Most durable centerfire repeating handgun

New Model Stainless Ruger Blackhawk in .357 mag. Completely overbuilt.

Right off the top of my head would be Glock. Some have had 100,000 rounds through them. Folks hate them but they keep going.

Maybe it's the Glock G25. Compact sized .380acp. Low recoil means low wear.

WrongHanded said:

Maybe it's the Glock G25. Compact sized .380acp. Low recoil means low wear.

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Did a Google search 350,000 rounds through a G17! That's probably the amount I'll shoot in my lifetime.

Armored farmer said:

I like the blackhawk idea, but maybe in .45colt/.45acp

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My only reason for not listing that caliber choice was that it opened the door to the Buffalo Bore type ammo. Limit the .45 Colt / .45 ACP to "normal" performance, and yes, it would be just as durable.

If a Ruger revolver could be shot as frequently as a Glock, I'd bet some comparable round-counts could be achieved. It takes a LOT longer to get 100K rounds through a Blackhawk.

MedWheeler said:

If a Ruger revolver could be shot as frequently as a Glock, I'd bet some comparable round-counts could be achieved. It takes a LOT longer to get 100K rounds through a Blackhawk.

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Idk if you where shooting Ruger only loads it would crap out sooner rather than later. I have a super blackhawk from the mid 90s. Almost zero flame cutting. Might be the original owner only shoot 44spl. Not sure but it's clean. And always goes bang. One day my son or daughter will inherit it. Why I buy mostly Rugers and Glock. Did get a century AK to play with. Its okay.

A friend has worn out S&W .38 barrels with target wadcutters. About 150000 of them.
One gun required only a new barrel, the other is pretty loose and the gunsmith who built its rather strange configuration is deceased.

Armored farmer said:

That's hardly fair to ruger to use loads that the other guns cant handle.

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I keep a box in case I go into bear country. Or I need to stop a rampaging car. These have some punch. Best part about Rugers is how tough they are and CS is top notch.

As I posted on the other thread, another friend managed to wear out a Blackhawk .45. I don't know how many rounds but it was a lot of stout loads.

Jim Watson said:

As I posted on the other thread, another friend managed to wear out a Blackhawk .45. I don't know how many rounds but it was a lot of stout loads.

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Did Ruger fix it?

Armored farmer said:

I doubt a compact will survive as long as a full sized gun.

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When I say compact, the G25 is a G19 but shooting .380acp. So I agree with you that a G17 size will likely last longer than a G19 size regardless of caliber. I'm just not sure Glock made one in .380.

As far as not replacing any parts (even springs) that gives the Blackhawk in a low pressure cartridge some serious merit. However, there's just more to go wrong. Like the MIM parts, such as the hand, breaking.

But the weakest part of a Glock would be the S spring for the trigger. They break too on occasion, from what I hear.

Meeks36 said:

Did Ruger fix it?

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Yes, but not for free. They did send him $10 change on his estimate when they returned the gun.

Federal has a USP45 they use to test loads. Last I saw it had 500,000 round through and it's still 100% in spec. They send it back to HK every 5k or 10k rounds to have it inspected, springs checked and changed, etc. It's incredibly overbuilt. One writer (is it Todd Green? ) has something like 115,000 through a P30 as well.

I can't afford the ammo to wear out any of my HKs!

Manurhin MR 73 revolver, which used to be the standard weapon of the French GIGN. Design brief was an extremely accurate and utterly reliable .357 Magnum combat revolver able to stand up to 150 rounds of full-power ammunition in range practice. Daily. Indefinitely. I'll let Gun Jesus tell the whole story.

Jim Watson said:

As I posted on the other thread, another friend managed to wear out a Blackhawk .45. I don't know how many rounds but it was a lot of stout loads.

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I used a pair of original Ruger Vaqueros in SASS Competition. Both failed with a week of each other, hammer plunger spring. Far fewer than 100,000 "cowboy" rounds even counting dry fire.

The Springfield XDMs are pretty much indescribable. Guns and ammo tv tried to destroy one over a whole season, everything from putting it in a bucket of mud to a vacuum bag full of dirt and dust to throwing it off a 2 story roof and dragging it down a gravel road at 45 mph for a whole mile and shooting a thousand rounds as fast as possible twice during the test and it just kept working. Here's another tough test, 10,000 rounds in 2 days without a single failure!

https://www.thearmorylife.com/xdm10k/

There is a discussion over on Glock Talk called "My Glock 21 has proved its worth" or something really close to that.

The poster detailed how he finally shot out the barrel on his Glock 21 after approximately two hundred THOUSAND rounds.

He also detailed how he buried it in the mud and froze it in salt water. I think he even dropped it out of an airplane and it worked through it all.

I was going to agree with .455Hunter but looking back, my stainless Blackhawk broke a small internal part at under 1000. I guess I'd go with a G17. My Mark II is well past 50k but it is a rimfire and that number pales next to many others.

I’d like to believe all the brands I own are worthy so Glock, S&W M&P and Ruger Blackhawk.