Good guns that were DUDS!

J

Jerry11826

New member
There are pistols that didn’t sell well, but they were very good pistols. I have two. I want to tell you about them and maybe you could share similar stories with me and viewers of this board.

The first is a Mdl. 669 S&W 9MM auto. This is one of my favorite pistols. I shoot the pistol in my club’s 60 shot Concealed Cary match about 6 times per year. Practice with it maybe 3 three times a year. Say 500 rounds per year is about right.

The load is a 125gr.? Cast Lee bullet over 4 grns of Bullseye powder. This is a great pistol. It will function perfectly with just about any load. From Federal self defense to my crappy reloads. It even fired a .380 auto one time. The pistol did not eject, but it did feed and fire.

Accuracy is amazing for a light, short barrel pistol! It will “chew” the center out of a standard NRA pistol target at 15 yards off hand!

The pistol is “butt” ugly. But that is because of the grips. They are a “cheap” looking smooth plastic. They are OK. I replaced mine with Uncle Mike’s rubber grips, an improvement!

I am 64, when I retire next year I am going to apply for a Florida concealed carry permit. If I am approved, I plan to carry the 669 daily. It fits perfectly into my “Dickies” right rear trouser pocket. With a long body T-shirt untucked, no one will know I am carrying.

The 669 will fire 12 rounds of 9MM very quickly and accurately with 100% reliability. What more can you say about a pistol?

My other “Dud” is the Beretta 9000S in 40 S&W. Like the 669, they only sold two. One to me and one to some other “Turkey”. Same “deal” as the 669. Very accurate. Will shoot anything, even my reloads. The load I am using is 4 grns. of Bullseye under a 160 grn.? Lee cast bullet. Shoots great. The factory equivalent, of 6 grns. of Bullseye, was too hot for me.

My pistol has a very poor trigger. It slides, creeps and binds. But still, it will “chew” the center out of a standard NRA pistol target at 15 yards.

I even like the finish. It is some kind of a black coating. Maybe “powder coat”. What a great pistol! If it were not slightly fatter than the 669, it would be my carry weapon of choice. It will fire 10 rounds of 40 S&W quickly and accurately.

Don’t buy this pistol unless you get two or more magazines. I have six. I cannot find any more available

This is a nice pistol!

Let me hear from you if you have any DuDs!

Jerry
 
I must've been the other "turkey," since I had a 9000S in 40cal a few years ago. Sold it off, but replaced it with another 9000S in 9mm. Nice gun, a little fat, yes and not my favorite carry piece so mine sees a lot of "safe time" but I still have no desire to get rid of it.
 
The Browning BDM from the mid to late 90s.

Typical of Brownings this one was a good looking pistol that just felt right in my hand. Perfect ergonomics. But I never warmed up to the dual mode action and it was cursed by being built at just the wrong time...when polymer frames were becoming popular and when hi-cap mags had all but disappeared. So folks who bought these ended up with a large, heavy, all steel, low cap 9mm pistol that was not very intuitive to operate if you were used to other Browning creations like the Hi-Power.

I still have mine, but I don't shoot it much. It's just a conversation piece now.
 
Not really so much the handgun but the round. I really like the 10mm and I don't understand why it doesn't attract more attention. There are some good weapons in 10mm but they just never really takeoff.
 
Colt Double Eagle.

Basically a production version of the Seecamp conversion for the 1911, turning the single action into a double action. Good gun, shoots well, never made a dent in the marketplace.
 
I miss my 669. That was one of the most concealable guns I have ever owned. I can't believe I traded it in on a Glock 19 way back in the day. I like my 19 but I loved that 669. I was young and dumb.
 
BDM....

The Browning BDM from the mid to late 90s.
Click to expand...

Wow...now, that brings back memories. I bought one when they discontinued them (96?) for about $299(!). Traded it around 99' for a compact 9 for the same reason - saw no use for a full-size, all-steel, 10-round capacity pistol. Wish I still had it now, however. Ah, the folly of youth....For what it is worth, I always kept mine on "Pistol Mode" so it was just a regular double-action auto to me.

J
 
Two I can think of.

