Modifications You Regret?

K

KMAX

New member
Have you ever done any modifications to any guns and then regretted them? I have not done any PERMANENT modifications that I regretted, but I did put a Tapco collapsible stock on a SKS and buy several detachable mags. Also I put a collapsible stock and pistol grip and a pistol grip fore end on a Mossberg 500. I have since decided that these were goofy "mall ninja" tactics and a waste of money and have swapped back to the original stocks and mags. What kind of goofy or bad things have any of you done to your guns? BTW, no offense to any of you who actually like the kind of modifications that I mentioned. It is just that they weren't right for me.
 
I quickly discovered that pistol grips on a shotgun are a dumb idea if you value your wrists. I once built an AR for CQC because I had always wanted one, then I realized that I don't clear houses for a living and Reflex sights with 4 MOA reticles are useless for anything except that. Fortunately, I sold that rifle during the Great Gun Buy of 2013 for a tidy profit, then bought another for a song this summer. One point slings are something else I tried and discarded as useless.
 
Nope. All the modifications I have ever performed on my guns were for purely functional reasons to improve performance. I'm not one to add accessories to my guns unless absolutely necessary.

In general, the only modifications I make are one of the following: adding optics (only 1 per gun, even ARs), adding extended grip safeties to 1911s to get rid of hammer bite, refining triggers to get a lighter and/or crisper break, or adding new stocks/bedding rifles to improve accuracy. Other than that, every single one of my guns is pretty much stock.
 
I used to have two 1911 pistols with the grip safety shortened and contoured so there was no tail or tang extending beyond the frame. It looks sort of cool/different, but it allowed my hand to get so high and deep into the frame that I was having trouble with my trigger finger pushing up on the safety lever on one side of the gun with about the same force as I was able to apply with my thumb on the other side. I sold one gun, and put a conventional grip safety on the other.




I also experimented with an ambi selector on my AR, I again had issues with the safety and my trigger finger, as rotating the selector with my thumb caused the safety to rub against my trigger finger. I could have shortened or thinned the lever on the trigger-finger side, but decided to just train myself to manipulate the standard selector with my finger, instead.
 
My professional life has taught me to have a backout plan.

This has worked well in the firearms portion of my life.
 
I tried putting a three point sling on my carry rifle. I put up with it for about a month until it became hopelessly tangled in radio mics wires and various other things. Then out came the gerber cutting it into pieces until it was all gone. I then went slingless for a few months and was so happy with that, that I mostly go that way on my carry rifles now.
 
Taking off too much metal when fitting my CZ Kadet slide to my 75bd. It still worked fine but I could have been a bit more conservative with the file.

Not using enough padding when adjusting the rear sight on my p01. The vise dinged the slide release pretty good.

I'm still on the fence about mounting an optic to my CZ carbine. Tried a red dot, 2-7x scope then a fixed 4x scope. Problem is the little rifle is just so darn handy and light it begs to be shot with irons, and is the same size as my Henry lever action 22.
 
Putting a synthetic stock on my Russian SKS. ...not because I didn't like the stock, but because I left the original with my father (he had room, and I didn't).
He decided to do some 'spring cleaning' and used it and his Chinese SKS's stock for firewood. That, of course, annihilated the Russian's resale value when it came time to sell it. :(
 
With a name like "FrankenMauser," I was hoping to see the greatest mall ninja Mauser known to man. Too bad about the wood for that SKS though...
 
With a name like "FrankenMauser," I was hoping to see the greatest mall ninja Mauser known to man.
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I don't regret any of the Franken Mauser's modifications. But, once the receiver cracked, there was no saving it. In the end, it died a noble death...







It was used as a target. :eek:

I had considered grenading it with a massive charge of a fast handgun powder, but shrapnel containment was an issue. ...So, we shot it. ;)
I'll post a photo, if I can find them.
 
I put a scope on my Henry .22. It left chips in the finish after I shot it and realized I didn't shoot at distances far enough to need the scope.
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I drilled out the little tabs inside the magazine on my 870 to install an extended mag tube. The mag was on the gun for about 2 months before I removed it. Now every time I remove the barrel, the spring and cap launch across the room:eek:
 
I bought a new Colt Mk 4/Series 70 when I was in college in '77. It was popular back then to have Smith and Wesson adjustable sights installed on 1911s. I don't remember why.

I sent the gun off to Jim Clark in Keithville, LA, to have a ton of work done. Basically, a "Clarkerized" 1911.

I spent several times the amount of money for a new 1911.

I still have the gun. But I sure wish I hadn't done the work.

Other than that, most every revolver I bought I'd promptly ship to Clark for their standard modifications.

Looking back, every penny of that was wasted money. I should have just been buying more guns.
 
Well I did the "extractor mod" on a T/C 22 classic. Following that mod the gun began having "stovepipe" issues on extraction. Not sure if the mod was the cause or if it is something else that has cropped up.

So now I have a puzzle to solve and hopefully the mod wasn't the cause because I have been unable to find a new extractor.:mad:
 
Yes. The Weaver scope mount on my pre-ring dovetail Redhawk is permanent, since it scratches hell out of the gun when installing.:( Didn't know it until it happened, then read the warning in the instructions, which came later. Note: Should read ALL the instructions, not just enough to install.:rolleyes:
 
I once beat the living snot out of a fixed front sight to align it. Then filed it down so I could get a better sight picture.


Why can't I post anonymously in this thread?:o
 
Have you ever done any modifications to any guns and then regretted them?
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With the exception of different revolver stocks or auto grip panels, most modifications away from factory stock, I have regretted. Stuff people recommend on Teh Interwebz, mostly isn't worth doing.
 
Stuff people recommend on Teh Interwebz
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Back in my day, before the 'net, we got our information from gun magazines. Shooting Times. Guns and Ammo. Etc.

I always thought it (the mods) were the latest and greatest.

In retrospect, now I realize the gun writers were trying to fill copy space with new material.
 
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