Three Underrated Handguns
Kevin Felts 01.11.18
The other day I was watching a video on YouTube where a guy was talking about firearms that he regretted buying. In the video, he mentioned a certain handgun that was just terrible. He suggested buying something else, such as a Glock, Sig, FN and H&K.
What’s wrong with this picture?
Since the 1980s, there have been so many great quality handguns released, yet he narrowed the list down to a select few. It is not just the guy in the video. A great number of video bloggers and writers rarely mention certain brand names or models.
Ruger P Series
One of the most underrated handguns in the past 30 years is not a single handgun, but a whole series. That series is the Ruger P series.
Some of you may ask, “Kevin, what real experience do you have with the P series?” I am glad you asked. I owned a Ruger P91 DC and a Ruger P90. Between the two, I preferred the P90. They were great handguns and I never had a single issue with either one.
A buddy of mine owned a Ruger P85 Mark II. We would go to a sand pit and shoot over 1,000 rounds a day between his Ruger P85 Mark II and my Beretta 92F. That P85 never had a problem. I would say it was just as reliable as my 92F, and at a fraction of the price.
Yet, even at the great price and wonderful reliability, the Ruger P series rarely gets mentioned,
James over at The Firearm Blog did an excellent video over the Ruger P series.
Beretta 92F
Another wonderful handgun that has served the United States military for 30 years, yet rarely gets mentioned, is the Beretta 92F. I bought my first Beretta 92F in January of 1989. It was stolen in July 2015, so I bought another one.
During the M9 trials Sig and Beretta were tied. So why does SIG get mentioned, but Beretta does not? It seems rather hypocritical to mention the Sig, but not the Beretta.
From 1989 – 2015, I can count the number of malfunctions on one hand, and those were due to working on reloads. My buddies and I would reload 9mm, 45acp, 357 magnum, or 41 magnum. Then take the reloads out to the sand pit and try them out. The only time I ever had a problem with the Beretta 92f was with weak reloads.
EAA
You have never heard of European American Armory (EAA)? That’s sad, because at one time the EAA Witness was making waves in the shooting community. The witness is also known as the Tanfoglio T95. Production started in the late 1990s, and when it hit the US market it made a splash.
Besides the witness, EAA imprts firearms from Italy, Germany, and Turkey.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, just about everyone in the shooting sports community knew who EAA was. Today, not so much.
Final Thoughts
Those are only three out of the hundreds of firearms that are underrated. Over the decades, untold tens of thousands of handguns, rifles and shotguns have been made that receive little to no attention from the shooting community.
Awhile back I went to a local used gun store, and saw a Ruger P90 for sale. I went home, thought about it, went back a couple of days later, and someone already bought it.
Well guys and gals, what firearms do you remember that were popular at one time, but rarely get mentioned anymore?
