Which will break first: Glock 17, Sig Sauer 226 or HK USP?

[helitack32f1]

I am not sure if the Glock will outlast the other two, but it will outlast a 4046 S&W.

If I had to choose by desirability, It would be Sig, Glock, HK. By long term Reliability, I would say Glock, HK, Sig

 

[Ranger30-06]

I've owned multiple of both and I do not share your opinion. I trust them both as far as reliability goes. Newer sigs being more suspect.

As has been stated the sig has a shorter service life than the glock. An aluminium frame has its draw backs.

I 100% forgot about the Sigs having the aluminum frame, so my point is moot.


Besides that, steel will outlast plastic every single time. Ever use those budget "wonder plastic, super durable, never have to change" bushings for machinery? They have about 1/20th of the lifespan of a steel bushing and they almost always wind up melting.

I am not sure if the Glock will outlast the other two, but it will outlast a 4046 S&W.

You do realize the entire 3rd generation of S&W autoloaders were at least 2, if not 3 times overbuilt than what they needed to be, right?

I'm sorry, but run the two guns over with a tank, drop them into a campfire for 20 minutes, use them as clubs, prop that brown bear's jaw that's about to eat your arm open with one, or do anything else beyond their round count test and when you get your blob of fractured plastic back you can let me know how soon you'll be picking up a Smith.

 

[ForumSurfer]

Does it really matter? They are all excellent pistols, with proven track records. One man's experiment with a sample of three is gonna prove, or disprove, what?

I agree with this. Given that %100 of people on this poll haven't done the experiment, I'd say the poll is meaningless except for showing preconceived notions.

Until you own it and run it to failure/breakage, you're just repeating more internet hype.

I can speak to running one of the three on the list through 3 matches without cleaning or additional lube. But that's only around 800+ rounds (100 per match, 100-200 before and after each match). I would suspect that any gun out there would handle that, though.

 

[ny32182]

With "no cleaning", they are all going to be short stroking in relatively short order.

Maintained (basic cleaning, keeping the springs changed on a decent interval) I can say that the Glock will go basically forever.

There are probably not nearly as many high round count Sigs and HKs out there, but there are bound to be a few; ask this question in the competition forum and you can probably find someone who has actually put 100k+ rounds through their gun X and can tell you what sort of maintenance intervals are likely.

Springs are key to keeping a gun reliable. When springs wear out, overall reliability starts to decline. When they break, usually the gun is down until replacement. I make sure to always have extra mag springs, recoil springs, extractor spring, and trigger spring available, and change them as a preventative measure on a reasonable interval. Having spare small parts on hand is always advisable as well.

 

[helitack32f1]

You do realize the entire 3rd generation of S&W autoloaders were at least 2, if not 3 times overbuilt than what they needed to be, right?

I'm sorry, but run the two guns over with a tank, drop them into a campfire for 20 minutes, use them as clubs, prop that brown bear's jaw that's about to eat your arm open with one, or do anything else beyond their round count test and when you get your blob of fractured plastic back you can let me know how soon you'll be picking up a Smith.

Ops question did not in any way mention throwing it in a fire or being munched on by bears. He asked which one keep operating the longest without cleaning. If your only way of proving your weapons superiority is by mentioning bears and fires, I suspect you are being a little unrealistic to make a point that has nothing to do with the original post.

 

[X-Rap]

It's always good to be reminded that I can't cook my diner, chock the treads of my tank, or do bear dentistry with my Glock. I have often considered having these exact warnings engraved on the slide because I keep forgetting.

 

[coolluke01]

I'm sorry, but run the two guns over with a tank, drop them into a campfire for 20 minutes, use them as clubs, prop that brown bear's jaw that's about to eat your arm open with one, or do anything else beyond their round count test and when you get your blob of fractured plastic back you can let me know how soon you'll be picking up a Smith.

When your smith fails these are the only options you have left. I'll just shoot my Glock.

 

[Ranger30-06]

Ops question did not in any way mention throwing it in a fire or being munched on by bears. He asked which one keep operating the longest without cleaning. If your only way of proving your weapons superiority is by mentioning bears and fires, I suspect you are being a little unrealistic to make a point that has nothing to do with the original post.

Well since we love coming up with situations that never actually happen in real life on the internetz, I figured I'd toss in my conditions as well


Seriously though, to say that plastic beats steel is like saying your Hyundai can compete with my Mustang. Two completely different classes of car, both with perks, but in the end the Mustang will do a lot more with a lot less work involved to get it there.

 

[ny32182]

I gots to know... what will your Mustang do that your Hyundi won't, and in what way could that possibly compare to Glocks and S&Ws?

 

[X-Rap]

Until there are a number of polymer guns shown to be worn out and unserviceable we will have to just know that they should not be issued to fireman, aside from that I see little proof that they are anymore prone to failure than a Mustang.

 

[Hit_Factor]

If anyone wants to pay for the ammo, I'm willing to bet that my S&W 4046 will outlast a Glock any day of the next century.

A) The Glock guys. Everytime I'm at the range, there's someone having an issue with their Glock. I've heard it all; Mags, ammo, even springs, which while they could be correct, it just seems like its happening WAY to much.

B) The $2K 1911 guys. This is because the 1911 was originally a loose gun. Theses really nice looking ones are great on the range, but a combat nightmare as far as reliability goes.

Attend a couple USPSA matches and you will see your option A & B guns make up 75% of the guns in use. It's unlikely you will see a malf at all. Well, there might be one, and and that guy is unfortunately always 'that guy'.

I don't think I have ever seen a 4046 used in USPSA or IDPA, I suppose someone could try.




Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk

 

[ku4hx]

Dear THR
If fired on daily basis 500 rounds without cleaning ever, which of the following will break or malfunction first in your opinion:

Glock 17
HK USP
Sig Sauer 226

Thanks.

After an enormously high round count, I'd not sure I'd consider a part going "bad" as "breaking". I finally had to replace the hammer spring on my 1968 vintage BHP because it was too weak to reliably fire a cartridge. Is that "breaking"? It had the same effect as a spring with a physical break near the lower end. After approximately 40,000 rounds over 42 years the spring just wore out.

So before the question can be answered, I think you need to define exactly what you mean by "break". The physical parting of a piece? No longer reliably functional but still in one piece? What?

 

[NG VI]

Are we doing this test with regular maintenance that all weapons need like changing consumable small parts like springs as needed, or is that a no-go?

If that isn't alright, I might go with the USP just because of the double recoil spring that will probably outlast a Glock single recoil spring.

 

[ku4hx]

LOL...500 rounds a day at todays prices

Georgia Arms sells a 500 pack of 9mm ("Canned Heat") for $130. if the OP shoots 300 days a year (no time taken for cleaning), that's $39,000 per year. Of course we have no clue as to how many days per year is spent shooting, but $130 per day would be a fairly conservative figure.

And here I was thinking my retirement was good.

OP, what are you doing with all your spent brass? Are you selling it anywhere online?

 

[ny32182]

He could reload it with jacketed bullets for half that price.

 

[hogshead]

How come nobody is bashing the HK.Its winning or losing the pole depends on perspective. I really want to quote their motto.

 

[hogshead]

Hk Because you suck and we hate you. Sorry couldn't help myself.

 

[NG VI]

Besides that, steel will outlast plastic every single time. Ever use those budget "wonder plastic, super durable, never have to change" bushings for machinery? They have about 1/20th of the lifespan of a steel bushing and they almost always wind up melting.

Maybe comparing steel to polymers in entirely different applications than pistol frames, but if you're comparing them in the context this thread (and website) is about than polymers are proving to outlast steel frames more often than not. You obviously don't try to use it for barrels, but it's an excellent working material for frames.

m sorry, but run the two guns over with a tank, drop them into a campfire for 20 minutes, use them as clubs, prop that brown bear's jaw that's about to eat your arm open with one, or do anything else beyond their round count test and when you get your blob of fractured plastic back you can let me know how soon you'll be picking up a Smith.

Ok, so apparently we are talking about 'durability' only in the context of bizarre situations that guns are basically never found in. I think freak, non-gun/shooting related events that probably have never happened probably shouldn't be used to determine real-world durability of firearms materials.

 

[Manson]

Da Godfodder often poses interesting questions but I think I'm with Whale on this one. Without lube or maintenance all we prove is which gun runs longer dry and dirty. The answer is the one built to do so. Various metals and alloys etc will need grease to run well for any length of time. Given anything close to proper care all three will run longer than I will.

I own all three brands in the poll and found some of the comments about reliability interesting. I've had malfunctions with 1911's. But not with the three brands mentioned. They are meticulously maintained. But I have run thousands of rounds through some of them with zero issue's. And I feed them everything. I'm thinking I've been lucky.

 

[The_Armed_Therapist]

I'd bet the Sig would break first. That's no diss to Sig, I just think Sig is engineered fantastically with the assumption of being relatively cared for. The Glock is engineered under the assumption that it will go through Hell.

 

[tarakian]

The only gun that doesn't break or malfunction is the one that is never used. Guns are mechanical devices and will therefore have problems at some point in their lives.

If the op's test is for a break/just plain worn out, then it would need to be a much higher sample size. With only one of each, there are too many potential variables to give a valid result. Sometimes you just get a lemon.

If the goal is to determine which will malfunction from dirt/grime/lack of lube first, then it will likely be the gun with the tightest tolerances.

 

[ku4hx]

He could reload it with jacketed bullets for half that price.

I've cast my own since about 1970. I can hand load them ("reload" is what I do when the cylinder or magazine is empty) with cast bullets at costs my shooting buddies drool over.

As a natural born scrounger, I'm always on the lookout for lead and brass.

 

[GregGry]

Besides that, steel will outlast plastic every single time. Ever use those budget "wonder plastic, super durable, never have to change" bushings for machinery? They have about 1/20th of the lifespan of a steel bushing and they almost always wind up melting.

Your comparing completely different things. The polymer frame on a glock does not see the wear from the action cycling, the slide rides on STEEL inserts. The design has proven to last. And due to contact points being reduced between slide and frame, it has a better ability to shoot when cold and hot. Full length slide rails will gum up bad in many cases when they are cold.

The glock wins in this case overall since it has been more proven and has fewer parts to break.

 

[Nordeste]

I voted Glock for two reason. One is that their durability record is proven with that 300.000 rds gun shown in the link in the first page. The other one is that the Sigs, AFAIK, are "wet" pistols that like to run a bit more oiled that others. I don't think they'd do well without any kind of cleaning in the long run.

The HK USP is a superb gun, but I have no clue on how it would do on such a "test".

 

[allaroundhunter]

I voted Glock for two reason. One is that their durability record is proven with that 300.000 rds gun shown in the link in the first page. The other one is that the Sigs, AFAIK, are "wet" pistols that like to run a bit more oiled that others. I don't think they'd do well without any kind of cleaning in the long run.

The HK USP is a superb gun, but I have no clue on how it would do on such a "test".

You do realize that this is a poll about which gun will break first, right?