Cheap Pistol's?

[montanadan]

about a year ago I acquired a Tradition's Pioneer pistol,it was so bad it took both hands to fire the this dang thing(trigger had to be around 14lbs) .Needless to say,my friends were rolling on the floor laughing ther rear ends off!"So' you are going to send it back'right",nope.Probably should have,but started "foolin" around with the trigger,got a lttle better.Pulled the lock a part,repaired what should have been correct to start with.Well the other day,shot three 50yd.targets(NMLRA) off hand,all in the upper 80's.Best being an 88.That's pretty good for a CHEAP PISTOL,no set trigger,and all the original components.I won 75cents off friend shooting his custom pistol,we take quarter's very seriously..Would I recomend this pistol to someone ,NO!But if you like to tinker,not a bad way to go..I also have Traditions Crockett Pistol I would not trade for another Le Page pistol(have two),the Le page's just don't shoot that much better(than the Crockett@25 yds),especially if the wind is blowing.Well that's my story..Respectfully Montanadan

 

[LRB]

I have had similar experiences. Most of the cheapies can be made to work well, but it would seem that most folks just don't have the skill, or they just won't take the time to reason out the problems and correct them.

 

[oldmaster]

Well I guess I was lucky, because my Pioneer worked just fine right out of the box. Must have been a mix up at the factory. :rotf:

 

[Nightwind]

I bought the wife a Traditions 32 cal. Crockett pistol to go with her Crockett rifle. When she showed it to the guys at camp(friendship), they all laughed and embarrassed her. So I stayed up better than half that night reworking that thing. Next day......missed the record by 2 points and took the gold at 50 yds! Them guys were nowhere to be found that afternoon! :grin:

 

[Don]

I don't own anything that cost more than $200 and I've had my share of time spent filing and tinkering with cheap products. But boy is it satisfying when you get a clunker to shoot well and reliably. Took my CVA Bobcat(wood stock) to a rendezvous once and out shot guys with custome rifles. They were scratchin their heads askin"is that a CVA?" It is generally true that you get what you pay for but when ist comes to black powder guns cheap does'nt always mean inaccurate.

Don

 

[Blivetmaker]

Waaaaaay back when, my wife got me an Armi San Marco flint pistol kit for christmas. We had no money then and it was a big-deal expenditure. I built it and spent ages until it had anything like a sane trigger pull. No sights but one h@ll of a pointer! Absolutely reliable. I can keep 'em in the black all day with that thing; its just a matter of getting used to it. Honestly if I was called out for a duel I'd take it before I'd use my LePage.
The Pedersoli's good for target work and much more accurate but for a fast no-brainer-point-and-the-other-guy-drops chest shot I'd bet my life on that "cheap" pistol.

 

[marwat06]

Guess I lucked out, got a Lyman Plains Pistol for under $200.00. Shoots great right out of the box.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

Well that's the thing with cheapies, sometimes you get a good one but often they need some work. If you don't mind fooling with it you just put in the time and attention that the factory couldn't do for that price. Now if you have to pay a gunsmith to do the needed work it really takes the economy out of the deal pretty fast. :grin:

 

[montanadan]

Nightwind-I have never shot my Crockett at 50yds.But I have won a bunch of matches at 25yds,generally will shoot 94 two X.or better.Yes the Le Page will do better.But the Crockett is just fun to shoot, and it is cheap as well.I have more hours in these pistol's than care to say, but I work real cheap for myself...Respectfully Montanadan

 

[Charley Hart]

Well personally you can have trouble with any weapon whether expensive or not. Usually all firearms take some work to get them to shoot accurately.

Part of the fun. I have said many times I never judge a gun by the looks or price.