One thing I have found out for sure is the fact that the smaller the gun the more often to change out the recoil spring. I personally think they are the one part of crucial maintenance that will keep a gun running for a long time without failures or damage to the guns. I am very OCD about this, Some will run a gun until they just give out, I just cannot bring myself to do this. I also buy quite a few magazines for each gun. Less work on the mags.
I am fortunate that all my gun guns run without failure other than a occasional bad range ammo. Keeping fresh recoil springs and guide rods, good magazines and good cleaning after every range use are IMO the key to success. *also keeping the striker and firing pin channels cleaned out on a regular basis.
I first ran into function problems with "smaller" guns and recoil springs with a Kimber Ultra Carry a couple of decades ago. Gun was a problem from the start and only got worse as it was shot. Replace the springs every 300-500 rounds or so, and it got better. It also got expensive. Their recommended change out was above 500, but still ridiculously low. Their RSA's werent cheap either.
Then again, over the years, and especially when we were young and dumb, recoil springs were never really given a thought, or changed, in anything, yet we rarely, if ever, seemed to have any problems. So go figure. Then again, the guns were built a bit different then too.
I agree with youre thinking on the mags too, and normally try to keep practice mags separate from use mags. For the Glocks, I use the cheap Korean mags for practice and save the factory for use. Practice mags get used and abused on a weekly basis and generally take a beating. I just wish they made them for the smaller Glocks.
I normally dont keep guns that arent 99.5% (nothing is ever "perfect) with factory ammo . If you buy decent stuff, that has a good track record, youre usually good to go.
Name of the maker or cost of the gun doesnt always guarantee youre going to be OK or bad off. Certain guns do have a rep, yet that doesnt seem to stop people from buying them, and assuming they even knew they could be, and/or actually were a problem for others. I think sometimes people just feel the need and/or want to have a gun, and thats really about as far as it goes. No real thought to them is given beyond that.
Ammo, can be good, bad, and indifferent. Generally, the premium stuff geared to social use is usually pretty good, if you go with the more well known major makers. Im always a little skeptical about the boutique type ammo.
Factory bulk/practice ammo can vary a good bit, and Ive seen some pretty crappy QC from a couple of the big name makers. Not that its always a bad thing from the standpoint of "learning" practice. I get into that a good bit with my reloads as the lots of brass start to wear out, and its actually great malfunction/stoppage practice, as you get all kinds of random, intermittent, and totally unexpected stoppages, that get you used to dealing with a gun that stops running, and how to get it quickly back into action. At this point, I dont even think about clearing the gun, and just do it out of habit.
Getting back to the OP's question. I doubt anything but a small percentage of owners shoot them very much at all. Just yesterday, I listened to a female co-worker talking about the fact that she had a concealed weapon permit. When I asked her what make and model, she did not have a clue. And this IS NOT the first time over the years this has been repeated. And ask them when was the last time they went to the range and also hard for them to remember.
I think this is actually quite common across the board, even with people who say they are gun people.
I work with a bunch of guys that are big hunters, and always talk guns when it comes up, yet most arent really "shooters", and especially handgun shooters, and while many of them have handguns (of any kind), most rarely shoot any of them, rifle or pistol, other than to check their hunting rifle zeros in the spring and fall, and maybe once or twice a year fooling around.
Everyone seems to have a carry permit, and most will tell you they rarely carry, unless they are going down into the city, or some other reason they might feel the need.
None seem to do any kind of realistic practice or have even some basic training. Yet, they all seem to feel that they are good to go, should they need to use their handgun.