[Becks]

I think I need to find a support group or something for this sort of problem.

Those of you that know me, know that I cut my shooting teeth on a Mossberg 500 shotgun back in New York. You'll also know that I did some things in my younger years that I'm not proud of, either due to desperation or stupidity. This is one such case.

In the early days in the wake of 9/11 when everyone was scared, I tried to get gun from a less than reputable dealer, in a less than reputable location. It was one of those Bryco models, I think it was in .22, I don't really remember all that well; back then a gun was a gun and that's all I knew, and it was only 50 bucks. I'll let you draw your own conclusions on that.

Fast forward to the present, I'm more knowledgeable about stuff than I was back then, and I've got a lot better stuff at my disposal. But the other day at the pawn shop that old Bryco came back to the forefront of my mind in the form of it's descendant, the JA-22 by the new Jimenez Arms company.

Realistically I know that this gun is a piece of junk compared to anything else I currently own. As best it's a curio and a conversation piece rather than a serious option. But so help me the urge to buy it, just to actually have it, is quite strong, and I'm having trouble convincing myself to just avoid it at all costs.

 

[Becks]

"Realistically I know that this gun is a piece of junk compared to anything else I currently own."

You have answered your own question. Never waste money on a piece of junk.

You're welcome. No charge.

Always good advice OP. The only problem is that I've seen a lot of discussion over at Bladeforums while I was waiting for TBOT to come back up, and the back and forth of what amounts to junk, especially when the "compared to" game is played will make your head spin. The classic KA-BAR with the battle tested and proven design that hearkens back to WW2 is considered to be a junk design by a lot of folks because the stick tang won't stand up to batoning or other hard use bushcraft applications. Steel snobbery derides anything that isn't made of top of the line super steels that requires special tooling to construct, meaning even Victorinox SAKs don't get any respect. And the Busse crowd doesn't have much respect for anything that isn't made out of the proprietary INFI steel that goes into their $400 knives.

On the issue of guns themselves, I've seen some extreme hatred for the Kel-Tecs, lots of people talking about their lack of refinement and excessive use of polymer, but you and a lot of other folks have them and trust them, even though there are comparably better options on the market.

Granted with the Jimenez it' probably justified. But how do you go about separating opinion-based junk from fact-based junk, if construction materials aren't a deciding factor?

 

[Becks]

I am not going to be much help at all.
Townsend Whelen is supposed to have said that "Only accurate rifles are interesting.
I myself believe just the opposite. As I find it more fun and enjoyable to take a problematic firearm and fix it if I can.
Though there is a caveat and that is if it is a poor design to begin with I am not an engineer or machinist.
If that JA-22 can be had cheap enough, well then I say give it a go.

If nothing else, I could always buy a broken one off of gunbroker, use it to serve as a mould positive, and see about possibly making rubber, resin or plastic dummy versions from it.

 

[Becks]

Belt buckle?

Cast aluminum might be better for that application than resin.

 

[Becks]

The matter on whether or not Jimenez it total junk is complicated with youtube videos showing owners getting their guns to run smoothly with a little work, like polishing and lubricating the internals, and running CCI ammo through them.