Monday, February 21, 2011

Homely Arms, LLC.

Today we attempt to answer the age-old question: What would an FFL that sold only ugly guns stock? Now, we don't mean bubba'd old milsurps or franken-1911s. Anyone with a dremel and a decided lack of talent can make a good gun look ugly. In that same vein, we're not counting a normal gun with garish gold accents or tiger stripe paint scheme. No, these are just plain ugly right out of the box...

To some, the Chiappa Rhino is a work of art. To others, it's butt-ugly:



Then there's the Nambu. It looks like they started building a robust auto-loader, then threw a Bic pen casing on the end.



Of course, who could ever forget the Grendel P-30 without the aid of powerful psychotropic agents?



Some may argue that the inherent shootability and accuracy of the HK P7 make it beautiful, but that grip profile says otherwise.



For just plain yuck, there's the Iver Johnson Hammerless:



And rounding out an even half-dozen ugly handguns, the Semmerling LM4. I think the picture is so bad because the LM4 could only be photographed indirectly...



So, what other ugly guns did I miss?

That is all.

25 comments:

JB Miller said...

I don't think the Rhino is ugly. Not since I held one and she whispered my name...

wolfwalker said...

Incidentally, the 'Nambu' pistol is not only ugly, it's also underpowered and had a bad tendency to misfire.

Other ugly guns that would be legal to sell in the USA:

* The civilian semi-auto version (yes, I believe such a thing exists) of the Sten gun.

* The 'Liberator' .45-cal handgun developed by the OSS for use by Resistance fighters in WW2.

* The LeMat revolver: nine .42-cal cap-and-ball cylinders around a central barrel loaded with 16-gauge buckshot.

* The 'Last Ditch' rifles produced by Japan in the closing days of WW2.

Those are all that come to mind right now; I'm sure I can think of more.

Mad Saint Jack said...

The designer of the gun had clearly not been instructed to beat about the bush. 'Make it evil,' he'd been told. 'Make it totally clear that this gun has a right end and a wrong end. Make it totally clear to anyone standing at the wrong end that things are going badly for them. If that means sticking all sort of spikes and prongs and blackened bits all over it then so be it. This is not a gun for hanging over the fireplace or sticking in the umbrella stand, it is a gun for going out and making people miserable with.'

-- Douglas Adams

Butch Cassidy said...

"The LeMat revolver" - Take that back...

Content:

Rast Gasser - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rast-Gasser_M1898

Walther PPQ - http://gunsgunsguns.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Walther-PPQ-300x217.jpg

Which looks like a - http://tgscom.com/images/sharedimages/GunSourceFrontPage/Images/HiPointPic.jpg

Borepatch said...

The Borchardt was pretty ugly. Maybe because it was the first semi auto pistol, and nobody really knew what they were doing.

But it looks like you're holding a suspension bridge in your hand ...

BobG said...

Don't forget the Dardick.

Ancient Woodsman said...

The various iterations of projects SALVO and NIBLICK usually top my list, especially the SA SPIW from the early 60s.

And the Stevens Visible Loader, mostly the action. Ewww...

Colt Double Eagle.

Original Ruger P85 with 'blue' turning to purple. Dayum!

Any late-60s/early 70s Winchester 94 with 'pot metal' receivers that - refinished - came out just about any kind of color. I know they weren't pot metal, but that's what we called them.

S&W Model 35 in .35 S&W, and various other .32 ACP of creative yet 'cosmetically challenged' design.

Johnson M1941.

Wow, Mr. G. This could get fun!

DaddyBear said...

1895 Nagant Revolver. Is gun, is not pretty.

O Estressado said...

You've missed on the OC-14 Groza, a russian assault rifle.

Anonymous said...

I'd love a 1941 Johnson over the mantle...

But I think this thread inspired my next gun porn submittal :)

-Wally

Anonymous said...

I'd love a 1941 Johnson over the mantle...

But I think this thread inspired my next gun porn submittal :)

-Wally

doubletrouble said...

FP-45 Liberator.

TinCan Assassin said...

Hi Point Pistols and Carbines. Shootable, yes, pretty, no.

Ross said...

Mosin Nagant revolver.

Beretta Neos

Any GLOCK.

Hi-Standard USA Model H-D

JP said...

I think Glocks are pretty ugly: its a darn good thing they WORK.

Then there is the PHP MV9 and VM17: http://world.guns.ru/handguns/hg/hr/php-e.html

2yellowdogs said...

Not a handgun, but the Hi Point carbine looks like a dead gar you find when the lake water recedes.

http://ow.ly/40x5g

Six said...

HK VP70Z. Butt ugly and a bad trigger.

Rivrdog said...

Kel-Tec Sub-Rifle 2000

You can't tell what it is folded, and unfolded, the pistol grip tells you it's a gun, but is that a shotgun barrel you just mounted to your shoulder? Oh, point the OTHER end downrange...

But they work, and they take your favorite magazines and are chambered in your best pistol calibers.

Dr. Feelgood said...

Any 1911 with front slide serrations.

Gunnutmegger said...

Any Webley pistol (not revolver, though the No1 revolver was ugly).

Bergmann 1896 & 1897 pistols.

Frommer 1910.

Japanese Type 94.

Sten guns.

Skip said...

C-96 Broomhandle.

Anonymous said...

I don't know as I'd call the Grendal P-30 ugly; maybe a little odd looking, but not ugly. Besides, any pistol that holds 30 rounds in a magazine that doesn't protrude 3" below the mag well can't be all bad.

Veeshir said...

I'll stick up for the Nambu.

Sure the safety is useless, the magazine is hard to load, it's expensive to feed and it's underpowered...
But it is a lot of fun to shoot.

Veeshir said...

Meant to say,

My problem with the gun is the way people call him "The Japanese Browning".

Uhhhhh, no.
A number of Browning's designs are still being used in militaries around the world, as are a bunch of the calibers he invented.

Nambu? Not so much.

I bought a Type 14 in good condition with every number matching, except the magazine, for less than $500.
Imagine how much a number matching Luger or 1911 from 1941 would be worth?
The market has spoken and Nambu isn't a "Browning" anything.

Laurent said...

http://media.photobucket.com/image/manurhin%20MR93/Jeroenw114/Manurhin/DSCN1053.jpg

The Manurhin MR93 was an engineer gun, and I find it very interresting. But it's not pretty.