Guns are one of the most popular weapons which are used around the world for many purposes such as in the Armed Forces, for self-protection, hunting, and other activities. While opting for a gun, enthusiasts look for many features and specifications that could fulfill their needs. However, there are some guns in the market that have an excellent reputation but there are also those guns present that have a bad reputation and are considered the worst. So, in this article, we will discuss the 43 worst guns present in the market.
Nambu
The first firearm that tops the list of the worst guns is the Nambu pistol, produced by the Japanese company Koishikawa Arsenal. It is a series of semi-automatic hand guys that has three variants Type A, B, and Type 14. During the time of the Pacific War and the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Nambu pistols were used in a great amount. The firearm’s production first started in 1906 and ended in 1945 as after the end of the war, Nambu pistols were replaced by the US M1911A1.6. However, it’s important to note that not all variants of the Nambu are considered bad. The Type 14, for example, was widely criticized for its design flaws, but other models, such as the Type A, were more effective. Nambu pistols were notoriously underpowered compared to other pistols of the time.
Beretta Model 1923
The Beretta Model 1923 was a semi-automatic pistol which was used by the Armed Forces of Italy until 1945. It was designed by Giovanni Beretta and was made to use the 9mm Glisenti round and consolidate the improvements of Beretta’s 1915/19 model. The features and specifications of this service pistol include an overall weight of 1.8 lbs, an overall length of 7 inches, a 9mm Glisenti cartridge, blowback/single action, and a muzzle velocity of 305 m/s. In addition to this, it offered an effective firing range of 50 meters. However, after the end of World War I the Italian Army purchased these guns in smaller quantities.
Type 68 Pistol
The Type 68 firearm is a semi-automatic pistol which is a North Korean version of the TT-33 pistol produced by the Soviet Union. The Type 68 had several features and specifications including an overall weight of 30.1 oz, an overall length of 7.7 inches, a barrel length of 4.6 inches, and a muzzle velocity of 420 m/s. In addition to this, it is short recoil actuated and a single-action gun that offers an 8-round or 9-round detachable box magazine. Though the TT-30 pistol had a good reputation in the market, the North Korean version of it wasn’t considered good enough.
Colt 2000 Model
The Colt 2000 Model is a 9mm handgun that was designed by two designers, Reed Knight and Eugene Stoner. It is a polymer or aluminum-alloy framed, rotating barrel, locked breech, and a semi-automatic gun that offers a 15-round detachable box magazine capacity. When the Colt’s were manufacturing this gun, they thought that it would recapture their position in the police market as well as other law enforcement agencies. Instead, it became one of the worst guns and was plagued with accuracy and reliability issues. Also, it is considered an embarrassing failure of the company.
CIA’s Deer Gun
The Deer Gun produced by the CIA was a single-shot firearm that was a direct successor of the Liberator pistol. It was mainly used in South Vietnam and the United States of America. In South Vietnam, it was distributed as a weapon to be used against the North Vietnamese soldiers. The features and specifications of the gun include an overall weight of 12 oz, an overall length of 5.0 inches, a barrel length of 48 mm, a 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge, and plastic clip sights. The Deer Gun was intended to be a covert weapon for resistance fighters, but its low build quality and single-shot capacity made it impractical in real-world combat situations. In addition to this, it offered a muzzle velocity of 1050 ft/s. After the Vietnam War, the handgun lost its reputation and became one of the worst guns present on the market.
The Kolibri
The Kolibri was one of the smallest pistols present in the world. It originated in Austria-Hungary and was a centerfire gun designed by Franz Pfannl. Due to its inaccuracy and weakness, the 2mm Kolibri handgun was labeled as the women’s self-defense pistol. It was labeled as the one because it was small enough to fit inside a handbag. Also, it was stated that it cannot inflict any harm on the chest or limbs of the person but it can inflict harm when fired on the person’s face. In 1914, the production of this gun was stopped. Its ineffectiveness as a weapon makes it more of a novelty item rather than a practical firearm, but it wasn’t necessarily intended to be used in serious self-defense situations.
Beretta Model 38
The next gun that comes in the list of not-so-popular handguns is the Beretta Model 38. It was a submachine gun that was highly used during World War II by the Royal Italian Army. It was designed in 1935 and came into the Italian service in 1938. Before becoming the standard service firearm of the Italian Army, it was used by the police personnel of Italy, stationed in the African regions of Italy. The features of the firearm include a 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge, an effective firing range of 200m along with 10,20,30, and 40-round detachable box magazines. Though the gun was popular once, with time, it became the least popular.
