Reliability of your EDC

[ACP]

semiautos i'd put 200-250 rounds through it to break it in and test for any malfunctions.

I think most semiauto malfs. are due to magazines or ammo, not the gun per se, but a malf is a malf

revolvers i'd put 10 rounds through and carry it

EDC for me is two S&W 642s or a S&W 65 and a 642 BUG.

I will occasionally carry a BHP in 9mm.

EDIT: most people will make a distinction between break-in for semiauto reliability and THEN testing to see if your semiauto performs with your self defense round of choice. There's a big difference in the semiauto world between the feed and cyclic reliability of low-powered FMJ in 9mm and 45 ACP and screaming hot jacketed hollow points with big, open cavities. Be sure to test your semiauto with at least a box or two of the SD round of your choice. An expensive proposition, yes, but peace of mind.

After a gun is broken in I expect no malfs. per 1000 rounds.

 

[BobWright]

short barrel said:

Bob Wright, you're my kind of gun person. I love that .44. You say it was converted from .357, so you probably got it before Ruger came out with the flattops again.

Yup. Saw an ad in my Sunday paper once. Got home from church and called the gentleman. Had two Three Screw .357 Magnum Ruger Blackhawks for sale, either one for $200. Bought both, cponverted one, kept one a .357, so far.


Bob Wright

 

[tomrkba]

Glocks, SIGs, HK, and other top tier guns: 100 or so with a few mags with JHP mixed in.

1911s: 500 minimum. 100 minimum JHP. Any hiccup resets the counter. If the gun doesn't work by round 1,000, I work on getting a replacement from the factory. This is just part of the cost of the 1911 platform. I gave up on them years ago, but will likely try again soon.

Revolvers: 24-28 rounds unless the trigger is terrible. Then it goes to the gunsmith and another few cylinders are shot through it.

 

[guyfromohio]

No failures (unless obvious fault of ammo) is acceptable to me. It fails, it sells. Honestly, failures happen so rarely with the guns I buy, I can honestly say that not one of my current handguns has had a single failure:
Sig 239 thousands of rounds...no issues
Walther PPS same
CZ PCR same
Beretta M9 same


Others have had fewer rounds, but no failures.

The last gun I owned that failed was a PPK and it went bye-bye. I don't own 1911s for this reason. I could never trust that the break-in period is over.

 

[Jlr2267]

200 ball ammo, ~50 HP carry ammo, and it's good IMO. I then shoot ~100 rounds of ball and one magazine of HP every other week thereafter

 

[MRH]

"No failures (unless obvious fault of ammo) is acceptable to me." (from guyfromohio)


My cold weather carry is a Para Ordnance LDA Companion that I bought used with thousands of rounds through it. Prior owner used it at Gunsite. I've had Zero malfunctions with factory ammo.

Warm weather is either a S&W M&P 340 w/CT or a S&W Shield 9mm, with new night sites. Again, Zero malfunctions with factory ammo.

Mike

 

[edmo01]

As others have said, in addition to the standard cheap range ammo also shoot some of your chosen carry ammo. This will verify it runs in your gun.

One common cause of malfunctions is a faulty magazine. Because of this I number my magazines so I can easily identify and isolate any which are malfunction prone.

Years ago I was trying to fix an intermediate feeding problem with a 1911 and it ended up being caused by a magazine. The "bad" magazine is still sitting in a box in my garage away from the rest of the herd. After chasing that problem I now number each magazine.

Edmo

 

[JRWhit]

I would consider the first 300-500 the trial period. If there is any weak parts that are going to break they should do so in that amount of time, probably much sooner.
1 in 20-25 and I get worried
1 failure in 100 Is going to point to ammo.
A problem with the gun or a mag will show up much much sooner than 1in 100.
1 failure in 500rds is an anomaly. It points to a bad rd and not the gun.


Just remember, in SD you need to cycle reliably through one magazine.

If you actually have to, or have a chance to reload in a gun fight, then I guess you need to be able to cycle through two mags reliably.

 

[montanaoffroader]

A semi-auto pistol, 100 - 200 rounds. A revolver, at least 50 rounds.

Most of my handguns have far more than that through them, but this is the minimum I would shoot before adding a new one into the rotation.

 

[smalls]

I make 2 range trips with a gun before I carry it. I usually run about 200-300 rounds a trip, and I'll run a box and a half of my defensive rounds on the second trip.

 

[Deaf Smith]

Glock 26.. I expect zero malfunctions with good ammo.

Deaf

 

[matrem]

I hear ya Deaf. (that seemed odd to type) But:

Never an issue with a brand new 26, but had a fella over a couple years ago with a brand new 19 & he was having a few light primer strike FTF issues.

I wasn't involved with the cure, as he took it home to disassemble.
He was out a week or two later & it ran perfect.

He'd stripped it and said there was some hardened grease or "crud" in the firing pin channel that he'd cleaned.

This guy knows firearms pretty well and that reaffirmed to me to always prove any brand if your life may be on the line.

 

[Deaf Smith]

I hear ya Deaf. (that seemed odd to type) But:

Never an issue with a brand new 26, but had a fella over a couple years ago with a brand new 19 & he was having a few light primer strike FTF issues.

I wasn't involved with the cure, as he took it home to disassemble.
He was out a week or two later & it ran perfect.

He'd stripped it and said there was some hardened grease or "crud" in the firing pin channel that he'd cleaned.

This guy knows firearms pretty well and that reaffirmed to me to always prove any brand if your life may be on the line.

Yes Glocks are not infallible, so I agree. Any weapon you bet your life on needs to be checked out.. And rechecked every now and then.

While I shoot my practice glock 26 often, I do shoot my carry version about once every three month.

But I do trust it to go bang every time.
Deaf

 

[Mr.510]

My rule for carry gun reliability has always been 400 rounds without a single malfunction with 200 of those rounds being the exact ammo to be carried. I only shoot autoloaders and have never owned a revolver. I'm knocking on 11,000 rounds through my XD45c without a single hiccup since new. With a record like that I'm not sure what I'd do if it did malfunction. Probably start by replacing all the springs and then restart the 400 round count.

 

[guyfromohio]

Mr. 510.... I'm an enthusiast, not an expert, but I'd probably replace some of that stuff soon before a hiccup. That's a great track record!

 

[TimSr]

Reliability in a semi auto is gun/ammo/magazine combination compatability. If you change any one of these from your original reliability testing, your testing needs to start over.

 

[ImperatorGray]

I believe it was 1911Tuner who said, "One malfunction in a thousand is a fluke. One in 500, and we start to get a little nervous about the gun. One in a hundred, and the pistol is virtually useless, except for range work ... and even that gets to be a hassle."

Two hundred rounds in rapid succession is my initial test. If it passes that with zero problems, I consider it good to go. Until my next range trip, which I'll make within the next few days, after a thorough strip, cleaning, and inspection.

Five hundred with zero problems is where I start to get really comfortable.

 

[Spats McGee]

How many rounds do you put through your gun without malfunction before you feel comfortable carrying?

I've long since lost track of the number of "you-have-to-put-1000-rds-of-your-carry-ammo-through-your-gun-before-it-can-be-carried" posts I've seen. While it seems like a good theory, let's face it: carry ammo isn't cheap. I, for one, freely admit that I do not have an unlimited budget for reliability testing. My minimum is 200-300 rounds of plinking ammo and 2-3 magazines of carry ammo. That's when first purchased, or following any repairs or upgrades. If the gun acts up, it doesn't go (back) into the carry rotation until the issues are sorted out.