Worst Handgun you've ever owned....

[Garufa]

I hear people rave on and on about Hi Point customer service. Lifetime warranty. Send it back and they'll make it right.

[Oh Shoot]

I would have to say Hi Point C9. It shot pretty good in the first 100 rds. then broke something inside. Makes a good paper weight, kind of big but it holds the paper in place.

If you know what broke, they'll send you the parts for free.

If you don't, give 'em a call and send it in, they'll fix it for free and throw in a free mag. Costs you the shipping one way.

- OS

[Guest Willy McCoy]

Functioning it was some cheap 22 revolver that I carried on a trap line as a kid. Did just about as good trying to knock a bobcat in the head with a stick.

Accuracy, it's my Ruger Vaquero in 44-40. Ruger ignored SAAMI specs on the barrel using a 44 Mag barrel instead of a properly sized 44-40 barrel. The chambers are to SAAMI specs and won't chamber a round that has a large enough bullet to fit the barrel properly. Supposedly I could have the chamber necks bored out to where I could use larger bullets, but then I'd be having to load different ammo for it and my Marlin lever rifle in 44-40 which is to SAAMI specs. I'd just as soon not do that.

[Sidinman]

To Garufa, and OhShoot, I don't have any idea as to the problem. It happened several years ago and I just threw it in a drawer and there it has been. Hadn't even thought that much about it til I saw this thread the other day. When I bought my safe last year I just left it where it was, was just making a joke about the paper-weight.

[Oh Shoot]

Well, if you're not gonna have it fixed, if you ever get through Knoxville, I'll give ya 45 bucks for it sight unseen.

- OS

[Guest Farmer Dave]

My Worst handgun was an AMT Automag II. Rarely could I fire a whole magazine without a jam, even when using the recommended Winchester 22 magnum ammo. JUNK!!!!

[LA_357SIG]

Springfield XD9. Hated the trigger and grip. I shot like with it.

[Guest Stacey]

Hi all first timer . High standard 1911 a1. Gave 510. out the door jammed every mag. bought a chip mcormick mag .wouldnt fit had to order factory from high standard. Still jammed every mag. Traded to a local cop for glock 27. 2 weeks later seen the gun in the paper for sale. Reconized his phone number.

[hipower]

Showing my age with this one...Anybody remember the HK4? A German police tradein that was available in the late 70's and early 80's. It was a multi-caliber pistol that had a rotating firing pin face that allowed you to shoot 25 and 32 calibers; If I remember correctly. It was so terribly inaccurate that you couldn't hit a coke can at 10 feet. And no..., it wasn't all me. I returned it to the dealer after a week and traded it in on a Browning BDA 380.

[Warbird]

Showing my age with this one...Anybody remember the HK4? A German police tradein that was available in the late 70's and early 80's. It was a multi-caliber pistol that had a rotating firing pin face that allowed you to shoot 25 and 32 calibers; If I remember correctly. It was so terribly inaccurate that you couldn't hit a coke can at 10 feet. And no..., it wasn't all me. I returned it to the dealer after a week and traded it in on a Browning BDA 380.

I own an HK4 with all of its barrels. For several years I carried the 380 as a back up. They are essentially a copy of the Walther PP. It is without a doubt the most accurate 380 I have own or have ever owned. And I have owned a bunch of them.

I don't carry it any more, but it has always been a quality pistol. Sorry you had a lemon. Everyone makes one once in a while.

[Guest CK1]

Kimber Ultra Carry II - POS disgrace to JMB, almost made me swear off 1911's forever.

[krunchnik]

I had a LLama .45ACP that would not cycle a full mag without a jamb,returned it to the factory,after several weeks of waiting I got it back in the same condition.this was 30 years ago and have not bought one since.

[hipower]

I own an HK4 with all of its barrels. For several years I carried the 380 as a back up. They are essentially a copy of the Walther PP. It is without a doubt the most accurate 380 I have own or have ever owned. And I have owned a bunch of them.

I don't carry it any more, but it has always been a quality pistol. Sorry you had a lemon. Everyone makes one once in a while.

Glad to know there were and are some good ones out there. Can't remember the name of the shop, but the owner was Bill Harton, I believe. At the time, I remember him having purchased quite a few of them from a Georgia importer and distributor. Seems like I paid $75-100 for it in pretty used condition. I guess just a classic example of a well-used firearm at the end of its lifespan. Anyway, it was a novel piece and gives me an interesting note to add here.

[TNcitizen22]

Military issue M9. May as well chuck the gun at the target.

[Guest Catdaddy]

Bryco/Jennings/Jimenez JA9's. I bought three of these, fairly cheap, to practice smithing on. I learned a lot, and I can make one shoot really sweet, but there's more to the story.

