Saturday Night Specials

M

martin08

New member
Novelties, BUGs, every day shooters, paperwieghts, or CCWs.

Whatever you "know (not heard)" about them, your stories and pictures.

I collect SNS's and can say that 90% or more can be made into reliable and safe shooters. The other 10%? Iffy and just pure junk, but I love 'em anyway.

My first SNS was a Jimenez JA-380. It has over 600 rounds through it and it resides in my camper and tackle box. There if I need it, and not much to lose if it's gone!

postal_JA380.jpg
 
I have a PHOENIX 22 just for fun to plink etc. and it is a lot of fun and cheap to shoot. And it shoots very well. My wife likes it also.,but it is not a self def. gun ,only a toy.
Bob
 
"Saturday Night Special" isn't that what gun grabers say when they are trying to lump a bunch of guns together they want to take away from us?
 
SNS

I don't know much about the gun in the photo but I also have a phoenix hp22. Great little gun! Some of these little guns are not worth the materials they are made of and then some are under priced IMO. I have been thinking about getting a Jimenez 380 just for the same purpose that you use it for. Fishing, Camping ect. but I have been afraid of its reliability. Do you have many problems with yours? If it is reliable then for the price I think I would like it.
 
comm-cents: Yep. But, it has racist origins as well. The original term was Saturday Night N-gg--town Special and was used to derisively sneer upon the types of firearms that only poor African Americans could afford.

It's been "PC'd" up a bit by the left now that they have the black voting bloc securely in place. Now they just call it a Saturday Night Special.
 
I haven't heard the gun grabbers screaming about "Saturday Night Specials" in quite some time as they seem too busy inventing other terms like "Assault Weapon" and "Cop-Killer Bullets".

As far as the 'entry level' guns go, I've heard that Hi-Points and Ravens are actually decent given their price but that many others like Jennings, Davis, and Bryco aren't worth the pot metal they're made of. I can't say for sure as I've not owned any of those. I do own a H&R .22 revolver that's a decent gun though it's certainly no Colt, S&W, or Ruger.
 
I worked in a store that sold cheap handguns like the RG-10, as well as, later, the Jennings, Davis, and the like. My job was to try and fix the ones that wouldn't work since my boss didn't want to send them back. Here is my take.

Some work OK, and seem to go on working. But they are made with poor material, usually zinc castings. The springs are of poor quality and lose tension rapidly. Often they won't (fire, feed, extract, eject - choose one or more) right out of the box. If one problem is fixed another crops up.

There was/is no quality control and poor customer service. Parts are hard or impossible to get from the factory. A customer who returns a gun and complains often enough and long enough might be sent a new gun that is no better than the original.

The designs are not too bad, and made of good material and with good QC they might be OK, but the makers really don't care as long as they can make money.

As for defending them, we have to defend them the same way the "quality" press has to defend pornography. If we allow the anti-gun gangsters to decide which guns are "good" and which are "bad", we lose, since to them, all guns are "bad" no matter how expensive or how well made.

Jim
 
Jimenez JA22 - Purchased new, and was fairly reliable out of the box, but after some 'fluff & buff' procedures it works flawlessly, and is one of the favorites for plinking. I can put in a full afternoon with a FTF rate only dependent on the ammo quality. The people at Jimenez are great to work with. I've ordered parts from them on two occassions (one time a firing pin and the other a replacement grip) and they didn't charge me either time, sent 2 firing pins, and a set of grips, and the parts were in my mailbox within 7 days. I've put over 3,000 rounds through this one, with no problems with the springs, etc. I had to replace the firing pin after I ground the original too short to fix an occasional extraction problem at the beginning.

Phoenix Arms HP22A - Got this one used, and it's another reliable plinker, but also took some work to get it running smoothly. Is a little more finicky than the Jimenez, but only slightly so. Still a fun gun to spend an afternoon plinking with, but requires a quick cleaning about halfway through the afternoon or it will begin to FTE. No experience with the customer service, as I haven't had to order any parts for it. Round count...I'm unsure of the previous owner, but it was heavily used by appearance, and I've now put an additional 1,000 rounds + through it.

I'd dare to say that at least half the people that down talk these little guns have never shot one and are only passing on what they've read or heard. The other half probably have, and took these guns out of the box roughness as a reason to give up on them. It's true that they can take some tinkering to get just right, but once you've done that they're fun and inexpensive plinkers. Now, most will say that you shouldn't have to do anything to a gun out of the box, and that's true, but you have to take into consideration the cost of these guns. If you don't mind putting in that time and effort, then they're worth the money IMO. If you're not, well, then don't mess with them because you won't like them!

