If you’ve made a dumb gun purchase before let’s hear them.
Back somewhere around the Mid 2000’s I went to the LGS to buy a 270 WSM. They had one of the Model 70 Coyotes with the 2 ton log of a stock and a Model 70 Featherweight. They tried to talk me into the Featherweight. I bought the Coyote version. Talk about a case of the stupids. If I would have bought the featherweight I would probably still own it.
It did have a slick action though. Nice rifle but those original Coyotes felt like carrying around a railroad tie.

Where was the Model 70’s made then?

The new Extreme Weather SS I handled yesterday in Whittaker’s felt good to me. Some say they are clubbish feeling but it didn’t feel that way at all to me personally. And not to heavy or to light.

Bought my wife a single-stack Taurus stainless 9mm a few years ago. Safety wasn't ambi and I forgot my wife is a lefty. Sold it to a buddy afterwards. Went to just striker-fired non-safety autos and revolvers around the house after that.

Ruger 357 LCR. Thing kicked hard. Pretty happy when I sold it.

.375 H&H M-700 KS mountain. 6# even.

The first one, my father bought for me as a kid - a (well-used) Monkey Ward 12 gauge bolt action. That darned thing would fire with the safe on or off or if you touched the safety at all. I soon told him where to stick it and he took option B and got rid of it instead. The second one was a new 16 gauge I bought for my son. It was a decent gun, but shells for 16 gauge at the time were hard to find and there was very little variety. It's the only gun I've ever purchased and gotten rid of. He liked the replacement 870 in 12 gauge better.

One of several.....

Only my Coyote was in 243 WSSM.

now that was DUMB

ya!

GWB

Remington RM380. Biggest POS ever. Trigger would slip engagement and wouldn't pull hammer back. It had to be sent back to Remington twice before they "fixed" it. Not worthy of anything other than taking up space.

Interesting as I loved mine taking two bulls with it. It was exceptionally accurate. I sold it as I wanted a CRF 375.

every 1911 i've ever bought

Buying used guns on-line is 50-50. But I bought a rifle at the Tulsa Gun Show that I never should have - put too much money into it.

^^^this, I tried so hard, spent so much. Like marrying strippers, over and over.


mike r

I bought a .30-06 once. It was just like a .300 WSM, except heavier, longer, and lower velocity. Really disappointing. At least I can say I was never enough of a sucker to buy a .270 win.

I bought a S&W 586 and didn't know you needed to check them for canted front sights. Sure enough...

I bought a Noveske AR in 6.8SPC when what I really should have bought was a large frame .308 AR. The gun was fine, but just not what I should have bought.

Every rifle I've ever bought with a belted cartridge has eventually gone down the road - it just costs too much velocity to waste space on a belt. Many were good guns though and certainly not as badly designed cartridges as the .30-06.

LOLOL

Not dumb, more arrogant.

Bought a savage long range hunter from a guy that told me he couldn’t tighten it up much more than 1.5-1.75 groups. Told me he tried a lot of different loads. I figured I knew better.
I didn’t.


Bought a beautiful Mauser in a custom stock 6mm rem. He told me he had it for years and it would shoot the first two close and the third would be a flier. Again I figured I could solve that problem. I couldn’t .

Strippers are atleast fun to use

Dumb purchases at the time, but I sure wish I had them now:

1) 1974. Very first centerfire rifle purchase - Remington 700BDL Varmint Special in .243.
Didn't shoot varmints. Bought it from a NJ State Trooper, intending it to be my deer rifle.
Way too heavy for carrying up and down the hills of PA.


2) 1977. First brand new rifle purchase - Sako Finnbear in 7mmRM. Too much gun for a new shooter.
But was it ever a beauty!

Young and dumb.

I can't disagree with that.

Ya, I traded into a ar 15 once, didn’t last long.. 😂

I'd also add any Winchester Model 70 to the list.

Easy to do at the Tulsa Show! Been there and done that. 😬

I dated/banged more then a few strippers.

Shot and owned more then a few 1911's

Don't regret any of them

Or a hairdresser, just sayin’

A good gun. A lotta money.
Never liked.

I had many 7 1/2” 44s.
R S Bh more than 1
R RedH
SW 629, 6”
But

A friend talked me into getting a
R Super RedH...9 1/2”

DUMB. Never liked 9 1/2” bll.

Jerry

Not necessitate dumb but maybe my Kimber Talkeetna 375 h&h. Beautiful rifle that shoots great after bedding but it’s not much fun off a bench with 300gr AB’s. For my uses I don’t really need the light weight and a bit heavier rifle would be much more pleasant to shoot for fun.

