The biggest disappointment POS were Taurus and Keltec.
One of my first handguns was a Taurus PT140, probably when they first came out a couple decades ago. POS. Taurus couldn't fix it after two trips to them, when they LIED and said they fixed it. Gun was traded in with full disclosure to a shop for store credit on my first Mauser, which I love and still have.
I would later reluctantly purchase some more Taurus. One was a PT145 that I only bought after extensive test firing. Thing was fantastic. Later after using it for a jogging gun for years, I would learn that it was recalled, along with 9 models. Yeah, nothing like carrying a gun that put your own life in danger for years. GRRRRRR.
Taurus as a company - I'll never buy another for anything more than disposable lunch money prices. They were horrible to deal with. I finally did make out well on my two .45s that were recalled, coming out okay after fighting for 2 years with them. I got a pair of 1911s which I immediately traded for a AR15 and a Sig P229 and never looked back.
Keltec Gen 1 P3AT cured me of pocket pistols. My forerunning into "beta testing" was unpleasant. A handy last ditch deep concealment firearm but horribly inaccurate and miserable to shoot. My first one was a Gen 1 and totally unreliable. To Keltec's credit they made it right by replacing it with a Gen 2. I might have fired it on two or three range outings and it is reliable and accurate enough but miserable to shoot.
My high quality surprising disappointment was probably as much me and bad luck as the gun. It was the iconic Beretta 92FS, made ultra famous by being our military sidearm for decades and starring in Hollywood blockbusters. I lusted after one since I was probably 15 and it was my first handgun when I was of age. I bought a police trade in. "The gun" wasn't accurate and it was unreliable. Or that's what I believed for the 5 or so years I owned it. I was new to guns. I decided to trade it off.
Looking back, the problem was probably shooter related and magazine related (I had crummy AWB magazines). Had I had better mags and replaced a few springs, the gun was probably fine. For sentimental reasons, I do regret letting it go. But it's not even a top 10 favorite handgun for me. I never did warm up to the large size and the slide mounted controls. I do miss it though. I did sort-of replace it with a much more desirable 96 in .40 caliber with a pile of magazines for a song... so I do have one in my stable.
I benefited having owned the 92FS though because in the service I carried the M9 significantly and qualified expert with it.
S&Wez 380 using Blazer Brass.. Bought it for my wife. Can't run a single mag without jam.. She gave up on it. Makes me look bad. It was impulse as I gift for my wife as a gift...
The P3AT and its clone the Ruger LCP were both miserable to shoot which is why I have a Sig P238. I had an original P11 that I bought from a dealer that was a gunsmith. He modified the P11's he sold. It had a decent trigger and functioned flawlessly. 1 failure to fire due to a bad primer in over 6K rounds. I currently have 2 Sub2K's that run very well. Neither have had a malfunction since the 1st couple of magazines.
Taurus supposedly has upped their game. It could not have gotten much worse. I had a PT92 that was a disaster and their customer service was just as bad. On the other hand I had a PT22 that I put over 15K rounds through over 19 years when the frame broke. Taurus replaced it without question. No way it could be repaired.
Taurus .357 mag revolver (I think it's a model 66). It developed a nasty timing issue and Taurus had yet to fix it right. The finish is a satin nickel that's not perfect, but not horrible either. If I ever get the thing working, I'll sell it and buy a Ruger to replace it.
Years ago I had an H&R Handi-rifle in 45/70. It was my first 45/70 and I loved the way it shot. Then I made the mistake of thinking I was going to "upgrade" to an Encore. What a mistake that was. To compound the mistake I went on a mission of buying barrels for it in various calibers. That Encore nearly beat me to death. I was GLAD to see it go. Didn't lose anything on it but wasted time and effort. Now I have a Hi-Wall (in 45/70) that I LOVE to shoot.
The other was a early Desert Eagle. Bought it in the early 90's (first gen). I was much younger and got caught up in the hype / cool factor. Learned my lesson with that nonsense. No more cool guns for me. Wasn't that it was a completely bad gun just that it was about useless. These days I just laugh whenever I see them up for sale; those and the S&W 500's. I guess they have a purpose if you're in a **** measuring contest but otherwise useless.
