What gun did you lust after until you fired one?
Saw this at ar15.com. Thought it was a good question.
My list includes: AK, MP-5, and HK91. Then, it occurred to me that there were more. And they all had one thing in common. Stamped receivers. I guess I just don’t like the clank sound.
January 29th, 2009 at 10:40 am
H&K P-7
Bought one because I thought it would be the perfect carry gun. When I fired it, I found it hit a nerve complex at the base of my thumb and *hurt* each time. I sold it shortly thereafter. In retrospect, I should have thought of changing my grip. 🙁
January 29th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Walther PPK and Mauser HsC – wanted them for years and finally found a used PPD at a decent price a few years ago. Didn’t like how hard the slide works because of the stiff spring required by that type action. Shoots OK and hasn’t ever bitten my hand like many people I’ve known but it wasn’t as much fun as I thought it would be. Haven’t ever found the HsC.
January 29th, 2009 at 11:01 am
Make that, “…a used PPK…”
January 29th, 2009 at 11:05 am
Most of my hardcore gun lust contains firearms I haven;t had a chance to fire, yet. (.50BMG, .338 Lapua, S&W 625, Masada, etc.)
I have had reverse gun lust… Guns I thought I’d hate that I fell in love with after shooting (XD).
I’ve also had guns I had lusted after, then bought and loved, until I had something for comparison (HK USP compared to G23… G23 compared to XD)
January 29th, 2009 at 11:11 am
S&W M&P.
I wanted one of the .40 S&W compacts in the worst way – especially given that they were running the $50 rebate (bringing the cost of the gun to $430 new!) *AND* the “two extra magazines free” promo at the same time.
Except that I couldn’t get through a whole magazine without dropping the mag because of the placement of the release with relation to my grip.
Soured me on the whole thing…
January 29th, 2009 at 11:13 am
I was really unimpressed with the MP-5. Given the hype, I expected it to be much better than it was.
A cheap Swedish K was better.
January 29th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Desert Eagle .50. Fine for knocking down small aircraft. Not so good for plinking. Tends to destroy backstops.
Also, AK in bullpup stock. All the clanking goodness of the AK and sounds like you’re shooting in a 40 gal. barrel.
One other, .418 Rigby single shot. The 10 rounds I put into it to sight it in were all I ever wanted to shoot.
January 29th, 2009 at 11:16 am
Hey, Uncle. Does this mean you liked the .410/.45-70 derringer?
January 29th, 2009 at 11:32 am
Oh, i liked it. Just wouldn’t shoot it much.
January 29th, 2009 at 11:46 am
I was really disappointed with the GSG-5. I thought you could have a cheap to shoot copy of the MP5. A guy at the range let me shoot his and I was underwhelmed. On top of that, all the little safeties they incorporated really turned me off. I can’t even remember all the things you had to do to ready it to fire.
January 29th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Do milled AK’s have the clunk?
January 29th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
3″ 629-1 round butt, a la Lew Horton. Finally got one. It was worth the wait. Now lusting after a similarly-configured Model 25 in .45 Colt. And about a zillion other things that go “bang”….
January 29th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
HK33 and Mini-14. Wanted the .223 HK until I fired it. Being used to AR platforms, did not like the shoulder-hammering recoil. Especially in full-auto. Just wasn’t a fun gun to shoot.
Same goes for the Mini-14. Especially in a bullpup setup. Just a very so-so type of experience.
Not a big fan of the AK either from an ergonomics perspective but I recognize the gun was not designed for tall Western people. Still, crappy sights, ok recoil and piss-poor accuracy made me get rid of it. I regret it now simply for the absence of a black rifle in the collection and I will be building replacements. But they will never be centerpieces of the collection and “just another gun”.
January 29th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
HK USP… Felt cheap and jiggled in my hands… Surprises me how many HKs are on this list..
January 29th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Second Otter’s comments on HK-USP. After years of 1911 goodness shooting the USP was not a pleasant experience. Had been saving up for a USP and ended up spending the cash on ammo and extra 1911 magazines.
