Guns that surprised you/ guns that disappointed you

[obsessed1]

What guns have you owned that enter surprised you or disappointed you. Please let's not turn this into a make / model bashing thread unless you have actually owned the gun.

My entry is a Midland in 30-06 I found on my LGS consignment shelf. Price tag was 350$. Rifle came with a banner 3x9 in extremely high rings. The barrel was covered in surface rust the stock was horrible and the bore extremely dirty. I managed to walk out with it for a total of 180$. Once home I replaced the rings( low) and cleaned the bore, dealt with the rust, and stripped and finished the stock. I used 8 coats of tongue oil and the birth stock isn't a complete eye sore in my opinion. First load I tried was a 180 interlock( Flat base) over a decent charge of IMR 4064. At 100 yes all three rounds touched recoil was surprisingly soft. This gun continues to put these bullets in under an inch even with other shooters.( My wife shot a 3/4" group a few weeks ago) for a 180$ rifle I'd say it more than exceeds my expectations

[catnthehat]

I had two that have really surprised me , the first was my first Ruger #1A in 243.
That rifle couldn't get a better than 1.5" group with ANYTHING or anyone behind the rifle!

I tried everything, finally , rebarreled it with a spare 308 Anschutz/Krupp barrel I had,, and it turned into an incredible shooter.
The last one was also a Ruger, this one a 1B in 270win - I should have realized something was amiss when it had a 22" barrel, the 1B's came with 24's and 26's. Bore was bad and throat was gone, but the price was right!

First shot would often be "right there", but subsequent shots could be anywhere within 3 feet at 200 meters!
That one finally got it rebarreled in 280Rem with a Shilen, Sendaro taper and the quarter rib changed to a picatinny rail and it is an incredible shooter.
There have been others, but those two really stick in my mind as far as disappointments go.
One that really surprised me was a 1947 M70 in 270- kicked me like a mule but would consistently print three shoot groups under 1/2 "" at 100 yards.
Accurate but I did not like to shoot it.....
That one turned me right off the Pre64 stock design - they just do not fit me.
Cat

[elkhunter11]

My biggest disappointments were a pair of Weatherby Mark V rifles in 257wby and 300wby. I bought both for a good price at a store closeout, and although both would shoot sub 1-1/2" at 100 yards, they wouldn't do much better, no matter what load I tried.

My biggest surprise was a Smith &Wesson 1500 varmint in 223 that I bought from Lovetts many years ago. I paid just over $300,and it shot five rounds into less than 1/2" with multiple loads.

[ghostguy6]

The one that really surprised me was a Sabbati Rover 600 in .223. The fit and finish is very good for such a cheap gun. What really surprised me was its a 1/4" MOA shooter out to 300 yards with cheap ammo to boot. The first time I shot it I thought I got one hit on target but when I looked it was 3 rounds in a tiny clover leaf.

The one that disappointed me the most was a savage axis. I didn't have very high hope to begin with but the flimsy stock, horrible trigger, poor fit and plastic mags that broke all the time made it total garbage. I had to re work the chamber, polish the trigger components just to sell it. Best thing I ever did to that gun was trade it for a 20ga cooey single shot.

[heymshooter]

Mod 70 in 30-06 bought in 68
3 shots touching at 100 with a 3x weaver
has a 22" tube -I have always thought to re-barrel but
Really!

[Smoky buck]

Biggest disappointment was a savage b mag wsm first one had a weak firing pin causing it to miss fire majority of the time multiple brands of ammunition. Returned for another and the action never felt smooth. Just cheap all around finish and poor assembly.

It just felt like slapped together cheap junk so I sold it for a loss. Last savage for me

[Flight01]

Spent $350 on a used mossberg atr in 270. Moa out to 400 yards with factory nosler 140 ballistic tips. Just a good shooter. I only have hunting rifles, Best shooter I have.

[Gade81]

Biggest surprise to me was a rifle slandered on these forums up and down for years. New about 6 ish years ago, a Remington cdl in 30-06. The absolute best shooting rifle I’ve owned. Also the best trigger I’ve had shot, except my cz 223

[Coiloil37]

The just right carbine was the one rifle I wanted to love for a little toy and ended up hating almost everything about it. I took it out shooting once, brought it home and sold it.




The kimber Montana surprised me with how the factory and aftermarket stock absorbed recoil. At 6lbs 15 ounces scoped and chambered in .338 win mag I expected serious abuse but it feels better then the browning a-bolt it replaced.






And the little XCR surprised me with its accuracy.




Here’s 20 rounds at 100 yards shot as fast as I could pull the trigger through that xcr. With one mag change maybe 25-30 seconds. It was hell on wheels for coyotes.