My first handgun was an Interarms Virginia Dragoon 44 mag with a 7 1/2” barrel. Heavy as lead, rough action and trigger and most of the screws would work loose after about two cyclinders of magnum ammo. Overpaid for it to boot.

An FIE Brazilian shotgun. It couldn't have weighed more than 4 lbs or so. Kicked worse than anything I've owned since.

Didn't keep it long.

Also had a TC Contender with the super 16" lightweight 45-70 barrel. That kicked too.

I've bought more than a handful of guns at auctions without ever looking at them. They will be of no interest to me until no one is bidding on them and I can't seem to keep my hand from going up in the air. Worst one was a Remington 521 22 missing clip, broken mag latch, beat up wood, filthy. Best one Remington Model 32 Over and Under, serial # under 400, well used but solid gun.

Tip barrel Taurus copy of a beretta in .25acp.
Better off with a knife or baseball bat.

At an estate sale.
Lots of guns, only a few I was interested in.

There was a decent old 12ga SxS came up, nobody would bid.
I did at around $50. It went for $125.
About $126 too much.
Cracked stocks, bad pad job, frame cracked, safety doesn't work.....

It's been in the corner of the closet for 20 years.

Dad says sell it. I'm afraid someone would get hurt with it.
Should disable it and sell it for "decoration".

I've made far more dumb gun sales than I have dumb gun purchases...

I have one. I really like mine.

Rossi sxs 12ga coach gun , that thing just plain hurt to shoot. Traded it and a little money for a pre64 model 70 in 338wm that I still have.

I guess my closest thing to a dumb purchase was my first rifle, and it was more ignorance. I just didn't know much about guns and bought a Rem 710. It's long gone and good riddance.

Now, guns I had the opportunity to purchase and didn't? Been several of those over the years that still make me feel dumb.

one of those remington 45-70 double rifles made in russia or someplace a few years back. absolutely beautiful wood and shoots damn good for a "cheap" double, but just dont use it and it takes up space

second had to be the browning FN safari in 375 i bought at an auction for what i thought was a dang good price of 400..until i got it home to clean it up good That gun was probably 95% bluing and 95% on the wood EXCEPT that salt wood had literally pitted the metal that was hidden so bad i was scared to shoot it

I bought a Remington 700 as my first rifle.. they didn't manage to drill the scope mounting holes straight.

Never touched a Remington since.

Bought a Savage in 243 at a LGS and shot it few times....traded it at same store for a Model 70 243...still got it and a tack driver.

Back in the magnum era I got the notion that I needed to buy one. So I ordered up a Weatherby Mark V Accumark in 270 wby. I’m a eastern whitetail and hog hunter then and now. So I go up to LGS to pick up my new Accumark and the guy at the counter mentions he has a NIB Mark V deluxe in 300 wby. Well what could be better than one magnum than two. So how could I pass up the great deal. I walk out with both rifles.
I scope up and zero in. They both are a pretty good handful for me to shoot but I manage to shoot some nice groups. I only had to hunt with them a few times before I was wishing I had my old lighter easier to handle standard caliber rifles with 22 inch barrels. Before the end of that year I had put the magnums in the safe and started hunting again with my standard cal rifles. There is a place for those magnums im sure but not in the eastern deer woods. I should cut loose of them but for whatever reason I just never have. Maybe it's to remind me not to jump on every band wagon that comes along.

I didn’t think it was dumb at the time. However, I bought a new Remington 870 super express when they first came out. Junk. Almost every time you fired it, it wouldn’t eject. Remington ammunition worked sometimes but not all the time.

I agree that the Coyote was a mistake. But that's just one.. Look at the number of mistakes Rem has made over the years... The FWT, standard and magnum M70s from NH have been an overall success for decades.. But I digress.

As to 'dumb gun purchases' - I made one (that I recall) that stood out; the AMT AutoMag II in 22 mag.. What a total pos, front to back.. After about a year of screwing around with it trying to get the damned thing to function, I got rid of it and never looked back.

I tried to like it, but it's beyond my "recoil-grade". Will say it was very accurate. Brought tears to my eyes with 300s. 9# .375R GG braked is more my speed, can shoot it like a .22-250.

Have a KSS mountain in .300 Win. Barrel has same OD/configuration as the .375 but 8# scoped/slung/loaded. Perfect for me and shoot it very well.

I have always admired the classic Winchester shotguns, bought a Winchester model 23 "side by side" 12 gauge
with 28 inch barrels for some skeet shooting and shooting training birds at dog trials.

That shotgun with SKEET loads kicked like hell....shot maybe 4 rounds with it and down the road it went. Such a disappointment for such a beautiful shotgun.

