Does a gun take 600 rounds to break in?

Break-in shmake-in. Kimber spends eleventy-bajillion dollars a year for full outside covers on how many gun rags? If they spent a fraction of that money on their finished product, they wouldn't get called out every time this subject comes up.

A division of Kimber fans will be along shortly to lecture us about the miracle of "tight tollerances."

I'm going to shoot the rounds either way - but if i'm clearing jams every mag or 2 i'm sending it on a vacation to the factory. One failure to extract in a hundred rounds could easily be ammo but consistant failure of any kind buys it a trip.

Firearm "break in"

The Mfrs. claim that their gun requires an initial "break in period" of 600 rnds. before it will function reliably is BS. ANY competently designed and manufactured firearm should function reliably right "out of the box"!! "I CARRY A GUN BECAUSE COPS ARE TOO HEAVY"

Break in for any gun is stupid. If it isn't reliable out of the box then why the heck would I depend on it for my life? Bought a P239, functioned flawless out of the box and not one single FTF or FTE in well over 5000 rounds and eats everything I've thrown at it.

Now having read and studied many of the replies, I will say this. Some gas systems (rifles) need a few rounds through them to seal. Notice I said a few which to me means less than 100 to get everything smoothed out and sealed. Just depends on how the gas system is set up and attached to begin with.

I have never kept or owned a pistol that gave me problems. 50 years ago stuff worked when you bought it or you got a refund. Now it's like buyer beware or it's the buyer's fault. Maybe a little harsh but I agree if less was spent on hype and more on QC manythings would be better.

A gun that needs break-in is either covering for bad manufacturing or bad design. A new car that backfires and misfires isn't in need of a break-in period, it is in need of repair.

A machine needs to run for awhile to make sure it DOES run properly. I think its good that a manufacturer gives a consumer some idea of when they can begin to consider their item "broken in". 600 is not a lot of rounds, and it is probably NOT a good idea to ASSUME the gun will run just fine with 100--200 rounds, etc.

Yeah 600 rounds is a good benchmark for trusting a weapon for carry purposes.


However I'd sure feel a lot better carrying a gun that's just ran flawlessly through those 600 rounds than one that has been a jam-o-matic for those 600 rounds.


It's probably not a good idea to think that once it hits that magic 600 number it's suddenly gonna turn into a reliable pistol you can trust your life to.

The only pistol I have bought in recent years that had a problem was a SIG Mosquito. When I installed the correct spring and began using CCI MiniMags, as the factory recommended, the problem went away.

I will put at least 3-400 rounds though a new gun before it goes into rotation, but that's me getting used to the gun. I have an FNP-9 and a Beretta PX4 Storm and they were both reliable right out of the box. I also have a Walther PK380; the only time it had any problems I was using lousy ammo because it was all I could get during the great .380 famine. With better ammo, it performs like a champ.

It still blows me away that anyone would buy a Kimber or any M1911 clone that didn't work right out of the box. Sorry, but IMHO, $1,000 is a lot to pay for a paperweight.

I don't live in a place where all guns, new in the box, work 100% right after they exit the box. Apparently, we have some lucky folks here that can SPOT a 100% reliable, NEW gun, and that is why their's never needs adjustment. I'm going to let them do MY gunbuying from now on! Perhaps we coud set the bar at a given $$$ amount so that THAT will insure a perfect gun.

600 rounds to break a gun in!!??
Many guns on the market won't go 600 rounds before they out and out break!!

SharpedDressedMan said:

I don't live in a place where all guns, new in the box, work 100% right after they exit the box. Apparently, we have some lucky folks here that can SPOT a 100% reliable, NEW gun, and that is why their's never needs adjustment. I'm going to let them do MY gunbuying from now on! Perhaps we coud set the bar at a given $$$ amount so that THAT will insure a perfect gun.

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No need to do all that...........




.........just get a Glock.

the_skunk said:

Everyone loves a glock ... if I can sell my undependable P232, then I am looking hard at a glock

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He certainly does. Lots of others folks have different likes, though.

Break in is a philosophical/psychological phenomena

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my bull chip meter is spinning.
The reason for break periods is to allow the mating surfaces in the gun to smooth each other. An example would be giving my American Classic II 1911 45 acp trigger 500 - 1000 to naturally smooth the tool marks and make the trigger action smoother.