[bubba300]

I traded a 270 in a vanguard for a rem 700 in 300 weatherby mag about 8 years ago.It was pretty beat up,I cleaned it up with wipe-out,started load development with 200 gr accubonds and imr 7828.That rifle always kept the groups under a inch threw the starting load,then I settled with a fairly high load that was around 3/8 of a inch with 3 shots.I then armour coated barrel and action and refinished the stock.Did some longrange target shooting with it and it was a great shooter,sold it for a good price as I had a 300 rum also at the time,but always wished I still had it.
Had a Browning BAR in 30-06 that suprised me also.

[fps plus]

Best Remington 788 22-250 Was spooky accurate.

Worst. Ruger RL 257 Roberts . Tried bedding 3 ways , shot hundreds of $ of bullets and powder trying to get it to shoot. Gave up and put a new barrel on .

[sns2]

Bought a Forbes rifle when they first came out. Took the gun apart to clean and the stock broke like a potato chip. Sent back to dealer and was shipped a replacement. Safety cutout looked like a blind monkey stoned on crack was playing with a dremel and did the safety cutout. Straight back to dealer for a refund.

Another lemon was a Mossberg 930 semi auto. Read all these great reviews. Not. Most expensive single shot shotgun I ever owned.

[KGB]

Originally Posted by Coiloil37

The just right carbine was the one rifle I wanted to love for a little toy and ended up hating almost everything about it. I took it out shooting once, brought it home and sold it.




The kimber Montana surprised me with how the factory and aftermarket stock absorbed recoil. At 6lbs 15 ounces scoped and chambered in .338 win mag I expected serious abuse but it feels better then the browning a-bolt it replaced.






And the little XCR surprised me with its accuracy.




Here’s 20 rounds at 100 yards shot as fast as I could pull the trigger through that xcr. With one mag change maybe 25-30 seconds. It was hell on wheels for coyotes.

Hey what caliber and model is that rig? I’m asking about the XCR.

[KGB]

And the little XCR surprised me with its accuracy.

Hey what caliber and model is that rig? I’m asking about the XCR.

[Coiloil37]

Originally Posted by kgb

and the little xcr surprised me with its accuracy.

Hey what caliber and model is that rig? I’m asking about the xcr.

.223

[JD848]

Weatherby mark v light weight in 7mm rm, 1700 buck brand new 20 years ago. it would shot a few dead center then a few 5 inches to the left high. took it to a gunsmith he check it out ,looked at the crown said good to go. I changed scopes, rings , bases you name,same crap. Never seen a rifle do this.

Finally I had two packs of 50 rounds and fired the whole lot in in no time and it was smoken. Brought it home cleaned it up and told the store owner to send it back ,they sent it back to Weatherby and they gave the store back a brand new one. I exchanged in the store without touching it.

Wasted a 100 rounds of 7mm but it was either that or the bumper, I busted a 270 savage over a trailer hitch, put the barrel in the hole where the pin goes and jumped on it twice and it bent that barrel real nice. Junk is junk throw it away.

If the gun isn't good for me I don't sell it to some other person,it's garbage destroy it and move on. Never sold a rifle that didn't shot right, sold some I just didn't like due to the fit or just got tired of it or didn't use.

I really dislike stories about the gun shot like crap so I sold it. No integrity what so ever ,unless you sell it for parts.

I guess the two rifles that surprised me the most,tikka T3 6.5x55 and T3 223 with a 1in 8 twist,they shot crazy good and I still own them .


JD

[Anomaly85]

Disappointing - Famae SG-542
The rattliest $2600 gun you'll ever buy. It's not so bad you think, you're not going to hunt with it after all. Let's go buy another mag for it; oh they're $105 each. Lovely. Oh you want aftermarket accessories? There are none. Oh you want to fire a magazine without a FTE stoppage? Haha, nice try.

Disappointing #2 - Savage MKII FV-SR
Oh cool, it's pickier than a semi auto 22lr, neat (No Blazer ). And the cheasiest mag release I've ever touched...I Should have bought a CZ

Pleasant suprise; CZ75 SP01 Shadow
Everyone talked so highly of this pistol, there's no way it's that good I though. Bought one....yep it's the first pistol I've ever bought that I didn't want to change anything on right away.

[Dweb]

Surprised: TC venture. I got from wholesale sports for 280$ during the close out sale. 300 wsm , 1/2” groups at 100 meters with cheapest federal blue box ammo I could find.

Disappointed: Remington 700 adl stainless 243 win. Was just absolute junk in every aspect.

[Roamer]

[QUOTE=Anomaly85;4276265]Disappointing - Famae SG-542
The rattliest $2600 gun you'll ever buy. It's not so bad you think, you're not going to hunt with it after all. Let's go buy another mag for it; oh they're $105 each. Lovely. Oh you want aftermarket accessories? There are none. Oh you want to fire a magazine without a FTE stoppage? Haha, nice try.

