View Full Version : Fondest guns that were not perfect
ramairthree
03-02-16, 10:30
Here let's reminisce about the most loved guns you are fondest of,
But maybe are not that great.
I mean the gun in general, not a single weapon that you owned.
At the risk of your ire,
I will start with the M1911A1.
The ones we had in ranger Bn in the mid to late 80s were rattling, inaccurate, unreliable rust magnets.
Every frame and part of the guns we had were made no later than 1945. Reliability could be enhanced by careful selection of the available magazines. Accuracy was hopeless. Days of patrolling in swampy wet weather combined with leather holsters...
We loved our .45s,
But it was a love hate relationship.
Yet I have two 45s.
The M60. Jealous we did not have the E3,
Being a 60 gunner meant you held the most mass casualty producing of an entire squad in your hands. We had gotten to do a head to head comparison with the Dutch marine commandos FN Mags. Ironically, weight and having brass straight down into your cuffs made us prefer the M60. Several design issues led to the M60 being a high maintenance weapon requiring a lot of skill and training to keep up and reliable. Like a carburetor vs fuel injection. Like a Harley vs a rice rocket. But if I won the lottery I would buy a dozen of them.
The M9. Getting an accurate, high capacity pistol that was always reliable and starring in movies was cool. I think it got a bad rap thanks to checkmate magazines. The platform is barely amenable to compact let a
One sub compact versions. The integral front sight is an abortion. It is huge. Factory parts are not reliably available and expensive. Almost no aftermarket currently. The company is deaf and dumb to simple things that could make them a relevant player in Production, etc again. But I own several.
The only pistol I have that I would say I that's far from perfect is my SA V-10 ultra compact. It's a double stacked ultra compact 1911. The grip is huge and the barrel is only about 3 inches and ported. It was given to me from my grandpa and where he got it I have no idea.
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Walther PPK.
Horrid double action, sissy caliber, and can rust up on you.
But it's fun to shoot. Goldeneye N64 made me want one.
On cold, dark lonely nights when I am alone with my thoughts; I wax nostalgic for the S&W 4586. Then I recall how heavy it is, requires swiss watch level of maintenance(not in a good way), and how the magazines would die on occasion. And the loooooong, heavy DAO trigger.
Don't miss it, but carried it a while. Everybody else had high cap Glocks and we had Smiths. I soon got a Glock in short order.
The one gun I STUPIDLY traded was a Beretta Vertec 92G. I was going through a phase and not thinking right.
That pistol was awesome and laid by my bedside for a while. It had been a tactical gun for some BS SWAT team and I got it for 3 bills flat. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. I got a profit on it but while it was scuffed and mistreated by its previous user; that little basterd was a shooting little gun.
Sigh
The one gun I STUPIDLY traded was a Beretta Vertec 92G. I was going through a phase and not thinking right.
That pistol was awesome and laid by my bedside for a while. It had been a tactical gun for some BS SWAT team and I got it for 3 bills flat. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. I got a profit on it but while it was scuffed and mistreated by its previous user; that little basterd was a shooting little gun.
Sigh
Dude...were you high or something? And how is it people always find deals like these but I never can? I mean I can find a Glock for 4 Bennys or less all day but a Vertec 92G for 3? **** me runnin, I'd be all over that like a fat kid to a chocolate cake...
For me it's my GB-F Mini-14. I know they aren't great and all but The A-Team was a big influence in my formative years. Now I just need a GMC van and a safari jacket and I'm set....
Eurodriver
03-02-16, 13:46
92G for 3 Hundo?
You were high right?
I came in here to say Mini14 as well.
92G for 3 Hundo?
You were high right?
I came in here to say Mini14 as well.
I PAID that much. There are literally Hi Points at hock shops for that much.
Again I was going through a phase and wanted a rifle I ended up hating.
I'll never see a 92G Vertec like that again.
Conversely I got rid of a P226 that I do not miss.
But that Vertec haunts my dreams. I didn't realize how cheaply I got it until I tried to find another one. I was pretty naive. Apparently, black 92G Vertecs don't fall out of the sky.
This one was rough looking and a Dept was ditching them for G34s or something. It looked wicked with the 20 round mag.
If I ever get another one I'll never part with it.
I thought I wanted a DSA FAL and it sucked.
That Vertec kills me. Let my story be a tragic warning about not trading Vertecs for anything.
Leaveammoforme
03-02-16, 13:58
My dad purchased a Calico M-110 22lr when I was a young teen. It checked all the boxes of what I thought was awesome. Then came the time to refill the magazine. No longer fun.
http://calicolightweaponsystems.com/home/index.php?page=Home
Definitely my choice of fondest gun since it reminds me of being out at trash piles plinking away with my pops.
