Saturday Night Special

[Buckshot Bear]

Interesting reading the replies, thanks all as always appreciated. 

[Alpo]

If I remember correctly, one of the ways they decided that a gun was a Saturday Night Special was the temperature it would melt at. Cheap zinc framed guns.

 

So how come tactical Tupperware aren't Saturday night specials? I'm pretty sure they would melt at 7 or 800 degrees.

[DeaconKC]

Interesting you would mention plastic guns and melt points. In Illinois Heritage can't sell their guns due to the alloy frame melt point. So there is a lawsuit to make them enforce that on ALL polymer framed guns that can't meet that requirement. Glock, S&W, etc would not be able to sell their polymer framed guns.

[El CupAJoe]

I had a jennings J-22 that put a hole in my kitchen table.  bought it used from Cabelas.  it wouldn't reliably chamber from the magazine, so I dropped one in the chamber and released the slide.  extractor hit the rim and fired the gun, no finger on the trigger.  I confirmed it would do this at the range, no finger on the trigger, extractor would fire the cartridge.  in fact it would keep firing the gun until the magazine would empty or a jam was experienced.  I took it back and got most of my money back.  I told the gun counter people to make sure it was destroyed or properly set right by a smith and that it should not under any circumstances be sold to another customer in it's condition.

 

[Maddog McCoy SASS #5672]

Well, when I had an FFL in the 1990's, I sold a crap load of those cheap firearms at gun shows around Chicago. The first Davis derringer I bought cost with tax and transfer the huge sum of $33.00. The dealer at factory I worked at bought 12 of them for a volume discount and everybody on the third shift maintenance crew bought one. I have shot most of the ones on the list at one time or another and for the most part they worked.

 

The Ravens and their clones in 25acp  were the ones I remember called the Saturday night special as they were mostly useless. Big bullet, no powder and world not penetrate a good heavy leather jacket. You had to place them against a part of the body that was vulnerable and hope it did not blow up in your hand.

 

Over time, they disappeared and the companies changed names and still made the same junk guns until the lawsuits drove most of the out of business. The only one I think is still around is Davis/Cobra derringers but they don't make the small semi-automatic pistols any more.

[Michigan Slim]

It's heavy enough to hurt someone if you throw it at them!

My brother is a cheap bast***. And he gave this to me. Nuf said 

[Michigan Slim]

19 hours ago, Michigan Slim said:

I was just talking about 'The ring of fire' the other day. My brother gave me a Jennings .380. Nice gun. It will even sometimes fire two rounds in a row!

It's a Lorcin, not a Jennings. Both equally lacking.

[Alpo]

New store opened up. Had a range. And you can buy a year's membership at the range. If you bought a year's membership, you would get your choice of either a Lorcin 380 or $100 store credit.

 

So I go to this other store that I've shopped at a lot. He sells a lot of inexpensive stuff - ring of fire crap. I asked him if the Lorcin is a good gun, because I know he sells a lot of them. He starts telling me what a wonderful gun it is and he's trying to sell me one. I explained to him that I'm just trying to find out if it is worth the $100 that I would be given instead of it.

 

He said that in that case, take the $100 store credit, because Lorcin is a piece of crap. He said he only stocks them because people want to buy them. But they are garbage.

 

I took his advice and took the store credit.

[Cypress Sun]

1 minute ago, Alpo said:

New store opened up. Had a range. And you can buy a year's membership at the range. If you bought a year's membership, you would get your choice of either a Lorcin 380 or $100 store credit.

 

So I go to this other store that I've shopped at a lot. He sells a lot of inexpensive stuff - ring of fire crap. I asked him if the Lorcin is a good gun, because I know he sells a lot of them. He starts telling me what a wonderful gun it is and he's trying to sell me one. I explained to him that I'm just trying to find out if it is worth the $100 that I would be given instead of it.

 

He said that in that case, take the $100 store credit, because Lorcin is a piece of crap. He said he only stocks them because people want to buy them. But they are garbage.

 

I took his advice and took the store credit.

 

I wouldn't have bought a membership (or anything else) from a lying, greedy, money hungry pos like him. He obviously cares nothing about his customer's safety, or anyone elses, by trying to sell a piece of junk to a person that doesn't know the difference between a good self defense gun and a bad one. This is the kind of person/business that I will absolutely never do any kind of business with, no matter what kind of deals he had. It's a matter of principle and integrity...he has neither.

[sassnetguy50]

16 hours ago, Cypress Sun said:

 

I wholeheartedly agree with that list except AMT. At one time or another I've owned four AMT firearms. .45 Hardballer Longslide, .45 Backup and 2 - Automag III in .30 carbine. All were well made, solid guns that I never had any problems with and none of them were cheap. The .45 Backup had a 400lb trigger pull and was anything but pleasurable to shoot, but I never had any problems.

