Worst Rifle ever

[Ken07AOVette]

Sks. I had one that every odd shot you would hear a ziiiiiiiing an the bullet would go sideways. You could shoot around granaries with that gun.

Second worst was a howa 22-250 but I think it was shot out.

[260 Rem]

Not a rifle..but when I was 13 yrs old I saved $40.00 and bought a brand new 12 guage Mossberg bolt action shotgun with a choke. It probably would have been OK if I could of figured out how to point a gun that looked and felt like a club. Never ordered another gun from TC Eatons!

[1100winger]

and ugly too!
243 model 788. kicked worse than a mule, could not keep 5 shots on target and was heavy and ugly.

[savage shooter]

Ruger 10/22.

[elkhunter11]

and ugly too!
243 model 788. kicked worse than a mule, could not keep 5 shots on target and was heavy and ugly.

You must have got a lemon, my father hunted many years with a 788 in 243 win that easily shot 3/4moa with handloads. It came with a crappy Tasco 4x scope for $199.

When my father quit hunting, the gun sold for $350, and the buyer was glad to get it for that price.

[jungleboy]

I had a Browning BLR 308 that I used to curse evreytime i used it. I could get it zeroed in and the next day it wouldn't hit the paper. I foolishly took my precious weaver 1.5x4.5 scope off and sold the gun. because it was no good to me. Later I discovered it was the scope all along ...doh! oh well another lesson on a long list of lessons lol

[1100winger]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

You must have got a lemon, my father hunted many years with a 788 in 243 win that easily shot 3/4moa with handloads. It came with a crappy Tasco 4x scope for $199.

When my father quit hunting, the gun sold for $350, and the buyer was glad to get it for that price.

Picked up a LH 788-308 a few years ago - dropped it into a ram stock - cheapy scope on top and it shoots! not sub moa but 1 inch + all day long - my son loves it.

[AbProwler]

My first Bolt action rifle was the worst one I have ever owned! I pumped gas and saved my $.65 an hour for a year! Bought it new from Robinsons Guns in Victoria in 1972-3!
Remington "Mohawk" 600 Laminate full length vent rib sights,in 350 Rem. Mag, with a Weaver K4 Quick Detach on it. At 100yds, 3 outa 5 shots wouldn't even hit the 4x4 piece of plywood the target was mounted on!
Robinsons changed the scope, on warranty TWICE, then their rifle smith took it out and shot it. They gave me the same rifle in 308 for it!
I have had several duds since, but this one was the one that took sooooo long to buy!

[dollman]

rossi single shot in 17 hmr,bought it to shoot rabbits ,been better off throwing it at them more chance of hitting them, what a load of junk

[1899b]

The H&R handi Rifle i bought in .243 Got home and after runnin a patch through it realized it had no rifling.

[pricedo]

I have vivid recollections of a very recent situation of a friend who was a "bird" hunter who was just getting into big game hunting:

"Just bought this brand new gun, scope and a couple of boxes of shells & I can't hit the side of a barn & deer season opens next week!"

He bought a Rem 700 in .30-06 and a decent if not great Bushnell Trophy 3-9x40mm and 4 boxes of 180 grain Rem PSP Core-Lokts.

The sales clerk had hastily mounted the scope on the gun without tightening anything or sighting it in and I could actually turn the scope in the rings and my friend expected to hit the target with a gun that hadn't even been bore sighted.

After I bore sighted the gun and set the scope up we went to the range and by the time the sun was setting in the sky he was shooting 1.5 - 2" groups @ 100 yards from sandbags consistently and he still had 2 boxes of ammo left and the gun had a good head start on being "broke in" right. Plenty accurate for deer & moose.

I've seen proper setting up, cleaning & adjusting, ammo to gun matching and PLENTY OF PRACTICE turn some inaccurate guns into pretty decent shooters.

