 

[6x6pinz]

biggest piece of crap ever. The company has a lifetime warranty but won't take it back to look at it or let another gun smith look at it without voiding warranty. Bought it new direct from factory and have never been able to get more than one round to fire at a time.
Accu tek

 

[Casaba]

Ruger LCP... FTF 6 rounds in the 1st clip. Tried a few times, sent it in to Ruger, they fixed it. I then sold it but let the guy know about it and showed the return paperwork

I wanted it to work well, but it sucked