Worst firearm you've ever purchased, and the one that surprised you?

Spring field XDS 4.0 in 45ACP . I had just received my CCW and thought it would be sick to carry a 45 , they hand gun was terribly inaccurate and had terrible magazine capacity . it was an off roster hand gun I bought through single shot exemption in CA so selling it was easy and I bought a glock 19 gen 3 instead as my carry gun
 
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worst is easily hk usc carbine. trigger was just a pos, even after getting it back from hk. while i love sti/2011, i bought a 3" sti lawman single stack 9mm for carry that just jammed.

not a huge surprise as i'm very familiar with glocks, but the 43x is just absolutely perfect for carry, small and thin but 15 rounds with the metal mags. great trigger after swapping to a taran connector.
 
Worst- a savage 93 in .22 mag. Got it brand new- it was a Canadian made rifle- and wouldn’t feed anything - mags were to fat to lock into place- they’d “lock in” but not fully seat to where they would feed rounds - took a couple thousandths off the mags and they fed and locked in place - every other round was a miss fire . Exactly every other round . Sent it back to savage- they “fixed it” they claimed - not enough firing pin protrusion. First shot after getting it back- misfire- never got it to go bang again. Sent it back to savage - “fixed it again” now it would fire almost every time but literally couldn’t keep it on paper - tried different scopes - different ammo I’m talking not even groups - some shots on paper - some have no idea where they landed . Tried using the iron sights - the rear sight fell off after a few rounds. Sent it back to savage again. Got a new rifle in return which i promptly sold .

Best in recent memory- or surprisingly surprised category- a few different Ruger Americans- especially the .450. Not pretty- not well finished - ugly stock- okay adjustable trigger - and man they shoot. The .450 has been named Slayer - 7 shots at big game animals - 7 kills- rangers 60-206 yards . Light easy handling- short - easy to walk around with- sit in a tree or a blind . Bought used with optic- mount- extra mags and ammo and brass for under $400. Paid about the same for the others as well. For what they were made for- decent hunting /loaner/beater rifle on a budget - can’t be beat!
 
I was just reading the thread on what all do you own and your gun journey, and all the funny responses it got me thinking of my firearm journey. So if you would like to join in go for it.

Worst purchase-When stationed at Hood this guy in 2nd Brigade was selling his deployment gun. A sig 556xi, with his OIF dates engraved and that stupid logo Rakasan people put on everything they walk by. I zeroed the irons, the rear site was almost all the way right, but I got it zeroed, Then I put on a old Trijicon rm-01 trijicon. No matter what I did I couldn't zero it. Turns out the whole front rail was canted. Sig told me if I am the original owner I could sent it in for warranty work, apparently, this was a known issue. I asked if I wasn't how much would this cost? They told me if its just the rail not too much, but the rail piston system and all that could be off which would cost me damn near what I paid for the gun. I think it's at a pawn shop in Colorado Springs now. unless a 101 guy saw it with that logo then it's in thier possession lol.

Surprisingly good impulse buy- Walther PPK. I saw one at my gunsmiths for sale, and I immediately imagined myself in a suit, surrounded by sexy women, and with a British accent, my Aston Martin parked outside. I got it for a good price (can't believe new those fuckers go for like 8-900 dollars). I purchased it then after realizing I'm fat, don't own a suit, drive a dodge, and my gf is pretty but not James bond girl pretty. It was used, I took it out to the mountains, I was honestly surprised at how accurate it was for a little .380. Also, it ate everything I put in it.
might be a dumb question..deployment gun

you cant bring your own weapon and you cant sell military arms?

i must be missing something
 
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Hands down worst rifle I've owned was a Ruger "precision" Rimfire rifle. After shooting my buddies Annie 1727F, I wanted to get into precision Rimfire and figured the Ruger would be a great option while I saved up for a high end 22.

I couldn't be any further from that. Feeding issues, accuracy issues, if you put your head on the check piece too hard the whole buttstock would flex making the damn thing shoot like a shotgun. Got rid of it and graduated into a vudoo. I miss that thing.

Most surprising rifle I've owned, the 400 dollar savage model 12 I bought off my buddy that came with a scope lol. Chambered in 204, it's a little tack driver out to 300yds on pdogs. Ridiculously accurate and the bolt isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Had it threaded for my ultra 9. I don't care what happens to it since it's a cheap little savage, but the scope (Cabelas Covenent 4 6-24) doesn't track any longer after it sustained a nice little drop on concrete.