Mini-14 is a close 2nd as it is the first semi-auto centerfire I ever shot. Owned one years ago when I met my wife. Sold it off and to this day when she sees one on a shelf she tells me I need another.
I miss my Dad's "open bolt" KG-9.
Shooting that during the Miami Vice days was a lot of fun.
My Bren Ten.
Enough known about that already without going on.
Shooting that during the Miami Vice days was fun! :lol:
But that Vertec haunts my dreams. I didn't realize how cheaply I got it until I tried to find another one. I was pretty naive. Apparently, black 92G Vertecs don't fall out of the sky.
That Vertec kills me. Let my story be a tragic warning about not trading Vertecs for anything.
Substitute my '70 Chevelle SS454 for the Vertec and I have the same story.
ramairthree
03-02-16, 15:36
Other guns I HAD to have.
I had just not racked up enough time with any of them to realize not to get them.
HK91
Ok, so I have only had a few clones.
Ergs, crushing brass, pain to mount a scope,
God I should get
rid of them.
SVD
What a pain to zero the scope.
Any run of the mill AR10 will run circles around them and the cheap 54r days are over, and the mags cost a lot.
DE 44
I doubt you need any details.
SWD M11-9
Thanks to NFA limited availability at least I sold it for a dozen times what I paid for it.
Stuff I handled enough to wave off before I bought.
M14
Cost, ergs, etc. kept me from going down this road.
Steyr AUG
So cool but running a bull pup fast like an AR is harder than running an AK fast.
Uzi.
So cool until trying to use it.
Mini 14.
If the costs of SS ones with folding stocks and their mags had not gone up...
I may still have gone for it.
FAL
Stuff I handled enough to know was not the cat's meow but still bought
M1 Carbine
M1 Garand
FN49
Mosins
Enfields
Revolvers
ramairthree
03-02-16, 15:38
Imagine growing up surrounded by a 65 trip power GTO, 68 442, 69 Z28, 69 Daytona, and 70 SS454 Chevelle, but all are sold off and gone before you are in high school and starting to drive when cars suck.
You feel like you totally missed out.
Grown ups then we're working for good money, had affordable nice things, could drink and drive, smoke any where, not worry about getting fired over comments, buy awesome cars, look at chicks in totally hot clothes without getting fired, bang a secretary or have a fling or two on the side without worrying about divorce, went to wars that did not last 15 years, paid taxes that did not go at deficit levels to government hand outs, did not have kids kicked out of school for getting in a fight at recess, did not have kids sent to psychologists for throwing a spitball at a protected species, had a decent selection of good music, dirt bags got kicked out of high school and dug ditches and a HS diploma meant something, college was affordable and a degree meant something, crazy people were locked up at costs and harms to society less than them being out, etc.
I guess I will get to feel like that again in 20 years when the hundreds of thousands I have paid into social security are not there, they stop paying my military retirement, and my million in TSP and 401s, etc. Are seized for even distribution after the boomers have another awesome run.
Doc Safari
03-02-16, 16:08
Glock 17.
The grip is too big.
It spits empty brass in my face if I shoot cheap ammo.
It's ugly.
It feels unbalanced without a loaded mag in it.
I worry the plastic will deteriorate eventually.
It came with plastic sights that eventually wear down from holster presentations, necessitating replacement with steel ones.
It ain't real concealable.
The trigger sucks next to a 1911 trigger (although you can treat it like a 2-stage trigger and "sort of" get used to it).
But dang. It goes bang pretty much every time I pull the trigger, and it takes a while for the mag to run out of ammo.
ramairthree
03-02-16, 16:27
Glock 17.
The grip is too big.
It spits empty brass in my face if I shoot cheap ammo.
It's ugly.
It feels unbalanced without a loaded mag in it.
I worry the plastic will deteriorate eventually.
It came with plastic sights that eventually wear down from holster presentations, necessitating replacement with steel ones.
It ain't real concealable.
The trigger sucks next to a 1911 trigger (although you can treat it like a 2-stage trigger and "sort of" get used to it).
But dang. It goes bang pretty much every time I pull the trigger, and it takes a while for the mag to run out of ammo.
Yep, those damn things are like a Toyota hi luxe diesel manual transmission truck.
Too small.
Not enough pay load.
Not enough towing capacity.
No extra fuel tank.
It does everything reliably, but every niche has another gun that does it better.
It is as attractive as a flyover state five,
But as ready to go as a drunk fat chick at the prom.
I guess another thread should be guns you knew were revolutionary when you held one.
Guys had different priorities in the young, single days.
My money was spent evenly between girls, guns, and cars.
A buddy spent all his on guns.
Around 1990 I was checking out his Glock 19,
And just KNEW this was going to be to wonder nines and hand guns in general what the automatic transmission was to cars.
