The gun that surprised you by being worse than expected

[Alan]

I bought a 'legendary' 1911 from a premium manufacturer expecting perfection. It was picky about ammo, had feeding issues and accuracy was just okay. Meanwhile my budget 1911 runs anything and shoots better groups. Price doesn't always equal performance, it is important to test before you trust, regardless of reputation

 

[Spikedriver]

I had a hammer fired, first Gen Ruger LC9. It had some leftover shavings in it from manufacturing and started having light strikes. And then one of the factory mags had to be modified because the little lip wasn't made right to disengage the mag safety. A trip to the local gunsmith fixed it all up, but I expect a Ruger to be G2G out of the box so I was disappointed with it at first. It took quite a few rounds before I trusted it...

 

[Huntsman]

That’s why range time matters. A gun’s reputation means less than how it actually performs in your hands.

 

[John4st]

Thinking about 1911's. They started out designed to shoot one specific load and bullet. They were also intentionally designed to be loose to make them reliable. Military armorer's gave a gun quite a bit of attention before, and during their service life.

1911's made since then don't get that attention, try to shoot various ammo with three or four different magazine designs. The new gun's have also been built with closer tolerances.

Modern 1911's are just a different breed and built a different way. And we have to be that armorer that fine tunes ones, especially with variable ammo.

Even one built by a "premium" maker.

 

[Spikedriver]

I've found that the only 1911s that don't eat every kind of ammo, are the high end Kimber types. For pure reliability I'd take a Rock Island over a Kimber. I love shooting 1911s and I'd have one, except A) they don't fit my hands real well, and B) I've never found one that conceals real well in 45 ACP. They just weren't meant to be subcompacts. Most of the ergonomics are much better than say a Glock, but the grip is too long front to back for my hands. I can't reach the mag release with my thumb. I hate it but it is what it is...