[solaris]

Hello, I'm a bit new to this and I'm trying to find comparison information of the likelyhood of semi-auto rifles to jam. thus far I haven't been able to find any information comparing the various models as for how offten they jam. do any of you here know a good place to find this information?

[Q-Lock]

I'd say you might be better off doing individual searches on a handful of specific semi-auto rifles, rather than doing a "what semi-auto rifles routinely jam." Any semi-auto rifle can jam...there aren't any to my knowledge that are immune to it. Keeping any firearm clean and free of obstructions is the best way to eliminate/reduce jams.

There's a HUGE selection of semi-automatic rifles, I suggest you narrow your search.

Hope this helps you out.

Regards,

[N3rday]

All semiautos jam.

With that said, I'd have to say in terms of reliability the FAL and AK sure seem to take the cake most of the time.

Now, with THAT said, every rifle is prone to jams, and most modern weapons will function just fine if they are cleaned satisfactorily.

[DMK]

It also depends on the individual gun. Many times you cannot tell until you actually try the gun at the range. Manufacturing variables swing pretty widely these days.

This is why for any semi-automatic weapon intended for self defense, it is recommended to shoot at least 200 rounds through the gun, with the same ammo and same magazines that you will be equipping the firearm with. Any malfunction get's fixed, the gun goes back to the manufacturer for repair, etc. After it's repaired, you start all over again with another 200+ rounds test.

The catch is that with some modern arms, they aren't even broken in until after 200 rounds or so. In that case it may require half a case of ammo before the gun is proven to be acceptably reliable to bet your life on.

[Bartholomew Roberts]

Try searching for the term "mean rounds between stoppage." This is how the military evaluates the reliability of semi-auto rifles and some of that information is public. It is based on many rifles, not just a single rifle, and gives a rough idea of what the general design is capable of (rather than a specific rifle).

[solaris]

thanks all, that does help a lot. I'll start my search now, but there is one gun I was looking at and it might be good to know this one before I start looking at the array of choices. How's the PS90? Do you guys know of a "Lexus" of gun developers, or a specific country that does it better than the rest?

[rangerruck]

jamming will likey be more a function of you than the weapon. From incorrect cleaning, to incorrect loading, etc.

[Tomac]

The PS90 uses a simple direct blowback action (no locking lugs or gas system as such) w/no reports of jamming that I'm aware of. Since it's a SA-only version of the FA P90 it should be very reliable. HTH...
Tomac

[Dionysusigma]

True test results of the PS90 are going to be hard to find, what with how relatively new the gun is. The aforementioned FAL and AK-47 (along with AR-15s/M16s, M1 Garands, M14s, G3 variants, etc.) have been around for decades, some for over half a century. Thusly, everyone's pretty much figured out what rifle is capable of what sort of performance.

Also important to keep in mind is accuracy. What would you rather have--a gun that will always work but will put the bullet in the wrong place, or a gun that will be less reliable but put the bullet where you want it to go?
Do you guys know of a "Lexus" of gun developers, or a specific country that does it better than the rest?
Germany and Switzerland seem to be a few of the topmost ranking, with companies such as Sig Sauer and Hecker und Koch. Belgium and Italy are close seconds with Fabrique Nationale and Pietro Beretta, respectively. Next would be America, with numerous companies including Bushmaster, Springfield Armory, and so on ad nauseum. Next, I would say Russia, as almost every rifle to come out of the country (from AKs to SKSs to SVT-40s to...) is dead-nuts reliable and built like a T-72 tank.

But as previously stated, proper cleaning, proper maintenance, and use of correct/good quality ammunition always plays the most important role in reliability.

[dfaugh]

The answer, as with many of these questions is "it depends"...

Many military style rifles are designed to work under pretty adverse conditions, (AKs, SKSs, and FALs come to mind)...But even these can have problems with some ammo, or if not cleaned properly.

ARs (and M-16s) are noted for being less reliable if dirty, or with certain ammo), but some people have far more problems than others.

For example, I have an SKS-M (SKS that takes AK mags)...I have had exactly one failure (stovepipe) in about 5000 rounds...Usually shoot the cheapest stuff I can find in it (Wolf mostly)...

Also, have Hi-Point carbine, which also has about 5000 rounds through it, with no problems, again mostly with cheapo (Wolf and Blaser) ammo, but others as well. But others have had some problems with these.

[Tomac]

The P90 has been around for over a decade w/o complaints that I'm aware of. Accuracy? Even w/the bullpup trigger linkage & factory CQB ringsight I can put 3 shots into 1/2" at 50yds from prone if I do my part (using SS197).
Tomac