Someday, the majority of new pistols were going to be polymer based, control free, no hammer, etc. and relatively smaller and lighter than most service semis.
Imagine growing up surrounded by a 65 trip power GTO.
Imagine having one, with Mickey Thompson L60's on the back, Cragar SS mags all around, a RockCrusher Muncie topped by a Hurst Comp plus, with Hooker headers and a correct engine - heads and cam all tripower. Two years of high school auto shop plus a lot of weekends and all of your money. Imagine you lose your license, because damn, your Goat will almost lift the front wheels off the ground. Imagine owing your mom 750.00 when you leave for Marine boot camp. Imagine telling your mom to sell your 65 GTO - the year was 1972. Imagine your Mom selling the above car for...you guessed it, $750.00. Fvck.
For what it's worth on the Fondest Gun thing, Marlin Camp 9 Carbine. Loved it, hated the sights.
Dist. Expert 26
03-02-16, 16:30
Even though it gave me a lifetime of chronic back problems, I miss my SAW. It was the only one in the platoon that ran reliably, even with magazines. On the flip side, all the finish was worn off the receiver and the barrels, the pins would fall out at random and it would spray rounds with no discernible pattern whatsoever (a headspace issue that was never addressed).
It was sure fun to shoot though.
Grandpa's Savage 170 pump action 30-30 that I still have. Looks similar to an 870 at a glance but isn't nearly as reliable. There is a well known malfunction involving the lifter, that will lock up gun. Probably why Savage dropped it. But it is a fun shooter, my first shooter, and has put more than a couple deer down. Would have been one more if the action hadn't locked up on follow up shot... Ya really
First off, F'in WORD to all Ramairthree said.
Actually I got some guns solely because I was an 80s kid:
HK91. Better than a FAL (to me). I'm not a small person so ergos aren't that bad. I don't shoot it much but it is accurate enough and I wouldn't try to make a precision rifle out of it. 1-6x about most I, personally, would slap on it. But it is fun. Not SR25 fun but fun.
M14. I have a love-hate relationship with this bitch. If I weren't a bit of a Vietnam war otaku it would be gone. It's like the HK91, horribly outmoded, but still fun. Sorta want a garand but meh. Pop a Redfield on it. Get a decent zero. Accept it for what it is.
AUG A3. Well....it's not a go to hell gun at all. But always wanted an AUG. I like shooting it. It makes me feel like either Kyle Reese from the Future or a German terrorist.
Honestly....if all I had were "logical" guns it'd be boring.
Mk. 12 clone/ a separate carbine upper
SR-25
Glock 19
Some kind of no BS bolt action.
Meh, as I get older and kinda burned out my priorities change.
Once I get all I really, really want; I'm done.
Spare parts and mags notwithstanding, I'm done. I'd sooner shoot my SP1 and 10/22 anymore.
I don't even have a shotgun anymore.
Blagh
Linebacker
03-02-16, 17:49
Firefly, no 1911?
Firefly, no 1911?
Yep. A Kimber.
Everybody makes fun but it's over a decade old and it's supposed to suck but somehow mine works
MAS 49/56, I had to have a MAS the moment after I first shot one.
Foremost im a fan of old military rifles, so most of my collection is full of such weapons, from Arisakas to Vetterlis... but the MAS 49/56 is a rifle that is much maligned by most American gun owners, often more so than Japanese or Italian rifles. I think mostly because its french, and all the tired old easy jokes that go with such pedigree.
It really is a fantastic rifle, simple reliable (in its original 7.5mm chambering) reasonably light at 9lbs and at 40" long it compares favorably with most battle rifles of the era and the recoil is fairly light as well (a true direct impingement rifle) The 10rd mag would probably get called out as a weakness, however 18rd mags were made but not widely issued.
I think its achilles heel is its oddball caliber. The corrosive Berdan primed French surplus is by now all 2nd hand, tough to find and usually beyong the $1/rd mark. The syrian surplus I find to be duds, contrary to every sellers claims. They can be a great source of powder and bullets if priced appropriately though. Commercial ammo is ok and has reloadable brass but the MAS proudly tosses the brass far off into the weeds ensuring the loss of a few every time. As for handloading itself, I havent had much luck so far duplicating or improving the Military loadings thus far, but work continues.
I also recently picked up an original French APX 3.8x scope for it (Did i mention built in scope rail?) Doubling it's coolness in my eyes
Good enough for SHTF? Doubtful, the ammo is a deal killer but Ill drag it along if there is room!!
AnthonyCumia
03-02-16, 19:51
SPAS 12, heavy as hell but looks like and it did kick ass..I wish they would make them again.
S&W 3rd generation 9mm single stack--almost perfect. Occasional unexplained stoppage.
