Handguns to avoid

[Boomer1961]

Now tell us how you really feel...

http://www.p210.com/

Avoid the SIG P210. TERRIBLE gun! Lousy! SIG should be embarrassed for ever having thrust that steel turd onto unsuspecting shooting enthusiasts.

If you EVER see one in a store, avoid it at all costs, don't even talk about it to the salesman. Next, don't walk, RUN out of the store, and PM, email, fax, page, and call me immediately so I can be sure junk like that is properly disposed of.

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I have read on numerous occasions that the SIG and GLOCK were subject to problematic results from those with weak and limp wrists. The same gun that would jam all the time from someone not holding it correctly with a slack and weak grip would function flawlessly by someone else or even by the same person after they were properly trained.

None the less the key is for it to go bang reliably so you see there can be personal component in factoring how reliable that is hard to gage for you. I myself would probably just change to something that worked for me in such a situation rather than relearning how to shoot so the gun worked.

As for those ring of fire guns, wow, I found them to be amazingly reliable and accurate. Most memorable of all is you could buy 10 NEW Davis 380's for the price of one very used 1911. They were made of pot metal (toy cap gun zinc castings, and I think some of those toy cap gun companies actually changed tooling over for this) so they wore out quick and could be easily broken or become unreliable. I even still have one of those jennings .22 and it is the only small semi .22 I kept because all the others including the Beretta and phoenix and Walther, etc. were all jammomatics. That is the only mini semi .22 I have kept as I sold the others due to them being unreliable.

In today's market governed by politicians instead of free market, I would stay away from those Ring of fire guns because most sold are problem ones being sold repeatedly over and over, kind of like those broken computer parts on ebay that kept getting sold over and over by the next buyer who finds it broken then recoups his money by reselling the broken part on ebay to the next sucker in line.

Also the current pricing of these suckers is no longer as favorable and people are wanting almost as much for a Bryco 9mm as for a Browning HP so why bother. Now buying a new Bryco 9mm for $70 like back in the day, shoot you could buy a baker's dozen and leave them scattered about the house and car and summer cabin and boat, etc and know you were always good to go, and if you lost one, oh well.

My vote would be to stay away from accessorized semi-automatics, especially the wannabe war guns like the generic MAC's or Joeken Junk, or cheap chinese knockoffs. I know about the later as I bought one of the generic UZI's for $149 thinking what a steal, and it was, they stole my money. What a piece of junk. After a hundred rounds there were like a half dozen worn out steel parts and it would not work anymore. I figured it was going to cost more in parts replacement to fix than a better quality UZI so I ditched the sucker on some other poor unsuspecting fool who was more foolish than me, as I even told him it was all worn out and would not work but he was eager to give me more cash for it than I paid for it.

GOOD LUCK!

[magsnubby]

Any Charter 2000 (formerly Charco and before that it was Charter Arms. The original Charter guns were a little rough around the edges but were good guns) .38. Quality control seems to be hit or miss. Their Bulldog .44's seem to work alright.

[AJAX22]

Bryco Jennings 9..... they can be made to run reliably, however the amount of blood I lost while working on it (sharp internal bits) and shooting it (massive slide bite) was rather considerable.

and if you fully load the magazine it will ALWAYS stovepipe the second round.

That being said, one gun i would have thought was a junker was the RG 40 revolver in .38 SPL... It surprised me how well put togeather mine was. I'd actually trust it for a self defense situation without reservation.

[CALI-gula]

I have read on numerous occasions that the SIG and GLOCK were subject to problematic results from those with weak and limp wrists. The same gun that would jam all the time from someone not holding it correctly with a slack and weak grip would function flawlessly by someone else or even by the same person after they were properly trained.....

I hope your are not so stiff or bland that you could not decipher the subtext of my original post. Surely you know the SIG P210... and if not... well you'll eventually get it.

As to how I really feel? Let's just say this is a partial collection of my mixed emotions (i.e., the "emotions" closest to the front of the safe):



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[Thunderhawk]

Though I've not had one, I have friends who have, so I can say Bryco-Jennings.
I can say that I have a S&W9VE that has been perfect ( the trigger is like a double action revolver), Ruger P89 and P95 (2000+ rounds each) with no FTE's, and several Blackhawks that are pure fun!

[wilit]

My buddy has a S&W Sigma .40. The thing won't reliably feed more than 3 rounds in a row. Total POS. He too has sent it back numerous times. Reading through the thread it seems those Sigmas are pretty crappy.