Kel-Tec P-3AT
The Kel-Tec P-3AT is a semi-automatic pistol that originated in the United States and has a locked breech and double-action. It is designed by George Kellgren and has a polymer frame with an aluminum insert. In addition to this, the barrel and slide are made up of steel and have 6+1, 7+1, and 9+1 round detachable box magazines. It is chambered in .380 ACP cartridge and is the lightest production which weighs around 240 grams only. The overall length of the gun is 5.2 inches, the barrel length is 2.75 inches, and has a width of 0.77 inches. It has faced some criticism for its recoil and lack of user-friendliness.
North American Arms .22 Long Rifle Mini-Revolver
The North American Arms is a gun manufacturing company based in the United States. The company manufactures a wide range of mini-revolvers, pocket pistols, and small guns. However, the worst firearm of the company is the .22 Long Rifle mini-revolver. The features and specifications of the revolver include an overall length of 4.5 inches, a barrel length of 1.63 inches, an overall weight of 4.8 ounces, and a height of 2.38 inches. During the time of its production, it was considered good for plinking, small hunting games, and training new shooters. But after new guns came onto the market, it became one of the worst guns.
H&R 1871 Handi-Rifle
Another firearm that tops the list of worst guns present in the market is the Handi-Rifle of H&R 1871. Harrington & Richardson or H&R is a gun manufacturing company in America that was founded in 1871. The company produced many products including single-shot and semi-automatic shotguns, single-shot rifles, revolvers, muzzle-loading rifles, and single-shot target pistols. Out of the guns produced by the company, the H&R 1871 Handi-Rifle is considered one of the worst though it was available in a variety of calibers such as 17 HMR, .204 Ruger, .22 LR, .22 WMR, .308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield and many more. Also, it features a recoil pad, synthetic forend, and stock, ramp front sight, and adjustable rear sight.
Mosin-Nagant
The Mosin-Nagant is a bolt-action and internal-magazine-fed military rifle that was named the 3-line rifle M1891. The firearm originated in the Russian Empire and was used in several wars including World War I, the Russo-Japanese War, the Finnish Civil War, the Russian Civil War, the Polish-Soviet War, and many more. Originally, the firearm was chambered in the 7.62×54mmR cartridge but the other variants have different cartridges. Though it was one of the most popular bolt-action rifles, but as of now it falls into the worst category because of its outdated features and specifications.
M1903 Springfield
The M1903 Springfield is a bolt-action and 5-round magazine-fed rifle which was first used in the Philippine–American War. Also, during the first half of the 20th century, it was one of the most used firearms. From 1903 to 1936, it was the standard US service rifle and after this, it was used by the United States Army as their sniper rifle which they used in the Korean and Vietnam War. The features and specifications of the rifle include an overall weight of 8.7 lbs, an overall length of 43.2 inches, a barrel length of 24 inches, a muzzle velocity of 2800 ft/s, and a maximum firing range of 5500 yards.
Remington Model 770
The next worst gun in the market is the Remington Model 770. It is a bolt-action and magazine-fed rifle that was made available on the market as a cheap version of the Mode 700. The features and specifications of the rifle include an overall weight of 8.5 lbs, an overall length of 42.5 and 44.5 inches, and barrel lengths of 22 and 24 inches. In addition to this, it is available in different calibers including the .243 Winchester .270 Winchester 7mm-08 Remington, 7 mm Remington Magnum 30-06 Springfield .308 Winchester, and many more. Though the company is known for its accuracy and reliability, the Model 770 is considered the worst because uses a poorly designed magazine.
Colt 1855 Revolving Rifle
The Colt 1855 revolving rifle is one of the worst guns ever made. The design of the firearm was similar to the revolver-type pistols of the company and had a rotating cylinder that only held 5 to 6 rounds. Though it was used in several wars including the American Civil War, the New Zealand Wars, the Red River Rebellion, and the American Indian wars, but due to many issues, it became the least popular. The burning powder and hot gases escaping from the cylinder gap made it one of the worst guns present on the market.
Gewehr 41
The Gewehr 41 were the battle rifles that were produced by the Nazi Germany during the period of World War II. It was designed in 1941 and stayed in the service until 1945. The features and specifications of the firearm include an overall weight of 11 lbs, an overall length of 45 inches, and a barrel length of 21.5 inches. In addition to this, Gewehr 41 is chambered for the 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge but its poor gas system made it less popular amongst the gun enthusiasts.
