Inspired by me digging around in my safes today.

The subject line more or less spells out the premise, and may include those times where you might have rid yourself of a particular nasty pistol or revolver only to find yourself masochistically buying another one again and giving it a second try (or third, fourth, etc., etc.).

For me the most annoying one that I can't seem to rid myself of (or send off to GrayGuns for a re-do) is my HK P30 V3. Once again, after having not shot it in almost 3 years I've dug it out of the safe today to take out to the range later this afternoon. With its yuckiest of triggers I will again try to shoot some decent strings but I'm sadly not optimistic that all that time away from it will only succeed in reinvigorating my disgust in the gun. After near 12 years of ownership one one have thought I would've learned something by now.

But I haven't. So I still have it. And in all likelihood will continue to keep it as is, despite all the frustration it causes. After all of this time I feel like I must master the damn thing the way it is, else it's cheating. Like Kevin Costner in that golf movie of his.

Honorable mention: S&W alloy J-frames. Every few years I think I want one. Then I shoot a rental, or a friend's, and I'm cured of that desire. But that itch is slowly coming to the surface once again...

Yeah, I hung on to my J-frame 642 for too long. I always hated that thing, but there wasn't a good option for a pocketable semiauto at the time, so I grinned and bore it. I gladly got rid of it in the late 2000s/early 2010s once better 9mm options were available, with actual sights, better triggers, and detachable magazines.

Similar story with my Glock 26. I never shot that thing anywhere near as well as my G19/G17 or even G21, but held onto it for too long because I felt that I "needed" the option of a subcompact Glock, and because of the attraction of "sharing magazines". The P365 cured me of that faulty thinking, and the G26 went out the door to much fanfare. (And to be honest, the G26 doesn't really gain you much of anything over the G19 anyway, so I should have ditched it long before.)

quote:

After all of this time I feel like I must master the damn thing the way it is, else it's cheating.

Its funny you say this because I am very much like this, especially with my air guns. It seems that I gravitate towards mastering the more difficult ones vs. the easy button ones.

As for the P30 (HK DA/SA's) in general, you really have to put the time in as the triggers range from mediocre to flat out suck. I do fairly well with them but I have a ton of DA/SA time under my belt and crappy triggers speak to me.

Yeah, my 1st Gen. Glock model 22. I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with that pistol.

But, I kept it around for years because it was my first center-fire semi-auto handgun and because I bought it on the very day Bill Clinton signed the AWB--which included the magazine capacity restriction.

Finally, after it sitting in the safe, unused, for the longest time, I gave it a really thorough cleaning, put it and all its original accessories in its original "Tupperware" box, and traded it in toward my very first 1911.

Probably the only one that meets that description was a surplus CZ75D compact. I'd wanted one for years because I'd read a lot about them and I'd spent a while living in the Czech Republic growing up, so there was a nostalgic connection there. The one I got was a steel frame, so very heavy, and had the typical long and gritty CZ trigger pull. It shot ok, but I never carried it. I waffled back and forth about upgrading it for a while, but finally decided to just sell it off.

That whole situation kind of came full-cirlce, though, as we recently picked up a PCR for my son. We were just out shooting it yesterday along with my Beretta 92X compact. Even with the alloy frame of the PCR I'm still happy I offloaded my 75 and bought the Beretta. They are both great guns, but the Beretta just makes me happy every time I shoot it...the CZ I took to the range because I felt like I had to in order to justify owning it.

My Sig P245. One of the first guns I ever bought. I love the way it looks, I just can't shoot the damn thing. I'm no elite marksman, but I generally shoot ok. I struggle to hit the broad side of a barn with that 245 though.

After years of missing what I'm shooting at with it, I finally handed it off to my brother who generally shoots about as well as me to see if it was me or the gun. It turns out it's me. My brother shoots it as well as I do poorly which hurts my pride even more. In his hands it's a tack driver. He's probably as accurate at 50 yards with it as I am at 10. I love having that gun as part of my collection, but I may just end up giving it to him at some point because it just doesn't get along with me.

PPK/S. I shoot it every few years to remind myself why I hate shooting it. Amazing that I chose it as my very first carry gun back in the 90's.

I have tried a couple Hk P30 pistols myself-standard and long slide, as I wanted to like them but the trigger pull is horrendous. I try to anticipate the pull but it just seems so long and heavy. Some guns and myself are just not meant for each other.

Mono, here’s your $200 solution. Go to Grayguns. Buy the flat trigger $95, buy the short reset kit $90, buy the #10 (maybe 11 I forget) mainspring. Changes the gun entirely. Easy to do yourself. HK DA triggers suuuuuck. Easy to make better. The mainspring swap alone is a huge change. Or better yet do the unauthorized LEM conversion. LEM rocks in this platform.

