February 13, 2026
Horribly Designed Guns
Photo: The Apache Revolver. Made by the French this may be one of the most awful weapon ever made. Impossible to aim even the knuckle duster wasn't thought out. At only 1.5 inches across you need extremely small hands to use this!
Firearm history is full of brilliant designs, but it is also littered with well intentioned mistakes. Some guns look impressive, sound innovative, and photograph beautifully. Then someone actually tries to shoot them. That is when reality sets in. These are firearms that seem to have been designed by people who understood engineering, but not real world shooting.
When Ergonomics Were an Afterthought
One of the biggest giveaways is poor ergonomics. Controls placed too far forward, safeties that require three hands, or grips shaped like bricks all suggest a designer who never spent time at the range. If a shooter has to break their grip just to reach a control, something went wrong long before production.
Some historic firearms suffered from awkward charging handles, oddly angled grips, or stocks that punished the shooter with recoil. On paper, the design worked. In practice, shooters fought the gun instead of focusing on the target.
Innovation Without Practical Testing
History is full of firearms that chased innovation at the expense of usability. Complex feed systems, unusual calibers, or experimental operating mechanisms often looked impressive in prototypes. Unfortunately, they also introduced failures, jams, or maintenance nightmares.
A common theme is over engineering. Designers added moving parts to solve problems that shooters never had. The result was a firearm that required constant adjustment, special tools, or perfect conditions to function reliably. Soldiers and civilians alike quickly lost patience.
The Human Factor Was Ignored
Perhaps the biggest flaw in these designs was ignoring how humans actually shoot. Recoil management, sight alignment, trigger reach, and balance all matter. Some firearms kicked excessively, obscured sights with muzzle rise, or had triggers that felt more like switches than precision controls.
Real shooters adapt, but bad design forces them to compensate constantly. When a gun demands work instead of cooperation, it rarely earns loyalty. Many of these designs disappeared quickly, replaced by simpler and more intuitive firearms.
Despite their flaws, these guns still serve a purpose today. They remind designers that shooting is a physical skill, not just a mechanical process. The best firearms succeed because they feel right the moment they are picked up.
Fun Fact: Some famously awkward firearms became collector favorites simply because of how strange and impractical they were to shoot.
Next edition we will be looking at some of these awful designed guns!
Until next time, stay locked and loaded.
- Randy, Locked N Loaded
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