Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association
Page 2 of 6 FirstFirst 123456 LastLast
Results 11 to 20 of 59
  1. #11
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania
    (Allegheny County)
    Age
    69
    Posts
    380
    Rep Power
    1849354

    Default Re: How "unsafe" is (Bryco) Jennings?

    The problem with a "cheap" striker-fired pistol is that there is nothing but a little manual safety lever holding the striker back...if you drop it, it likely would fire. I'm not a "Glocker" but I believe that the Glocks, M&Ps, XDs etc have other safety features built into them to prevent this.

    As to the "Blowing-up", what's happening is fracturing of the slide or frame which allows parts to head for the shooter's face... It happens so fast that it looks like an explosion.

    I had a Bryco .380 that was relaible and accurate....I started shooting it often. After 500 or so rounds I spotted a crack forming in the frame so I sent it back....Bryco replaced it but the gun I got back didn't shoot nearly as accurately as the original so I sold it off.

    If you want to continue shooting that Jennings I'd advise that you check the frame & slide for cracks OFTEN...never use any +P ammo in it....carry with an empty chamber....and begin saving your money to eventually replace it with something better.

    (...my 2 cents worth)
    There are three kinds of people in this world....them what's good at math and them what ain't.

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Berks County, Pennsylvania
    (Berks County)
    Posts
    24
    Rep Power
    0

    Default Re: How "unsafe" is (Bryco) Jennings?

    For around $300 you can get a nice used Smith and Wesson at Shyda's in Lebanon, Pa. For even less you can get a decent new Kel-Tec. I love my Glock 19, I got it used for $375, and that included the night sights. Best of all it was not a first generation, it was the current version of the 19.

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    whereUthink?, Pennsylvania
    (Bucks County)
    Age
    57
    Posts
    839
    Rep Power
    0

    Default Re: How "unsafe" is (Bryco) Jennings?

    Quote Originally Posted by Flint Lock View Post
    See, this is exactly what I have been reading. Problem is, this and the hundreds of other similar statements offer no evidence to support the claim that they are unsafe. Does anyone actually have any objective reason for believing they are unsafe?
    I have a feeling no matter what anyone responds in negative evaluation of the Jennings, you won't give any creedence. You bought one, had an issue with it, supposedly now it's fixed, and now want to single-handedly reverse the negative connotation attached to them because you own one. Facts are they are a cheaply constructed gun. They have a terrible reputation with countless depositions of FTE, stovepiping and jamming. I made my statement and I stand by it. The unsafeness of the gun is it's reputation and higher possibility it will jam when you need it. You may trust your life to it, I wouldn't.

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Chester Springs, Pennsylvania
    (Chester County)
    Posts
    2,249
    Rep Power
    21474856

    Default Re: How "unsafe" is (Bryco) Jennings?

    Quote Originally Posted by Flint Lock View Post
    Sounds like more urban legend to me. I have a Jennings Nine, not a Talon. And Bryco Arms did not go out of business as a result of guns blowing up in people's hands. They went bankrupt after losing a lawsuit in which a kid was paralyzed because his friend was trying to unload a handgun and he accidentally fired. The lawsuit was over the absence of childproof safeties.
    Kudos to you for asking for first hand experience and sifting through the BS. Reading that quote I got from the other forum more carefully, it looks like someone tried to use some creative wording to associate Talon and Jennings, and I'm ashamed to admit that it worked on me. Until your post, I had never heard anything good or bad about the Jennings 9 or that they were unsafe, just that most of the J-22's out there are a piece of crap. Being the owner of one, I can stand witness to that, but much of my problems were due to it being a rimfire and soft metal of the barrel throat.
    Last edited by str8shooter; December 23rd, 2008 at 04:41 PM.

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Lebanon, Pennsylvania
    (Lebanon County)
    Age
    67
    Posts
    3,140
    Rep Power
    21474857

    Default Re: How "unsafe" is (Bryco) Jennings?