That thing was exceedingly rattly and unreliable. Too bad, could have been fun if it was better executed.

[1100winger]

Worse? Model 788 in 243, kicked like a mule, scoped me twice, best group was 4 inches at 100, no matter what you threw into it or how you tightened the action screws

Best? My hunting partners 7 mm RM, Parker Hale, cheap plastic stock, brand X 3x9 scope, don't think he paid $200 for it. Shoots lights out 140 TTSX.

[Blockcaver]

Worst: Remington 700 ADL bought new in.204 Ruger. Horrible accuracy with any factory or reloads. Straightened it out with a PacNor 1 in 11" twist sporter barrel and Bell and Carlson stock. Same caliber.

CZ 452 American Sporter bought new in .17 HMR wouldn't shoot from the get go. Sold a varmint version of the same that shot outstanding to buy the sporter. I have a CZ455 Amerian Sporter switch barrel .22LR and .17 HMR that shoots very well now.

Ruger 10-22 Deluxe Sporter bought new in .22LR shot very poorly but has a great looking piece of walnut on it. Also jammed with most ammo. Had to put a Shilen Sporter 22" barrel and a Timney trigger on it. Now shoots outstanding and the same magazine does not jam.

Honorable mention bad: AYA 453 SxS 28 ga bought used (Bill Hanus birdgun). Single trigger and nothing but trouble. It either wouldn't fire or would double....two 28 ga rounds (1-1/2 ounces shot) going off together will get you or your wife's attention in a 5-3/4# shotgun. Went back to Cabelas where I bought it after spending time with the AYA service center and with another SxS smith. They both told me to buy a twin trigger AYA and never look back. We did and have had zero trouble with several of them.

[cbc_anderson]

My dad owns a Browning 243 BAR that he purchased in the early 70s (I think). Beautiful wood, nice blueing and some pretty engraving on the receiver. In the early-80s I turned 14 and couldn't wait to hunt for my first whitetail buck. My dad wasn't a hunter but he let me use his rifle and took me out on opening morning. As we were driving from our little farm to my granfather's homestead farm, we saw a nice buck feeding in a field of alfalfa. We pulled off the side of the road and I stalked to within about 50 yards of the buck. I rested the rifle on the top of the wheel move irrigation system, got the open sights centered on his chest and squeezed the trigger knowing I was about to harvest my first buck. Click! I pulled back on the action to rack another round and at this point the buck was getting pretty nervous. Click! I tried to rack another round from the magazine but this time I managed to jam the rifle and the buck snorted and took off for safer country. Despite multiple trips to the gunsmith that rifle cost my brother and I a few nice bucks over the years. Pretty rifle...so unreliable.

[leeelmer]

Two bad ones.
Ruger Alaskan in 416 ruger.
Action was terrible even after running with lots of oil for over 1000 cycles on the couch. Trigger was the worst I have ever had, creepy, gritty, and about 10lbs.
Custom 280AI from a well known local to Rocky Mnt House gunsmith.
I supplied a 280 rem Remington 700, got back a bell and carlson stock, with a sleeved bolt, shilen barrel and worked over trigger, that would only shoot one bullet and powder combo into less than a inch. Cost over $3000.00 Sold it eventually at a huge loss, thought I was going to wear out the barrel just trying to find a load under 1". But was told I was the problem. Total garbage for that kind of price tag.

Best was a older Remington BDL Varmint in 223, anything you shoot out of it can be covered with a dime, it is unreal.
Next best Kimber Adronidak in 308, for such a light little package, it shoots amazing. Not a bench gun, but still amazing.

[brewster29]

Pleasant surprise: a very early production left hand 2013 Forbes 24B I bought about a year ago from a member here. I spent a bunch of time on line and checking with a friend that had a lefty 24B before buying the rifle. All the Forbes rifles I looked at in late 2014 through 2015 were pretty rough...not this one. It has the NULA three position safety, Timney trigger and non fluted bolt, and the action is very slick. It feeds and extracts perfectly. The stock is the excellent Forbes design. After a lot of Internet research it appears this one had the Melvin Forbes QC done.

The previous owner had KS Arms screw on a stainless #2 contour barrel in 280 Rem. I started loading it with Barnes 145 LRX and Rl26, and it shot a lot of 100 m groups in the 0.6" range. A bit of fiddling with charge weight and seating depth yielded the group in the photo.

It's basically a poor man's NULA for that I bought less than the price of any custom action. It balances and points well and is a pleasure to carry.

This year I used it to take a nice 5x5 whitetail and a 6 pt bull elk.