Also, please note that I didn't say they're good SD guns ;)
 
martin08----never heard of Jimenez, but looks pretty good in your picture, not all guns have to have a second mortgage to be a good peace. It appears to be put together better than a lot I've seen.
 
I do think that the .380 is right on the cusp of power for these ZAMAK framed guns, though. Some of the Davis (now Cobra) and Lorcin models in .380 had a tendency to crack slides with extensive use, 1000 plus rounds. And 9mm is pushing it for a zinc alloy, but they can be a good BUG.

The Jimenez does need some stoning in the slide and frame to become smooth. QC is not a high priority for a $120 -140 gun. Then again, some need some fine tuning, and some don't.

A word of caution, these aren't 1 up carry guns, as the safeties are very simple. A well placed drop could release the striker fired pin. But six in the mag and a quick slide racking can release a consistent 3-4" group at 21'. Perfect for the glove box, camper or tackle box.

Oh, and I love my Phoenix HP -22, too. It is safe to carry with a 1/4 cock and hammer block safety. Eleven rounds ready to go and fast.

phoenix.jpg
 
I still have my phoenix HP22 in the safe. The slide nearly broke in two after ~150 rounds.
Right in front of the grooves on the right side if I remember correctly, cracked all the way through.

Not sure what to do with it now.
I guess I could contact phoenix arms... but I doubt I could ever trust it again.
It's a shame too. I have the kit with both barrels, a locking case, and 4 magazines. It was a fun plinker while it lasted.
 
HP22

Don't give up on your little HP22 just yet. I just sent mine in to the manufacturer and they overhauled my gun for free. I got it back and it was just like brand new again. I put around 5000 rounds through mine and the slide finally cracked. I called them up and explained to them what had happened and no questions asked they said send it to us and we will take care of it. NO CHARGE! Great company to deal with. Heck they even sent me an extra mag just for my trouble. Here is the phone # if you want to give them a call:909-937-6900 It only took 2 weeks for them to fix the gun and get it back to me. :)
 
Thanks a bunch!
I had looked for their info for awhile and couldnt find it.
I'll give them a call tomorrow and hope for a similar experience.

Thanks again, I really appreciate the help
 
>>>As far as the 'entry level' guns go, I've heard that Hi-Points and Ravens are actually decent given their price but that many others like Jennings, Davis, and Bryco aren't worth the pot metal they're made of. >>>

The thing is the Raven and the Hi Point are made of pot metal too. Zinc or Zamak to be precise.

You CANNOT make a gun out of that stuff and expect it to hold up over the long haul.
The S&W Sigma .380 being a great example of that. Smith decided it wanted a share of that pot metal .380 market place and made a .380 with a zamak slide. It had an expected service life of under 2000 rounds.....

Its not around much anymore, which is sad. With a steel or even Iron slide, it would have been a decent little pocket pistol.
 
I am a fan of the old top break revolvers, (S&W specifically) and I imagine that they were the Saturday Night Special of their day. At a time when "quality" handguns went for 30 or 40 bucks, these little guns went for half that; especially the lesser brands like Iver Johnson. - no offense meant, just my opinion.

My modern SNS is the Jennings J22, and I've been having plenty of fun with it. - have blown away some folks with how well it shoots and functions. Yeah, I might have got lucky with this one, but I'll enjoy it for what it is. jd
 
Nice little RG, Pbratton!

The Phoenix does have a disclaimer tucked in the pages of their HP-22 manual about using "High Velocity" ammo, Mini-mag, Stingers, Hornets and the likes. Usually a frame crack will develop just inside the thin spot in the magazine well before a slide will crack, though. But Phoenix will replace at no cost - no questions asked.

Most folks using standard velocity ammo may expect a longer life and possibly several thousand rounds of plinking without incident.
 
Knew a guy who had a tragic fatal accident in the family while horseplaying around with a Raven .25 acp. After he got it back from the police his wife made him sell it and I bought it. It shot like a house afire and was a reliable little auto. I eventually sold it off but would consider buying another. I think Raven and Hi-Point are the only SNS I would ever consider. Remember, poor people have a right to self-defense, too, and sometimes that is all they can afford.
 
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