[wolf308]

oil patch consultant friend of mine wanted me to load his 338-378 weatherby.

tried 2 different bullets, and started from low to high with the powder. couldnt hold a group or even a semblance of a group. i took it out at 100 yards fired 7 shots slowly. 6 were on the 2x2 paper all over the place , like 12-16 " and one was absent. told him to get his scope looked at , then i called that particular guy cheap cause he wanted me to come over to his house and use my gun oil to clean his rifles, said i would but im too busy today. he got mad, and i said you have two big personel trucks and are going on a bear hunt up north ,but your too cheap to buy some gun oil . he came and picked up his reloading dies and brass that night. cry baby.

only rifle i havent been able to improve acuracy with h-loads.

[sillyak]

Originally Posted by wolf308

oil patch consultant friend of mine wanted me to load his 338-378 weatherby.

tried 2 different bullets, and started from low to high with the powder. couldnt hold a group or even a semblance of a group. i took it out at 100 yards fired 7 shots slowly. 6 were on the 2x2 paper all over the place , like 12-16 " and one was absent. told him to get his scope looked at , then i called that particular guy cheap cause he wanted me to come over to his house and use my gun oil to clean his rifles, said i would but im too busy today. he got mad, and i said you have two big personel trucks and are going on a bear hunt up north ,but your too cheap to buy some gun oil . he came and picked up his reloading dies and brass that night. cry baby.

only rifle i havent been able to improve acuracy with h-loads.

Sounds like a scope issue.

I've never had a real dog. I had a Ruger P345 that I didn't like right from the start. HEAVY trigger and too many safety features.

[weedcatcher]

My first rifle of my own was a Ruger 77 tang safety in 7Mag. It shot 2-2.5 inch groups at 100 yards with factory ammo, or handloads. So I tried everything I could think of to get it down to 1.5". After about a thousand or so rounds, the best accuracy I could get was 3", and most of the time it was more like 5". I tried a 2 different scopes, and then I bought another rifle to make sure it wasn't me. The other rifle I bought was a remington, and I was able to get sub moa groups with it, so I figured that Ruger was the problem. I got rid of that thing.

Now in my stable I have over a dozen hunting rifles and a few 22's. I have a midland in 30-06 [shoots 1.5" groups easily]. I have 3 remington 700's [all sub moa]. I have a 308 norma mag. It's not a parker hale, but it's wearing a PH stock [1.25 groups all day].

My least accurate rifle now is still a Ruger. My 10/22.

I'm not a big fan of Ruger.

[catnthehat]

I once tried to tune and hand load for a Ruger no.1 , in fact the first rugerNo.1 i ever owned.
It was a decent hunting rifle but with handloads, and pressure points installed, and a good scope, a 243 should shoot better than 2" at 100 yards!!
I changed the barrel , putting on a Marquart in 7X57 and it then shot 5 shots into about 3 1/2" at 500 meters.
Cat

[open sights]

Originally Posted by flint guy

a .303 No4 mk 1 was the worst, unless you want to include the 1766 charlottesville. Funny because the ol man had one sporterized that was a near tack driver. Go figure. Either way I wish I still had a .303, I love them guns.

Really? My lee enfield SMLE .303 no.4 mkIII is the most accurate and relaiable gun I own.

I have a old p17 rem reboared to .308 Norma magnum kicks like a horse, fun to shoot, but very inaccurate,

[MK2750]

Originally Posted by Eagle Eye

Yeah but you talked about a brand new superb CDL SF which is one of the nicest factory rifles out there in its price range. Sure it is possible it got past the QC, but my experience with REM's doesn't show that. Nor does it jive with many others' expereince with the best and biggest factory rifle maker out there. I doubt your story plain and simple. If it truely was a bad gun, Remington would have corrected the problem. Their service in Canada is first rate by the way. Considering the cost of the CDL, I wonder about anyone that would get rid of a beautiful rifle like that without any attempt to first correct it.

As for being "hard for REM", they do make the best selling most accurate rifles available here. I have tried them all but always come back to the best. They shoot the best, they feel the best in my hands and the fit and finish is excellent for a factory gun. They are the ones the US military used for years because they shoot great and they are reliable. That is the one used for most custom setups. That is the one that holds most shooting records. I would hazzard to guess that more game has been taken with a Remington 700 than all the others out there, except for the legendary Winchester 94 30-30. 'Nuff said.

