dhoomonyou
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Glock.
What is the most dead solid reliable pistol (autoloader) design ever?
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351 WINCHESTER
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A well tuned 1911 or a high power - Way back when and now. Any pistol will eventually jam or break some parts or springs wear out, but from my experience it's hard to be a Browning design. Use good ammo and keep them lubed. I bought a bhp in 1976 and I fired the snot out of it. I think I finally cleaned it thousands of rounds later. She never missed a beat. Now I didn't drop her in the mud or run over her with my truck.
PhillyGlocker
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Glock is the answer, and most of you know it. The darkside is contageous and eventually you will succumb to it.
Sven
Senior Member
Hate to say it, but Glock 17 IMO has been the most reliable I've shot. 1911 is my favorite... like a muscle car. 
Glock is a Toyota.
Glock is a Toyota.glockman19
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Glock 9mm. Any one take your pick, 17/19/26/34
lawdogso
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BHP!
Tom Fury
Member
S&W 3rd gen: Sig, Glock (i want manual safetys tho) and Darn it, the Ruger P series...H&Ks are just too big...
Cheers, TF
Cheers, TF
Paulinus
Member
Interesting Discussion
Threads like this one provide everyone with a place to express themselves and give recognition to their favorite (most reliable) handgun. For me that is the BHP.
I wonder what everyone means by "the most reliable?"
Most contemporary handgun designs have high reliability if they receive some care and no abuse. They will perform well in temperate climates through all four seasons. More meaningful criteria are found in extreme climates (arctic, rain forest, hot sand, high altitude, etc.) using ammo which also is subject to extreme climates. Then add less than regular maintenance and some abuse. Military adoption testing attempts to duplicate such conditions (my nephew is a lethal systems engineer with the US Army at the testing center in Aberdeen). Yet, even those testing procedures only approximate potentially actual conditions. It is the best we have, other than a history of actual use under the widest possible conditions. Also, reliability should be demonstrated over a long service life with high (but not extreme) round counts.
The real question is not which is most reliable, but which is highly reliable under the widest possible range of conditions. Most of us have not had a very wide range of conditions in which we have used the same handgun. Confidence is slighty different from reliability. Confidence is a psychological category and is a highly important factor in the use of a weapon. Reliability (here at least) is consistent performance of a mechanical device (devices including handgun and ammo) over a range of conditions.
Threads like this one provide everyone with a place to express themselves and give recognition to their favorite (most reliable) handgun. For me that is the BHP.
I wonder what everyone means by "the most reliable?"
Most contemporary handgun designs have high reliability if they receive some care and no abuse. They will perform well in temperate climates through all four seasons. More meaningful criteria are found in extreme climates (arctic, rain forest, hot sand, high altitude, etc.) using ammo which also is subject to extreme climates. Then add less than regular maintenance and some abuse. Military adoption testing attempts to duplicate such conditions (my nephew is a lethal systems engineer with the US Army at the testing center in Aberdeen). Yet, even those testing procedures only approximate potentially actual conditions. It is the best we have, other than a history of actual use under the widest possible conditions. Also, reliability should be demonstrated over a long service life with high (but not extreme) round counts.
The real question is not which is most reliable, but which is highly reliable under the widest possible range of conditions. Most of us have not had a very wide range of conditions in which we have used the same handgun. Confidence is slighty different from reliability. Confidence is a psychological category and is a highly important factor in the use of a weapon. Reliability (here at least) is consistent performance of a mechanical device (devices including handgun and ammo) over a range of conditions.
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In the past 18 months I've put about 17,000 rounds down the pipe of a few guns. My P220 has about 4,700 of them. My P226 .40 has about 5,000 of them. My G17 has about 4,800 of them. Those are my autoloaders. The remaining rounds went through revolvers. So let's divide this into rounds that count and those that don't. 2,500 rounds don't have a dog in this fight.
No failures on the P220 - of any kind. Same with the P226 failures on MY Glock. But the only gun I had ANY sort of failure on during this time frame was a rental G19 that fired, rechambered and then had this funny feel to it - no trigger reset. Yup broken trigger spring.