1 Colt Officer's Double Eagle. 1911 platform DA with a smooth, light DA first shot, and nice SA trigger pull for the rest.

2 Colt Combat Elite Nice compat 1911 platform, also DA with a 4 pound DA trigger squeese. The sights were a bit different. I shot one a friend's dad purchased, and was highly impressed by it. Would love to have had the chance to buy one.
 
Colt Combat Elite
Click to expand...
I'll have to disagree that this was a dud. Colt started this model in the 1980s and sold it for several years. They started new production about three years ago. Current Combat Elites are better than the original ones. Below is a picture of my 1980s vintage Combat Elite.

Colt_CombatElite-1.jpg


Colt_Combat_Elite_03.jpg
 
My other “Dud” is the Beretta 9000S in 40 S&W.
Click to expand...

I wanted one of these badly. Saw it in the LGS, the price was right but when I picked it up I could not believe how fat it was. Maybe it wasn't even that fat, perhaps the proportions were just wrong. Nice looking gun but I'll stick to the mini-Cougar if I want a Beretta compact.
 
Threedogdad said:
The Browning BDM from the mid to late 90s.
Jaughtman said;
Wow...now, that brings back memories. I bought one when they discontinued them (96?) for about $299(!). Traded it around 99' for a compact 9 for the same reason - saw no use for a full-size, all-steel, 10-round capacity pistol. Wish I still had it now, however. Ah, the folly of youth....For what it is worth, I always kept mine on "Pistol Mode" so it was just a regular double-action auto to me.+1 BDM Browning, but what is this "low cap" (10 rd) business? My friend's is 15. Yours must have post-ban mags? One of the big deals about the gun as I recall was that it refuted the notion that a hi cap 9 couldn't be slim. The BDM has the slimmest profile gripframe/grips I've ever handled in a hi-cap 9--at least anywhere close to ca "its era." Nicer than even the 13 rd Hi-Power if that's possible. Almost defies geometric laws! I do recall that the "reverse" safety was an oddity and put off to some used to the 1911/Hi Power layout.

Another "good dud" - the Daewoo DP51 (9) and DH40 (40). Great guns. Said to have been a main issue weapon for the South Korean military, and they don't mess around. Quality pieces, I've had two of the 40s. I had a ftf/fte issue on one with hydrashoks - a quick deburring trip with a smith cured. Slick "tri action" was/is a neat feature. Just didn't get the airplay and distribution network it deserved.
 
Last edited:
I'll have to disagree that this was a dud. Colt started this model in the 1980s and sold it for several years. They started new production about three years ago. Current Combat Elites are better than the original ones. Below is a picture of my 1980s vintage Combat Elite.
Click to expand...

I think he is thinking of another gun. Colt never made a Combat Elite with a DA trigger, and to my knowledge Combat Elite's have always been full-sized Governments.

2 Colt Combat Elite Nice compat 1911 platform, also DA with a 4 pound DA trigger squeese
Click to expand...
 
I don't know if it qualifies as a "dud" because it keeps getting rebadged and sold (but not to alot of people) BUT the Walther P99 was a very clever design.

It was later made/sold by Smith&Wesson in a joint venture as the SW99.

Currently, it being sold under the Magnum Research label.
 
The Dan Wesson 15. The gun is a great design but the company never had the stability to produce it in the numbers it deserved. Well made, super accurate and switching a barrel takes about 2 minutes.
 
True on all accounts....

My friend's is 15. Yours must have post-ban mags? One of the big deals about the gun as I recall was that it refuted the notion that a hi cap 9 couldn't be slim. The BDM has the slimmest profile gripframe/grips I've ever handled in a hi-cap 9--at least anywhere close to ca "its era.
Click to expand...

It had WONDERFUL egronomics. However, I bought it at the height of the Clinton Magazine ban and brand-new ones (which mine was) only came with the 10-rounders. I tried in vain to find some pre-ban mags for it. It was amazing that grip housed a full 15-round size mag, through.

J
 
All of the guns that ended up as dud's did so for a reason. I can't think of any good guns that didn't make it. Many were not bad, but someone else had a better gun or a better price.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top