For the purposes I wanted the rifle for the Featherweight would have made 101 times more sense than the Coyote. For someone just wanting to shoot off of a bench etc would have been good for that.
As far as craftsmanship I had no complaints with the Coyote whatsoever.
For someone that has shot more 700s than anything else by a huge margin that model 70 action sure seemed smooth compared to a 700.

This ^^^ in spades.

As far as dumb purchases, I'm sure I owned a Raven .25 auto in my late teens/early 20's; now that's dumb.

I've made several "made sense at the time" gun purchases.
Marlin 375, Ideal woods gun but hard to feed and never got used. Traded for a....
Rem 742 carbine 30-06, again, great woods gun but went unused. Finally traded it for a CZ 452 LH, Extremely happy with that.
Also have a marlin marauder. Got it cheap in fairly rough shape. Want to like it but don't use it.
It seems that "Ideal woods/truck guns" are and affliction of mine.

Picked up a left handed Savage 110 in .338 Winchester while in the gun shop looking for powder. Got it home and noticed the stock was cracked. The shop repaired it, and I picked up a Lee Six fiberglass stock. Thing was brutal to shoot and down the road it went. Sold it and bought one of those obsolete 30-06s everyone hates.

Ruger Blackhawk .44mag w/ 10.5" barrel.

Every gun person has made them...... had a few. Most just become trade fodder or quick sale. Sometimes lose a few dollars. Trying new ones is always fun though.

Yep, made a few, had to take a few losses

Was it a single shot that opened by pulling back on the trigger guard? My first shotgun was a full choke FIE 20 gauge. It was light, kicked hard...but I got more than a few sharptails, and a handful of partridge with that old shotgun.

.30-06 probably won't catch on, as poorly designed as it is. 🤔

Kimber Montana 308win about 4 weeks ago. I'll go deeper into dumbschiet with a rebarrel job in 6mm creedmoor

Rossi 357 revolver that didn't revolve. Ruger number one that shot 9 inch groups. Raven/Jennings 380 I inherited. Mauser 95 that was a paperweight.

Every Glock 19 I ever bought. It’s such a practical choice! Get it home and remember how I can’t get all my fingers on the grip.

Get a glock 21.

A Kimber 1911. What a POS. And I read the reviews where folks said so. I didn’t believe them. I do now.

In the 80's my dealer/ GF's dad talked me into an AMT AutoMag in 22 mag. It is the loudest thing I've ever shot, when it would cycle. I should take it out for old time sake! Like the OP I bought a M70 Coyote but in 223. Shot terrible so I sent it back, they returned it saying it shot within spec. 2.5-3" groups is in spec! Yikes. I was a diehard Winchester guy till then.

Whenever the little $2000 emergency expenses come knocking, any of my gun purchases become suspect.

Probably 15-20 years ago, I bought a Marlin 1894c in .357 made by Remington. As most of you know, the gun itself is great, it was just who and how it was put together at that time that was at issue. Fortunately, I took it out to Wild West Guns in Las Vegas and had a decent amount of work on it to get it into proper shape. So successful was that improvement, I got offered twice what I paid for it by a Glendale California gun shop. I declined the offer and have been glad to keep it after the initial viewing in it's pitiful manufactured condition.

In my youth I thought bigger had to be better. I decided I needed a 300 RUM for deer hunting. I bought a Remington PSS. It was so heavy that even a 20 year old me had a hard time carrying it a 1/2 mile. So I decided to double up on dumb and took a loss on it to trade for a BDL LSS 300 RUM. Much easier to carry but it kicked so hard that the knurling on the bolt ripped the skin off my trigger finger. It’s still in the back of the safe and hasn’t been shot for 15 years.

Also, a Taurus Judge. I thought it’d be neat to carry while fishing until I pulled the trigger for the first time. My ears rang for an hour. That was dumb.

Interesting thread, I have never bought a gun I didn't like, when I bought it, as I recall most of the guns I have owned did their job, I would say shotguns are the hardest to buy and be happy with they either fit me or they don't, and it's hard to get one that don't, to fit me, rifles are usually a easy fix, bedding and triggers are usually the problem, as for weight # when I look at a rifle I know if it's to heavy or long for my use, Chamber, Caliber, most are either way to big or way to small for what I do. As Ingwe, say's it's not rocket surgery. Rio7

No one will ever shoot a belted cartridge, either.

I have known a couple of guys that bought custom military rifles that the gun show seller had priced high and talked them up as rare and something you will never see again. Both rifles were amateur custom jobs and probably werent even worth a third of what they bought them for.

Taurus tracker 357.
Guy at the counter told me they send a lot of Taurus back for repairs…. Actually more than any other brand.
My dad had good luck with his Taurus so I thought I had 50/50 chance. I should have known better as I suck in gambling.
Had To send it in twice, 3 time I got a new one sent to me

I like this thread. Makes me feel better about myself. I've always thought I was the only one that made stupid trades.

