Anyone ever been surprised by a gun?

[BigJohnE]

Rossi 46103 - .357 Mag 3" Barrel. Traded for it because I wanted another carry gun, but didn't expect anything special...took it to the range and could not believe the accuracy in SA or DA shooting. At any decent combat range it is spot-on and groups as good as any higher-end wheelgun I've had.

Close second - 1938 Ballester Rigaud .45 that I got recently. Old, ugly, and shoots like a dream with no hiccups whatsoever!

 

[Powerhouse]

I traded into a Star 30MI. It's a big, ugly, clunky looking double stack 9 that looks like it was made from spare parts. Once I took it out shooting I was blown away. That pistol is sweet, and super accurate to boot!

 

[BHJ]

It was a love affair that began 16 years ago. I went to Bernies to order what I thought was my dream rifle, a Browning left handed A bolt 2 with the Boss system in 30-06. I put down my money(close to $900) and checked back in a couple of weeks. Bernie told me he couldn't find one at any of the distributors and I would have to wait on another production run. I asked how long that would be and he said probably 12 to 18 months. I went home and started looking around and found a similar rifle on line. The Savage 116 FLCSAK in 30-06. It was stainless and synthetic lefty with an adjustable (3 screw) trigger a stainless fluted barrel a detachable box mag and an adjustable muzzle brake that can be turned on or off. I broke in the barrel and was very surprised at how well it shot and how much the brake tamed the recoil of the 06. Then I took some of the fired formed brass and started testing loads. I tried the 165gr load listed as the most accurate powder tested in the Nosler manual only I was using 165gr Sierra Game Kings. Everything I loaded at 57gr of IMR 4350 came in under .75 moa and the average was closer to .5 . My best group to date was 10 shots into .446 at 100 yards, yep I said 10 shots. Looks like I found my dream rifle. This rifle is just plain amazing and all my shooting buddys know it. A lots of guys at the range with their high dollar custom rigs wander over and wanna know what I'm shooting after seeing the tiny groups. An out of the box Savage is the reply. I bought this rifle new for $520 out the door and had enough money left over to buy Leupold rings and bases, a Leupold Vari X2, a sling, ammo, and still had cash in my pocket over what the A bolt alone would have cost. I have added a lot of rifles to my collection since then of various action types and manufacturers. I have spent lots of cash on improving other makes that still don't shoot this well. I have added a bunch of very accurate Savages too, But this one is my favorite. It's been in thunderstorms, bounced off tree branches and climbing stands, been dropped out of a tree, got blood on it, rode of many trucks, etc. etc.. and is one very tough uni and still looks and shoots great. Anybody who tells you the 30-06 is an out dated or inaccurate cartridge is just plain ignorant. with this rifle if you can see it you can hit it.
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[sovietak474u]

My 1943 nazi p38. Shot it last week. I was shocked. It was very accurate, very comfortable , ran like a champ. Dang thing is almost 70 years old and works better than some more modern guns. Plus it's funny to see the spent shell cases flying to the left instead of the right.

 

[captdave77]

Ruger LC9.

I needed a deep concealment pistol but I was surprised at the accuracy.

 

[mountainmoped]

Back in the late 1960s or early 1970s Interarms ran a special on Spanish 93 Mausers. Our shop did a lot of business with them and we got the opportunity to buy cases of 10 of the 93s for $30.00 plus shipping. We purchased 15 cases of them. The guns ranged from terrible condition to some that looked new or reconditioned. About half the guns were broken down and sold for parts or made into floor lamps. The guns that were complete and had good bores were checked for headspace. test fired and sold. I picked out the nicest one with a beautiful bore for myself and took it out to our range along with some surplus 7mm ammo. All went well until the 5th round. I still don't remember exactly what happened, but I was dazed and my ears wrere ringing eventhough I had ear protectors on. The head had separated from the rest of the case. About that time I realized that the barrel had lengthened by about 2 inches. Apparently the barrels on some of the 93s had been sleeved and the solder had let loose. I still have that old 93 Mauser--It now has a nice 6.5x55 barrel.

When I was a kid I would go in Montgomery Wards in Daytona Beach, Florida to look at the nice garbage cans full of rifles in the sporting goods section. The Carcanos were $9.95 and the Swiss 1911s were $19.95.

 

[Rommel]

For me it was a Savage 17hmr with bull barrell. It it one of my favorite guns now.

Agreed, I have one of the savages in stainless with a bull barrel, and accutrigger and it is a damn tackdriver.

^^^ my stepdad bought one with bull barrel and a BSA sweet 17 scope. Ridiculously accurate!

X4! Picked up a Savage FV-SR a few weeks back and as previously mentioned it is a "damn tackdriver".

 

[Rommel]

I'm required to mention the Ruger 10/22 here. I know, I know, the weapon impresses a lot of folks. But I picked up one a few years back after only owning bolt-action 22's. Needless to say I have four now all built for different uses while sharing one common use: fun. The 10/22 is highly accurate and you can never have enough of them.

 

[Whiplash]

My first entry AR weapon I was like what pistol calibers????? But i Will never separate with her now.

 

[Snoopy45]

Hi-point .380. Its cheap, ugly and the worst trigger I have ever felt. But 1000 rounds through it, cleaned once and no malfuunctions. I was impressed by this $100 gun.