Chauchat Light Machine Gun
The Chauchat was a standard light machine gun that was named after Colonel Louis Chauchat, who was also the main designer of this firearm. From 1914 to 1918, it was the main weapon of the French Army and during World War I it was used in huge numbers. In addition to this, the Chauchat was used in the Russian Civil War, Spanish Civil War, World War II, and Polish-Soviet War. However, when the gun became popular, the companies manufacturing it fastened the production and as a result, the quality of the gun was compromised and reliabilty issues. The magazines of the firearm were of poor quality and it caused 75% of the stoppages.
POF Tombstone
The POF Tombstone is a lever-action centerfire gun which is not inexpensive. The features and specifications of this firearm include a 9mm Luger caliber, a magazine capacity of 10, 20, and 30 rounds, available in Magpul SGA stock, a 16.5-inch fluted barrel, and the XS ghost ring sights with top rail. In addition to this, the muzzle of the gun is threaded and includes a dual-chamber brake in it. Though the firearm has a variety of features and is visually appealing, people found that it lacked on the part of reliability. The performance and dependability were not good which made it the worst gun.
Glock 25
The Glock 25 is another gun that has made its place in the list of worst guns on the market. The features and specifications of the safe-action gun include 380 Auto caliber, 20.28 oz overall weight without the magazine, 22.75 weight with an empty magazine, and 27.69 oz weight with a loaded magazine. Also, the gun offered a magazine capacity of 15 rounds. Though the gun had numerous features, but it did not live up to the expectations of gun enthusiasts and had reliability and performance issues. Its lower stopping power in .380 ACP and restricted availability due to lack of popularity in U.S. markets
The Derringer
The Derringer is a compact-sized small handgun that cannot be confused with a machine pistol, revolver, or semi-automatic pistol. Though the Derringer has many variants, the most popular is the Philadelphia Derringer which was designed by Henry Derringer in 1786. It was one of the most popular concealed-carry handguns, but it had several disadvantages which made it one of the worst. The issues faced by gun lovers were, that it holds only 2 rounds and the bullets exit the barrel at a slower speed. Also, the gun had issues with its accuracy.
Jennings J-22
The Jennings J-22 was a semi-automatic and striker-fired gun that was produced between 1980 and 1990. It was an inexpensive firearm that had an aluminum alloy frame and slide. The features and specifications of the gun include a blowback action, chambered in .22 LR caliber and .25 ACP caliber, and a barrel length of 2.5 inches. In addition to this, the Jennings J-22 offers a 6-round single-stack magazine. Though it was inexpensive, many people thought that the sights of the gun weren’t great and it also had rough edges. The firearm also had reliability issues which made it worse.
Bersa Thunder
The Bersa Thunder was a semi-automatic pistol that was similar to the design of a Walther PPK but was half of its actual price. The features and specifications of the gun include a .380 ACP cartridge, blowback action, along with a 1050 ft/s muzzle velocity. The firearm is popular around the world for its distinct features, but it has several drawbacks such as the trigger pull being heavy, difficulty in holding the grip, difficulty in aiming properly, and failures to eject and feed. Despite its issues, the Bersa Thunder remains relatively popular due to its affordability.
Desert Eagle Pistol
The Desert Eagle is a semi-automatic pistol that was designed by Magnum Research and Israel Military Industries. The single-action and gas-operated pistol had a .50 Action Express cartridge, which is the biggest centerfire cartridge. It is important to note that these issues primarily arise when shooting the more powerful calibers (.50 AE) or when maintenance is neglected. The other cartridges in which the gun is available are .44 Magnum, .440 Cor-Bon, .429 DE, .41 Magnum, .357 Magnum, and .357/44 Bain & Davis. Also, the gun has iron sights and optional optics. Apart from these appealing features, the gun is considered the worst because it is very large and heavy which makes it difficult to carry. Also, people have faced issues with its gas release tap, and recoil.
Heizer Defense Pocket AR/AK
Another gun that is considered one of the worst on the market is the Heizer Defense Pocket AR/AK. It is a pocket pistol that is available in a wide variety of calibers such as the .45 Colt, .223 Remington, 5.56×45mm NATO, and many more. However, the compact pistol is ideal for concealed carry, but it also has several disadvantages such as the gun has rifle cartridges in its barrel which makes its performance very bad. In addition to this, the muzzle flash, recoil, and noise made it worse. It is extremely impractical it is to chamber rifle rounds in such a small handgun, which is the primary reason for its criticism.
Rock Island M 200
The Rock Island M 200 is a revolver that had fixed ramp front sight and fixed wide square notch rear sight. It is an affordable revolver that has an overall weight of 1.76 lbs and a height of 5.46 inches. Though the revolver is visually very appealing, it had several disadvantages which made it least popular amongst gun enthusiasts. The revolver had safety and reliability issues and the cylinder was not lined up correctly with the bore. Also, it has a cheap-looking grip, and issues such as the quality of materials.