    You're asking for experience, AKA firsthand knowledge, good or bad. I'll be glad to oblige.
    Bear with me while I clear the air, then I'll address your concerns directly.
    First of all, I have 2 Jennings J-22 models and my dad has one. He tells me that his is very reliable. I know he keeps his guns clean and in good condition. My two are very reliable as long as I keep them clean and properly maintained. If they get too dirty or dry they start to malfunction.
    I liked them so much that I bought a Jennings J-9. It was the worst gun I've ever owned. It was a Jam-O-Matic from the start. It was very uncomfortable to shoot, the recoil hurt my hand. I have no such problem with any other gun I have including .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum. I tried all sorts of ammo to overcome the fail to feed, fail to eject, and fail to fire problems. After several months I took it back to the dealer where I bought it to trade up to a better gun, he gave me a fraction of what I paid for it. (He and I both got ripped off on that deal). When he test fired it, the slide flew off of the gun, he wasn't injured, but it scared the shit out of him. What happened was this:
    The little button that you push on the back of the slide to take it off of the frame is made of cheap lightweight metal, maybe potmetal or zinc? I don't know for sure, but that piece broke and let the slide and spring fly. It's what I've heard called 'spontaneous, high velocity, omni directional, self disassembly of a firearm'.
    I'll keep my J-22s but I won't be looking to buy anything else by Bryco, Jennings, Raven, or any other name they may have used. I also wouldn't sell my J-22s to anyone, not because they mean a lot to me, but if a similar thing would happen to someone I sold a gun to I'd be forever regretful.
    I don't hesitate to shoot my J-22s, but I don't have confidence in any bigger caliber that was made by the same company under any name and I don't have confidence to carry one of them even as a BUG.

    FWIW, my preference for carrying is now CZ82 (9X18, just shy of 9mm Luger), and/or Kel-Tec P3AT. Both very affordable, reliable, comfortable, small enough, and easy to get ammo for.
    That's what works for me, your results may vary.

    I don't have a short temper, I just have a quick reaction to bullshit.

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania
    (Allegheny County)
    Age
    69
    Posts
    380
    Rep Power
    1849354

    Default Re: How "unsafe" is (Bryco) Jennings?

    Quote Originally Posted by mauser View Post
    You're asking for experience, AKA firsthand knowledge, good or bad. I'll be glad to oblige.
    Bear with me while I clear the air, then I'll address your concerns directly.
    First of all, I have 2 Jennings J-22 models and my dad has one. He tells me that his is very reliable. I know he keeps his guns clean and in good condition. My two are very reliable as long as I keep them clean and properly maintained. If they get too dirty or dry they start to malfunction.
    I liked them so much that I bought a Jennings J-9. It was the worst gun I've ever owned. It was a Jam-O-Matic from the start. It was very uncomfortable to shoot, the recoil hurt my hand. I have no such problem with any other gun I have including .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum. I tried all sorts of ammo to overcome the fail to feed, fail to eject, and fail to fire problems. After several months I took it back to the dealer where I bought it to trade up to a better gun, he gave me a fraction of what I paid for it. (He and I both got ripped off on that deal). When he test fired it, the slide flew off of the gun, he wasn't injured, but it scared the shit out of him. What happened was this:
    The little button that you push on the back of the slide to take it off of the frame is made of cheap lightweight metal, maybe potmetal or zinc? I don't know for sure, but that piece broke and let the slide and spring fly. It's what I've heard called 'spontaneous, high velocity, omni directional, self disassembly of a firearm'.
    I'll keep my J-22s but I won't be looking to buy anything else by Bryco, Jennings, Raven, or any other name they may have used. I also wouldn't sell my J-22s to anyone, not because they mean a lot to me, but if a similar thing would happen to someone I sold a gun to I'd be forever regretful.
    I don't hesitate to shoot my J-22s, but I don't have confidence in any bigger caliber that was made by the same company under any name and I don't have confidence to carry one of them even as a BUG.

    FWIW, my preference for carrying is now CZ82 (9X18, just shy of 9mm Luger), and/or Kel-Tec P3AT. Both very affordable, reliable, comfortable, small enough, and easy to get ammo for.
    That's what works for me, your results may vary.
    That's pretty much my experience also....my J-22, when clean & lightly oiled has been 100% reliable with any of the 5 magazines I have for it (and, in my experience at the range, most J-22 problems are magazine related...they're made of such a light gauge of sheet metal that the feed lips get misaligned quite easily). I thought I'd try a bigger caliber and was happy with the .380 at first...until the cracking issue.
    There are three kinds of people in this world....them what's good at math and them what ain't.