My worst purchase was my first purchase. As a kid I bought a "Monkey Wards" 22 bolt action with a 7 shot clip. It was too heavy for me, too long, and never very accurate. I shouldda saved my pennies a little longer and bought a better rifle.

As someone said above, I've made most of my stupid gun trades by selling things I now wish I'd kept: a 788 22-250 that was a good shooter, a Rem 600 in 308 that was a great shooter despite a lousy trigger, a Model 70 in 7 WSM, a collection of 2 Contender frames and a couple dozen barrels, and I turned loose of a boat paddle Ruger in 243 that I could never get to shoot better that about 1 1/4 groups. My worst mistake was trading a custom Ruger tanger in 25-06 that had a heavy 26" barrel and a wonderful trigger. Bought it cheap from the estate of a man that had been a bench rest shooter. There are probably more that don't come to mind right now.

Traded a Browning A-Bolt .30-06 topped with Weaver Classic 3-9x38 with a fast and accurate barrel for a beautiful Mauser (Heym) 3000 in .30-06. Upon shooting the Mauser I discovered it had a slow and not so accurate barrel. I had a load for the A-Bolt using a 165 NBT that was sub MOA and clocked 2900+ fps. Same load in the Mauser shot 1.5"-2" and sometimes broke 2700 fps. Various factory loads and other hand loads faired no better. All 1.5" or way more and all 200 fps or more slower than book or factory listings both barrels were 22" long. After a couple or 3 years I got rid of it.

I don't know if its the dumbest but my Daughter always wanted a Derringer so about 6 months ago I said if you buy one I will but one

We bought a pair of Bond arms
Its an answer to a question that doesn't exist

If you are going to buy one I think Bond is the way to go but pretty sure we didn't need them after you shoot them

But it was a cheap learn

Hank

I must say I never had too much regret on most of the guns I've bought. One that comes to mind is a really nice sporterized 98 Mauser that had a nice, new deep bluing job, a custom stock and it was rigged for scope use with the safety and mounts. It was a nice looking rifle and still in 8x57. I never shot it because I have so much stuff and I sold it to (or gave it to - I don't remember) a good friend for his teenage son to hunt with. A year or so later my friend and his son went hunting with me and we decided to shoot rifles sine it was hot and the hunting was slow. We could not get it sighted in and when we did, it would barely hit a 24" square piece of paper. I knew something was wrong and I looked at one of his casings and it was severly (almost blown out) at the head. It must have had a severe headspace issue or a buldged chamber. Anyway, I got him something else to hunt with.

I agree...the .30-06 is not versatile enough and will never stay on the market long.

Stoeger Coach gun 12 gauge. When I pulled the trigger it would double. I sent it back to Stoeger and they said it was operator error. Even though it was a single trigger model! I sold it to a friend for a loss

Why shoot it off the bench after sighting in? Set it up on sticks and have fun.

Remember, McDonalds makes the most popular hamburger in the US. That does not make it the best hamburger, or even a decent hamburger. It means the burger is targeted at the lowest common denominator customer. A pasty gray piece of [bleep] between two squashed buns is just right for that customer.

The same is true of the .30-06.

Chuckie....think Phil Shoemaker has a quote about this 😀

Yes He does but

Lame brains ain’t got a clue.

Jerry

I'm just having a bit of fun from the safety of my keyboard. I've never owned an '06, but have seen them in use. If I had to choose one chambering for just about everything from coyotes on up.....it would probably be one.

He's never been to McDonald's in his life either. I've never once been given a "pasty gray burger" there. He's one of these guys that talks out his ass and loves to hear himself

Mossberg 835 not that it wouldn’t shoot but I’m suffering the consequences from it now from 3 1/2 turkey loads years later

Dumbest thing I ever did was buy a legit 1/2 moa rifle. Now I get pissed when I can't get some rifles sub-MOA. Finally starting to grow out of that.

Left Handed Thompson Center Dimension. I still don't know what possessed me. From a functionality standpoint there is nothing wrong with it, but I just can't stand to look at it. It's hideous. I thought it would grow on me and it absolutely did not. Maybe I'll have a custom stock made for it, and really turn it into a money pit.

BPS 10. I was glad to see that one go.

Remington only bought Marlin in late 2007/early 2008

S&W Scandium revolver....I'd rather shoot my Freedom Arms 454 Casull.

Post 64 M70 .30-06 in '65 when there were still pre-64's around. Elmer wrote it was better. He lied.

Dumb, as in I wouldn't mind keeping it!


