How many rounds equate to a proper new pistol break-in?

You never know until you test if it will work when you need it.

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And even then you can never be sure.
Every pull of the trigger is an act of faith.
Pete

Again I respectfully disagree. After breaking in and ammo function testing a super reliable weapon (did I mention how much I love my H&K 94) and after properly loading the best ammo then I am far more confident that it will go bang EVERY time I pull the trigger.

But as a climber who has reached dozens of (previously virgin) summits I like the Hemingway quote, but didn't he also have one about the hunting of men?

Koroner said:

Again I respectfully disagree. After breaking in and ammo function testing a super reliable weapon (did I mention how much I love my H&K 94) and after properly loading the best ammo then I am far more confident that it will go bang EVERY time I pull the trigger.

But as a climber who has reached dozens of (previously virgin) summits I like the Hemingway quote, but didn't he also have one about the hunting of men?

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I appreciate that you have a gun and ammo combination that you have great faith in. As I wrote earlier, though, a firearm is a machine and all machines will fail sooner or later. This is a fact of life. The FTF is not a matter of “if”; it is a matter of “when”.
I have a Gold Cup that i reload for. I kept detailed records of its use. It went 50k rounds trouble free. Then it had an FTF. When, not if.
Pete
PS: about Hemingway....

There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything else thereafter.

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Ernest Hemingway

Pete D. said:

I appreciate that you have a gun and ammo combination that you have great faith in. As I wrote earlier, though, a firearm is a machine and all machines will fail sooner or later. This is a fact of life. The FTF is not a matter of “if”; it is a matter of “when”.
I have a Gold Cup that i reload for. I kept detailed records of its use. It went 50k rounds trouble free. Then it had an FTF. When, not if.
Pete
PS: about Hemingway....


Ernest Hemingway

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True, but even there that's one heck of a small chance, pretty much small enough not to worry too much about.

Then again, it's always a good idea to add malfunction clearance as a regular part of your practice routine, just in case. What is that saying: it's not the odds, it's the stakes.

Or somesuch.

Yes, a machine made by man can and will fail. I have carry semi autos I trust. I could win the lottery tomorrow but the chances are about the same.

I bought a cheap case of Chinese 9mm BITD. At first I was really disappointed to find that with nearly every magazine primers popped out and jammed up whatever I shot it in.

Then I realized that the ammo provided a jam clearing training tool.

Every so often I pull out a box to work on my clearing skills.

Crappy ammo turned out to be useful!

5 rounds... No! Wait, 12 rounds.

Hang on, what power rounds and is it raining or not (let's call snow rain for this exercise) and what's the elevation.

Maybe the number is relative, after a all, we can do that... "we don't even have to have a reason".

In all seriousness, for semi-autos in 9 or .45 when I think to care, I buy 500 bulk rounds at the next gunshow, if I don't already have them, from *Wholesale Ammo* (or some know as Miwal) and load up EVERY magazine I intend to use in the relative firearm and have at it.
Often times, I will turn the whole shebang over to friends after I'm content with 100 or so.

500 rounds, a spray bottle of G-96 and it's on!

I'm of the NASCAR frame of mind on a defense pistol: Build the motor, put some oil in 'er, run 'er up to 9,500rpm and what doesn't break - gets run!


Todd.

JR24 said:

True, but even there that's one heck of a small chance, pretty much small enough not to worry too much about.

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True enough....in retrospect.....looking back, one can say “why worry”. The point is more that I did not know that the gun would deliver that kind of performance.
It could just as well have failed at 56 rounds.
Pete

50 rounds minimum FMJ without a malfunction slow fire.
That includes at least one full +1 load out of each mag. If you are an LEO officer that means 90 rounds if you have 5 - 17 round mags.

200 rounds minimum with Carry Ammo without a malfunction at rapid fire. That includes at least three full +1 load outs with each mag (270 rounds with 5 - 17 round mags).

If you have a malfunction with FMJ mark the magazine and start over. If you have a 2nd malfunction with that magazine remove it from use and start over again.

If you have a malfunction with Carry Ammo mark the magazine and start over on Carry Ammo. 2nd Malfunction with the same Mag remove it from use and start over again.

When you have run 200 rounds (minimum of 3 full +1 loads of each mag) of Carry Ammo at Rapid Fire without a malfunction it's ready to go.

I've never had a pistol pass that test that had a malfunction later that wasn't attributable to user error, broken parts, bad magazine or out of spec ammo using the same rounds tested with. Maybe I've been lucky.

At any rate you really need to make sure you are testing with the carry ammo and mags at a rate of fire likely to be seen if you have to use it. Slow fire with FMJ just tells you if it will make a good target pistol.