12 Comments

  1. I appreciate the list, and no surprises here, but would be nice to hear more specifics as to why these are junk so we can educate others.

    1. re: …would be nice to hear more specifics…

      Concur, esp. on the HG (having no familiarity with it or the brand), and the R51v2.0 (presumably there aren’t enough v1.0 in circulation to matter now).

      The favorable comment on the R51’s palm safety suggests a topic for future coverage (as another commenter notes):
      is the phrase “trigger safety” an oxymoron?

      1. So, the Honor Guard samples that I’ve dealt with have been roughly made, with poor attention to quality control. They have all experienced significant feeding and function issues as well.

        1. But… But…

          But the people in the comments section over at TFB told me they were better than the Shield! They couldn’t possibly be wrong, could they?

          /s

          Seriously though, how the hell have they NOT been sued by S&W?

      2. Having handled a few R51 pistols, and I’m distinctly unimpressed. Even the current ones are garbage.

        The simple answer is that it uses a weird alternative operating mechanism to lock/unlock the breech, and that Browning’s tilting-barrel system is superior in virtually every way. Once the Browning patent(s) expired, there was no longer any reason to make pistols based on inferior alternatives, like the Pedersen system used in the R51

        I believe another key issue with the R51 is the extensive use of MIM components — The design requires several parts in the slide to be very precisely sized, and to be able to smoothly slide against each other; Dimensional accuracy issues (which can be a problem with MIM parts, especially when QC is an issue) and surface tolerances can both lead to the sort of timing/reliability issues that have plagued the R51. MIM isn’t necessarily bad on it’s own, but in order to use that manufacturing technique the part really has to be designed to be made that way from the ground up.

  2. I am 81 yrs old! I have trouble with heavy slide springs. What do you recommend?

  3. Glad I took the time to watch the video. I’d been looking at #2 & #4 on his list as a “back up”.

  4. Here’s my list: Mauser broom handle. the Luger, the 1911, any gun like a 1911 that needs a long pointy “belly stabber” beaver-tail, any gun that has a Glock style trigger safety as it’s only safety, any kind of revolver.

    1. I like that you left this comment here and on my YouTube Channel. What’s even funnier is that here, my name is spelled out at the top of the post and you still fucked it up.

      Get a Bible. It’s in there.

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