Walther P22
The Walther P22 is a semi-automatic pistol that originated in Germany and was a very popular firearm in shooting sports. The features and specifications of the gun include .22 Long Rifle cartridge, 5.59mm caliber, blowback action, 290 m/s muzzle velocity, 10-round detachable box magazine capacity, 30 to 50 meters of effective firing range, and adjustable open sights. The gun is very popular but it has several disadvantages which have made it worse. It was reported that there are issues with its reliability and build quality along with slide cracking and failure to feed.
Charter Arms Undercover
The Charter Arms Undercover is one of the most popular revolvers manufactured by the American company. It is a concealed carry, compact, and 5-shot firearm which was known as the ‘Bread and Butter gun’ of the company. The features and specifications of the gun include a .38 +P special caliber, a round capacity of five, an overall weight of 16 oz, and a barrel length of 2 inches. Though the firearm had many features, its mechanical issues and poor build quality made it least popular.
Remington RP9
The Remington RP9 is a striker-fired pistol that has a 4.5-inch barrel chambered in a 9mm+P cartridge. Also, the recoil of the firearm is stated to be soft and controllable. However, many gun enthusiasts that the Remington RP9 is a problematic pistol whose design is fully flawed. It is reported that it has a short trigger reach, the grip of the gun is slender, and heavy nose which is difficult to balance. Lastly, it is a large pistol which is not ideal for concealed carry and has issues with its trigger slap. The RP9’s issues led to poor sales and Remington eventually filed for bankruptcy.
Kahr CW9
Another semi-automatic pistol that is considered worst amongst gun lovers is the Kahr CW9. The firearm is chambered in a 9mm cartridge, offers a round capacity of 7+1, has an overall length of 5.9 inches, and a barrel length of 5.9 inches. Also, the Kahr CW9 has a perfect grip and long barrel which makes it easy to use. However, the heavy trigger pull and lack of accuracy are its major drawbacks.
Street Sweeper
The Armsel Striker or the Street Sweeper is a shotgun that can hold up to 12 rounds. The gun was designed by Hilton R. Walker and had a loaded weight of 4.4 kg. It was mostly used by the police personnel of Israel, the People’s Army of Vietnam, and the South African National Defence Force. The 12-gauge shotgun also had a revolving cylinder which was solely designed for the control of wars and riots. Though the gun had a lot of unique features, it wasn’t very good at firing. It was revealed that it took a long reloading time and even a carbon-fouled Remington 1100 could shoot faster.
Diamond Back DB 380
The Diamond Back DB 380 is a compact and double-action pistol that is chambered in .380 ACP caliber. The features and specifications of the handgun include a 2.80 barrel length, 6+1 round capacity, an overall weight of 8.8 oz, and firing pin block grips. Though the polymer-framed handgun has several distinct features, it had some drawbacks which made it less popular. The striker of the gun had resetting issues and the trigger is not considered reliable.
Remington R51
The Remington R51 is a semi-automatic pistol that was designed by John Pedersen. The gun is an upgraded version of the Remington Model 51 and has a 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. The features and specifications of the pistol include a seven-round box magazine, drift-adjustable 3-dot iron sights, and an overall weight of 22 oz. Though the pistol has a Pedersen hesitation-locked action, but the design has many issues. The gun has reliability issues because sometimes, it fails to feed, load, and eject.
Ruger LC9
The next firearm in the worst category is the Ruger LC9. It is a semi-automatic, recoil-operated, hammer-fired, and locked-breech pistol that has 9×19mm and .380 ACP cartridges. The features and specifications of the gun include a 7 or 9-round magazine capacity, iron sights, loaded chamber indicator, and magazine disconnect safety. Though the popular firearm had safety features, but it became least popular because of its heavy trigger pull and reliability issues.
Mossberg 500 Cruiser
The Mossberg 500 Cruiser is a pump-action tactical shotgun which had a pistol grip and a short barrel. The features and specifications of the gun include a barrel length of 18.5-20 inches and comes in 6-shot and 8-shot configurations. The firearm was chambered in the 12 gauge, 20 gauge, and .410 bore cartridges. Also, it had an internal tube magazine along with a ghost ring iron sight. It is important to note that The Mossberg 500 series is widely considered reliable, but the Cruiser model with the pistol grip does have significant recoil. Though the firearm had numerous features, the pistol grip version was criticized for its recoil control and bad handling. It was revealed that it got jammed easily and had light primer strikes.