[brewster29]

Pleasant surprise: a very early production left hand 2013 Forbes 24B I bought about a year ago from a member here. I spent a bunch of time on line and checking with a friend that had a lefty 24B before buying the rifle. All the Forbes rifles I looked at in late 2014 through 2015 were pretty rough...not this one. It has the NULA three position safety, Timney trigger and non fluted bolt, and the action is very slick. It feeds and extracts perfectly. The stock is the excellent Forbes design. After a lot of Internet research it appears this one had the Melvin Forbes QC done.

The previous owner had KS Arms screw on a stainless #2 contour barrel in 280 Rem. I started loading it with Barnes 145 LRX and Rl26, and it shot a lot of 100 m groups in the 0.6" range. A bit of fiddling with charge weight and seating depth yielded the group in the photo.

It's basically a poor man's NULA for that I bought less than the price of any custom action. It balances and points well and is a pleasure to carry.

This year I used it to take a nice 5x5 whitetail and a 6 pt bull elk.

[marky_mark]

Originally Posted by leeelmer

Two bad ones.
Ruger Alaskan in 416 ruger.
Action was terrible even after running with lots of oil for over 1000 cycles on the couch. Trigger was the worst I have ever had, creepy, gritty, and about 10lbs.
Custom 280AI from a well known local to Rocky Mnt House gunsmith.
I supplied a 280 rem Remington 700, got back a bell and carlson stock, with a sleeved bolt, shilen barrel and worked over trigger, that would only shoot one bullet and powder combo into less than a inch. Cost over $3000.00 Sold it eventually at a huge loss, thought I was going to wear out the barrel just trying to find a load under 1". But was told I was the problem. Total garbage for that kind of price tag.

Best was a older Remington BDL Varmint in 223, anything you shoot out of it can be covered with a dime, it is unreal.
Next best Kimber Adronidak in 308, for such a light little package, it shoots amazing. Not a bench gun, but still amazing.

I think i fired that 416 twice lol
It’s not that fun from the bench
And yes the trigger still sucks

[rembo]

One that surprised me was a 700 SPS in 6.5 Creedmoor.
About 2-1/2 years ago I had just gone through a downsizing of my rifle assortment and wanted something smaller than a 280AI but larger than a 243. That left a 25 or a 6.5. Didn't know a lot about the Creedmoor so I did some googling and decided it might work.
So, I grabbed a new SPS 6.5 Creedmoor from PR partly because I had a B&C short 700 stock sitting here empty and a couple aftermarket 700 triggers.
Screwed it into the B&C stock with a Timney and put an old 4-12X Leupold on top that I have had around for years. With factory 120 gr Fed Trophy Tips the first 2 shots I put through the barrel touched at 100 meters and the third shot opened the group to .520". A couple more 100M groups were well under an inch and a 200M group was 1-1/4". Not bad I thought for a junk 700 SPS that everyone loves to hate that was not even bedded into the B&C stock. As a matter of fact I had to grind some bedding material out to get the recoil lug to fit into the stock.
Should have kept it...LOL

[GopherGetter]

Pleasant surprise - Remington 597 VTR .22LR. Purchased it new because it looked cool. Shoots great. Accuracy is as good as my Savage bolt guns in .22LR, and never had any issues with loading or ejecting. Was so impressed with it, I bought a second one to have on hand when I heard Remington discontinued it.

Biggest disappointment - Remington 700 in .223, with heavy varmint barrel. I don't know if my expectations were too high, or if it was the Vortex Viper scope, or if it was operator error, but it just never grouped as good as I expected it to.

[Jayhad]

At one time I had much more space in the safes than I do now and my "hunting" rifle was being worked on longer than I expected. so I needed a rifle package and I didn't have a the $2000 for a something that was up to standard. I picked up at Axis stainless 7mm-08 off of AOF for peanuts, and the seller was nice enough to give me the 16 rounds left in the Federal blue box.

Next morning i took the rifle to the range, put 3 down range and was very surprised at the grouping. I settled myself, adjusted my rest and let 3 more fly. Wowza, this garbage savage shoots.

It seems to be the rifle I grab most often, even though some of other rifles in there are 10-20x its value. But I don't care if I drop it down the mountain or it gets scraped bush whacking.

I remember sitting on top of a mountain one day with my buddy. He asked to look at my Savage, put it up a few times, looked it over and handed it back. He giggled and shook his head and said, that glass isn't that bad. How much did you pay again?

I've never really been disappointed from a rifle, guess I've been lucky

[stob]

Had a cz in a 416 rigby with the hog back stock...and was I suprised ...I have never been pounded so hard by an I'll fitting stock ... 6shots late I put it away and the guy 2 tables down thanked me...he was starting to twitch from my muzzle blast...offered him to take a shot and he declined...bigger guy like me too