Return of the Booth Babes: The 2007 SHOT Show
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The Worst Guns of All Time
I guess this was inevitable, and I’d like to thank the fellow blogger who suggested it. Here are the rules:
1. No profanity.
2. Only one nomination.
3. It has to be a gun that you had personal experience with, not something you heard about.
4. Keep your comments brief.
Go to it.
There's nothing worse than a rifle that promises exceptional accuracy and looks like a million bucks, yet is manufactured with such sublime sloppiness that it misfires about 15% of the time.
This rifle has defied all warranty work, laughed at the efforts of 4 different gunsmiths, and could have easily inspired a firearms "lemon law".
This rifle so bad that selling it would be like spreading a disease. And it's the real reason why God, in His infinite mercy, created the hacksaw.
We're talking about my cursed Remington 541-T.
May the fleas of a thousand camels infest the house of Big Green!
Posted by: El-Wazir | May 17, 2006 at 11:30 AM
Browning Citori 12-ga skeet model: Thing was heavy, had no balance and swung like a telephone pole. The checkering was so sharp on the fore-end I had to wear gloves shooting a round of skeet. I can't understand why it was so popular on the clay ranges. Oddly enough I had the same model in 20-ga that was a dream to shoot. Traded that 12-ga monster for two 1100’s.
Posted by: Mark | May 17, 2006 at 12:30 PM
Does anyone remember the old Marlin Goose gun with a 36" barrel. Mother of God what a block. It swings like a school bus and weighs about as much as a blue whale. I retired mine to a back corner in the basement where it can rust away for all eternity
Posted by: Benjamin Kimm | May 17, 2006 at 12:51 PM
Years ago, I had a Japanese Model 94 military pistol. It was terminally ugly, had a grip that fit no human hand, fired a weak, weird cartridge and, best of all, could be fired by pressing the exposed sear on the side of the pistol.
Posted by: Peter Caroline | May 17, 2006 at 01:40 PM
Mr. Petzal,
I think that you meant a specific make and model product line, not a an individual "lemon". The closest that I can come to this based on personal experience is the Thompson Center Encore rifle line. I tried several and could never get the tack-driving accuracy out of them that was advertised in magazines and hyped on outdoor television shows. The Encores that I've owned seemed to be extra finicky about how consistently you held them for each shot. They also seemed to recoil and twist excessively compared to other stock designs. I think that most Encore rifles come from the factory with pretty good triggers and I like the simplicity of a single shot at times. I just feel that the TC Encores are overpriced and over-hyped for what you get.
Posted by: Kevin | May 17, 2006 at 02:02 PM
I nominate the Marlin Model 90 12 ga O/U near the top of the worst gun list. Nice gun, well made--- but after 50 shots at sporting clays, the inside of my middle finger, above the second knuckle, right where the finger contacts the trigger guard, was swelled to nearly twice it's normal size and was tender for several days thereafter. I talked to an old-timer who said "that's why I sold my Model 90."
Posted by: ralph1971 | May 17, 2006 at 02:29 PM
Remington Spartan. Haven't they heard "Its about the brand?"
Posted by: bmitchel | May 17, 2006 at 03:11 PM
Remington 597 (22 LR autoloader) a.k.a. the jam-amatic.
The designers were obviously trying to save space, and didn't put in a ramp to assist in feeding from the mag into the breach. I don't think I've ever fired a complete clip w/o a misfire, and generall get multiple jams from a 10-rd clip. I can't say how disappointed I am.
Posted by: Bird Dog | May 17, 2006 at 03:42 PM
Remington Model 710 - possible the worst firearm to ever roll off the line. From the plasticized receivers to the cheaply seamed synthetic stock - this rifle is truly the worst of the worst.
I purchased one to see if Remington manufactured a cost-efficient, reliable firearm and right out of the box, the bolt assembly didn't fit right.
Too dangerous to fire (right)- so I returned it. Got another - and the barrel wasn't true. Returned it - and got another - rifle's firing pin assembly didn't work.
I never fired the 710 and never will. Returned it and bought a Browning A-bolt.
Posted by: Aaron | May 17, 2006 at 04:03 PM
well i had to think about this for a minute, because i still have every gun i was ever given or purchased except 1 a model 14 winchester pump the shotgun was a gift and so much different from my 870 and other remingtons i couldnt for the life of me get used to the gun .i love the co. but hated that shotgun mind you this was 15 years ago and they have probably improved the gun .its hard for me to write anything negative about are wonderfull american manufactured guns but this was the exception !!!!
Posted by: craig | May 17, 2006 at 05:06 PM
Smith & Wesson model 459 in 9mm. Smith & Wesson should stick with wheel guns.
