Ever allow yourself to be "duped" by internet gun forums?

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What I've found is that if someone posts it on some gun, that's bad, it's going to happen to me. Kimber MIM parts?
Yes, they broke on my guns.

360PD autolock? Yep.

I'm getting a bit gunshy on this stuff. Someone says somethings not going to work, that's usually my experience as well...
 
I was put off by the S&W IL for quite some time due in no small part to the lock-bashers, then I broke down and bought a very nice M21-4. I shot some pretty warm loads through it and never had a problem. Recently, I sold it and bought a 629 with the lock, no problems from it either.

What I've found is that if someone posts it on some gun, that's bad, it's going to happen to me. Kimber MIM parts?
Yes, they broke on my guns.

360PD autolock? Yep.

I'm getting a bit gunshy on this stuff. Someone says somethings not going to work, that's usually my experience as well...
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With luck that bad, maybe you should also carry a rabbit's foot, four-leaf clover, clove of garlic, and load your guns with silver bullets.
 
To flip it over:
My Kimber Custom II has been flawless, once the parts are all Ed Browns.
Orion is doing well with my now 2000 dollar Kimber Ultra Carry II....

MY S&@ 360PD, after it's autolock was removed, has been sort of wonderful, if you can call a 13 oz empty gun with a 10 pound 'tuned' trigger wonderful.:rolleyes: Still, what else, at that weight, puts out 148 grain bullets at 1131 fps?
 
Actually, after having read several threads about the lock on S&W revolvers, I've decided they're not for me. I hardly feel I've been "duped" though.
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That's been my experience but, unlike yourself, after dumping my only Smith lock-era revolver (a nice little 642 that never gave me a whit of trouble) as a direct result of the anti-lock internet chatter, I'm not so sure I didn't let myself get duped. Better "safe than sorry" they say but I may well should feel sorry that I was so "safe".
 
I was gonna say NO, but remembered the Smith Lock debates. Never had a problem with mine, but I didnt use it either. So I took the one out of my 642. So I guess I bought into it, but WTH, at least if its not there it wont lock up, and who cares if it dont if I dont have one.
 
I have heard a lot of things that have kept me from buying certain things:

Kimber 1911's

Sentry Safes

Taurus revolvers

Kahr Polymers


I am about to test the Kahr Polymers by buying a Kahr PM-9 this year. It is good to hear that your gun is working out.
 
I'm entertained by the people who have only put their hands on one gun and one gun only and swear it is the best invention since sliced bread and everyone should go out and buy one, no wait three! So you have one for each hand.
Wait, One hand, Two hands, divide by pi, cube the square root and that gives you this many hands!

What scares me away from any firearm is the rabble of the rousers who insist its the best thing for me. Without ever seeing me, or knowing what my needs are. i.e. "a snubnose is the best gun for personal protection!" "lose that sissy nickel plated showpiece and get yourself a glock, they shoot underwater!" "a Ruger p90 is the only gun to carry!"

Thats why I like going to Kens shop, he lets me behind the counter so I can fondle all the guns and make up my own mind. Plus he quit giving me grief about owning a Kimber. :p
 
"Duped?" I don't believe so. There are products that I've decided weren't for me because of what I've read on the 'net, sure. I recently crossed one off my list from what I'd read on the 'net. Upon further investigation, I found that many of the reported issues had been recently resolved, so it's back under consideration.

You have to realize you're more likely to find complaints than kudos. And the 'net has a long memory, so you have to be sure what you're reading is current.

Manufacturers have to keep in mind that "long memory" part. A good reputation is easily-lost, and hard to regain, in this day-and-age. There are manufacturers I'd be less likely to consider because of their history. I'm sure I'm not alone in this respect.
 
Haha, see my experience has been in the opposite way. I didn't allow a gun's reputation to keep me from buying it and got burned twice; once with a Kel-Tec (which to this day was the most problem riddled gun I have ever owned) and the other time was with a Taurus. My polymer Kahr never failed in any way but the magazine followers kept breaking in half so I got rid of it.