Does that mean the Glock is inferior? Nope, not at all. It just means that it's the only gun I've had a mechanical failure stop the show with in nearly 15,000 rounds of shooting. My firearms do not routinely lie between me and a deadly threat, nor are they ever likely to. Will I avoid my Glock in a bad situation? Nope. I shoot it pretty well and whether it's the Glock, my 220 or my 226, the dork on the receiving end is gonna stop trying to do whatever provoked me to do what I did to him. Simple as that.
s
No failures on the P220 - of any kind. Same with the P226 failures on MY Glock. But the only gun I had ANY sort of failure on during this time frame was a rental G19 that fired, rechambered and then had this funny feel to it - no trigger reset. Yup broken trigger spring.
Does that mean the Glock is inferior? Nope, not at all. It just means that it's the only gun I've had a mechanical failure stop the show with in nearly 15,000 rounds of shooting. My firearms do not routinely lie between me and a deadly threat, nor are they ever likely to. Will I avoid my Glock in a bad situation? Nope. I shoot it pretty well and whether it's the Glock, my 220 or my 226, the dork on the receiving end is gonna stop trying to do whatever provoked me to do what I did to him. Simple as that.
s
GW
Member
High-Power, H&K Sig are all great, reliable handguns I own or have owned them all but I have to go with the Glock as the king of reliability.
It has proven itself again and again the the gun-critic whose opinions I'd stake my life on--Me
It has proven itself again and again the the gun-critic whose opinions I'd stake my life on--Me
Keeterbird
Member
I have been following this thread for a while. Trying to decide how to make the distinction. I have a SW95DC- about 2K rounds no problems. My CZ75BD is my newest, and it has gone through about 1.5K with no misfires. I like the CZ because of the feel in my hand, and it doesn't rattle, however, I just have never had a misfire. ammo has been primarily FED and Wolf (Russian, and reloads. The only misfires I have had were with my CZ52. The first 800 were fine, but the second batch produced several misfires. So I shelved the surplus and went for the production and even the CZZ52 became reliable. Clean modern guns of reputable quality appear to be reliable. I would trust all of my autoloaders.
Now watch the (#&@ things jam!
Now watch the (#&@ things jam!
heypete
Member
I'll put in another vote for Glock.
I once had parts falling out of the pistol, and it continued to operate properly. (The parts in question were the takedown lever and takedown spring, neither of which affected its operation.) I have no idea why they fell out, but they were easily replaced for less than $7 from Lone Wolf Distributors.
The mechanical simplicity of the pistol is admirable, and contributes greatly to its reliability.
Of course, most quality modern pistols are plenty reliable: Sig, HK, Ruger, Beretta, S&W, Springfield, and others are all notably reliable as well.
I once had parts falling out of the pistol, and it continued to operate properly. (The parts in question were the takedown lever and takedown spring, neither of which affected its operation.) I have no idea why they fell out, but they were easily replaced for less than $7 from Lone Wolf Distributors.
The mechanical simplicity of the pistol is admirable, and contributes greatly to its reliability.
Of course, most quality modern pistols are plenty reliable: Sig, HK, Ruger, Beretta, S&W, Springfield, and others are all notably reliable as well.
full metal
Member
As much as i love the 1911 i'v had some jam up on me.
GLOCK 17 never never had one jam on me even with reload's.
GLOCK 17 never never had one jam on me even with reload's.
Charles Martel
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Fantastic thread. I would agree that the best definition of reliability would include operation under adverse circumstances including extremes of temperature. I keep coming back to the Beretta 92FS which underwent the government test and was chosen because of its performance.
I own a CZ, 2 Sigs and 2 Berettas. The BHP ends up "biting" my hand when I shoot it. Never owned a 1911 but, though a wonderful gun, it appears to be a design requiring a great deal of attention.
Never owned a Glock but would not hesitate to buy one and rely upon it. It certainly seems to have the most votes for "most dead solid reliable pistol."
I own a CZ, 2 Sigs and 2 Berettas. The BHP ends up "biting" my hand when I shoot it. Never owned a 1911 but, though a wonderful gun, it appears to be a design requiring a great deal of attention.
Never owned a Glock but would not hesitate to buy one and rely upon it. It certainly seems to have the most votes for "most dead solid reliable pistol."
XavierBreath
Member
Please start a new thread if you would like to discusss these issues.
Ressurecting a two year old thread means you are talking to folks who no longer care and/or are no longer here.
Thank you.
Ressurecting a two year old thread means you are talking to folks who no longer care and/or are no longer here.
Thank you.
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