Posted by: Barney | May 17, 2006 at 05:12 PM
browing 270 wsm never put 2 bullit near the same hole much less sight it in, change scope it wasn;t scope took to gunsmith he said send it back told browing i did;t want a it back .they couldn;t tell me what was wrong or wouldn;t
Posted by: jin mckee | May 17, 2006 at 07:39 PM
The absolutely worst rifle I have ever owned has to be my Remington 700 ML in .50 cal. I bought it new and followed the instructions to the "T" in seasoning the barrel and the recommended cleaning proceedures before sighting the ML in. What I have is a scoped rifle that consistantly shoots a 12 to 18 inch group even when mounted in a shooting vise and using Remington recommended loads. In addition it loves to keyhole on a consistant basis.
It has been back to Remington 3 times to no avail. Anyone out there looking for a synthetic stocked stainless steel boat anchor that looks like a rifle?
Posted by: Ken Errickson | May 17, 2006 at 07:53 PM
the browning a- bolt in a 243 wssm. this gun shot very well, but would not feed the cartridge, it would make a good single shot rifle, but i bought it for deer season, not for varmints.
Posted by: joe wyrill | May 17, 2006 at 08:58 PM
The worst gun that I ever owned was a Browning A-Bolt stainless stalker in 30-06. It shot fairly well, but it had an aluminum bolt body that was dangerously close to wearing through when I got rid of it.
Posted by: Mike Shickele | May 17, 2006 at 10:44 PM
522 viper (remington 22 autoloader) bought and it wouldnt fire so i took it back. The replacement quit working after about 100 rounds. Took it to a gunsmith and they fixed the problem...for about another 100 rounds fixed it again now sometimes it shoots sometimes it dont i dont think ive ever gone through two clips without a jam. very finicky and unreliable
Posted by: SD hunter | May 17, 2006 at 11:25 PM
Mr Mckee is absolutely correct with his statement about the Remington 700-ML.
I found the first shot to be close and not all that too bad at 50yards,but unless the gun is cleaned good, it can be a real crap shoot past that.
Dave
Posted by: Dave Miller | May 18, 2006 at 12:07 AM
Worst gun I've owned was a beautiful looking Jennings Nine. Never shot 25 rounds thru it til it jammed and never did get it opened up to get the case out of the chamber. Told a young guy about it he wanted it bad enough to refund my money in full. Never heard any more about it.
The Ugly awards would have to go to the Contender, Encore as 2nd and 3rd, First place UGLY has to be awarded to TC's rifles, solely due to the stocks.
Runner up's go to NEF for the boat paddle stocks.
George L. Dwight
Posted by: George L. Dwight | May 18, 2006 at 01:25 AM
Rem. 597- I believe this is a PETA approved weapon. The jam feed problem continued after switching to a metal clip, changing brands of ammo and hand cleaning each bullet free of wax. I did manage to fix the 10# trigger draw weight with a little judicious filing. If you want to "live off the land" and diet this be the one.
Posted by: al the infidel | May 18, 2006 at 07:43 AM
Rem. 597- I believe this is a PETA approved weapon. The jam feed problem continued after switching to a metal clip, changing brands of ammo and hand cleaning each bullet free of wax. I did manage to fix the 10# trigger draw weight with a little judicious filing. If you want to "live off the land" and diet this be the one.
Al the Infidel
Posted by: al the infidel | May 18, 2006 at 07:46 AM
Makes me proud not to see a single Ruger on the list! It is a great American product line.
Posted by: Cory | May 18, 2006 at 12:42 PM
Glad to hear that other people had problems with their Remington 597. It should be recalled and refunded by the company. They have put out a sorry product that makes their whole company look bad.
Posted by: Rusty Shackleford | May 18, 2006 at 01:37 PM
Springfield XD-40 Service. No matter what type of ammunition I used in this hunk of junk, it always had a FF/FE in every magazine. Even SA couldn't get this "fine" piece of Croatian engineering to function. After my problems I did a little research, it seems that about 10% of all XD-40s have similar issues. Obviously the QC in Croatia is now what it is cracked up to be!
Posted by: BB61 | May 18, 2006 at 02:02 PM
Sears Ted Williams .22 semi-automatic rifle. If I could get two rounds through it without a FE I was doing well. Without a doubt, it made a better baseball bat than a firearm!!!
Posted by: Steve Erickson | May 18, 2006 at 02:05 PM
35 Remington Pump. I've shot 3 of them, and trying to cycle the slide is like trying to push an elephant through your front door. I was never able to put more then 2 rounds through it before it jammed, and it cost me an 8 point buck. Now I'm a Browning boy for life.
Posted by: Harry | May 18, 2006 at 02:08 PM