Longevity of pocket/compact sub caliber pistols

Probably the kindest thing you can do, is change out the recoil springs at the proper intervals. Its a win-win as it helps with wear and tear, and proper function.

Id be willing to bet though if you ask everyone here when that should be done with the guns they have and carry most wont know the answer, and many if not most, dont do it on a regular basis if the gun is shot a lot.

If youre not one to keep track of what you actually shoot, and you do shoot it fairly regularly, changing the spring at least once a year wouldnt be a bad thing.

This is one of those doomed if you do, doomed if you dont sort of things. Shoot the gun enough that its got a lot of rounds on it and failure is probably imminent at some point, and the way things usually go, at the worst possible moment. Or, you dont shoot it for fear of just that, and now you dont have the necessary time and rounds in, in practice with it, to be as effective as possible with it. And the smaller you go in size, the more important that becomes.

I have read somewhere (I couldn’t find it) the Kel-Tec P32 is good for at least 6000 rounds. So a ~$200 gun at $25 a box of 32acp is $3000. Most people won’t ever shoot that type of pocket gun even 500 rounds. There are exceptions of course. (These prices were about a year ago)

My Gen 2 LCP, purchased in 2010, started to have some slight side-to-side slide play at around 1,000 rounds and I figured it was on it's last legs. Somewhere in the 1,200 round range it completely locked up with a spent case in the chamber. It was 100% reliable after the first 25 round break in up until the shot it locked up with in 2019. Ruger replaced it, I only have about 300 rounds through the new one. I've started using grease on the slide instead of oil in the hopes that helps with the life. 800 of the rounds through the first LCP was S&B, I've heard conflicting reports on if it's hotter than regular .380 ammo or not. The gun also spent a LOT of time in my pocket, as you can see from the slide wear.

Maybe we can ask Mr. Owl..

trackskippy said:

Your best bet with anything is to have duplicates of what you use, one for carry, and one for practice. That way, you dont have to worry as much about things going south at a bad moment. Same gun, same everything, just the gun you carry (after vetting) is basically always fresh, and your practice gun takes the beating.

Unless youre buying high-end guns, most of the factory guns are reasonable enough so you wont break the bank in buying a pair.

If youre shooting any reasonable amount in practice, youll spend a lot more on the ammo you use for practice than what the gun costs anyway, especially with the smaller calibers like .25, .32, .380.

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Yes, absolutely. Never understood why some insist on running their actual CCW hard instead of training with a duplicate.

Although it only has about 3000 rounds through it at this time, I am confident that my Glock 42 will hold up to the same round counts that other Glocks endure, assuming periodic replacement of springs per manufacturer recommendations. The gun still looks new aside from some finish wear on the sides of the slide near the front and on the front of the slide.

dodo bird said:

I have read somewhere (I couldn’t find it) the Kel-Tec P32 is good for at least 6000 rounds. So a ~$200 gun at $25 a box of 32acp is $3000. Most people won’t ever shoot that type of pocket gun even 500 rounds. There are exceptions of course. (These prices were about a year ago)

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I'd like to buy some .32 acp for $25/box of 50. Everything I've seen is $40 or more.

I wouldn't worry about round count. You will run out of ammo money first or move on to other guns before you wear it out. But shoot a lot of the over loaded Buffalo Bore ammo in your LCP and you may well see premature wear. But then BB is so grossly overpriced most won't buy enough of it to break a gun.

Wearing out a gun is something I never worry about. Being able to shoot enough to wear out even a cheap gun is a badge of honor.

The issue is how many rounds will a pistol go? You have to describe the pistol. A rental range in Vegas will get 90K thru a Glock before it starts cracking the slide near the ejection port (their observation.) When the Gen 4's came in it dropped to 45K and it was scrutinized by Glock closely. And addressed. They always replace all the Glocks under warranty for that range.

Said establishment also states most of the 1911's they get will only go 25k when parts replacements become frequent, including SIG's. Consider the base design was literally imagineered in John Brownings head then verbally described to his brother to machine, scribbled ilustrations were infrequent. On the other side most firearms since the invention of CAD/CAM were also stress analyzed to see where the parts needed more reinforcement or finesse.

NATO approved guns are required to go thru a 55K round test for official use in their armed forces - Canik passed that. Basically a Turkish copy of the Walther P99. As I mentioned, the Old School way of building guns, especially pocket pistols has changed - and that drives how many rounds they can shoot before failure.

Do we expect a modern pocket pistol to go 5K or 55k? What should we consider to be "normal?" And will any of the makers commit to a round count number as an expectancy of it's lifetime?

They haven't yet, have they?

Auto pistol springs need replaced occasionally. Compacts eat them up faster. Other than that I’ve not wore one out yet.

I always figured if I was capable of wearing a gun out, I'd have spent so much on ammo (even reloading) that the cost of replacement would be small in comparison.

I haven't seen any evidence, anecdotal or otherwise, that the small frame polymer guns are manufactured to be less durable than their bigger brethren. I wouldn't be inclined to believe the steel frames would be any different either.

I don't necessarily enjoy shooting my P238, but I don't mind. It gets a couple mags through just about every range trip. After 4 years, it's still probably nowhere near 1000 rounds...but I wouldn't be afraid to shoot 100 rounds a week in it.

Hugger-4641 said:

I'd like to buy some .32 acp for $25/box of 50. Everything I've seen is $40 or more.

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I know I’m stuck in about 2 years ago.

Howland937 said:

I haven't seen any evidence, anecdotal or otherwise, that the small frame polymer guns are manufactured to be less durable than their bigger brethren.

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It's basic physics and materials science.

If you buy an LCP as a range gun you’re doing it wrong. It will last a number of years… whether that’s 3 or 30… depends entirely on how much you’re inclined to shoot it. 100 rounds a week would be great practice. At that rate you may or may not wear the gun out in about a year…. 5200 rounds. Having spent approximately $1800 in ammo in your $250 gun, assuming $0.35cpr. Which is way low if you’re shooting your preferred carry ammo for practice as the gurus suggest.

Most people buy an LCP, put half a box of ammo through it to assure themselves it feeds reliably, and probably never shoot it again. More conscientious shooters will fire the loaded 7 rounds every year or so to blow out the pocket lint and refresh their ammo.

Mosin77 said:

If you buy an LCP as a range gun you’re doing it wrong. It will last a number of years… whether that’s 3 or 30… depends entirely on how much you’re inclined to shoot it. 100 rounds a week would be great practice. At that rate you may or may not wear the gun out in about a year…. 5200 rounds. Having spent approximately $1800 in ammo in your $250 gun, assuming $0.35cpr. Which is way low if you’re shooting your preferred carry ammo for practice as the gurus suggest.

Most people buy an LCP, put half a box of ammo through it to assure themselves it feeds reliably, and probably never shoot it again. More conscientious shooters will fire the loaded 7 rounds every year or so to blow out the pocket lint and refresh their ammo.

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I'm probably above average for most CCW holders around my area. I have my own range out my back door and I still only manage to shoot a couple mags per month through each of my main cary and back up weapons. These would include my three 9mm, Xd40, Cz52, and my three .380's. So I'm shooting at least 100rds a week, but spread among several guns. This doesn't include my other guns which get range time rotated randomly, just my cary arms.