EddieNFL said:

He certainly does. Lots of others folks have different likes, though.

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Yeah I'll admit it I just "love" guns that actually work like their supposed to and don't need a break-in period, or an "adjustment" by a smith, or a good cussing at.


Yes sir the best way for a gun to endear itself to me is for it to be trouble free and perform flawlessly everytime I pull the trigger.


Now you may prefer other things like being pretty and stylish, or you maybe like that guy on the Burger King commercials with the tiny little hands that just don't fit right around a Glock grip.

I agree Glocks aren't the prettiest, don't have the best ergonomics, or the cleanest crispest trigger, but they do work right out the box. At least for me anyway, yeah I see the usual suspects on the internet putting them down but I've ownd three a G27, a G20, and now a G26 and all of them have worked perfectly straight from the box, and never gave me a problem of any sort.


Now you may have other priorities or things you "like" but I want a gun that's stone cold reliable right out of the gate.


Break-ins should be for smoothing out surfaces not hoping and praying that the darn thing will eventually work right.

Poor engineering

What I like about the break-in discussion is that some actually believe it is appropriate!

If I pay >$1K for a pistol, it should run out of the box if properly lubed. Tolerances can easily be held with today's machining equipment, shucks, it could be held by a good machinist many years ago.

Too tight doesn't mean "tight tolerances" (as brand K claims to be the reason break-in is required), it means poorly toleranced (read: poorly engineered). I buy precision machinery where I work, and "break-in" just doesn't happen, or the manufacturer gets to come fix it. To be told that I need to spend 20% of my original cost to break in a piece of equipment would be the death knell for that supplier.

If one pays for a premium gun, one should not be expected to run 500 rounds to get the gun to work. How Kimber arrived at this philosophy, I don't know, and how they keep selling under this condition is beyond me.

Yeah I'll admit it I just "love" guns that actually work like their supposed to and don't need a break-in period, or an "adjustment" by a smith, or a good cussing at.


Yes sir the best way for a gun to endear itself to me is for it to be trouble free and perform flawlessly everytime I pull the trigger.


Now you may prefer other things like being pretty and stylish, or you maybe like that guy on the Burger King commercials with the tiny little hands that just don't fit right around a Glock grip.

I agree Glocks aren't the prettiest, don't have the best ergonomics, or the cleanest crispest trigger, but they do work right out the box. At least for me anyway, yeah I see the usual suspects on the internet putting them down but I've ownd three a G27, a G20, and now a G26 and all of them have worked perfectly straight from the box, and never gave me a problem of any sort.


Now you may have other priorities or things you "like" but I want a gun that's stone cold reliable right out of the gate.


Break-ins should be for smoothing out surfaces not hoping and praying that the darn thing will eventually work right.

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Are you always so sensitive? Post loaded statements and someone will call you on it.

In which post did I rag on Glocks? When my wife decided she needed a handgun, I bought her a Glock. Why, you ask? Reputation and personal experience. It's a simple design that novice shooters can easily master.

Nope, Glocks aren't my cup of tea. I carry a stone cold reliable right out of the gate .45...plus the ergonomics fit me and the trigger is superb...and it's good looking.

Nice try with the put downs, though.

EddieNFL said:

Are you always so sensitive? Post loaded statements and someone will call you on it.

In which post did I rag on Glocks? When my wife decided she needed a handgun, I bought her a Glock. Why, you ask? Reputation and personal experience. It's a simple design that novice shooters can easily master.

Nope, Glocks aren't my cup of tea. I carry a stone cold reliable right out of the gate .45...plus the ergonomics fit me and the trigger is superb...and it's good looking.

Nice try with the put downs, though.

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And you're calling me sensitive???



I never meant you specifically I was actually refering to Glock-haters in general.


Sorry if you took it personally.


It's kinda hard to know just exactly what you meant from just two sentences.

If a gun needs 600 rounds to break in I don't want anything to do with it, I don't care what name is on it. Every gun I have ever owned has worked right away, whether a 1911, Glock, M&P,AR, etc. Everything I own has more than 1k-1.5k rounds through it now other than my newest additions. You wouldn't but any other product that doesn't work when brand new, why settle for it with your guns.