Most overrated handgun?

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1911s can if built right, live up to any and all of the hype.

My 2 Les Baers and 1 Nighthawk Custom are all far more accurate than any other semi-autos I own. And they all have been 100% reliable.

Old colt 1911s, particularly those made durring the strike years by scabs are another story. But again, they're not overrated because everyone knows they're crap.

Glocks . . how can they be overrated. They're cheap, reliable and accurate enough with a trigger that is good enough with ergonomics that are good enough. My Glock 34 with over 25,000 rounds through it has never failed to go bang, extract and feed with factory ammo. Can't get much better than that.

My vote is the FN Five Seven.

Don
 
I came here to vote for H&K, but seeing that I've been beaten to the punch many times, I'll start on another maker.

Sig.

Don't get me wrong, the older ones are well built with a reputation for reliability, but I've never understood the overly-high bore axis, decocker, poor customer service, and price tag.
 
The Glock series is by far the most over rated handgun. They are a good firearm, but are by no means the be all and end all of handguns like every Glock Fan Boy, Rapper, Newbie, and individual with 0 firearm experience outside of video games, would have you believe.
 
My list, which mainly has to do with cost:

Sigs - The Fanboys are just as bad as the Glock guys. I have shot quite a few, and while they are nice they are not all they're cracked up to be IMO.

Glocks - Specifically in Ma. though. Mainly because of the price/demand for them because they aren't compliant. They are great guns, but I'd never pay the premium for one.

1911's - I like them, they're a work of art, they have been around for a long time. I don't understand why they cost so damn much for a quality version. You would figure that a gun that has been produced for nearly 100 years would be plentiful and cheap.
 
Supermoto said:
What do you consider the design flaws.... For me, its the grip safety, I disable all of mine
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-Swinging link design. Blech. There's no getting around this, it just sucks- there's a moving part there that doesn't need to really exist.

-Gets pissed at you if you even THINK about not cleaning it. (obviously this varies
per model and how tight the gun in question is)

-Plunger tubes like to fall off of guns- especially if you have an S+W scandium framed 1911.... having a tube fall off one of those is a rite of passage.

-Grip safety (not a huge deal to me, but I keep wondering why it is there, especially when the gun has a manual safety. )

-Controlled Feed BS / Magazine sensitivity - lots of guns are magazine sensitive, and there seemingly is no way around it. 1911s even get pissy when you change bullet types.

-(at least) 3 different kinds of firing pin safety systems (what the hell was -really- wrong with Series 70?)

-48 different kinds of sight dovetails. Seriously? [laugh]

-Design doesn't lend itself to mass production, meaning when a user gets a (presumably cheaper) gun with less QC where all the tolerances stack in the wrong directions, they end up with a trainwreck of a gun that never works right.

Admittedly most of this stuff is attributed to cheaper 1911s, but still... [laugh]

I say all this while noting there are "prizes" you get with a 1911 that you don't get with any other platform, like the fact that you can have what probably is the best trigger on
any semiautomatic handgun in existence, among other things.

-Mike
 
Timber said:
Agree. Sig.
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This is my new favorite answer. My prior favorite, the Five-seveN, is very overrated (and stupidly capitalized), but only by a relatively small crowd. Sigs, on the other hand, are widely praised, are over-priced, have poor ergonomics (bore axis is about 3 feet too high, and the slide lock lever is probably in the worst place possible), and, to make it all come together in a truly "most overrated" way, the quality is questionable. At least with Glocks, love or hate them, nobody seems to seriously question whether they work.
 
Dench said:
There are a lot of people on NES that don't like .45 GAP, .357 SIG, etc...

I was just curious about the round. I know a lot of people shit talk it. I read an article about it today that praised the round, and then remember a conversation with drgrant about how bad it was. I have noticed recently that 45 GAP ammo in non MA states has become more common..
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I think that most of the "You're kidding, right?" factor came from the poor availability of ammo - there's just not that much of it around. They came out with that round, IIRC, so they could have a shorter round with the ballistics of the .45 ACP that they could fit into a smaller gun so they didn't have to re-engineer the frame of the XD to a larger (longer) factor.
 
dwarven1 said:
I think that most of the "You're kidding, right?" factor came from the poor availability of ammo - there's just not that much of it around. They came out with that round, IIRC, so they could have a shorter round with the ballistics of the .45 ACP that they could fit into a smaller gun so they didn't have to re-engineer the frame of the XD to a larger (longer) factor.
Click to expand...

From what I understand of the round it was made so it would have a similiar sized grip as a normal frame Glock, and not a 45 ACP or 10mm frame.

here are the specs for it, not that i really know if its good or not [rofl]
ST5new45chrt3.jpg
 
The .45 GAP is a great cartridge. It brings high cap .45 balistics to people with small hands and particularly women.