I've gotten rid of every one I've hated, but there is one I still have that I just don't shoot very much: my Gen3 Glock 23 that was the first gun I ever bought. I have many more that I prefer to shoot and carry, so it just doesn't have much of a use anymore, but I don't think I'll ever get rid of it.

Gen 3 Glock 27.
Beat the shit out of my hand as I'm missing part of my right index finger. I have to adjust grip on just about all handguns except 1911's but that pistol hurt.
I kept it because I had a bunch of 40 caliber, I even carried it. Finally got tired of it and sold pistol with the ammunition.

Smith 642 with the WC spring kit.
Still have it. Used to carry it when I was on a bicycle. Back then it was the easiest gun to carry in the cycling Jersey back pocket.

Though hate is not the right word but did not really like anything about it other than weight and it was cheap.

quote:

Anyone have a handgun that you hated but can't seem to get rid of?

Yes to the first, no to the second. I don't have any problem getting rid of a gun that didn't work out for me.

First gun I purchased when I turned 21 was a subcompact Springfield XD subcompact in 40.... Miserable little gun, but it still sits in the safe. Third or fourth gun I Bought was the Sig P250 in 9... Not a fan of that one either..

Well yesterday's range visit with the P30 went about as well (or badly, depending on POV) as I expected. Maybe I just jinx myself beforehand each time, but it seems like I may never figure out this gun. An almost 3 year break from it probably didn't help (though I hoped it would), but I have no problem shooting any of my DA/SA SIGs, CZs or Berettas with pace, or even my USPs with a bit of urgency. Slow shooting it I do pretty well with the HK, but it's all over the place once I increase the pace. The amount of finger movement and dexterity that the V3 requires...it's simply not great with my relatively short fingers. However much I may sometimes wish I that could, I can't exactly replace my hands.

Maybe it really IS time to modify the P30's action, or just send it off to a new owner and let someone more capable extract the best out of it. I've had this love/hate thing for so long with this pistol that I think I'll miss it, but I'm not getting any younger.

Otherwise it was a nice day to be shooting outdoors, and I'm satisfied with how I did with the other two guns I brought along (one Glock, one CZ). But it's this HK that's the one which is like a parasite and drilled holes in my brain.

I have a 3 inch Smith and Wesson Model 10 that was made the same year I was born. It apparently sat in a police armory for years, in its original box wrapped in oiled paper. One of the original grip medallions is missing, but otherwise it looks un-fired.

Why do I dislike it? It's a square butt. The square butt is totally out of proportion to the short barrel. It's purely an aesthetic thing, but it bugs the heck out of me.

Sure, I could have someone grind the grip frame into a round butt. I've seen examples where people have done it and they turn out great. But I'd be drastically altering a classic handgun, which I can't bring myself to do.

I could sell it. But it's a pristine nearly 50 year old revolver born the same year I was. I can't quite bring myself to part with it.

So it sits, in its box, wrapped in paper, in the back of my safe.

My S&W .22 Compact has great ergonomics but a lousy trigger. After I bought it, I purchased another half dozen magazines and a couple of leather holsters, intending to make it my favorite plinker. The years have passed and Walther, Sig and S&W J-rimfire revolvers have proven superior. The trade-in value of the Compact is negligible so it stays in my vault, unused and unloved.

I hate my 870, but I need a shotgun for 3 gun and sporting clays. Too cheap to buy something else because I generally dislike shotguns.

As for pistols, I don’t hate them, but I don’t really like the PPQ or VP9. I kinda keep them just cuz. I’m sort of on my way to collecting modern strikers so I keep them as part of that. FN 509 is part of that, but at least I like it more. Maybe one of my kids will take to them and can have them. Plus the VP9 is like the younger brother to my P7. And the PPQ is a M2, which drives my buddy nuts because he likes the paddle mags and sees the button as an abomination.

Other guns I wouldn’t miss are the P226 and P228. Heresy I know. I don’t plan to get rid of them, but they rarely get shot.

Really I’d be fine if I got rid of all my pistols except the P365, my first P229, and my anniversary 1911. Probably the P7 and P230 just because they’re cool.

ETA: don’t you dare tell my wife though. I’ll deny everything. I NEED THEM ALL. And some I don’t have yet.

H&K USP Compact .45acp. trash. gone

I've learned from many in this thread. The H&K P30 models have poor triggers and are disliked by many owners. This saved me spending big time for a new one. I was really taken by its fit in my hand and H&K's reputation for quality. The truth comes out here. I've taken the P30 off my buy list. Thanks, all.