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Rawlinsville, Pennsylvania
    (Lancaster County)
    Age
    44
    Posts
    72
    Rep Power
    17

    Default Re: How "unsafe" is (Bryco) Jennings?

    Quote Originally Posted by QuakertownRich View Post
    I have a feeling no matter what anyone responds in negative evaluation of the Jennings, you won't give any creedence. You bought one, had an issue with it, supposedly now it's fixed, and now want to single-handedly reverse the negative connotation attached to them because you own one. Facts are they are a cheaply constructed gun. They have a terrible reputation with countless depositions of FTE, stovepiping and jamming. I made my statement and I stand by it. The unsafeness of the gun is it's reputation and higher possibility it will jam when you need it. You may trust your life to it, I wouldn't.
    I will give creedence to plausible, verifiable testimony. The whole purpose of this post is to avoid giving creedence to a bunch of blogger rumors. That's all I can find is people saying, "I wouldn't trust one with my life, they are junk." When I ask why they are junk the response is, "because they have a bad reputation." That doesn't prove anything.

    You're right, I'm trying to talk myself into being confident with this gun. I know that where there's smoke there is fire, so chances are good that Jennings has a bad rap for a reason, even if I can't find that reason. But, understand how silly and irrational it would be to abandon this gun that performs satisfactorily for me just because of unverifiable rumors in the internet.
    Last edited by Flint Lock; December 23rd, 2008 at 03:10 PM.

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    York, Pennsylvania
    (York County)
    Posts
    288
    Rep Power
    5836

    Smile Re: How "unsafe" is (Bryco) Jennings?

    I will share with you what I saw first hand at the shooting range:

    My son and I were target shooting about 1 month ago and there was only 1 other guy beside ourselves shooting at the pistol range. He had 2 handguns and was shooting at the longer distance targets. He did make his way over to the shorter distance targets where we were shooting and I noticed that one of the hanguns he was using was jamming on just about evrery shot. I asked him what kind of gun he was shooting and he said it was a "Jennings" that he bought cheap. He said that the gun "generally" ran fine but on occasions it would give him problems. When my son and I were finished shooting and were ready to leave I saw this guy pick up his Jennings from the bench to get ready to shoot and when it fired it startled the hell out of him and you could clearly see he was not expecting that to happen. I noticed that he put the gun back on the bench without firing another shot.

    What I did NOT see was if he pulled the trigger or if the gun fired on it's own and I am not going to speculate one way or the other. I never heard of "Jennings" handguns until that day and out of curiosity I looked up Jennings Firearms on the internet and most of what I read was negative comments on jamming, trigger problems and misfires.
    Last edited by Steeltown; December 23rd, 2008 at 03:22 PM.

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Chester County, Pennsylvania
    (Chester County)
    Posts
    5,117
    Rep Power
    30805

    Default Re: How "unsafe" is (Bryco) Jennings?

    I thought I replied to this thread already.... oh well.

    I've seen a few slides break on my range....I see more of them just constantly jam and misfire, though. So yeah, you could say they have blown up on people....no one got hurt when it has happened, to my knowledge.

    They were probably .380's...but I never cared enough to pay attention. I have yet to see someone shoot one on my range, and have those cheap pieces of shit run without issue.

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
    (Allegheny County)
    Posts
    5,440
    Rep Power
    16969192

    Default Re: How "unsafe" is (Bryco) Jennings?

    Good info here and a lot of passion with regards to owning one for the purpose of self-defense. What it really boils down to is that there is enough history (documented or not) behind these type of guns to cast a doubt. So, you have to ask yourself is it worth the risk? No one here can tell you what to do, you need to evaluate the reliability and safety of your specific handgun that you own, on your own. It's possible it will never give you a problem, but you'll always have in the back of your mind the possibility it will fail.
    Toujours prêt

Page 2 of 6 FirstFirst 123456 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 2
    Last Post: October 27th, 2008, 09:36 AM
  2. Replies: 1
    Last Post: October 20th, 2008, 11:44 AM
  3. "Remember the Children of Waco" & "Boo ATF" lawsuit
    By WhiteFeather in forum General
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: October 14th, 2008, 12:34 PM
  4. Glock "Grip Reductions" and "Reshaping"
    By dmcdonnell in forum General
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: April 24th, 2008, 05:18 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •