Top Ten WORST firearms you've ever owned? You know, something for the youngin's who are out shopping for their first gun.Well, I decided to modify that somewhat, as I've only come across a couple of guns that I really didn't care for. However, there are definitely guns that new shooters should stay away from. They're not necessarily *bad* guns (in fact, I own quite a few...); they're just not the best firearms for someone new to shooting to add to their armory early in their shooting career...
*Airweight snubbie (like the Snubbie from Hell). Light weight to induce flinch? Check. Short sight radius to reduce accuracy. Check. They certainly have their place, true; however the movie gunnie would do well to avoid them until later in their shooting career.
*Pistol-gripped shotgun. Taking the stock off a pump-action shotgun may seem like a tactically sound idea - it reduces the overall length of the gun; makes it easier to wield in close quarters; and sure looks cool in the movies... In reality they're harder to control, punishing as all hell; and equally likely to cause you to break your nose trying to aim...
*Large bore Magnum handguns. Big bores have their place, but not in the armory of someone just starting out. Hand cannons are a good way to develop a flinch and/or deep-seated dislike of loud, insanely powerful weaponry. Or you could wind up a recoil whore like me and start thinking of ways to hot-rod the S&W 500 Magnum...
*Mil-surp firearms in oddball calibers. There's a reason that 6.5pm Carcanos sell so cheap - ammo runs about $2 a round and isn't exactly plentiful. While very few people love old guns as much as I do, it can be frustrating trying to find ammo for a gun that hasn't been made in over 50 years...
*Micro-semi autos. Following pretty much the same rationale as the Airweight revolvers, most of the micro-9s, 40s, and 45s can be quite the handful for even the seasoned gunnie. Expecting a noob shooter to get a grip on a 14 oz. micro-45 is just setting them up for sore mitts and a distrust of major calibers.
*Dino-hunting thumpers. You know who you are, the shoulder-breakin', chiropractor-needin' ultra recoil whores. The guys that think "calibers that start with '4' applies to rifles as well as handguns". 500 S&W Magnum is considered a plinkin' round to these guys. Well, these rifles do have their place (like subduing runaway dumptrucks), but for a new shooter they're just bad for your gunnie health (and your back. And shoulders. And arms.)
*Low-end guns. Sorry Weerd, but new shooters should definitely stay away from Cobras, FIE, Lorcins, and Jennings. These guns are fine if you know what to expect - not much - but for someone just starting to learn about "The gun thing", a POS that only goes BANG half the time - and stands a good chance of going KaBOOM - is not something for a novice gunnie.
So there's my list of guns for the new shooter to avoid. Some of them should be avoided by all gunnies; some should just be obtained after the gunnie in question has some experience under their belt. The last thing we need are more YouTube videos of some jackass handing his 100 lb. girlfriend a S&W 500 Magnum and laughing as it hits her in the forehead.
So, what other guns should new shooters avoid?
That is all.
23 comments:
Deagles. Oh, and anything with gold plating or other frilly shit.
"So, what other guns should new shooters avoid?"
Taurus.
Have to say don't get a Mosin. They're cheap, easy to take care of, simple to use, ammo is cheap and plentiful, but the recoil alone will turn off a new shooter unless they're that rare breed of shooter who loves purple rectangles on their shoulder. That being said, the first centerfire rifle I bought when I got back into shooting was a 91/30, and I haven't had a rifle range trip without it.
I'd also say don't get an AR-15 for your first gun. They're complicated, can be very finicky about ammo, and lead to the dark side of mall-ninja.
If someone is just starting out shooting, I'd suggest a Savage .22 bolt action rifle, and a Mossberg 20 gauge pump shotgun. Relatively simple to use, easy to keep clean and learn how a gun works. Ammunition is cheap, and the recoil won't scare them off.
For a pistol, I'm going to cop out and say to go with whatever works well. I agree on staying away from hand cannons, but don't rule out a full sized .38 or .357 for the beginner shooter.
1911's. Great once you get past newbie, but unless you have an ample budget, good training and a close friend who is 1911 savvy, not a good newbie gun.
Sig Sauer Mosquito. As a new shooter in 2009 I wanted to start small - including caliber.
Waste of money. Moved to a Beretta 92FS 9mm within 3 months. Mothballed the Mosquito shortly after I got my S&W M&P 9mm.
Mosquito just sucked. At least 10% of the rounds would fail - either fail to feed or eject, or they would just plain jam or stovepipe - sometimes as much as 20-30%.
Sent it back to Sig and they replaced part of the trigger and breech assemblies - didn't help. I eventually stopped shooting unless I could use my husband's Kimber 1911 or his GSG5 rifle. Then he bought me the Beretta and all was well.
Kris, the skeeter is actually a great gun, but it's probably not a good beginner gun. Its a bit picky about how it's lubed and the ammo it uses*, but after that it works flawlessly and we find it a good training pistol for new shooters.
*It likes to run wet with a high quality moly lube. Make sure to read all the paperwork it came with about lubing. The newer ones even have a small hole in the slide that should get a drop of oil every few hundred rounds. For ammo you need to break it in with a few hundred rounds of CCI Stingers, then you can switch to mini-mags. It also runs well with Federal AutoMatch, and reasonably well with thunderbolt.
I'll throw in another vote for the the Desert Eagle.
I actually DID own one long ago and it was about the most useless gun ever.
Worked fine, I don't remember it ever failing to fire but the huge grip, crappy trigger, misplaced safety and generally crappy ergonomics made it a complete turd.
No apologies needed. When you look at the cost of Cop Trade-in Glocks and Sigs, or old S&W Model 10s, even somebody on a ramen budget can start out with something a little better than a Lorcin or a hi-Point for more-or-less the same money, and with a whole lot less frustration that comes with owning a low-end POS gun.
My first rifle was a Mosin M44. Then again, I am not a recoil wuss and a rubber buttpad softens the rifle considerably.
I'm a rifleman so I won't comment on pistols. In rifles, I echo the milsurp in oddball calibers recommendation unless you're looking for safe queen/wall hanger or are willing to do the great ammo hunt. Generally a good idea to avoid all calibers save for .22LR, .308 and 8mm Mauser. It's a lot harder to find things like 7.5mm French or Swiss, 6.5x55 Swedish or, shiver, 8x56R (Steyr M95).
New shooters should generally also avoid rifles like factory customs, oddball sporters and rifles that cost a couple grand just to get started.
Anything that appears to be a beaten up POS. I had an Erma Luger lookalike thingy in .22 that did me the favor of firing whenever it wanted to, not when I wanted it to. After having it go off 3 times when I didn't want it to (it had a thing for firing when you cocked the thing), I unloaded it at a gun show to a dealer.
Spanish Ruby pistols should be avoided as well. Unless you really want training in unintended discharges, FTF and non-standardized parts.
I'll second the Erma nomination.... mine (.22 cal ppk copy)liked fire if you released the slide, as opposed to ease it forward.
The best handgun for a new shooter is a Ruger 22/45, followed by a good 1911.
Desert Eagles...
I'll add that handing a first time high-power rifle shooter a .300 Winchester Magnum, with a scope mounted on it, and putting them in a prone firing position is setting them up for a horrendous scope-eye experience they'll never get over.
First gun should always be a .22. Lots of practice at low price.
Worst gun I ever owned was an RWS Model 25 air rifle. Heavy trigger pull which then broke with what must have been a full inch of backlash. A good lesson to all beginners of the importance of a good trigger pull!
I agree with DaddyBear. After some practice with someone else's .22 to get started, I believe that a .357 magnum revolver with a 6" barrel can be a great first handgun, provided that .38 rounds are used until more experience has been gained.
Thanks for using my idea! In general, IF they can afford it, I tell new people to go to the range, shoot all the rentals they can with an experienced shooter with them whole time ( to cram the 4 Rules into their skulls), then find a .22 version of what they like the most, IF available. Practice, Practice, Practice. Then if they still like the weapon system, then get the full power version, and practice some more. If they're dirt poor, yet still can have a pistol, I try to find them a good used 4 inch 357 Revolver, then have them start on the low end of the power scale and work their way up. Most are happy with 38+P. Same for semi's, bolt guns , lever guns, etc. One can always trade the .22 in towards a more powerful weapon, or they can keep it and get a lot more practice time in with the cheaper ammo. YMMV, of course.
I guess it's subjective, but I have no problems with my pistol gripped shotgun, even shooting 3" 00 buck shells it is not that bad. Plus I don't need to put it up to my nose to aim it, as the laser shows me right where it's pointing.
WV: omment. As in, "ah jus made an 'omment on Jay's blog".
Anything in .25 ACP.
That Erma-RX22 (PPKish copy) likely just needs a good cleaning. I had one slam fire as well, but that was after I had shot several boxes through it without cleaning. Rimfire powder is notorious for grim - I used canned air to blow through the firing pin recess and its ran like a Casio since.
For me, any magnum snubbie is not pleasant at all to shoot. Fortunately, most of them chamber the low powered sub cartridge (.44 Special / .38 Special) and those are a whole lot better.
Mopar - I appreciate the advise unfortunately I did all that and it's still a dud. Particularly with Thunderbolt rounds - no point in even trying with those they failed so often.
Ah well - it was a good break-me-in gun; taught me much about clearing failures, dealing with jammed rounds and stovepipes and the importance of cleaning and lubing with precision.
1. Ruger Security Six. Awkward grip angle, turns in the hand when fired, definitely not a newbie gun.
2. Mauser C96. Looks great, wonderful gun, icon blah blah blah. Reality is that the thing kicks like a mule (.30 Mauser is more powerful than people think), and if it wasn't for the trigger guard, the broomhandle grip would spin around in a circle every time you pulled the trigger.
Also, if fewer people wanted the C96, they'd come down in price and I might be able to afford one, some day.
Agree with Kris; been around a Mosquito and even after a trip back to the factory it didn't work right. With ANYTHING. In fact, fed worse even with the ammo it liked after the trip. Heard similar from too many people.
You mentioned milsurp in oddball calibers, but that goes for non-milsurp guns, too. My first handgun was a Springfield XD in 45GAP. Springfield has since dropped that chambering in their lineup so no new parts or mags. And, although glock will keep making the ammo, it is still more expensive than a new shooter should pay. I recently pawned it and am seriously considering just letting the pawnshop keep it instead of getting it out.
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