Target Handguns Less Reliable?

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anotherinkling

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Hey all. Question for you. AK-47s, pump shotguns and other firearms are extremely reliable partly because of an engineered "looseness" to them that allows them to tolerate a bit of crud and grit and still operate. Fair to say? Well, does it follow then that "target" or "match" handguns, with their tighter tolerances would be more accurate but less reliable? Generally speaking.
 
If you were using a $3500, hand built, precision crafted pistol designed for competition in the same combat dust bowl conditions as an AK then yes it may be less reliable.

If you tried to use make the $500 AK variant put 10 rounds through the same hole in competition then it is less reliably accurate.

Different beasts, you are not even comparing apples to oranges, more like apples to haddock
 
Match revolvers are just as tough as their service equivalents, in my experience. That said, I'm not dunking my Performance Center Model 15 in a rice paddy anytime soon!
 
Match pistols that jam all the time in matches are soon being worked on by a pistolsmith so they don't.

I suppose if you compared a National Match grade 1911 to a GI issue 1911 while both were full of sand, it might be less reliable.

For normal use by 99% of us however, the tuned Match pistol is very likely way more reliable then an un-tuned stock one.

As FEG said, with revolvers, there is no differance at all.

rcmodel
 
In ideal conditions (kept clean, out of inclement weather, sand, mud, etc.), a properly tuned and fitted match-grade handgun will - and should be - reliable. Subject it to military combat conditions, and chances are it will not be.
 
The guns I see choke on a regular basis in IDPA are almost always high end, gunsmithed pistols. Maybe they're not lubed right, or not using the specific ammo they were built for, but............that's still what I've seen.
 
I'll bet that most of the problems with high end centerfire pistols can be linked to faulty handloads.
I shoot a weekly steel shoot and the good guns with good loads work better.
And don't forget that many match shooters are constantly tweeking things and trying new ideas. Many of our factory features were custom only items ten years ago.
 
I've run both of my SV "Limited" raceguns (one 9mm, one 40SW) in two-day 2000+ round pistol classes without problems. The same cannot be said for other "defense" pistols that people brought.

-z
 
Malfunctions are not tolerable in a match pistol, either. Even where the rules allow a "do-over," the reshoot is scored lower. In any kind of close competition, this alone may cost one the match.
 
I have often found that "target" handguns that have been tuned are far mor reliable than their out of the box counterparts. But whether or not they would pass a military durability/reliabilty test???
 
Match grade firearms basically have much tighter fit and this means it will need more cleaning to keep it running but I am talking about high end, expensive, special use firearms.
 
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