I don't think that is 'Nuff said. I am not a Remington hater and in fact the opposite would be true. As a kid I would cut pictures out of magazines and dream of one day owning a 700, BDL to be exact.

When my son turned 12 there was no doubt what his first rifle would be.

If 2-3" with factory ammo is acceptable to you than the rifle worked fine for a 3 shot group. After that however the 4 and 5Th shots would appear randomly from 6 to 10" just like Jaylow described.

The trigger ground to a break at about 10lbs of pull. Even after adjustment by a certified Remington smith it was inconsistent and IMO dangerous.

The front action screw was too long and when torqued properly would interfere with the locking lugs.

The action bedding was nonexistent. With the screws out the action would flop around like a fish in a barrel. You would swear it belonged to a different rifle.

The barrel channel looked like it was done with a dull chisel and had pieces of steel wool embedded in the sealer. These pieces were touching the barrel in several places no doubt affecting the harmonics.

The pressure point was causing excessive pressure and showed darkening on one side twisting the barrel as it heated.

It is absolutely amazing that it shot as good as it did.

Other than that it was a work of art.

Sooo after saying all that I will say that it is now as it should have been delivered. With a deep socket wrapped in sand paper I cleaned the barrel channel, removed the pressure point and resealed. I next scrapped the excess junk out of the action area. I then bedded the action properly and shortened the action screw. Then it was off to Dave Henry for a new Timney trigger and adjustment.

I have made several trips the range in the last couple of weeks. I was trying to find the right factory ammo for another 30-06. I brought the 700 along to make certain I was squeezing OK and compare groups.

Even though this is a left handed gun and I am a righty it will shoot every brand of ammo I tried under one inch using both 180 and 165s. There was a couple flyers but that was probably me. This included Win Power Max 180, Fed Trophy bonded 180&165s, Fed Nosler 180&165, Rem Core Lokt 180&165, and Hornady SST 180&165. I shot 3 groups at the same target using 3 different brands of 165s at 200 hundred yards. The nine shot group was just over 3".

As it sits this 700 is the most versatile and accurate rifle I have laid my hands on. As it came out of the box it was at best a decent barreled action.

My point to all of this is that questioning the integrity of another member based on Remington's quality control is misguided. Remington has some retooling to do and some fences to mend if they want to continue as America's number one rifle and I hope they do. As for out of the box accuracy in this category the Browning X Bolt, Winchester Mod 70 and even the Savage 14/114 are leaving the 700 in the dust.

[catnthehat]

I've seen a bolt fall off a rifle, screws too long , extractors break, triggers let go, a bolt lock up ( NEW rifle that was stamped wrong), sling stud bearing on a barrel, grossly misaligned receiver screws fot he bases,and one that would jam cartridges ona regular basis.
Any idea what brand?
it's no wonder some guys hate them.
I just never bothered owning too many of them.....
Cat

[kenvb]

my dad fell in a hole in the 60s and the barrel of his old 303 went deep in the soft ground and bent it, he put the barrel in his lathe and shortened it to the straight part, but now is 18 in long and only good for 50 yards. wont even ht the target at 100 yds,,oh well.. will be in the cabinet till im gone and kids will probably sell it.

[rafternk]

Mine was the Benelli MR1 semi-auto in 223. Absolutely all over the target at 100 yards not that much better at 50. Almost lost a bet to a friend who tried besting me with his CZ 9mm at 25 yards at the range. Last semi-auto rifle I'll ever own.

[Drewski Canuck]

Lots of times it is the scope not the gun. Some of the times the crown is damaged and the bullets will simply get a wobble in flight. once in a while a bullet is seated improperly on a hand load for the quirks of the particular gun.

THEN THERE IS THE VERY SCARY SKS!!

Enemies the world over must have been rolling on the ground laughing when a Russian lifted one of those POS guns.

Maybe the Chinese version is better, but the Russian Prisoners building the SKS really did not care, or the design was so flawed that no one cared, or
the soldiers knew that their Generals did not care what happened to them.