My nickel (looks like stainless, and I've seen them described as stainless, but I don't believe it...) Jennings nine shot really great, took me 5 minutes to fix a too-long pin on a replacement sear. CRACKED the slide at the slide stop after maybe two mags.

My black Jennings nine has the firing pin hole drilled so far off center that it MIGHT fire 1 out of 5 tries.

My Jimenez came with loose pins in the sear and takedown button, and the sear bore was tight and gritty.I fixed it, but it's probably going to Jimenez for some new parts.

It gets batter. Jimenez will NOT sell replacement slides, as they are marked Jimenez, not Bryco/Jennings. OK, I bought two from Numrich. I will fix them because a paperweight is useless to me, and although I will NEVER be able to recoup my investment, I learned something. I could never sell a gun without complete disclosure to the buyer of what I know. I will likely bury them with some ammo, because in a EOTWAWKI situation, they may be useful tools with which to obtain a better weapon.

All three are cracked at the top of the slide lock/safety opening of the frame and inside the mag well on the left side. The concensus is that these cracks have never caused a catastrophic failure (which the cracked slide WOULD have!) and are therefore to be inspected often but not sweated over. All three had interference between the mag release button and the trigger link bar, which made the pull hard and harsh. I learned how to correct that.

In short, I now know why they are referred to as junk guns. Function can be improved, but not the quality of the alloy. My lessons in smithing may have cost more than they should have- I will never know, that's not quantifiable. (There's a $2.00 word for ya!)

If I were looking for an inexpensive gun for any reason now, I'd buy Hi-Point. My experiences with them have been nothing short of great.

I'm not bashing the manufacturer- they are honest in their assessment of their own product, and I will agree with their own statement- it's not a quality firearm.

[TNWNGR]

Hand's down an H&K 4 in 380 from back in the mid 1970's closely followed by a stainless steel Walther PPK/s 380 from the mid 1990's.

[hipower]

Hand's down an H&K 4 in 380 from back in the mid 1970's closely followed by a stainless steel Walther PPK/s 380 from the mid 1990's.

Ok, that's three people who have heard of the Fabled HK4! Warbird, who had a good one; with myself and TNWNGR on the other side.

[Guest tonopah]

Kahr P380. Unreliable out of the box, over priced. I wish I had a dollar for every excuse someone gives me about Kahr P380 being so well made, and that you have to shoot a few 100 dollars worth of ammo in them, to smooth them out......They shoud be recalled.

[bluedog]

Bersa Thunder .380. Never any problems shooting, but every 50 rounds or so something would rattle itself loose (rear sight screw and blade 3 times, grip...)

[Guest clownsdd]

Jennings auto. I believe it was a .380

[Magiccarpetrides]

lol...anyone notice how so many people that posted in this thread are "now on vacation" ;-D

[Jonnin]

I think the worst one I have is a S&W .22 model 61. It was like new, tried it out and nothing but jams. Tore it down and for a gun that fits in the palm of your hand, it sure does have a LOT of parts. A month later, cleaned and lubed and finally reassembled it still would not work. Tried hot cci ammo and it could not ignite the hard primers, and other ammo cannot cycle the action properly. For a gun designed to be your last resort BUG, its a POS... I guess they knew that, they only made it for 1 or 2 years before giving up on the design. Its attractive and solidly made, just does not work.

[Guest DELETED]

Beretta 92FS. I bought one a few years ago knowing that it was a well known and loved gun. Took it to my buddys house and fired 2 mags through it. I've never hated anything as much as I hated that gun. I'm sure it's a fine pistol, but not for me. I traded it for a Thompson 1911 w/ GI sights. I still have that Thompson and I still love it.

[Caster]

Every 1911 I have ever had. I had a Colt series 80 stainless. I loaded a single round in the chamber and let the slide fall, then, when I inserted the magazine, it put a nice hole through the bedroom wall and bathroom door. I had a custom built job (i didn't build it) Essex frame and GI slide, Jammomatic. I had a colt commander, the safest place to be was right in front if it, because it would hit anything BUT what you point it at. I suppose the best one I had was a Llama. It was very reliable, but the slide fit was sloppy and only the Llama magazine fit without noticeable wobble. I shot an Ed Brown at the range one day, nice guy I was chatting with. It didn't jam, was well built and the bullets did go on target, but it was [like all the others] ridiculously heavy and I just didn't see what the big whoopity do was.

You could spend ten thousand dollars with insert manufacturer here buying me the best 1911 they can build and I'd have it on gunbroker with no reserve by this afternoon.

I'm the weirdo in the gun world I know. I'm one of dozen or so people in the world who refuses to worship this antiquated, excessively heavy, limited capacity design.

*whew* That felt good. Thanks.

[Garufa]

I'm the weirdo in the gun world I know. I'm one of dozen or so people in the world who refuses to worship this antiquated, excessively heavy, limited capacity design.

*whew* That felt good. Thanks.

Let the eternal debate resume.