Perfect little truck gun. My AI's and the impact I had all met and exceeded expectations, but this savage really surprised me.
 
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Worst -
1.) Sig P250 .40 S&W, that DAO trigger just sucked
2.) PVA Minute Man with ARC Shouldered BarLoc. There is a reason the ARC Shouldered BarLoc is discontinued

Surprised
1.) Accuracy International AT - Bought it sight unseen and never been behind one from MHSA. I could not have been more pleased. This started the addiction that has led to AT, AX, and now ATX
2.) Wilson Combat 92G Centurion Tactical - Such a smooth handgun to fire, plus it's beautiful. The trigger is out of this world good.
 
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2 worst were both Sig pistols: 250SC .40 (jam-o-matic) and a 290RS (weird trigger and wouldn't feed). I'll never buy another Sig product as long as I am alive.

Surprise - I've sold lots of guns, but the ones I regret are a 08-09 era Colt LE6920 and a Ruger GP100 4" .357.
 
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Worst:

Hands down Serbu BFG 50.

My buddy called me a few years ago, said he just won a 50bmg on gunbroker. I instantly went on and saw a Barrett that sold earlier that day, figured that’s what he bought. I was excited for him. We head to the range a month later and he brought it… it was a fucking serbu. As soon as I saw that thread on cap shit I moved my gear further over 10 feet. He sold it after 2 range trips.
 
Worst: 1981 Colt SAA in .44Special that I bought in 2014, for $1,100 in 99% condition with box and paperwork. I thought I found a steal until I shot it...6" left at 15 yards (I think it was left). Realized why I got such a good deal. Sold it full disclosure a couple months later for $1,250.

Most surprising: A Savage 110 Timberline of all things. I like to joke on "salvage" rifles as much as most here, but I can't really find a fault in this one. Add that it is consistently sub-minute with all three bullets and powders - half minute with 120gr NBT and IMR-4895, and the cold bore shift is only .1 mil, and it has won me over as a loaner rifle. It is with my F-I-L now. I literally have no zero change on my scope whether I'm shooting the 120 NBT, 129 SST, and 129 Interlock. Crazy.
 
My buddy called me a few years ago, said he just won a 50bmg on gunbroker. I instantly went on and saw a Barrett that sold earlier that day, figured that’s what he bought. I was excited for him. We head to the range a month later and he brought it… it was a fucking serbu. As soon as I saw that thread on cap shit I moved my gear further over 10 feet. He sold it after 2 range trips.
Mine was the bolt model. The model you’re referring to is what blew up on Scott from Kentucky ballistics and had shit design written all over it. And when it detonated it did exactly what you’d assume a rifle built like that would do

Even the BFG 50 scope base is held on by nuts/bolts to a welded steel riser. You can add about 1500 moa each direction the holes were so sloppy
 
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Generally I hate the words "worst" and "best". I want the words defined, worst made, worst deal, worst groups.....what? But I will give it a go.

Worst
Ruger 10/22 Not a fan of them and bought one for my boy for Christmas when I thought he was ready for his "own rifle". Never opened the box, it is a 10-22, nothing special about them. Wife is wrapping the gifts and opens the box.

wife- did you open the box to boys rifle?
me- no
wife- you need to come see this
me- why it is a 1022 they are all the same
wife- not this one.

I get to the box and it looks like the thing was run over by a truck. You could look in the box and see the barrel was bent, your eye could see this. Well hell. Christmas is like a week away. Get on the phone with ruger and the first word out of the gals mouth was "you gonna keep the barrel". Really? I mean I know you build pure garbage but I did not think you built it so badly it was trash out of the box, now I know why you need to toss a catalog at it to make it shoot straight. I hung up. Put it back in the box and go back to the store.

me- looking for another 22 automatic
owner- you just bought that ruger, you need another.
me- let me show you that ruger
owner- that has to be the biggest pile of shit I have ever seen.

Told him about my call to Ruger and he said, I am not suppose to take things back but I am going to take that back, I don't have anything else but this.....An old Winchester 190. Ok that will do.

I really wanted his first rifle to be brand new, but I had no choice that close. it was cool him taking it back.

Best....I struggle with best, I can say the current favorite.....A heritage single action 22. It comes out every trip, along with a super cheapo "cowboy" holster. It is so much fun to play quick draw McGraw. Beep.....ding.....how fast, really the question should be how slow.

It is just so much fun, I do it every trip to the "range". And it is hard to burn 50 rounds in an hour doing that and I have a total ball doing it.
It’s your lucky day. Op didn’t ask for, “best”. He asked for, “surprisingly good”.
 
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Worst - AMT Hardballer. Jamamatic.

Most surprising - Star Model 28. Not that accurate but dependable/durable.

Most disappointing - Wilson CQB. Should be renamed CQT (Close Quarters Target) Extremely accurate but not dependable unless you are shooting Wilson mfg ammo, mild target loads. Forget Winchester Ranger or Federal defense loads. Wilson Combat? Nope. Wilson Target.
Lol I used to want one of those soooo bad. Blame the hitman video games for the hardballer.

I watched a video I can't remember who it was by, but they compared Rock island, Sig emperor scorpion 1911, Kimber of some kind, and the Wilson combat. The Wilson had the best groups, the sig/kimber weren't that far off, and the rock island did well for 500 lol. Then they did a combat simulation thing. Drop all of them in dusty ass dirt, and do some run and gun on steel. The Wilson, and Kimber both did horrible, the sig did really good, and the RIA did way better than anyone thought(all using whatever the equivalent of standard military ball ammo. The guy goes on saying that Kimber in the last few years has gone to shit they aren't really worth the price, get an older one for better quality control, He expected the Wilson to dominate, but he said due to the tight tolerances which contribute to accuracy it did horrible dirty. He said if he had to trust his life to any of them the RIA arms was his second pick great price point, and loose tolerances(standard issue accuracy). Sig 1911 scorpion came in first.
 
Worse: Wasr.....some sight cant is okay but I couldn't even zero it.

Most surprising:
Geissele superduty (when they were cheaper and didnt have qc issues).
Ruger mark iv tactical (soo much fun)
Shadow systems MR920 (before their qc fuckery).

Most pleasing:
CZ Shadow 2 SA....that trigger is absolutely amazing and shooting that pistol is just too much fun. It lived up to the hype.
When I finally got my first AK this year I ended up with a PSA. I wanted a import but I heard about the wasr sight issues, Century arms hit or miss qc, Then everything else was out of my price range.
 
Generally I hate the words "worst" and "best". I want the words defined, worst made, worst deal, worst groups.....what? But I will give it a go.

Worst
Ruger 10/22 Not a fan of them and bought one for my boy for Christmas when I thought he was ready for his "own rifle". Never opened the box, it is a 10-22, nothing special about them. Wife is wrapping the gifts and opens the box.

wife- did you open the box to boys rifle?
me- no
wife- you need to come see this
me- why it is a 1022 they are all the same
wife- not this one.

I get to the box and it looks like the thing was run over by a truck. You could look in the box and see the barrel was bent, your eye could see this. Well hell. Christmas is like a week away. Get on the phone with ruger and the first word out of the gals mouth was "you gonna keep the barrel". Really? I mean I know you build pure garbage but I did not think you built it so badly it was trash out of the box, now I know why you need to toss a catalog at it to make it shoot straight. I hung up. Put it back in the box and go back to the store.

me- looking for another 22 automatic
owner- you just bought that ruger, you need another.
me- let me show you that ruger
owner- that has to be the biggest pile of shit I have ever seen.

Told him about my call to Ruger and he said, I am not suppose to take things back but I am going to take that back, I don't have anything else but this.....An old Winchester 190. Ok that will do.

I really wanted his first rifle to be brand new, but I had no choice that close. it was cool him taking it back.

Best....I struggle with best, I can say the current favorite.....A heritage single action 22. It comes out every trip, along with a super cheapo "cowboy" holster. It is so much fun to play quick draw McGraw. Beep.....ding.....how fast, really the question should be how slow.

It is just so much fun, I do it every trip to the "range". And it is hard to burn 50 rounds in an hour doing that and I have a total ball doing it.
I just got my girlfriend into shooting. She's never shot before. Now I can't get my damn ruger 10-22 back she brings it out everytime I go to the range, then she shoots the shit out of it, I'm glad she's happy. So for Christmas I got her a heritage with the pearl looking grips that has the 22lr and 22 mag cylinder. I've never shot one fucking xmas needs to get here faster lol.
 
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It’s your lucky day. Op didn’t ask for, “best”. He asked for, “surprisingly good”.
Very true. For example, if I got something I couldn't afford like a fancy accuracy international, or daniel defense. I would expect that to be the best flawless firearm unless it sucks then I'd add it to the list. I'm going more for the what have you purchased like impulse or inherited that you were like, eh this will probably be a piece of shit, or just sit in the safe neglected. Then you fire it and you're like holy shit this is actually awesome, whether its the accuracy, or overall just fun to shoot, basically something you didn't expect to be that great. Like the heritage I like that answer, but when someone says for example Wilson Combat master, personally built by Larry the god Vickers, and lubricated with orphan tears. I would expect that to be great. Now if someone said I bough one of those Tissa's or SDS things or got it however and you are like it shot at a dream I would be intrigued. I mean don't get me wrong I love hearing about any firearm. I'm just a security guard going to flight school. So my fancy stuff, is probably peasant stuff to some on this site.
 
might be a dumb question..deployment gun

you cant bring your own weapon and you cant sell military arms?

i must be missing something
That might have been me wording that wrong. Some of the units when I was in I never got so lucky, would reach out to companies say sig, s&w and so forth. If the whole company bought the gun they would get it for super cheap, and usually it was engraved with the unit logo and the deployment time. The sig I had, had the rakesan 101 logo with OIF 08-09 or something like that on the lower reciever engraved on the ejection port side. When I got to Hood my unit was deployed they got springfield 1911's but ones that looked like the 1911a1 it had 3/8Cav on the slide, and the grips were 1st cavalary logo grips.
 
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I was looking for a deer rifle for my wife and a couple days ago I came across a heavy barrel 6.5 with a thumbhole stock. Looks like some jackwad tried to do a digital camo paint job on it. Looks like it has a Mauser action that's pretty smooth. So I picked up three or four different brands of 6.5 creedmore and went to the range. It's got a really nice scope but something must be wrong with it. I shot all four boxes and I have a 12 gauge that patterns better. Damn thing shoots like shit. Probably why I was able to get it for $250. Anyone got an idea of another 6.5 ammo I can try in this POS before I pawn it off?
 
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Worst: Springfield compact Operator. Garbage.

Most surprising: Skinny barrel Ruger American Rimfire 22LR.
Yes I have spent some time accurizing it but the thing has shot under .100 many times at 25y and plenty under .250 at 50y. It holds on full size IDPA steel at 400 with ease.
 
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I was looking for a deer rifle for my wife and a couple days ago I came across a heavy barrel 6.5 with a thumbhole stock. Looks like some jackwad tried to do a digital camo paint job on it. Looks like it has a Mauser action that's pretty smooth. So I picked up three or four different brands of 6.5 creedmore and went to the range. It's got a really nice scope but something must be wrong with it. I shot all four boxes and I have a 12 gauge that patterns better. Damn thing shoots like shit. Probably why I was able to get it for $250. Anyone got an idea of another 6.5 ammo I can try in this POS before I pawn it off?
Was your hair in a bun? The 6.5 CM can smell fear…

Hornady ‘match’ has always been very consistent for me. Check all of the screws for proper tightness- just to rule out a scope/mount issue.
 
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When I finally got my first AK this year I ended up with a PSA. I wanted a import but I heard about the wasr sight issues, Century arms hit or miss qc, Then everything else was out of my price range.

PSA has had their fair share of issues with AK production. I think they hammered out most of those issues. WBP and FB radom Beryl along with the Sam7 have been good for me.
 
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Bought a Kodiak.22 magnum at a gun show. Supposedly the first .22 magnum automatic. They look like a Remington 552 automatic. Fucker wouldn’t function and you couldn’t hit shit with it when it did. Gave it away. Looked for that lying fucker at the next 4 shows
 
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Worst: every gun the nat. guard ever gave me - all were wore out.

Best: Tisas 1911, bought it for $350 when they were first imported, figured it be the cheapest way to scratch my 1911 curiosity. Had one FTF on the second mag, not a single problem since. Rough machining on it, rattles like hell, treat it like a red headed stepchild, but always works - only ever shot 230 gr ball out of it.
 
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Worst - Mossberg 152 22LR; what is not to like - inaccurate, jams & FTE/FTF despite replacing magazine, rear peep sight with elevation and windage on slides (hand-tighten knurled nut), front sight held down by screw (locktite). Luckily, sold to fellow soldier who wanted the rifle from his youth. Sold it cheap, happy to get rid of it.

