Behold the glory that is the Jennings J-22. A single stack, striker fired, single action .22LR pistol made of pot metal, some springs, and radio-age plastics. This is the epitome of what the racist Democrats call a 'Saturday Night Special.'
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| This... well, there's not much you can do with it. |
I bought this back in the early '90s at an Austin gun shop for probably $90. Maybe $75. It was junk then, and is junk now. The safety is small and impossible to use, the trigger is tough and gritty, sights are miniscule, and the finish is ugly and obviously fragile from the scratches and dings. But what it lacks in refinement, it makes up with lack of reliability. This was fired for the last time probably back in '95 or '96. The last round ever through it's barrel fired in what is called a 'Slam-fire.' The gun fired as the first round was chambered from the magazine. When it did that, it was thrown in a range bag and forgotten.
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| That's more like it... jammed. |
So, why do I still have this thing? Because it is junk and dangerous. I cannot risk someone buying it and hurting themselves as it slam-fires again... or God forbid someone wants to trust thier lives to it. So, it sits in my safe. The only thing I can hope for is that there will be some dumb-ass, misnamed "Gun Buy-Back" program that I can get $100 for it (and since we have an idiot Californian as a police chief now- that could actually happen.
Hope you enjoy the pics!
Hehe. Man, that thing is... just as awful as I remember. Taking that to a buy-back is 100% sticking it to them, especially if they are funding another, better gun. The hoplophobes will miss the irony, but who cares?
ReplyDeleteLast year or the year before, can't remember, had two come in, used new in boxes. Match set of, like you said, crap. Fake pearl grips..fake nickle. Sold both for fifty bucks just to get rid of them. I suppose if one were hard up it'd make for a bad backup piece. Like they say, when between a rock and a hard spot...
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean. I have an old High Standard (Hi-Standard?).22 that was severely neglected by my grandfather and is now far beyond repair. If I ever get wind of a buy back, it's going to fund a newer, better gun.
ReplyDeleteTake it to the buy back program, then lurk the parking lot for something that would really be a shame to destroy and buy it for $120.
ReplyDeleteI finally got the hell out of Austin and have never regretted it a single day.
ReplyDeleteP.S.Ol' Art scares the bejesus out of me btw.
My J-22 has wood grips...so its WAYYY artier!
ReplyDeleteI have one that is not a bad pistol at all. If kept clean and using CCI Mini-Mag ammo, mine functions fine. I do agree that the safety is usless.
ReplyDeleteStephen- Yeah, this would be one that was MARGINALLY better than a sharp stick.
ReplyDeleteShep- Agreed. I think this one would be an AR lower.
Odysseus- Or trade someone even in the parking lot... "Here, I'll take that Luger, you take this .22, and get your gift card."
SciFi- Yeah, he is frightening. Ran the gunshows out of town.
Weer'd- Put some pics up. I've never seen wood grips on a Jennings.
Anon- Mine worked fine with high vel ammo... till it didn't. I hope yours continues to work.
Many years ago in Florida, before instant background checks, you could bypass the mandatory 3 day waiting period if you were trading in another handgun.
ReplyDeleteJust about every gun afficionado kept one of these POS in their collection so that when really wanted some new handgun 'right now' they would merely leave the POS 'in trade' then return a day later to buy it back (and return three days later to retrieve it.) The going rate for these 'trade-ins' was in the $25-50 range.
http://www.weerdworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Pocket-Gunz.jpg
ReplyDeleteIt's the ugly one!
I got a few more mouse guns to add to the collection. I should take another photo soon!
oooh... Yours is FANCY.
ReplyDeleteit would make a nice drop gun though
ReplyDelete