EDIT: Okay another useless gun I DO still own is a Mac-10. I bring it up because it was on Bobski's list (the only gun on his list I don't completely agree with BTW). Yes it is about useless but sooooooooo much fun at the range that I just can't feel bad about it. I picked mine up in '82 and it's been with me ever since. These day it probably only comes out once a year or so but it still generates smiles every time it does.
Taurus PT1911 had the safety lever fall out. Taurus Judge had to be sent back to the factory because the cylinder was not bored properly, it would work with shot shells, but not with 45LC. Kel-Tec P3AT was a POS gun IMO. KAR CW9 the mag would fall out, and it would jam on a regular basis. Bryco Jennings, was the biggest POS that I ever owned though, with out a doubt.
There's the distressed P38 which I got for @55% of value, pumped 50% of value back into it. First shoot, the top of the slide blew off. Never was able to trust it, again.
I bought a Ruger SR40 from Gander Mtn. when they were still open. When I shot it & the slide locked back, after removing the old mag putting in a loaded mag it would not thumb down. All the pressure I could use on the thumb down lever & it would not release.
I sent it back to Ruger through Gander to get fixed. It came back a couple weeks later but still had the same problem, it wouldn't thumb down. I took it to another local gun shop & the guy told me yes it has a problem, but he would have to charge me to send it back because it wasn't bought there. So I took it back to Gander to send it back to Ruger.
A month later I had to call Gander to see if it was done, They couldn't find my gun. I went into Gander to talk to the manger(about an 18 yr old kid) about it he went into the back with the sales BOY to find the gun. After about an hour the manager came out with the gun. It had a note with it listing what was done to it but it said that the slide lock was a safety feature & could not be removed. It said that all Rugers had it & the proper way to let the slide go forward after putting in a new mag is to pull back on the slide & let it go, not to thumb down. I have never had a pistol you couldn't thumb down. That why I sold that gun as fast as I could. I took about a $100 loss but I won't have a gun that doesn't operate like my other guns do.
Why would they have a thumb down lever if you were not supposed to use it?
I bought a Ruger SR40 from Gander Mtn. when they were still open. When I shot it & the slide locked back, after removing the old mag putting in a loaded mag it would not thumb down. All the pressure I could use on the thumb down lever & it would not release.
I sent it back to Ruger through Gander to get fixed. It came back a couple weeks later but still had the same problem, it wouldn't thumb down. I took it to another local gun shop & the guy told me yes it has a problem, but he would have to charge me to send it back because it wasn't bought there. So I took it back to Gander to send it back to Ruger.
A month later I had to call Gander to see if it was done, They couldn't find my gun. I went into Gander to talk to the manger(about an 18 yr old kid) about it he went into the back with the sales BOY to find the gun. After about an hour the manager came out with the gun. It had a note with it listing what was done to it but it said that the slide lock was a safety feature & could not be removed. It said that all Rugers had it & the proper way to let the slide go forward after putting in a new mag is to pull back on the slide & let it go, not to thumb down. I have never had a pistol you couldn't thumb down. That why I sold that gun as fast as I could. I took about a $100 loss but I won't have a gun that doesn't operate like my other guns do.
Why would they have a thumb down lever if you were not supposed to use it?
I was taught to pull the slide back to cycle a round, and if you want to release the slide, pull back on the slide while pressing down in the slide release, then let go of the slide. There are some who believe that by pressing down on the slide release to release the slide, you are causing wear to the slide and release mechanism.
Years ago I had an H&R Handi-rifle in 45/70. It was my first 45/70 and I loved the way it shot. Then I made the mistake of thinking I was going to "upgrade" to an Encore. What a mistake that was. To compound the mistake I went on a mission of buying barrels for it in various calibers. That Encore nearly beat me to death. I was GLAD to see it go. Didn't lose anything on it but wasted time and effort. Now I have a Hi-Wall (in 45/70) that I LOVE to shoot.
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