Surprise, but not the best - Kimber Solo 9mm (pocket pistol). Never had problems but sent it to Kimber anyway. Did some magic, replaced both magazines, gave me a third. Shoots like a champ. Everyone had problems and pistol was discontinued, replaced by the Micros.
 
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The worst gun I’ve purchased is also surprisingly fun to shoot. Savage Rascal 22lr. It’s a single shot bolt action rifle. It barely fits the definition, having a barrel length just over 16” and an overall length just beyond 26 inches. It is accurate and has a pretty decent trigger. But, it has savage extraction, and I spend about as much time removing spent cases as I do shooting. Then again, when the chamber is clean, it does acceptably well. My wife and I fight over shooting it, even though we’ve got a pair of match quality “10/22” rifles. It’s just sooooo small. It’s a hoot.

The surprisingly good guns are all Canik Elites. The triggers are great, though at the same time weird. No hiccups over 3 pistols and a few 1000 rounds. They don’t always lock back on empty with steel cased ammo, but I consider that a weak ammo issue and not a gun issue.
 
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So after looking at this rifle a little closer it's a 6.5 wsm. It's got some bird painted on the stock.
I was looking for a deer rifle for my wife and a couple days ago I came across a heavy barrel 6.5 with a thumbhole stock. Looks like some jackwad tried to do a digital camo paint job on it. Looks like it has a Mauser action that's pretty smooth. So I picked up three or four different brands of 6.5 creedmore and went to the range. It's got a really nice scope but something must be wrong with it. I shot all four boxes and I have a 12 gauge that patterns better. Damn thing shoots like shit. Probably why I was able to get it for $250. Anyone got an idea of another 6.5 ammo I can try in this POS before I pawn it off?
 
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Walther P22, complete POS!
Yes they are! Require extensive rework. Pretty fun after though.
DD6F81D6-6A0A-4D7D-B0DD-6E5BA819C88E.jpeg
 
What did you do to yours? after improvements?
It would only run mini mags and stingers sometimes. Still wouldn’t run a full mag without jams. Anything less it wouldn’t run.
Milled the bottom of slide where it rides over hammer, it was to tight and caused it to bind up. Polished top side of hammer.

After it would run all std velocity stuff and is pretty fun with a suppressor.
 
Deployment gun means engraved to commemorate the deployment.
i was so confused lol

my friend was in Iraq in the beginning, his squad didnt have optics yet

his mom bought several ACOGS, because he told her send what he has on his AR at home

"care package" they got there...and wasnt allowed to use them..they werent issued

he has pisseed to say the least
 
Worst. Terminus .223 action. Bought a high dollar barrel. Had high hopes. Wouldn’t shoot worth a shit. Tried another high dollar barrel , a different scope a different stock. Ended up being the bolt. Cherry on top was terminus saying you can’t expect a short 223 to shoot well. It was a 16” Remington Varmint contour. Throwing shots 1-1.5” from the “group”
Best
AI axsa then AT-X. Love that gun. Accurate easy to shoot reliable etc.

Early Pof 223 AR upper is up there too. Accurate AF I killed so many things.
 
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Worst - Saiga 12. That fucking thing couldn't get through a mag without some sort of problem from the 'pick your malfunction' wheel.

Honorable Mention - Franklin Armory MP5 binary trigger. What a fucking disaster. It was so bad, it singlehandedly made me get an SOT.

Surprising - CZ455. Wanted a 22LR 'trainer' but wasn't going to have retarded expectations. Put a Lilja barrel on it and we shoot 300+ yards with it every week.
 
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Worst... a Mauser of all things.
I finally got around to picking up a 6.5x55, and the thing wasn't anything special at all. Maybe it was because of all the hype surrounding the cartridge, and how accurate it's supposed to be. Maybe I just expected more... In any case, my example was no stellar performer. Just another old shot out milsurp rifle. My 7x57 Spanish Mauser carbine was much more accurate. THAT one, I miss.