 
Here's how I see it:

Internet forums are the closest thing we have to a "Consumer Reports" for guns. As such, they must be treated the same way. For example, every body knows somebody who had a Honda that was a piece of crap and probably knows somebody who had a Saturn that thinks it's the most reliable car on the planet. What does that mean? Nothing. If it means anything, it means that every good manufacturer makes a bad "widget" every so often and every bad one gets lucky now and again.

So, I take the cumulative effect of many posts and try to posit the truth from amongst them, giving extra weight to the opinions of those who have "proven" themselves one way or another.
 
Forums have probably kept me from buying either a Kel-Tec P11 or PF9. Thing is, I really want a very small 9mm and the Kel-Tecs are small and low in price. But the forum chatter has me convinced that they aren't worth even the small amount of money they cost. Like, I'm either going to get a crappy one that is riddled with problems, or I'm going to get a decent one that works properly -- in which case, I'll then be too afraid to put any meaningful practice time in behind it, for fear that I'll wear it out and shoot it loose and turn it in to one of the many crappy ones.

I sure wouldn't call it duped. Being able to catch the here & now of forum chatter makes it a completely different ballgame than it was 20 years ago where you had NOTHIING other than a well-dated magazine and it's glowing report of every single thing they've ever had their hands on.
 
Not really. If I did, I wouldn't own a Bersa Thunder .380 or a Sig Mosquito. I find that there are usually people out there that form an opinion and will never change it no matter what evidence exists to the contrary. Before I buy anything I research the hell out of it. I usually research the item for a couple of months before and read and read about it. To hear some of the posts on those two guns (usually by the same old people and their broken record replies; you know who you are!!) you would think that they were items that were at best of the throwaway kind. I have found them to be nothing of the sort. I have had my "Skeeter" for about 2 months now with absolutely no problems after about 1000 rounds. I am still waiting for my Bersa (California 10 day wait nonsense), but friends and family have them and they are excellent pieces. Even so, I still go out and test them at my local range for my self. Never buy or dismiss anything on someone else's word or post. Most of the time the naysayer is full of crap.
 
I get some useful answers off this and other interweb gun forums . . .

- No, my S&W model 19 can't handle Buffalo Bore's nuclear 180 grain loads :eek:

- Yes there are 652 ways to kill Alaskan brown bears, mostly from knowledge gained by experts in states like Connecticut or Delaware :D

- Yes, Taurus polymer semi-autos are junk. (Had to buy 5 anyway to confirm this and, yes it's true.)

- Some folks take Zombies too seriously :eek:

- There is no maximum to the number of attachments a person can strap onto a Glock. :barf:

etc., etc.
 
I wish I'd been scared away from a gun...... I read a lot of glowing reviews on Taurus and bought a M85. Worse gun I've ever owned. :mad:
 
I still bought my 638 despite the internet talk criticizing the lock.

But I didn't buy a PM9 due to the bad internet reports at the time (around 2 years ago I guess it was), mainly regarding barrel peening. So I take it that Kahr finally fixed this issue?

But to turn this around, I will tell you one thing though, being an early adopter is a bad idea, despite hysterically positive internet banter and initial positive buzz :D
 
After reading DieHard06's reply, I forgot that in another post I stated:

I would not buy any handgun that rhymes with "member" or "borus".

Info gleaned on the internet in various forums has greatly influenced me on both brands. After WATCHING the thumb safety disintergrate on a well advertised 1911, I decided the internet info could very well be true.
 
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No, it has not influenced me ....

Because, to date, I have seldom seen anything bad about the guns I am interested in. There are lots of guns I simply do not care about, and have no plans to buy, ever. So I don't care if brand XYZ models 1,3,5, and 9 have crappy parts, or what ever the problem is.

I don't like S&W models with the lock, not because I am worried about one engaging on its own, not because of internet tales (true or otherwise), but because I am disgusted with the change to the look of the guns. I dislike the hole in the side, and the new shape of the cylinder latch. That's why I buy pinned & recessed S&W, and no others.

When ever I have the chance, I do shoot models of guns that I don't own, and don't plan to. Just so I can have an honest basis for my opinions. And every once in a while, I do get suprised, and something I though wasn't good turns out to be ok. Still doesn't mean I will buy one, though.

Most of the time, shooting one just confirms why I am not interested. I do find the Internet reports of trouble of value, as well as interesting, but so far, I have not found any that actually influenced my purchasing.
 
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