[GlockOn]

I would agree or lack an opinion when it comes to all of these with the exception of Ruger and Taurus. While I don't really know anything about the Semi-auto Ruger's I do know that I would put my Ruger Single Six and my GP-100 up against ANY Smith or Colt. In my opinion Ruger makes the best double actions hands down. The other that I would have to disagree with is Taurus. My Dad purchased a used Taurus 617 2" Titanium 7 shot .357, ported. That gun ROCKS. It's shooting 1.5 inch groups at 50 feet, which is quite impressive given the short barrel. It's a pleasure to shoot, and I'm keeping my eyes open for one for me. Other than that particular gun, I can't speak to Taurus much either.

[maxicon]

Semi-auto centerfire Rugers are generally some of the most sturdy and reliable handguns you can get. They may not have much subtlety or finesse, but they'll keep ticking through many thousands of rounds, and Ruger's support is generally excellent. Their rimfires are a different matter, and can be sensitive to cleanliness and ammo, but they're great guns too.

I can't speak for the newer designs, like the P345, but the older P series are very good guns, and very affordable.

[CALI-gula]

Semi-auto centerfire Rugers are generally some of the most sturdy and reliable handguns you can get. They may not have much subtlety or finesse, but they'll keep ticking through many thousands of rounds, and Ruger's support is generally excellent. Their rimfires are a different matter, and can be sensitive to cleanliness and ammo, but they're great guns too.

I can't speak for the newer designs, like the P345, but the older P series are very good guns, and very affordable.

I agree with this as well; while I am not a fan of the ergonomics of most semi-auto Rugers, mainly for the same reason I am not big on the 39/59 series guns from Smith, Ruger and Smith both build very reliable, strong semi-autos, often more reliable and better made than similar selections from some of the European offerings. I have several Ruger revolvers, but no semi-autos; yet I have had the chance to run them through their paces. If Ruger merely changed the designs of levers and ergonomics just a bit, I would buy a Ruger semi-auto INSTEAD of a Beretta, Glock, or HK USP any day, especially because of the price. You get just as much gun as those others for about 1/3rd the cost.

However, I do concur with others here; I have heard nothing but bad stories time and time again concerning the SIGMA guns.

.

[CWM4A1]

...
That being said, one gun i would have thought was a junker was the RG 40 revolver in .38 SPL... It surprised me how well put togeather mine was. I'd actually trust it for a self defense situation without reservation.

So you finally took that RG 40 to the range? Looks like you like it and I am glad it found a new home instead of sitting in my safe.

[Blue]

I have a Walther P-22 that has never run right. I have sent it back to S&W three times with the same result. Ron Kennedy at Canyon sports has gone through it himself to no avail.

Same story here I just got it back from the factory for the I don't even know how many times now and I put 5 mags through it and the first two went fine and then the rest it was nothing but pure crap.

[LAK Supply]

S&W Sigma... the previous posters are correct- that gun sucks, especially the trigger.

PT140... that's the compact. I don't know if I got a bad one or what, but that thing wouldn't hit the broad side of a barn. Accuracy was HORRIBLE.... My old Hi-Point out shot it hands-down.

Norinco pistols... you can make those sloppy POS's run, but that's like fixing up a turd.

Lorcin and Raven 25's..... I have yet to shoot one that doesn't jam at least 3x every mag....

[Stuka]

For those saying that S&W and Kimber 1911's are junk, on what grounds? I know several people with both of these, and have put a lot of rounds through them myself, never had any issues.

EDIT: except with the mags that kimber ships with the firearm, they suck. But good aftermarket mags work great.

[Mize]

My Walther P-22 is a POS too!

[saki302]

I actually had the opposite experience with a Norinco pistol- I had a 213 Tokarev that I picked up for around $100 that shot excellent. It was a little loose, but from the group size, you wouldn't know it. I sold it for 2X what i paid for it, but kept a Norinco T54 (Nam bringback). It functions the same, but exterior finish is 100X nicer- go figure, you'd think the military production would have less emphasis on looks.

I had a Ruger P90DC(?) .40 cal wayy back in the day. Ugly gun, but reliable.

I had good experiences with Ruger .22 autos too- My old Mk1 fed everything on eart, as did my 22/45 Mk2. I still have one Mk2 left. I now have a Hi-std. supermatic which shoots rings around the Ruger, but chokes on the cheap ammo.

-Dave