Worst rifle you ever bought

[DShortt]

I'll start. I bought a used Zastava m85 bolt action .223 a few years ago. I think Remington sold a model 788 that was similar if not identical.

Barrel had a big chunk of rifling missing so I rebarreled it. Bolt is sticky. No solution to that. Is what it is. Plagued by light firing pin strikes and no solution in sight.

I'm not a quitter but I'm about ready to wrap this thing around a tree and burn whatever remains.

 

[joshb]

I found an absolutely pristine looking Chilean Mauser on a rack. Bought it, took it home and borescoped it. The inside of the barrel looks so bad, I’m wondering if it’s safe to shoot. Lesson learned, but I’ve bought a bunch of old Mausers with great barrels. I guess I was due a lemon.

 

[Dave M.]

A Remington 597 22LR. It jammed with 6 different manufacturer’s magazines and hated just about every kind of ammo I fed it. I cleaned it and even sent it back to Remington twice and each time they said it functioned perfectly…..then I’d take it out to shoot and by round 3 or 4 it would jam.
Best part was even when I single fed it ammo, and shot off a nice rest, that gun would shoot 1.0”+ 5 shot groups at 50 yards with no wind. It was comically inaccurate. I could easily outshoot it at 25 yards with my 8 yr olds Red Ryder BB gun (and NO, I’m not exaggerating). Total POS.
Dave

 

[Medic505]

Ruger No.1 in 22-250. I had saved my nickels and dimes to purchase it. Beautiful piece of wood on it. I loved that rifle. It would shoot a 3" group at 50 yards no matter what ammo you used. Sent it back to Ruger and waited. About a month later, it returned with a note that said it shot to factory specs. Last Ruger I ever owned.

 

[madmixerman]

Savage 22lr over 20 gauge.

 

[Lefty Trigger]

Savage A-22, semi auto 22LR that was a horrible shooter and a "jam-O-matic" on it's best day. On it's worst days I would go home without ever firing a shot.

 

[M-61]

Getting involved with short range BR in 1975 basically hooked me on that accuracy and I sure lost interest in many rifles I have except the BR ones (4)

 

[Ranger188]

Savage model 12 BVSS in 308
Couldn't get it to shoot less than 1 inch @100 3 shot group.
Sold it.

 

[South Paw Sammy]

A Remington 597 22LR. It jammed with 6 different manufacturer’s magazines and hated just about every kind of ammo I fed it. I cleaned it and even sent it back to Remington twice and each time they said it functioned perfectly…..then I’d take it out to shoot and by round 3 or 4 it would jam.
Best part was even when I single fed it ammo, and shot off a nice rest, that gun would shoot 1.0”+ 5 shot groups at 50 yards with no wind. It was comically inaccurate. I could easily outshoot it at 25 yards with my 8 yr olds Red Ryder BB gun (and NO, I’m not exaggerating). Total POS.
Dave

AGREED!!!! I went down the same road with a 597. I hate to hate on Remington as I Love all my LH bolt actions and even my old 742s in 308 and 30-06. But the 597 has to be hands down the worst rifle I have ever purchased.

 

[nakneker]

Easy, Marlin model 60. Gun wouldn’t run, I had it back in high school for a couple months. I’ve matured since then but at the time it had jammed one too many times and I wrapped it around a pine tree. I didn’t want anyone else to experience the misery and frustration and ended it. Jackrabbit shoots with my high school buddies was serious business, we would hop in the back of a truck and shoot 20-30 jacks in the evening cruising the old farm roads. You had to be fast and after 4 summers and falls of doing it we were pretty good, a jack didn’t stand much of a chance of seeing another day once spotted but it was beyond aggravating when your rifle wouldn’t work. I had worn a 10/22 out when I bought the MarLin, growing up I’d shoot at least a brick a week and my original 10/22 finally gave up the ghost. I wish I knew the round count on that first 10/22. After the Model 60 I went back to a 10/22 and lived happily ever after.

 

[Steel Mover]

Over the years I have acquired some real bow wows, just for the actions. Worst is a toss up. Between a Martini BP gun with ate up bore or an Arisaki M-99 in a 30-06 conversion done by just running a reamer into the barrel. They would shoot in the general direction.

 

[Bill Norris]

A Rem 700 5R .308 The chambering was about as bad as it could get. When putting a new piece of unfired Lapua brass in the chamber the bolt was actually scraping brass off the head of the case. Contacted Remington C S and was told to ONLY shoot Remington factory cases in it and everything would be fine. My reply to him was not nice as I told him what he could do with his advice.

 

[Doug Casner]

A new model 70 in 3006. Couldnt get it to shoot under 2 in. group unless it was an accident. Doug

 

[LHSmith]

I'll start. I bought a used Zastava m85 bolt action .223 a few years ago. I think Remington sold a model 788 that was similar if not identical.

Barrel had a big chunk of rifling missing so I rebarreled it. Bolt is sticky. No solution to that. Is what it is. Plagued by light firing pin strikes and no solution in sight.

I'm not a quitter but I'm about ready to wrap this thing around a tree and burn whatever remains.

Pretty sure the Remington model was 798 (LA) and 799 (SA) that was similar. Imported from Zastava from 2006-08.

 

[lawman29]

Any replica or "new model" Winchester Model 1885, 1886, 1892, 1894 or 1895...it just ain't the same thing as an original!

 

[Pyscodog]

I have a Mauser in 6.5x55 that I just bought a week ago. It may fall into that category. Its very pleasing to look at but accuracy.........is lacking. Hope my reloads will make a difference or I'm going to have to use it on VERY BIG game. Like elephants. LOL But the worse was a Rem 700 220 Swift. After all was said and done, I salvaged the action. Its now a 7mm08.

 

[chop house]

hahaha arisaka.... 1967 or so, paid about $15 at the local hardware store. front sight blade held on with bent paper clip. don't remember any other details, or even how i got rid of it. tried some surplus ammo and was really really really glad i was near sighted and wore glasses. brass blew out the side and peppered my nose. drilled a very nice beautiful clean hole through a perfectly good aluminum quarter barrel with it.

 

[CJ6]

Remington 700 RAR prefix in 6.5 "Man Bun". I bought it for my daughter for deer. I put close to 300 rounds of different factory and hand loads though it and it was hard pressed to hit a clay pigeon at 100 yds. I had an 8 twist 243 put on and it's a shooter for sure.

 

[DShortt]

Pretty sure the Remington model was 798 (LA) and 799 (SA) that was similar from 2006-08.

I am not intimately familiar with Remington actions and I'm pretty sure whatever it was amounted to a Zastava m85 sold by Remington. Widely known as a 'mini-mauser'.

 

[Pres100]

I saw Dave M's post about the 597 and said to my self ... that's my second worse purchase. My worst was also the Marlin 60 (like Nakneker) ... total POS.... probably just wait for some future gun buyback program ... about the only one who would actually pay something for them!