Who has shot a "zero-jam" semi auto?

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Not sure I can say any of my guns have never malfunctioned (semi-autos, revolvers etc), but most run hundreds if not thousands of rounds between stoppages. I have had a few broken parts along the way but they are just machines. Fix'em and keep shootin' Some of the stoppage are no doubt user and/or conditions induced. ie when you catch the edge of port in a wall with the front sight it's really not the guns fault it just short stroked. I guess I don't even expect flawless performance, I do expect very few problems but the idea of flawless seems unrealistic. I have seen too many people on the internet loose faith in a gun due to a single malfunction. Tap, rack, and bang and don't look back.
 
I've had several autos that I never experienced a failure with. Granted, I haven't put 10k through each, several probably saw a couple thousand. One that comes to mind was my first Makarov, a commercial Russian IJ-70 (Makarov with adjustable rear sights). That one in particular saw a good number of rounds, with the vast majority being steel core cased Russian stuff. Zero malfunctions.

Another was an early Taurus PT99 (before decockers) that saw perhaps a couple thousand round, many being 115gr Gold Dot loaded by Georgia Arms. Zero malfunctions.

A Gen 2 G19 that I used to own in the mid-90s. I tried like heck to like the pistol by shooting the snot out of it. Couldn't fall in love and sold it a few years later. Zero malfunctions.
I'm hoping my current G19 (gen 4 which I actually find ergonomic enough) is as reliable as the first.

"Very reliable" autos exist. Granted, if I had continued to fire any of the above, I'm sure I'd experience a malfunction (possibly due to parts-breakage) without a doubt. However, kept reasonably clean and oiled, they worked perfectly while I had them.

The rest of my firearms are pretty much reliable, with only an occasional bobble between long stretches. I don't hold on to firearms that don't work properly.
 
That's like a MTBF for hard drives. The more rounds they see the odds go up that at some point there will be a cycle issue. Some do a bit better and or are tolerant of being dirty, under lubed, worn springs, off spec ammo, etc. Among mine I have a bit more confidence with the HK P2000 working if needed.

Ammo would be the bigger part of this with out of spec or some with a dead primer failing to ignite.
 
The > "scam quality", US-made ammo < known as "Forged" by Winchester was the main factor, used after my other 9mm guns were evaluated with much better 'range ammo'.

If that weird garbage brand is excluded, along with about three jams due to Winchester "white box", near-zero issues in thousands of rds. used by the CZ PCR, Sig P6, Sig P228 (German proofmark) Walther P99 AS.
At least twice I'll admit to a limp-wrist (but I still like slender ladies in yoga pants).

* Probably the most reliable handgun I've ever owned is the commercial .380 Makarov, manufactured in Izhevsk.

Coyote 3855 mentioned a "German Makarov".
 
Hmmm...I'm going to say that I have two Glock 19's that have gone through...shhmaybe 15 gun classes and 10-15 years of carry. They probably have 30k rounds through them as a pair. I recall maybe one or two jams in all that time that I didn't setup for a drill. Maintenance on these guns occurred at factory recommended intervals; springs and worn parts have been replaced.

I figure if a gun can go 10k rounds without me thinking about jams, then it's probably good to go.

Let's contrast with my Dan Wesson 1911's. My Valor Government could only go approximately 175 rounds between jams. There was a mechanical issue aggravated by dirt that I diagnosed. It has been sent off to Nighthawk for repair and mods. My Dan Wesson Valor Commander 9mm seems to have none of these problems and has gone at least 500 between cleanings. It too is probably good to go as I anticipate cleaning it at least occasionally in the Apocalypse.
 
My Beretta M84 has digested every different type of 380 ACP ammunition, including 110 grain JHP 38 caliber reloads, that I have fed it. You just cannot get it to jam.

All of my 45 ACP and 38 Super M1911's have been jam free with RN ammunition and a little TLC at the git go. My 38/45 Clerke M1911 not so much but it is pretty good with appropriate magazines loaded only to five rounds.

My H&K PS30SK has also been jam free with 9x19 RN and HP bullets but it has only had 500 or so rounds through it.

My Glock 17 has been jam free with FMJ bullets. But my Glock 42 is very ammunition sensitive and jams with my 380 ACP reloads that fire in every other 380 ACP gun that I have.
 
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I have a Glock 17 well over the 100k mark. Every malfunction thus far has been attributed to either magazine issues or user error. Someone gave me one of Pmag Glock mags and it really didn't like it at all. Also had some malfunctions using really old factory mags (the ones that don't always reliably drop free). I have shot thousands of rounds of NATO and steel cased stuff and it eats everything. That's as close to perfect as I suppose I could expect. Heck, it even kept working after a slide rail had broken out of the frame.

I had similar problems with early gen Glock 23 and 19 magazines. I had one where a piece of plastic broke off at the feed lips and it never worked correctly after that. I'd definitely put those old mags back in the box and use only new mags.

Also, don't forget to change magazine springs if they are two coils short as compared to a new one. I had some issues with "newer" mags that were immediately fixed by swapping springs. Nowadays, if any of my Glocks gets a documented 1,000 rounds in a year and significant carry time, I just swap out the main spring and all the mag springs assigned to that gun.

I think Chuck Taylor documented 175k rounds through a Glock 17 that was only ever loaded with 15+1 rounds in a mag. I believe he stated that he never had to swap mag springs since the downloading did whatever it does to extend spring life. I could be wrong, but that's what I remember.