January 29th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
AKlone – inaccurate, cheap everything, and really not useful for a whole lot to me, besides burning ammo. Traded mine for a S&W .44Special which I use far more.
.50BMG – tried it, now I can say I’ve shot one. Don’t feel any particular urge to own one; $5-8/shot and limited range availability doesn’t interest me. I’m happy with the size of my manhood.
January 29th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Man how I wanted a Beretta Storm Carbine…until I shot one. Fun? Yes. Easy to keep on target, yes. But the experience was basically ruined by the crap trigger.
Also, the KRISS Carbine: Clunky controls, bad trigger, bad ergos, heavy, mags don’t drop free, jam-o-matic with ball ammo, and it seriously felt like it recoiled MORE than a 1911… I wanted so much to like it, but that thing was just a train-wreck.
MP5 (rented @ the Gun Store in vegas) for all the reasons everyone else mentioned. It doesn’t live up to the hype.
January 29th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
H&K USP .45 Compact.
I still like it’s looks. But we got one for work and it shoots horribly. It’s reliable and sexy. I didn’t care for the trigger reset (false link). The deal killer was that this was a randomly inaccurate handgun. Suitable for torture test purposes but not for serious social work.
So sexy, but so useless.
January 29th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
I second the Beretta Storm Carbine. My son and I rented one at the range and basically after about 1/2 a magazine each, we were done.
From the other end of the technology scale, shooting a blackpowder Remington hogleg revolver was fun, when the owner in the next lane at the range offered, but watching the owner spend multiple minutes reloading it, and sometimes cleaning it between cylinders of shooting, left me glad I live in this century.
January 29th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
The ar-15..
I guess i have had the mini-14 to long.
January 29th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
I nominate Yosemite’s Sam AK clone. Every time I fired it, the buttstock would rise and hit me in the cheekbone. No matter how I held it to my shoulder it would happen. I ended up with a light bruise–could have blamed that one on Yosemite.
January 29th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
CZ-100. I’ve always liked CZ arms.. and for various reasons really wanted a CZ-100, until I fired it. Terrible, terrible, trigger. You just squeeze it forever, it keeps coming back.. and coming back.. then finally.. breaks. Ack!
January 29th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
The ROMAK AK pattern rifle in 7.62x54R.
I’ve wanted a semi-auto 7.62x54R rifle for a long time. My friend picked up a ROMAK, and it’s not all it could be. It strings vertically after a single magazine, it’s recoil impulse is just annoying, the scope is pointlessly too far back, it JAMS for gods sake.
January 29th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
Beretta 3032 Tomcat (cal 32 ACP). Beutiful gun, flawless function, ingenius design. I bought one, and once I tested penetration on various materials it scared me– the caliber was too light to inspire confidence in it. I’d take it as a backup, or as a carry gun for a small person who couldn’t be convinced to carry something more powerful, but not a primary carry piece for me.
Uncle; You like those guns. You just haven’t realized it yet. They’re not, like, super-duper fantastic or anything, but you like them. Trust me ; )
January 30th, 2009 at 1:48 am
Steyr M40. Very stylish lines, a really modern looking piece of hardware, but the one I shot was just horrible. Clunky trigger, weird ergonomics, goofball sight made quick acquisition really a struggle, put 25 rounds through it and I was done. No further point. Maybe the M40-A1 is better, but I don’t care. For polymer striker action, I’ll stick with my Glocks.
I echo the opinions on the HKs; after shooting them, don’t ever want one. And the P7? Ugh.
Springfield XD40 just the opposite. Expected to hate it, but didn’t want to give it back. Went through 100 rounds without blinking an eye.
.338 Lapua in a Rem 700 kinda scared me to be perfectly honest, but after a day at the range found it far pleasanter than expected – and there’s the grin factor. Gotta drain the kid’s college fund to afford ammo though.
February 2nd, 2009 at 10:46 am
Mauser C96 Broomhandle. I’d still buy one, though, in a heartbeat, just because of its heritage.