fastbolt
Member
Let the Springfield folks repair their product.
Don't lose too much sleep or get too wrapped up around the axle over a simple parts breakage.
Despite what you read on public internet forums firearms sometimes experience breakage, and sometimes have to have parts replaced for one reason or another which doesn't include outright breakage. Things happen.
I've been shooting since I was a youngster (let's be charitable and call it not-quite-50-years
). I've been a LE firearms instructor since '90. During that time I've seen a gun or two require repair. I've also attended more than a dozen armorer's classes and listened to factory folks and other LE folks discuss repair issues with both new and well-used weapons. Things happen.
I don't often take the time to participate in very many of the 'brand-loyalty' or 'brand-bashing' threads in most of the forums anymore. Not when they start to sound more like folks promoting their favorite sports teams. Granted, many folks who post their opinions and limited experiences are probably well-intentioned, and likely only wanting to share their personal experiences with others who share similar interests. However, other folks are often a bit strident and overly enthusiastic, gushing, borderline fanatical. etc., etc. about their 'support' and endorsement of their brand-of-choice. Not very open to differing viewpoints or other folk's experiences and opinions, sometimes, either.
While it's certainly pleasant to listen to a specific spectrum of like-minded folks share their enjoyment and enthusiasm for a particular firearm, or a number of folks who have enjoyed trouble-free functioning of a mutually admired firearm, I've come to prefer considering the perspective and experience gained from observing significantly greater numbers of various firearms, as well as the aggregate experiences of other instructors and armorers I've met who have similarly been exposed to anywhere from dozens to several hundreds (or more, in some instances) of examples of how various firearms actually perform over the long haul.
Fortunately, engineers and other folks responsible for production are generally very good at their jobs when it comes to designing and manufacturing products which perform to their expectations and desires. Sometimes parts can still unexpectedly break during 'normal' usage, though, or are a bit out of the optimal range of tolerance in one manner or another, or are unknowingly and unexpectedly defective, etc., etc..
The nature of machines made by machines, designed and used by people in the real world.
I chuckle when I read different folks constantly espousing how one brand of pistol requires little or no lubrication, is a 'dry-shooting' pistol, etc., etc.. and then think back to the armorer's class for that manufacturer's product and remember how the importance of lubrication was frequently discussed.
Or, how another brand is the 'Cadillac' of the modern LE/Military pistol world, with unsurpassed quality control and precision of production ... and then remember when I learned of how a shipment of 200-odd pistols from that manufacturer arrived at an agency and the trigger bars turned out to have been manufactured 'out-of-spec' in such a way that the pistols couldn't be fired. Oops.
Or, how a couple of different makes of pistols have been advertised as having passed exhaustive and extreme 'torture testing', including hostile environment testing which involved exposure to sand ... and then think of the instances in which I've seen a couple of examples exposed to minimal amounts of sand (reusing magazines which have been dropped into the sand) and then immediately exhibit functioning issues apparently related to sand contamination ... or, listen to a fellow armorer who had just returned from overseas discuss how he had experienced sand-related functioning issues in a couple of different pistols within the first day of carrying them in the sandy environment.
Forged, cast, stamped, machined, MIM, CNC, extruded, etc., etc.. ... parts can break. That's why manufacturers make spare parts, and that's why armorers keep spare parts on hand.
Talk to enough armorer instructors, armorers, gunsmiths, factory engineers & technicians and factory reps who are involved in resolving customer problems and you'll often hear that the significant number of everyday functioning issues experienced by most owners & users of pistols generally fall into any of 4 categories (can be more than one at the same time) ... owner/user-induced, ammunition-related, environment-related or pistol-related ... and in about that order when it comes to frequency.
Over the long haul, I've seen far more problems caused by shooter-related issues and improper maintenance than I have ammunition and actual firearm (defective/broken parts) problems.
Just out of curiosity, when you're choosing a motor vehicle for everyday family use, to which you’re going to be trusting the lives of your family every day of the week, do you visit the service department to see how many of the manufacturer's vehicles are in for repair for unexpected problems on any given day? Sure, you can read all about various online and published consumer experiences and statistical studies related to how well such & such vehicle model has performed over some time period ... but would it matter to you to see how many of those actual vehicles are waiting for appointments for service, maintenance and warranty repair on any given day of the week at any dealership?
Machines require some level or other of reasonable maintenance, and yet may still sometimes require repair ... parts sometimes fail, wear, unexpectedly break, etc..
I’ve owned, have been issued, and/or have helped support any number of firearms that have required repair at one time or another. Once repaired and restored to proper working condition and operation I have the same level of reasonable confidence in them that I did previously.
I’d like something absolutely ‘perfect’, too ... but we’re talking about machines and mechanical equipment.