Just gathered this together for a buddy. Go forth with the cheapest 180 grain SP ammo you can find, is my advice. Yard deer be warned!

Weatherby Vanguard 1, NIB old stock, 30-06, $350.
Burris Fullfield ii, 3-9x40, NIB, $135
TalleyWhackers, open box, Bezos, $19
GrovTec Mountaineer sling, NIB, $26.

Why? Drop floorplate, full size format that'll fit him good, comparatively a whole lot of rifle for the dollar. USA made sling and rings. Burris, Philippines, bang for buck.

I’ll be your buddy, neighbor, friend.

LOL

My Vanguards were I s and NO problems.

Jerry

Brand new model 70 super grade maple. I loved the look and feel of it, but it shot pie plate groups at 100 yards. Didnt matter at all what i fed it.

My friend has one of these in .357 Mag. Weighs 10oz. I have a 642 factory Maga-na-ported shooting 38 +Ps that weighs 12 ozs. It is a kitty kat compared to that damn Scandium. At any indoor range you pop off the 1st round and the entire range line stops to see what went off. No kidding, have seen it happen 3 times now. I have also bet some big grown-ass men they couldn't shoot more than one cylinder loaded with 125 grain Federal Hydroshocks. Haven't lost money yet. Blood is usually involved, usually in the web of the hand. I just won't shoot it with full loads anymore, my hand cannot take the damage inflicted. A man got's to know his limitations, I found mine

Bought a Remington 700 XCR in 300WM. 2 trips back to the factory and then it would shoot 1 inch groups...at 25 yards! And down the road it went.

You feel my pain then....

-------------------------------------

Since we're opening up here. When I was freshly weened and as was often the case, in some various state of intoxication that typically ranged from ripped to hammered, I purchased a real "sniper rifle". Some version of an Enfield, complete with custom scope mount made from a Weaver rail attached to aluminum plate judiciously fastened to the side of the receiver in what must have been a tire shop or the likes. It was sporterized, ready for covert action, full +P awesome, with a leather cheekrest tied on with an OD Green bootlace, further evidence of it's special forces heritage. Really something to look at in its Bubba'd glory. It came with one worn out magazine and 60 rnds surplus ammo. I fired it 57 times, never hitting the intended target. My old man nearly disowned me for bringing it by to check out. Only recently have I regained any interest in owning an Enfield, and it's slight at best.

That sucks, did you try glass bedding and freefloating it?

When I started getting into guns I had no money so I ended up buying "good" enough for the time guns. Now 20 years later I look at all the money i wasted losing on trying to sell to get what I really wanted. The two largest mistakes were a sawed off 12 ga hacksaw type job that my buddy talked me into that I needed, the second I was talked into a Paraordanance GI expert my LEO buddy calls me and says jump on the bandwagon now while they are cheap the shop owner expects them to double in value in the next 6 months once the rep gets out. I traded mine a few months later but he sent his back for warranty work at least 2x before setting it in the back of his safe.

not sure i can say dumb purchase but bought a savage 340b in 222 from a member here that he was and is a stand up guy told me he was selling cause of the accuracy issue and i wasn't reloading then like now but ended up also sending down the line

the worst rifle i ever bought was over 1000.00 dollars, (Kimber long range master) not sure if i got that right, in 308 win. this is back when 308 ball ammo was super cheap. that rifle was sent back to Kimber 3 times for light primer strikes, the accuracy was 2 to 3 inches when it went off! the customer services was great! i finally sold it, sorry for the rant.

I've got one of their "Double Defense" guns and it will occasionally "double".

One dumb purchase was buying a case of cheap Winchester Walmart special low brass (silver) 12 ga ammo for killing clays. If used in a pump or auto, the rim and brass will tear away from the plastic case. Have to bring a dowel rod to push it out. Single shot or double gun only ammo.....

A Remington BDL SS in .300 WSM. Still have it as it shoots bug hole groups with IMR 4320 and 165 gr SST’s, but it’s not reliable. After doing lots of research, it’s just the 700 itself being in a WSM. I really need to send it down the road, but I don’t want someone else to have the headaches I’ve had with it.

I just bought a rifle because it was made the same year I was born. Since it’s an FN, I don’t expect to regret it, but it was totally unnecessary.

My Longmaster .308 was possibly the most accurate centerfire I ever owned. Its sole fault was scratching the cases on the way into the chamber. Had to sell it to cover an emergency, and the non-reloading buyer didn’t mind the issue.

Still missing that one.

Model 70 Alaskan in .300 Win mag. I have absolutely no use for this gun. But I'm loving it and keeping it.