UPDATE: Taylor's Glock 17.2 had 365k rounds through it as of September 14, 2017. It eventually got a new mag spring in one of the mags, as well as a few new parts here and there as things broke. https://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2017/09/glock-17-pistol-torture-test/
 
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I have never had a pistol, or any gun I can think of, that was 100% reliable. I have many that very very rarely fail in any way.

I generally hear about two kinds of pistols on the interwebs; The beloved "Brand Name X" ones that never jam and all the rest that jam every time except when they shoot you in the butt, right from the holster.
 
Springfield 1911 mil-spec - early 90’s model. Probably have somewhere in 5k rounds with it, haven’t shot it much at in the last 10ish years.

wife had a LCP that never jammed, probably only ever shot about 500 rounds with it total.

Sig P220 W. German probably 3k ish rounds, still shoot it a little, a few hundred rounds a year.

KAHR PM40, I’ve only shot it a couple hundred rounds, bought it from a buddy who needed some cash several years back, obviously it just sits in the safe.


Maybe more but I can’t think of any, I have a much longer list of ones that have jammed, some with more rounds some with less.
I believe if you keep a semi auto clean, lubed, and use the mags it was to designed to use your mileage gets better. I fully believe I’d have another 1911 on that list if I never tried 8 round mags.
 
I have high dollar Jam-O- Matic. And one of the same price with thousands of rounds (27K) through it with out a jam. I keep round counts. Sharing a brand or model name will just cause another argument. Or a statement on how stupid it is to keep round counts.
 
None of my HKs have ever malfunctioned after many thousands of rounds. Nor have my Berettas. My Seecamp never failed, that after about 2K rounds. That is really remarkable. Even when I had a broken spring. Canik so far so good but it's only a year old. Sigs have been very good but not perfect.

Kahrs and Keltecs are another story.

Lesson learned is buy good guns and ammo, take good care of them and they will run.
 
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I think the only "perfect" one is my Beretta 950 Jetfire in .25. Closest to it are my Browning BDA 380 which crushed a single misshaped round as it went into battery. I started checking rounds most of the time before loading mags by rolling them on a pill tray I got from a closed up drugstore's dumpster a long time ago. If they wobble, they get put into a special box and either destroyed or fired one round at a time. Most end up getting fired and the case is trashed. I don't have a 9mm revolver, yet, so most of those end up going to a friend for a 2 messed up for one new round trade.
 
I have several pistols that I have owned and shot pretty extensively for 30 years or so that I don't ever remember jambing. I am not saying they haven't jamed but I clear the jam and continue shooting without making much of a mental note of it. If I own a gun that I remember numerous jams it is time for it to go (With some exceptions like a P08).
 
I've only got one semi-auto which has been 100% reliable so far. My S&W Shield 9, Model 1.0. I've got 3.5 years and ~750 rounds behind me with it and it's fed, fired and ejected every single round so far. That said, the key words are 'so far.' I recognize that 750 rounds is a pitifully small number compared to some shooters and that if I let it get dirty enough, or fail to lube it properly, or [insert failure cause here], it will fail eventually.
 
I’ve own lots of non jammers.....but I haven’t put many rounds through them yet either.
 
I have had a stoppage of one sort or another with most pistols I have owned. To be honest most of the time the stoppage was caused by me or the ammunition.
I caused a Ruger P-series to fail to extract by over lubrication. I had read that grease should be used on slide rails & bought a certain brand that was suggested. I put too much on. When I cleared the pistol & looked inside it grease has migrated everywhere. The extractor had slid off the rim of the case.
My M&P 2.0 Compact had a failure to return to battery. When I opened the slide & got the cartridge out I discovered a small part of the case was broken & bent backwards. The round would not drop in the barrel with the barrel out of the pistol. Clearly an ammunition issue (don't remember the brand but it was brass cased factory FMJ).
Kel-Tec P-11 I had a failure to extract with aluminum cased ammunition. I guess the chamber was a little tight. I just didn't shoot aluminum after that.
I have also caused issues with a slide stop on a Kahr CM9 the first time I shot it because I was pressing against the slide stop.
I had read about limp wristing but never experienced it. I learned the reality of it helping a female relative learn to shoot her pistol.

I am not saying there can not be a mechanical flaw in a pistol but the vast majority of problems I have encountered were caused by me or the ammunition. Of course that is why we try to learn them, find out what ammunition they do & don't like and of course verify everything works properly.
 
My STI Edge in 9mm has only malfunctioned once due to a high primer in 13,000 rounds in practice and shooting matches.
 
The real mitigating question here is what kind of ammo was I using when the hiccup occurred? No gun or ammo made by man here on earth is perfect, and we all need to practice our jam clearing drills anyway. My Gen3 Glock 17 has literally had every type of factory ammo through it in the 11+ years I have had it, and the only malfs I can ever recall were the dud rounds that wouldn’t fire regardless of which gun I was shooting. I have big hands which can trip the slide stop on some of my smaller guns, but it happened with my 19X a few weeks ago. I just cleared it & kept shooting anyway.
 
I think it’s a good idea to sometimes have somebody else load your magazine, and occasionally drop in a dummy round.
That way you can practice for the mechanical eventuality!
 
I've had two Glock 17s, a gen 3 and 4 I purchased new and each of them stove piped the very first round.. I'm replacing one of them with a Glock 22 Gen 5 and almost hope it happens to keep the tradition going. :)

That said my 10mm Glock 20C and 20 Gen 4 have never malfunctioned. Take ammo out of the equation and my 22 autos haven't either.
 
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