The fact that the rear sight is calibrated out to 1000 yards does not mean it will hit anything it is pointed at. Not even at 100 yards.

Even on a shooting vice, if you bother to aim with the sights, it is not minute of angle, but rather random repetition. And you will take alot of shots trying to hit the same spot twice.

But in their day the ammo was cheap, and the guns were cheap, and they were perfect for new shooters to practice shooting freehand and to get used to center fire rifles, or for plinking at 4 inch plates. That is all we ever used them for anyways.

Drewski

[Smoky buck]

Worst rifle I have owned was a savage B mag 17wsm. I actually returned two do to miss firing do to weak firing pins. Tried multiple brands of ammunition and 1/3 of the times these rifles miss fired. Overall I found the poorly constructed and slapped together. When I finally got one on warranty that functioned it shot ok at best

I sold it and will not own any newer savages. Older ones seem good but have never shot a newer one I would own

[Bushleague]

A Lee Enfield Jungle Carbine. I've owned about a half dozen No1's, and about half that many No4's, and I could get all of them to shoot around 2" or less at 100 yards. The one Jungle Carbine I've owned shot at least double that... at 50.

Perhaps it could have been improved on, but I found someone who was interested in it for collecting purposes and traded it off pretty quickly.

[W921]

1885 Winchester by a custom company in MT. They talked me into a paper patch throat.
I think they used my large deposit to fund other customers builds that probably ordered their rifles years before mine.
I waited years and finally got it. Wasted ton of time trying to get accuracy out of it messing with rolling paper patch 45/70 .
Finally rechambered for 45/90
Got it shooting but never got the accuracy I was looking for. To much black powder fouling for five shot groups without cleaning.
40/65 and 45/70 are way better and forget about paper patch.
Another problem was that gun tended to shear off firing pins if you didn't bring it to half cock before opening the action.
For the time and money I was very disappointed
Actually I just remembered a worse one Bought a Remington rolling block someone re barreled to 45/120. Very inaccurate

[Knotter]

NORC M305... minute of pizza box at 25 yds. Gritty, creepy trigger, overly tight safety and horrible sights. Not my jam at all.

[daveyn]

First rifle I ever bought was something in 30.06 that I had no idea then and no idea now who manufactured it. I knew nothing at the time other that it was pretty and I really wanted a rifle. It was most likely a sporterized WW 2 bolt action, vintage of some sort that was very shot out and the trigger had about 1/2 inch of creep before engaging. I could hit pie plates at 100 most of the time and thought that was awesome. KIcked like a mule. Wasn't until I started to shoot some of my buddies guns that I realized just how bad it really was.
having said that it was my first real gun and I'd really like to have it back.

[6.5 shooter]

Originally Posted by nof60

I bought a new Savage .17 with a thumbhole stock. Thing was accurate as could be but often would decide to crap all the shells in the mag onto the ground. Very frustrating and now someone elses problem. That is the other gun I have traded away.

I will agree with you on this rifle. Same problem, accurate enough rifle but man watching the mag self empty was to much for me. Tried a couple of fixes but nothing worked it went back to the dealer, maybe you bought it.

[graybeard]

Reviving a 2011 thread I see......still a good read...haha

My worst was a 1970's built Savage 64A semi-auto in .22 LR.

Every 2-3 rounds and then a jam/stove pipe....This was new from the factory.

Another bad one I owned was a, 1980 built Smith and Wesson Model 59 semi-auto, every 2-3 rounds, misfires and jamming/stove piping...This was also new from the factory.

I have never owned another Savage or S&W, since, in anything!!

[Dave P]

Mossberg 715T haha. I bought it like 15 years ago. Have managed to get like 12 rounds through it without jamming. Been to several gun smiths and nobody can get it running. Now its just a reminder of what not to buy in my safe haha.

[Ackleyman]

Worst was the SKS = junk. 303's....well lets just say i have respect for them. As far as a go to hunting rifle there the last rifle i would pack. So many options [stocks, actions, barrels, triggers] today to build a way more accurate rifle.