X2.  The AMT should not be on that list.  A clickable explanation does not justify including it.  AMT's work with stainless is part of why we have the Ruger mk ii stainless.  Some of the early guns had reliability issues that were fixed as they moved up the learning curve.

[sassnetguy50]

On a related topic, melting point laws are being attacked as "economic discrimination" as it makes it harder for poorer people to defend themself.  

[Slapshot]

11 hours ago, Maddog McCoy SASS #5672 said:

Over time, they disappeared and the companies changed names and still made the same junk guns until the lawsuits drove most of the out of business. The only one I think is still around is Davis/Cobra derringers but they don't make the small semi-automatic pistols any more.

I read the other day were Cobra filed bankruptcy and bought by Bearman Industries?

[Buckshot Bob]

If we used melting point laws all the polymer guns are in trouble 

 

[Crooked River Pete, SASS 43485]

The Raven factory burned down, owner sold out to his ex and kids. Rebuilt and name changed to Phoenix Arms, still in business. The only reason I can see for not outlawing plastic guns is the serial number is stamped on a steel plate and won't melt also, so the gun can still be identified.

[Maddog McCoy SASS #5672]

if I remember correctly, Lorcin and quit a few of those firearms carried a lifetime warranty.  I remember calling Lorcin about a broken firearm and they told me to send it back for replacement or they would send my the parts free of charge. About a week later, a bag of parts showed up and I reassembled the pistol with the new parts and it worked. I guess the warranty was good until the company folded.

 

The only thing close to them now is Highpoint Firearms but I think they are a much better built firearm.

 

The worst one I ever shot was a double barrel derringer from Cobray in 45/410. It was a side by side derringer and a small grip and if you could hold on to it, it bruised the crap out of your hand. They also made a single shot and a long barreled version.

[Texas Joker]

That's a table gun. You brace it on the underside of a table afore you pull the trigger. Kinda a gentleman gambler accoutrement 

[Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001]

ON the subject of AMT , some were good , and some were very bad , worst for me was the AMT auto mag III in 22 mag , 

 

 get it running , would work for 50 rds or so then act out again 

 

 the metal they used was not uniform , that is what led to issues IMO 

 

  CB 

[Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474]

A .32 rimfire used by a Great-Great Uncle, a Conductor, to "subdue" a maniac, with an axe, on his train.

Story was he had to empty it then bash the fellow.

My Uncles told me he got something bigger shortly after the incident.

It still works, (but with ammunition selling for $150.00 to $200.00 a box), not too often!

[McCandless]

"Saturday Night Special" is pretty much an updated form of what had previously been termed "Suicide Specials" for some of the extremely cheap guns of the late 1800's early 1900's

 

https://unblinkingeye.com/Guns/SSs/sss.html 

 

 

[Hashknife Cowboy]

We use to take these off of the criminal type on a regular basis once upon a time.  This is my definition of a Saturday Night Special.....

 

[Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474]

Just a .22LR

[Rye Miles #13621]

.22 magnum 

[Filthy Harry, SASS #24924]

One of the most popular guns out there now is the Heritage 22s. especially the Barkeep. Raves on all the Faccebook Single Action sites. They can't be sold in all States because of the cheap metal they're made from.

[Utah Bob #35998]

I was watching an old episode of Cops today anf d they took a great one off a guy. They put in an evidence bag so I couldn’t I’d it but it was absolutely hideous. If it cost over $1.50 new it was overpriced.

6 hours ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

.22 magnum 

Nope. Not cheap enough, and actually works.

[Go West]

You forgot to include the Walther PPK. The original definition was length plus height is less than 10 inches. Thus the PPK was banned from import and the PPK/S was developed. Not all SNS were crap.

[Alpo]

And then there were the sights. It needed big bulky target sights to qualify as being "for sporting purposes".

 

So this lovely little self-defense pistol

 

Got changed into this atrocity, so it could be imported.

 

 

[Horace Patootie, SASS #35798]

My FIL gave me this Arminius 38 that his uncle had. They had fired it but I haven't. Non ferrous frame but quite heavy.

 

[watab kid]

i picked up what i considered to be a satyrday night special last fall , called a victor  in 22lr , 7 shot revolver , nickle plated and walnut grip scales ,  sn 14218 , looks like its an H&R product , i had suspected them or IJ as the mfgr , 

https://www.gunvaluesboard.com/victor-2-barrel-7-shot-side-load-cylinder-pocket-revolver....-18357950.html

https://www.gunsamerica.com/940102847/H-R-VICTOR-22LR-7SHOT.htm

 

i got it to stuff in a small holster attached to my gear but its 1913-1916 production dates have me wishing id found one of their earlier versions 1871-1885+- , 

but i do have a S&W no1 of those earlier dates i can use instead i guess ,