Remington 700 DM… only have one mag, cant seem to find another and im always worried its gonna fall out somehow on a hunt. Apparently its not easy to convert to ADL or BDL either due to lack of feed rails if magazine is removed. O well, i guess i could always duct tape it in place if im worried about it!
In my opinion just keep it simple and get a hinged floorplate or blind mag.

Also im in the camp of “ive made more dumb sells than purchases”. I enacted a new rule on myself a few years ago that no matter how much i dont think i need a certain gun anymore, im keeping it… as they are now on a “one way street”…they only come in but never go out!

Just about any Remington 700 or MOdel 7 I have ever bought.

Mini 30. Absolutely the most inherently inaccurate platform ever devised to launch a bullet. Bill Ruger should’ve been kicked in the balls for producing them.

An M1 30 carbine pistol.

Need I say more?

Ruger Blackhawk 357 Maximum... talk about an ear splitter. I took it out, shot it, and traded it right back off at the shop I'd bought it from. That thing hurt with ear plugs in. I do regret not hanging onto it longer given what they sell for these days, though.

308 Norma Magnum. It was a itty bitty thing that kicked like a mule, and I wasn't shooting over maybe 100yds tops at the time. I didn't keep that one very long, either.

3 Kimber Montanas at 3 different stages in my life. They all shot like crap. They all went back to kimber. They said they shot well within their established parameters. I guess a 270 WSM that does 2.5 MOA is good nuff for them.

Their 1911's on the other hand.....pure bliss.

"I've made more dumb sells than purchases". Probably too many of both.

Same- I got an 8400 Montana in .338 Winchester for a great price at a store that was closing…it shot horrible. Most groups in the 2”-3” range and I finally found one that got to 1.5” consistently, but that was after a lot of load development and I was already frustrated with that rifle and down the road it went.

I had a Kimber Montana in 270 WSM and it shot lights out.

The regrettable one was the 243 WSSM… what was I thinking!

Sold the only 3 Kimber rifles I’ve ever purchased. The first was a Montana in 308 I bought for the scope that was on it. It was an MOA or better gun with the 3-4 loads I put through it.

The second was a classic select 30-06 that shot 3/4 MOA but was too pretty to hunt.

Third was a classic 30-06 that I ended up trading on a whim before I ever shot it. Buyer later reported it too shot tiny groups with the only ammo he tried (165’s if memory serves) - that is the only one I regret as I didn’t warm up to the BLR it was swapped for and my youngest son has since taken a liking to my Model 70 Classic 30-06 to the point where it’s going to be his.

Thompson Center Dimension. Rossi Rio Grande. The T/C is fugly. The Rossi works intermittently.

Growing up in PENN back in the 80s, most of used 30-30s, 35REM, 300 Savage, etc. Some of my friends cherished the day that they would be able to own a 300 WBY MAG. It would be the answer to everything they wanted in a deer rifle. A couple of them eventually bought WBY Vanguards, but after one deer season they went back to the guns they started with. Not knocking the 300 WBY, but the recoil, noise, and ammo price just wasnt logical for your average teenager.

Savage B Mag. Neat cartridge, but pos gun!

Oh yea.....O forgot to mention a Stoeger Condor O/U 12 gauge. Pos usually only fires one barrel. I do shoot it well though.

Same here, same results.

My wife loves hers, she has shot .357 Mag a few times out of it. She mainly shoots .38 Spcl through it to practice, but carries .357 Magnum for everyday carry.

A lefthand savage 110 Apex hunter in 7mm08 for my daughter. It is a pos, the stock forearm can benoved from side to side. The vortex scope that came with it was one of the worst scopes I ever looked through. The pros was it had spacers in the stock fornher to grow with the rifle. Put a leupold on it and still could not get that thing to group with multiple loads of reloads and factor ammo. The action was so sloppy. Ended up getting her a cva scout compact in 6.5 creedmoor. A lot better rifle for the money.

The Ruger 357 LCR is in the running for the best pocket carry revolver ever made.....if you stick to 38's!

I went in a pawn shop/gun shop in a small podunk town and they had several Winchester 70 Wintuffs in 300 Weatherby, 30'06, 270 and I think 308.

I'll give you one guess which one I bought even though it was absolutely useless in Texas. I wish I could go back to 5 minutes before I walked thru that door and buy the 270 instead.

I made one mistake I think four times over the years. I sold guns I really liked to fund NULAs. The NULAs ergos always felt awkward to me, accuracy was sometime exceptional and sometimes OK and everyone who fired my NULAs seemed to always comment on how hard they recoiled. And they did kick hard. I work bolt guns from the shoulder and kept breaking the spring that held the bolt stop up. NULA ownership can get a little miffed when you keep calling looking to replace a broken bolt stop spring. I tried to like them and for some reason, kept going back to the well. Not sure why.