Kel-Tec PF-9
The Kel-Tec PF-9 is the next gun that has made its place in the list of worst guns present in the market. It is the smallest and lightest 9mm pistol which has a barrel length of 3.1 inches and a weight of 12.07 oz. Further, it is a recoil-operated, locked breech, double-action, and semi-automatic pistol which has a 9×19mm caliber. Though it was one of the most widely used guns of Kel-Tec, it had several issues that made it the least popular. The size of the gun was very small, resetting the trigger was difficult, not enough tension in the spring, and bad recoil were some of the issues.
USFA Single Action Revolver
The United States Fire Arms Manufacturing Company was founded by Douglas Donnelly in the year 2003. The company was known around the world for making single-action revolvers which were similar to the single-action army revolvers of Colt. Initially, the company had a good reputation, but when the company stopped the production of single-action revolvers in 2006, its reputation started to decline. The firearm was reported to have issues with its design, reliability issues, and was limited to small markets. Also, it was stated that the parts of the gun were difficult to find.
Sig Sauer P320
The Sig Sauer P320 is another semi-automatic gun which has several disadvantages. The short-recoil-operated and locked-breech pistol has a muzzle velocity of 365 m/s, an effective firing range of 25 m, and a maximum firing range of 50 m. The firearm can be chambered in a variety of calibers such as 9×19mm Parabellum, .357 SIG, .40 S&W, 10 mm Auto, and .45 ACP. The P320 was widely popular, but it had some safety issues which made it one of the worst guns. It was reported that the gun did not have a manual safety.
Smith & Wesson CSX
The Smith & Wesson CSX is a single-action, semi-automatic, and hammer-fired gun. It was popular around the world because it offers a magazine capacity of 10 and 12 rounds. In addition to this, the weight of the gun is 19.5 oz, the length of the gun is 6.1 inches, and has a 9mm caliber. Though the firearm was known for its unique features, it had two major drawbacks which made it the worst gun. Many gun enthusiasts noted that the gun’s trigger and slide had issues that affected its overall performance. Also, the movement of the slide used to injure the person’s hand.
Springfield XD
The Springfield XD is a semi-automatic, polymer-framed, and striker-fired pistol that made a name for itself because of its distinct qualities. The firearm is available in a wide variety of calibers including the 9×19mm Parabellum, .357 SIG, .40 S&W, .45 GAP, and .45 ACP. Also, it has a detachable box magazine along with fixed and illuminated night sights. Many times, it is compared to the Glock, but it has been stated that it is not as reliable as the Glock. The Springfield XD has a stiff magazine release and compromises on the part of safety.
Beretta Nano
The Beretta Nano is a striker-fired and semi-automatic pistol that is very small in its size. The compact-sized gun is ideal for concealed carry and is chambered in 9×19mm Parabellum caliber. Also, the handgun has a fiberglass-infused techno-polymer frame along with a Pronox-material slide. Though the firearm has unique features, it is criticized around the world for its reliability issues. The handgun has a heavy trigger pull which makes shooting very difficult. Also, it has jamming issues and fails to feed easily.
Apache Revolver
It is a multi-purpose pinfire revolver that was chambered in 7 mm Lefaucheux caliber. The handgun combines a knife, small-caliber revolver, and brass knuckles into a foldable and compact design. The features of the gun include a six-round detaching cylinder and a weight of 0.8 lbs. Though the gun had a unique design, its performance was not up to the mark. It was stated that the knife was weak and the unguarded trigger made it unsafe.
Cochran Turret Revolver
The Cochran Turret Revolver is a hand-held gun that has a disc-shaped cylinder and 7-shot capacity. The multi-shot gun was considered the worst gun because its design was not safe. The chambers of the turret gun used to open in all directions which leads to row ignition where all chambers used to fire in sequence. This feature was deadly because every time a person held the gun, one chamber faced the shooter.
FP-45 Liberator
The next firearm which is considered the worst is the FP-45 Liberator. It is a single-shot handgun that was primarily used in World War II. The gun had a muzzle velocity of 820 ft/s and offered an effective firing range of 8 yards. It was a cheap pistol that was only produced in thousands because it had accuracy and reloading issues. Also, many military personnel thought that the handgun was very clumsy in operation.
Pepper-Box Revolver
The Pepper-Box Revolver is a multi-barrel firearm that is often found similar to a pepper grinder. Also, the barrels of the gun have a revolving system and each barrel holds a single shot. It was one of the most popular weapons in North America during the period of the American Civil War. The gun was invented in the 1830s mainly for civilian use but was privately used by military personnel. Though it was a popular gun, the length and number of barrels made it heavy which ultimately affected its accuracy.