The (pleasant) surprise... My Remington 700 in .243.
Picked it up used. (barely broke in so he said, but I've bought from this guy before, and he always has good stuff) I dropped it in a KRG Bravo, and after trying several factory loads to find what it likes... I have a rifle that has done a best group of .27"! In fact... it's the rifle I'm learning precision shooting on... after joining up here. Not being a hand loader, I'm SO happy (and surprised as hell) to have found such a rifle, and (factory) ammo combo. Of course I can't do that every time, but it'll hold a half inch pretty easy if I don't screw up at my end of the gun. Now I just need to get good at longer distances with it. Little bullets get pushed by the wind easily... and I'm still learning.
 
I cannot say I’ve owned a bad gun.
Shotgun
Kolar two barrel skeet set​
Keighoff k-80 two barrel skeet set​
Kreighoff K-20 w 30” Parcours barrels.​
Berett 687 Gold (no fucking “E”) 12/20 ga set​
I did sell my Mod 12 and 42. Both were wonderful early versions of these shotguns in very desirable configs.​
Win SX-1 - set up for skeet​
Win SX-1 set up for SC and 5 stand.​
Win SX-1 that is an absolute work of art done by Ken Hutst who has sadly passed. Highly engraved w gold animals and extraordinary wonderful back grounds and detailed art work​
Here are a few pics in the white which shows the work off best. I keep showing it out of respect and friendship for Ken Hutst who was a super guy in addition to being a great craftsman.​
1670732208896.jpeg
1670732287069.jpeg
1670732331443.jpeg
Benelli Black Eagle - goose killer and it works in freezing rain5​
Handgun
Tarus SS .357​
Rifles
Seekins action in a Jae chassis with a Proof SS SMU barrel trigger tech Diamond w flat shoeand Leupold Mk 5 5-25.​
Deviant action in a JAE chassis w Bartlien 400modbb barrel, TT Diamond pro curve, and a ZCO 5-27​
Rem 700 5R Gen 2 SS w vortex PST 3-15 on it. Does deer just fine. O​
I have to say I’m pretty happy w all of these guns.​
I’ve never have had one I wished I didn’t buy​
 
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Worst- S&W M&P22-15. It's like a chinese made toy version of an AR that jams like crazy.

Most surprising- Yildiz 20g O/U. It fits me like it was custom made with absolutely gorgeous Turkish walnut and ran around $400 new. I don't expect it to last forever, but for the price I should have bought three of them.
 
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Worst sig mosquito 22. Bought it for my 1st 22 suppressor many years ago. Plastic crap that would not shoot straight to save your life and once it got dirty it was a jam o magic. I kept it about a month and traded on a ruger mark 3 with tacsol upper.

Best tied between a gap 308 and my colt M16. The gap was my 1st custom build that I did not source the parts over time. It was nice to order a gun and then just wait. No scrounging around for everything you need and having stuff become available when you did not have the cash.

M16 is a blast to shoot and because it is a factory colt I don’t have reliability issues and can run whatever upper on it I want.
 
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Worst gun CZ52 trigger would slap so hard your finger would sting, lots of bests but I have to give it to my
Bull barrel Ruger MKII pistol that SOB just runs anything any weather any time.

I have an MKII 22/45 (bull barrel). It was hardly ever shot (got from from brother in law who bought it new in 1991) worked it up with a volquartsen complete frame and put an MOA rail on it with a red dot sight.

I love it. I can shoot the pistol 100 yards at cans and hit them all day long.

My big problem with the MKII is that it’s a whore to take apart and get back together.

Much rather have a newer MKIV
 
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Worst: Multi-way tie because it took me a long time to connect the dots. Lorcin L22. It catastrophically self disassembled before it had a hundred rounds through it. Kel-Tec SU-16, unreliable and inaccurate pile of flaming dog shit. High point 995 carbine, really quite accurate and reliable but it would pinch a piece of cheek skin off with every damned shot.

Best: Desert Tech M2, ridiculously accurate with every caliber and any ammo I stick in it.

Surprising: Jennings J22. $49 new and I was head shooting rabbits beyond 50yrds with it as a teenager. We were so poor and lived so far in the boonies that this was the only gun I could afford after a year of saving up. Fed the family with it for a pretty long while.
 
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All my guns work fine. I will rank from least accurate to most accurate and what changed, if any.
Full disclosure, I am a fan of Mossberg products and I have told them for their own engineering benefit the problem with this one.