I really miss some of the guns I sold to fund NULAs. The standouts were a super accurate Weatherby Ultra Lightweight in 7mm Weatherby. It shot Federal Factory 160 Trophy Bonded Tipped loads into 1/2" consistently at 3250. A true do everything combo. There was also a 2008 M70 Featherweight .270 limited edition rifle with beautiful wood that shot everything well. Plus, several accurate Kimber Montanas that I wished I had back.

Had a dalliance with a WSSM

I was 19, just got a small bonus at work.

Bought a Ruger 10/22 Target. GREAT little 22lr. Had a lam stock and the barrel had all the hammer marks/texture in it still. Super accurate.

Put 1000 rounds through it and never touched it again. Just was a dumb buy because it was wasted money - the rifle was good.

I bought 3-4 M70 Coyotes... They were soon gone to other owners... Maybe should have kept the .243, but meh........

A Remington M700 BDL heavy barrel 6mm comes to mind. Too heavy for a walk around varmint rifle, not as handy as my others for deer hunting and way too big and loud for what little pasture land varmint hunting that we have here.

Made to carry everyday, just not shoot everyday. 🤣

Also a mossberg 695 turkey. Got caught up in and estate auction and paid too much. Shot it a couple times it's too heavy to carry turkey hunting.

Years back I bought a Para Ordnance 1911 double stack and decided that it could be fixed even better. I took it to an armorer in Milwaukee with pretty much a blank check to rework and Armaloy plate it. I still have it because for what I have into it, I'll never get even half of what I've spent on that pistol. I'd have been money ahead if I'd just bought a Les Baer or Wilson Combat 1911 in the first place.

I have owned a couple N-frame Smiths I was sorely disappointed in, a 24-3 and a 25-2/. Both came highly regarded as target-grade wheelguns, and both spit lead and shot like crap. Both of them. The 25-2 was used, so I just sold it and moved along, but the 24-3 I bought new, and I sent it back to Smith to get it fixed. It came back even worse, so I swapped it off to a dealer with full disclosure about it's poor attributes. He was just a collector, not a shooter, and a jerk besides (he runs a gun show enterprise), so I didn't feel bad about dumping it on him.
I've owned a M28 and two M27s that were superb, but the bigger bores were crap from the start. I haven't bought an N-frame Smith since, and likely never will.

Personal experience collecting "N (large) Frame" Smiths from Triple Lock genre through Fourth Models. Never such personal negative experiences. I have 'heard of occasional "timing issues", as occurring. Never referenced as "factory errors, even as there have to be 'some'! As noted above, new production errors one matter, as purchased used, the spectrum of problems 'out there' as with all guns and 'stuff' generally.

The Model 25-2 in .45 ACP Target. Mid fifties era, some considerable numbers with known nomenclature error on barrel. Not affecting functionality. The Model 24-3 an eighties era recreation of the original Model 24 in .44 Special chambering. The recreation offered in limited edition sets of two reflecting 4" & 6" barrels. No known history of complaints/recalls to my knowledge.

By late '79 or so, Smith was "simplifying" its models. Nicety of recessed cylinders deleted as well as "Pinned barrels" Nothing great, but 'on that road...' The so-called "Pinned & recessed" referenced genre as generally heralded as "wide era" of more collectible Smiths.

I enjoy and revere mine!
Just my take!
John

And those Kevlar KS stocks were none too good in the recoil department. I have a .338 Win built on that stock, and it’s borderline vicious ...

iskra, I'm glad you've been happy with your N-frames. My experiences with them have been spotty at best, the .357s were fine, but the .44 Special (4", in my case) and the 25-2 (an older 6 1/2", before they went to a straight 6") were just plain awful. I fully expected the 24-3 to come back from Smith fixed, but when the cylinder rotated backwards while trying to shoot it DA, I'd had enough. Smith did me no favors there. I don't know what, if anything, they did to try to fix it, but it was a failure of epic proportions. I'd had BearHug grips made for it (big expense for me at the time), and it just wasn't up to par, even if that par was a Par 8 or 9.
The only Smith revolvers I've bought since the have been K or L-framed guns, which have been "okay" at best.

A currently owned 617 shoots 4 inches high right now, with the rear sight buried, at 50 feet, using pretty common plinking ammo. I am not especially happy with it's antics right now. Smith wheelguns are hit and/or miss for me, and it's usually a "miss".

We have all made dumb gun purchase. Mine were usually finding something old school and getting caught up in the moment, Now dumb sales are more likely. Lots of second guessing after selling way too many nice ones.

I love mine and have actually bought it twice. I made the mistake of selling once and ended up buying it back.