Its also easy to reload, using the same dies and shell plates as standard .45 ACP.
In my case its actually easier to load than .45 ACP. I have a Dillon 650 and its a pain in the ass to change over the primer system from small to large pistol.
The .45 GAP uses small pistol primers, so changing from 9mm to .45 GAP is simply a matter of changing the turret head and shell plate.
 
A couple years back, I took my young nephew to the range and let him shoot a smorgasbord of handguns, including Glocks and 1911s. After actually shooting them, he was bewildered as to why people thought Glocks are so great -- I'd spoiled him with 1911 triggers [devil]
 
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Isn't that the truth.

I shoot a Glock in IDPA and if you stroke it right, its not a bad trigger. i.e. only release to reset, thus avoiding about 90% of the long mushy takeup.

I've been shooting a Government sized 1911 in steel and bowling pin matches for the last year and the difference in mechanical and inherent accuracy is amazing. Where the glock will leave a group, the 1911 will leave one ragged hole.

With all that said, I agree with the weaknesses of the 1911 that DR grant mentioned on the previous page. My 1911 cost $1700 new and my glock cost $550. The 1911 is no more EFFECTIVE than the Glock. It is however more satisfying to shoot.

Don

p.s. And by the way. all plastic guns are ugly. no way around it.
 
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drgrant said:
-Swinging link design. Blech. There's no getting around this, it just sucks- there's a moving part there that doesn't need to really exist.

I like the design, its a smooth way to unlock the barrel

-Gets pissed at you if you even THINK about not cleaning it. (obviously this varies
per model and how tight the gun in question is)

-Plunger tubes like to fall off of guns- especially if you have an S+W scandium framed 1911.... having a tube fall off one of those is a rite of passage.

This is true, thankfully it is not an issue with the 2011

-Grip safety (not a huge deal to me, but I keep wondering why it is there, especially when the gun has a manual safety. )

my high grip activates the grip safety. terrible design


-Controlled Feed BS / Magazine sensitivity - lots of guns are magazine sensitive, and there seemingly is no way around it. 1911s even get pissy when you change bullet types.

mine feeds empty cases [smile]

-(at least) 3 different kinds of firing pin safety systems (what the hell was -really- wrong with Series 70?)

Yep, they all suck, Series 70 is the way to go

-48 different kinds of sight dovetails. Seriously? [laugh]

To many people are in the 1911 aftermarket.

-Design doesn't lend itself to mass production, meaning when a user gets a (presumably cheaper) gun with less QC where all the tolerances stack in the wrong directions, they end up with a trainwreck of a gun that never works right.

This is the biggest problem with 1911s, if one quality manufacturer built them, they would be a lot better
Click to expand...

.....
 
bigbo said:
I came here to vote for H&K, but seeing that I've been beaten to the punch many times, I'll start on another maker.

Sig.

Don't get me wrong, the older ones are well built with a reputation for reliability, but I've never understood the overly-high bore axis, decocker, poor customer service, and price tag.
Click to expand...

Don't forget those wonderful triggers. I have owned 2 in the last 20 years, a P220 and P245. Both less than impressive.
 
Beretta M9. Totally overrated by the U.S. Gov. to make the Europeople happy. The Beretta 92 may be good for something, but it ain't getting the job done in the sandbox.
 
Woodstock said:
Beretta M9. Totally overrated by the U.S. Gov. to make the Europeople happy. The Beretta 92 may be good for something, but it ain't getting the job done in the sandbox.
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Geeez..........trying to make me look bad??????
You posted that while I was writing mine [laugh]
 
Seecamp.

Only likes certain ammo, harsh recoil, underpowered (.32 mass compliant...I am in Mass). Yes, I know it's a mouse gun and designed for a purpose. But having owned several, having issues with a few of them, I'd wouldn't trust my life to it.
 
+1 on the Seecamp

It was the best in 1989. But the world has moved on.

The LCP, P3AT, P380 are all worlds better as far as reliability and shootability. Oh yeah, and they're cheaper and chambered in a much more effective cartridge.

Ask me how I know?? I carried and shot a Seecamp for about 15 years.

Don
 
Hmmm, other than the Judge, (unless I missed it) no one is reporting any wheel guns to be overrated...[pot]
 
MichaelJR said:
I'll agree with disco here 100%.

1911 are "garage queens" ::puts on flak jacket::
Click to expand...

Them's fighting words young fella! It pains me to think that in 30-40 years there's going to be a bunch of old retired farts sittin' around the clubhouse drooling over that ANIB (insert your favorite plastic gun here) one of them just picked up at a gun show.[puke]
 
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