Don't lose too much sleep or get too wrapped up around the axle over a simple parts breakage.
Despite what you read on public internet forums firearms sometimes experience breakage, and sometimes have to have parts replaced for one reason or another which doesn't include outright breakage. Things happen.
I've been shooting since I was a youngster (let's be charitable and call it not-quite-50-years
). I've been a LE firearms instructor since '90. During that time I've seen a gun or two require repair. I've also attended more than a dozen armorer's classes and listened to factory folks and other LE folks discuss repair issues with both new and well-used weapons. Things happen.I don't often take the time to participate in very many of the 'brand-loyalty' or 'brand-bashing' threads in most of the forums anymore. Not when they start to sound more like folks promoting their favorite sports teams. Granted, many folks who post their opinions and limited experiences are probably well-intentioned, and likely only wanting to share their personal experiences with others who share similar interests. However, other folks are often a bit strident and overly enthusiastic, gushing, borderline fanatical. etc., etc. about their 'support' and endorsement of their brand-of-choice. Not very open to differing viewpoints or other folk's experiences and opinions, sometimes, either.
While it's certainly pleasant to listen to a specific spectrum of like-minded folks share their enjoyment and enthusiasm for a particular firearm, or a number of folks who have enjoyed trouble-free functioning of a mutually admired firearm, I've come to prefer considering the perspective and experience gained from observing significantly greater numbers of various firearms, as well as the aggregate experiences of other instructors and armorers I've met who have similarly been exposed to anywhere from dozens to several hundreds (or more, in some instances) of examples of how various firearms actually perform over the long haul.
Fortunately, engineers and other folks responsible for production are generally very good at their jobs when it comes to designing and manufacturing products which perform to their expectations and desires. Sometimes parts can still unexpectedly break during 'normal' usage, though, or are a bit out of the optimal range of tolerance in one manner or another, or are unknowingly and unexpectedly defective, etc., etc..
The nature of machines made by machines, designed and used by people in the real world.
I chuckle when I read different folks constantly espousing how one brand of pistol requires little or no lubrication, is a 'dry-shooting' pistol, etc., etc.. and then think back to the armorer's class for that manufacturer's product and remember how the importance of lubrication was frequently discussed.
Or, how another brand is the 'Cadillac' of the modern LE/Military pistol world, with unsurpassed quality control and precision of production ... and then remember when I learned of how a shipment of 200-odd pistols from that manufacturer arrived at an agency and the trigger bars turned out to have been manufactured 'out-of-spec' in such a way that the pistols couldn't be fired. Oops.
Or, how a couple of different makes of pistols have been advertised as having passed exhaustive and extreme 'torture testing', including hostile environment testing which involved exposure to sand ... and then think of the instances in which I've seen a couple of examples exposed to minimal amounts of sand (reusing magazines which have been dropped into the sand) and then immediately exhibit functioning issues apparently related to sand contamination ... or, listen to a fellow armorer who had just returned from overseas discuss how he had experienced sand-related functioning issues in a couple of different pistols within the first day of carrying them in the sandy environment.
Forged, cast, stamped, machined, MIM, CNC, extruded, etc., etc.. ... parts can break. That's why manufacturers make spare parts, and that's why armorers keep spare parts on hand.
Talk to enough armorer instructors, armorers, gunsmiths, factory engineers & technicians and factory reps who are involved in resolving customer problems and you'll often hear that the significant number of everyday functioning issues experienced by most owners & users of pistols generally fall into any of 4 categories (can be more than one at the same time) ... owner/user-induced, ammunition-related, environment-related or pistol-related ... and in about that order when it comes to frequency.
Over the long haul, I've seen far more problems caused by shooter-related issues and improper maintenance than I have ammunition and actual firearm (defective/broken parts) problems.
Just out of curiosity, when you're choosing a motor vehicle for everyday family use, to which you’re going to be trusting the lives of your family every day of the week, do you visit the service department to see how many of the manufacturer's vehicles are in for repair for unexpected problems on any given day? Sure, you can read all about various online and published consumer experiences and statistical studies related to how well such & such vehicle model has performed over some time period ... but would it matter to you to see how many of those actual vehicles are waiting for appointments for service, maintenance and warranty repair on any given day of the week at any dealership?
Machines require some level or other of reasonable maintenance, and yet may still sometimes require repair ... parts sometimes fail, wear, unexpectedly break, etc..
I’ve owned, have been issued, and/or have helped support any number of firearms that have required repair at one time or another. Once repaired and restored to proper working condition and operation I have the same level of reasonable confidence in them that I did previously.
I’d like something absolutely ‘perfect’, too ... but we’re talking about machines and mechanical equipment.
Life goes on.
