Handgun: Biggest Disappointment?

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Firepower!

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Hi
Which handgun has been your biggest disappointment? This is in terms of what you had expected and paid for or waited to be released, but making all that is said worthless and disappointing.

Regards

PS if MODs think there should be a poll attached to this thread then plz do so.
 
I have not had a handgun disapoint me as of yet. I own a few that I have purchased over the years, in adition to the ones I inherited from my grampa. I do my homework before I buy. Not just reviews by gunwriters, I go to the ranges and talk to the owners of them. Shoot any that I can. Make my own decisions.
Now I do have memories of Jennings J22 that was in one of my tackle boxes that ended up somewhere in the Brazos river when my canoe over turned. I was disapointed that it added enough weight to the tackle box that it sank. :p. (My lures in the box cost way more than the gun did.) That is the only disappointment I have had from a handgun ever.:D
 
I've never really been disappointed by a handgun I've purchased. I've sold a few because I found something better but never because I considered the gun that I sold to be a lemon. Here's an example. A couple of years ago I bought a S & W 686SSR. It was a gun that I just had to have, a 4" .357 magnum that came with great reviews. It was a very good gun and I enjoyed shooting it. But then, after a few months I was at a gun show and my eyes happened on a 66 no-dash, another 4" revolver by Smith & Wesson. It was love at first sight. It had a superb trigger, pointed easily, and just felt perfect in my hand. I bought it and for a few weeks I owned both the SSR and the 66. However, after shooting the two guns side by side I decided that I much preferred the 66. It was a subjective thing, there was nothing wrong with the SSR, I just liked the 66 a lot more. So, I sold the SSR.
 
Para-Ordnance P14-40. 3.5" barrel, 1911-style .40-CAL.

It was a total POS. Misfed every other round, regardless of which ammo I used. I will never even look at another Para as long as I live, nor will I ever recommend one to anyone.
 
I once bought a purty little .38 5 shot Taurus. I couldn't hit a barn with it. However, when I was fussing with my friend 'Jeff' about it he told me to toss a can out 'there'.

That dern gun worked just fine for him as he put 5 neat little holes in the can.

I never did figger out why the gun never shot that straight for me.:p

((('Jeff' used to shoot competitions)))
 
My cousin & shooting buddy bought a S&W Model 39 (I guess it was a 39-2) when we were both in our early 20's, back in the late 70s. It was a real "jam-o-matic." Totally unreliable. :barf:

I had two separate Model 29s a little while later which both went out of time so badly the cylinders froze. This was while shooting 44 Specials! :confused:

It was a while before I began to trust S&W again...
 
Jumped on the Glock bandwagon a couple of years ago. Hated it. Jumped back off 2 weeks later. Shortest time I have ever owned a gun.
 
The biggest disappointment for me had to be the Walther PPS. I waited and waited for this gun and snatched up the first one I came across. I was so anxious to get to the range with it I could not stand it. When I finally got it and made it to the range it became clear the gun did not fit my hand well and that I had very little control over it. I seemed to do worse and worse with it the more I shot it. :(
 
Kel-Tecs in general. Loved the concept, but the execution fell somewhat short. I owned one P-32, one P-11, and two P3ATs (with all the people that rave about them, I thought for sure I'd get lucky sooner or later--didn't happen). Lots of time and money spent on mags and different ammo, lots time on the phone to Cocoa Beach, lots of free parts in the mail (thanks for trying, Bill), lots of time on www.KTRange learning to F&B, lots of 400/600/1200 grit sandpaper wasted, lots of money lost when selling each with full disclosure. Quoth the Raven: Nevermore.

Springfield EMP. I waited for a while before buying one, but not long enough. First one went back to Geneseo twice, the second time it didn't come back--Springfield replaced it. The second one went back once. And then got sold.
 
I've had some disappointments in handguns:

A Kimber 1911 that would jam the empty casing of the last round against the feed ramp, holding it with the extractor and mag lips while locking the slide lock. Made for a 'pry it out' kind of jam that really ticked me off. Never did find out what it was or get it corrected (wilson mags decreased the frequency of it though), although it has been suggested the extractor tunnel was mis-drilled, putting downward pressure on the casing.

A Springfield Loaded stainless, .45 ACP 1911. Gun was a dream to shoot; nice trigger, reliable, accurate, etc. Until the slide broke in half shooting WWB one day not long after I bought it. Front part shot forward, rear part actually loaded the next round into the barrel. What's really freaky is that I probably could have lit off the next round if I pulled the trigger.

A S&W M66 (early model - No Dash); Very good condition gun that happened to suffer from S&W's early days of stainless guns; the hammer and trigger galled like crazy and were unable to hold a trigger job for more than a couple hundred rounds.
 
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Walther P22: The firing pin broke after about 40 rounds.

Walther PPK: The frame geometry was horrible for me when firing the gun, not to mention the fact it was very heavy.

Ruger P95: A great gun but worked horribly when even a little dirty. A good plinker but not a gun I really trusted.
 
No need to bash a certain custom 1911 maker so...I had the chance to shoot a $2000+ 1911 two months back and was greatly disappointed. I was expecting too much I guess. Just cannot see the difference between it and a good, much cheaper 1911. Well, except for looks. She sure was pretty.

Beentown
 
I think it was my Ruger P345. I just couldn't get used to the trigger pull. I didn't like it, even though it was named "Gun of the Year" by Guns and Ammo magazine. I sold it right away.

I also bought a Bersa .380 that I just didn't like at all.
 
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Back in the early 80's I was carrying a Combat Commander as a duty pistol. I just had to have a neat little (& expensive) Detonics as an off duty gun.

No problem... if you don't mind stovepipes, failure to go into battery and the rear sight falling off. Detonics=Junk.

There was a cheaper, more reliable .45 at the time I should have bought: Star PD

:mad:
 
Ruger Super BH Bisley. Got one after reading the hype over how they are the best thing since sliced bread for recoil managment on a SA revo. Lots of guys swear by them but it sure didn't work for me. It felt OK when I bought it but when I started to shoot it I really disliked it. Ended up selling it and moving on.

I've suffered far more disappointment from selling guns than buying.
 
Had a Glock 22 for a few days. That thing was a jam-o-matic and went back to the seller. Tainted my opinion of that brand forever as unreliable, unsafe, and useless for self defense.
 
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