In terms of Dumb purchases:

Yildiz 12 Gauge over/under. Kicked like a mule and didn't shoot that well either. I just wanted to try and over under.

Worst POS I ever purchased was an Iver Johnson TP-22 back in the 80s. I'm not sure just what the hell I was thinking...I guess I believed the BS in the gun rag I'd read.

Swapped into a Kimber 84M Classic in .243 once...that was one of the most disappointing rifles to ever sully my gunsafe. I am happy that it's long gone. Sure was a gorgeous rifle, though.

Swapped into a 77V in .220 many years ago. Couldn't get it to shoot under an inch consistently, and when I scoped the bore I could see why...it was pitted from leade to muzzle. PacNor fixed that one up very nicely for me.

Purchased a 70 HV in .223 years ago, and it was as frustrating as the 77V Swift. Scoped the bore on that one and found what looked like lands smashed badly. Spun on a barrel from Numrich, and it's now probably the most accurate rifle I own.

Remington 504 in .22 LR was a disappointment for sure. Sweet little rifle, but just couldn't even nearly keep up with my 541-T. Hated to sell it. Outa sight, outa mind.

I’ve also been burned by a Remington700 in 300WSM CDL-SF. I own several REM 700s in multiple calibers, and all of them are great shooters, except that one. I tried everything to get that rifle to shoot well, and nothing worked, so I sold it.

Selling guns that I regretted later? To many to count. Probably the worst was a sporterized Mauser 98 in 25-06. Shot coke cans at 200 yards consistently. A serious tack driver. Sold it to fund other guns. Sigh.

Had a semi-custom 375 RUM built and scoped was a good bit less than 7lbs. Cool gun but was hell to shoot lol

Several poor choices:

A Taurus .22mag revolver that I needed plugs and muffs to make it comfortable to shoot. If I ran a full cylinder through it, I’d have to put the ejector rod against the bench to be able to punch out the empties….. DTR (down the road).

A Mossberg 835 12ga that was a heavy, noisy rattletrap. With 3 1/2” shells it kick harder than my .338 mag. DTR

A Thompson Center Big Bore .58 cal muzzleloader.
It had a horrible trigger and was simply way more gun than our little blacktails required. Like all the other TC black powder rifles I had, it left my cheek bone bruised after only a few shots…DTR - replaced with a Knight inline .50.

And finally, a Jennings J22 the simply blew apart while shooting at the local range. Finally found all the springs and such…. Had to replace a broken piece to get it running - danged thing did it again a few weeks later. DTR

Slightly off topic, but a friend of mine bought either a 700 or a 721 several years ago and it didnt shoot well at all. He sat it aside and forgot about it. Later on a guy made him an offer on it and he almost sold it cheap but hesitated. He took it to a gunsmith and let him shoot it, once again poor grouping. Gunsmith told him to leave it over night and he would solve the issue.
Recrowned it and it shot like a dream. I believe he still owns it.

If I lived in the States, I would trade my stainless Model 70 in 375 for your Talkeetna.

Probably dumb, but don't regret it yet, I ended up buying two older 12 ga Ithaca Deerslayers a few years ago. Figure I can put together one nice slug gun if I ever get some extraction issues solved. Dumb part - I don't hunt with slugs.

Have had a bunch where I saw something on GunBroker and clicked in a low bid and then spent a couple days hoping someone would outbid me lol

Mid-1950s Steyr Mannlicher full stock double trigger in 308. Beautiful gun, pretty wood, butter knife bolt. Only problem was recoil was just unreal. Finally realized the butt on it was less than 3/8” wide, was like hitting my shoulder with the back of a hatchet. Felt recoil was far worse than my 10G Browning BPS. Fortunately it was pretty so I traded it for a much nicer to shoot Wby mk 5 in 257 wby. Love it.

RAS

A Savage 340 in 222 very awkward for lefty me . Crappy extractor but bought one for $40 bucks (looked like a grain of rice ) Did not live up to the deuce reputation for accuracy ! I do not miss it .

First bad buy was early 70's, Spanish cheapie 20ga SxS, constantly only firing on one bbl.
Next one was a Rem Nylon 66, couldn't get thru a mag without a FTE, and they are a PITA to clear.
Next was a Lakefield .22LR repeater, it was easier to clear than the 66, but also had feed problems.
Rem 870, didn't like cheap low brass hulls, suspect it had a rough chamber, same with a Mossberg 500 and Fed 3" steel rds, wonder I didn't crack the stocks on those two beating them on the ground to open them.
Looks like I'll have to pull the stock on a 3 yr old from new #1, safety is jammed in off position, not impressed with that, no idea how long ago it even happened, maybe 100 rds thru it, hopefully a minor detail.