Mossberg Patriot .308 Win (combo came with a Vortex 3-9X40 Dead Hold scope. I call it the stove pipe reticle.) It was averaging 1.5 to 3 MOA, including my crappy shooting. And kicked like a mule because of the light synthetic stock. The problem in the Patriot and Patriot Predator synth stocks is that the removable plastic mag well is used as a spacer for the action screws and the rear action screw guide has a gap in it, which allows flex. I originally thought I broke it and ordered a new stock in OD Green. Same difference. You will never torque down the rear action screw to what you need. There will always be movement. You are lucky to be getting on paper. Also, see the results for the Backfire channel on youtube. Discount some bravado for making a show. It was still a problem.

Solution, I put mine in an MDT chassis. LSS Gen 2, folding stock adapter, SCS butt stock. Averages 1 MOA after 60 rounds of not resting. Usually favors Hornady 150 gr SST and also Federal Fusion 165. I put on a Pachmayr Decelerator. The fluted barrel is not threaded. I put on a clamp-on break from Kahntrol Solutions and followed the directions to the exact letter. Works like a dream, kisses the cheek like a butterfly, Speaking of which, I put cheek pads From Goda Grip on my stuff. Also, the finger grips. Sorbathane acts like a cushion. Anchors your sweaty cheek so that you don't have to strain neck muscles to maintain your eye box.

Best, from the factory, Windham Weaponry R16SFST-308 (AR-10 style 308, looks vaguely like an MK 11 MOD 0). Put a good scope on it, Hit the exact center of the crosshairs I was aiming at on the target at a measured 100 yards. So, yeah, sub MOA. Really sub MOA, using Armscor 168 gr HPBT. The cheap stuff.

Second most accurate is the Mossberg MVP LR 308 Thunder Ranch edition in Kuiu Camo. Medium bull barrel 20 inches. Federal Nontypical Whitetail 180 grain, 1/3 MOA all day. If I ever get into long range competitions, this might be the entry rifle I would choose. 1:10 rate.

Tied for second is the Windham Weaponry Dissipator M4 A3 in 5.56 NATO (.223 Rem.) I transferred at a range. Paid the fees, signed the papers, walked to a lane, pulled it out of the box. Combat zero at the factory. Dead on the nuts at 25 yards. And stayed that way. I still have just iron sights on it but that can be removed to reveal the pic rail for whatever optic I want.

The most pleasant surprise? Thompson Center Compass II in .308 Win. Guaranteed 1 MOA on the first 3 shots. First time at the range with only a laser bore sight at home, out of the box, first 2 shots were 1/2 MOA. A real 100 yards outdoor range. At the ceasefire, I walked out with the measuring tape I remembered to bring. 1/2 inch center to center. Armscor 168 gr HPBT did great but the cases expand a little and can get stuck.
Changed to Federal Fusion 165 grain, same accuracy, no sticking. 1:12 twist. 1/2 MOA at 40 rounds. I had put a hydraulic recoil pad from Falcon Strike and Silencerco ASR2 break on there. There is aluminum pillar bedding. I have since migrated it to an Oryx chassis because I really like chassis. Non-adjustable factory trigger guaranteed 3 - 4 pounds. I measured mine with 3 distinct runs of 20 pulls each. Averaged at 2 pounds 7.7 ounces. That is most lovely to me. Hunter safe and target accurate. I could get a kit from M Carbo and go below 2 pounds but I don't need that. The TC Compass II in th eOryx chassis is my avatar. My Patriot and LR 308 are below 2 pounds, from the factory.

The one that always operated as I expected with no problems is my M&P full size 9 mm with 17 round double stack mag. It's a work horse.
 
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Glad to hear you got better CS than me. Remington's demise was inevitable IMO. And the mkiv is awesome. I got the tactical and it's an incredibly fun gun to shoot. And compared to the previous versions, it's so easy to clean.
I've got a Mk III Easy to pull apart and clean. Harder to get back together

Once you do put it back together a few times, it gets easier

The MK series pistols are lots of fun.

M

edited to add: I wanted a lightweight .22 rifle 'for mom' and had a choice of a Rem 597 and a 10/22. 10/22 had a light grey stock on it and the 597 was darker.

Bought the 597

Lots of FTE even after putting Volquatsen parts in there. Didn't have the FTF issues some did. Just FTE.

It was an accurate, fun to shoot little rifle when it ran.

Got tired of thinking about the FTEs and what it'd take to fix it so consigned it. The LGS took it with them to a show and it sold shortly after down in Richmond.

M
 
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