Various WW2 era P-38's, clunkers that shot well for me.
British Webleys, .455, 38 S&W. Always went bang but...
Beretta 92. Always will have one of these too big pistols that's too big to carry. Respectfully I regard it as the King of the sock drawer pistols that will function when needed.
German made Walther PP series. Nicely made classics that for me were not reliable.
Single action revolvers
German made Walther PP series. Nicely made classics that for me were not reliable.
Seriously? I know lots of folks had issues with the PPK/S models, but I've never seen a "Made in Ulm" PP that wasn't 100%.
The HK VP70 AKA the Heckler and Coke Hi Point.
I got it pretty cheap years back. Almost....too cheap. Like the gun store couldn't move it. The dude even said "I know it's an HK but are you SURE you wanna buy this, kid?"
I said yep and got it. And ....the trigger is like a New York trigger from Hell . It makes the old J Frame DA feel like a Geissele. It's also a heel release and magazines not so plentiful but....
It makes me feel like I am a Colonial Marine and the guy from Resident Evil 2 so I don't care.
The HK VP70 AKA the Heckler and Coke Hi Point.
I got it pretty cheap years back. Almost....too cheap. Like the gun store couldn't move it. The dude even said "I know it's an HK but are you SURE you wanna buy this, kid?"
I said yep and got it. And ....the trigger is like a New York trigger from Hell . It makes the old J Frame DA feel like a Geissele. It's also a heel release and magazines not so plentiful but....
It makes me feel like I am a Colonial Marine and the guy from Resident Evil 2 so I don't care.
You have to think of the VP70 as a concept gun and realize the trigger was designed for select fire. Plus you have to love "shadow" sights.
You have to think of the VP70 as a concept gun and realize the trigger was designed for select fire. Plus you have to love "shadow" sights.
Yep. Weird optic illusion. I actually do enjoy it. Would love the stock for it.
For a 70s era gun, it still looks more futuristic than a Glock. Oddly enough I kept the VP but regretfully parted with my PSP. It was a good pistol to collect but I just never enjoyed shooting it. Still should've kept it but c'est la vie
Yep. Weird optic illusion. I actually do enjoy it. Would love the stock for it.
For a 70s era gun, it still looks more futuristic than a Glock. Oddly enough I kept the VP but regretfully parted with my PSP. It was a good pistol to collect but I just never enjoyed shooting it. Still should've kept it but c'est la vie
Since all the stocks were foreign manufacture after 1968, they would be considered dealer samples only due to the MG ban in the 1968 Gun Control Act.
Since all the stocks were foreign manufacture after 1968, they would be considered dealer samples only due to the MG ban in the 1968 Gun Control Act.
Ugh....anything fun is illegal.
Ugh....anything fun is illegal.
Technically not illegal. All you have to do is start a legit gun dealer business and pull a FFL (because we all know hobby FFLs are not allowed), qualify for all the code and zoning requirements and other associated operating costs and then add a SOT to your FFL once you have it.
Then all you need to do is track down somebody willing to sell their pre86 "dealer sample" VP70 stock and "M" (military) example of the handgun. You probably have a VP70Z which is the civie version. Last time I saw a VP70M dealer sample with the stock I think it was going for about $24,000 and that was years ago.
So as you can see, technically it's not illegal for you to own one, it's just a lot of effort.
I have to go with the Ruger Mini-14 and the Ruger Security Six. Those were my first firearms and they were nowhere near perfect but I loved them that thought that they were the best thing since the Minigun. :)
I have to go with the Ruger Mini-14 and the Ruger Security Six. Those were my first firearms and they were nowhere near perfect but I loved them that thought that they were the best thing since the Minigun. :)
I couldn't imagine not having my security six. My father gave it to me when I was 9 years old.
I couldn't imagine not having my security six. My father gave it to me when I was 9 years old.
I still have mine put away... ;)
Everybody has a Security Six but me.
I could get one but maybe later. Still want a Ruger Super Redhawk.
Just cause
Everybody has a Security Six but me.
I could get one but maybe later. Still want a Ruger Super Redhawk.
Just cause
I have one of those also...... :)
Everybody has a Security Six but me.
I could get one but maybe later. Still want a Ruger Super Redhawk.
Just cause
I actually prefer the Redhawk to the Super Redhawk. Has a more classic look. And there are lots of security sixes out there are pretty good prices.
Moose-Knuckle
03-07-16, 11:52
Everybody has a Security Six but me.
I could get one but maybe later. Still want a Ruger Super Redhawk.
Just cause
Meh me neither, mom and dad gave me a GP-100 when I left home.
I want in a bad way a New Model Blackhawk in .357 with the convertible cylinder so I can blast .357 Magnum, .38 Special, and 9mm.
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