Which semi-auto pistol would you bet your life on out the box?

Status
Not open for further replies.
I'd opt with an original Colt GI 1911, with ball ammo. A distant second would be an XD.
 
MICHAEL T said:
Should they not expect this pistol they paid from a couple hundred to say a $1000+ to work right from box if needed . I think so.
Click to expand...

I am not challenging the expectation so much... of course we all expect brand new things to work out of the box. That is a far cry, though, from the idea that we can *depend* on them to which is unwise and in 99.9999% of cases unnecessary (Hollywood blockbusters excepted...)

Any mechanical device is subject to fail out of the box a small percentage of the time, especially the more moving parts it has. That is just the world we live in. It only makes sense, then, that if you do intend to trust your life to any firearm that you would take some simple, common sense precautions beforehand:

1) know how to properly operate your gun (and READ THE MANUAL)
2) familiarize yourself with the proper malfunction clearing drills for your gun
3) practice steps 1 and 2 regularly to where you do not have to think about the "how" (dry fire!)
4) verify your gun works reliably with your choice of ammo (i.e. 250 rounds+ without any kind of malfunction is my personal minimum)

If referring to this procedure (particularly step 4) as a "necessary break in period" offends you then call it whatever you like, but there *are* sound reasons why this is recommended practice with any new carry gun, regardless of model or cost.

If the OP wanted to know what guns are generally considered more reliable out of the box then that is one thing. It is something else entirely to suggest that any such consensus be the primary basis for someone's feeling of readiness when it comes to protecting their life.

Yes, most gun owners do not practice enough (or at all) and most want to think the most critical choices they make as gun owners are which gun to buy or what ammo to use in it.

The truth, however, is that the biggest decision they ever make is whether or not to practice and be prepared!
 
Last edited:
That would be HK.
I have also had great expierence with Sig & Springfield XD.
I would not have a problem with my Kimber and love the 1911 but I agree out of the box for me it would be:
1. HK
2. XD
3. Sig
 
I've had XDs, still own one for EDC. Did some training with Sig, Glock and bought a fullsize Kimber a while back. None of these 4 makes EVER let me down.

Standing in front of a pile of guns "out of the box" and the S has hit the F I'd grab an XD or Glock. The only thing holding a Sig back for me is the decocker and the Kimber? Well mine has been perfect since new but with all the internet stories I read I wouldn't grab a spanking tight brandy-ass new one for a gun fight unless I had to.
 
Shadow Bob

Don't be ashamed,they are ugly but they work.:D At least that has been my experiense YMMV. Michael T Hit on some good points about non shooters buying guns with which I agree to a certain point. In fact the Kimber that I carry has a bit of a scary history. I bought it used and it was obvious from wear on the ambi safety that it had been carried a lot. The gun was three years old when I got it. The scary part is that it would not even feed a full mag of ball ammo without jambing. When I had my friend tune the extractor, he told me that the gun was virtualy brand new on the inside and he doubted that it had been fired much at all. I asked him what caused the wear on the safety and he told me exactly what I had suspected, holster wear. The previous owner was carrying a gun that probably never worked right.:what:
 
First if I knew I was going to gun fight I would suddenly remember I had something more pressing that just can not wait. If there was not way to get out of it I would take my shotgun. But in respond to your question being what handgun I have the most faith in out of the box Beretta 92.

be safe
 
I know I suck and I know they hate me but I would have to say the HK USP gets my vote.

The Beretta 92 is also hard to beat when it comes to out of the box use and abuse reliability.
 
Trusting a weapon to function out of the box without testing it is like jumping out of an aircraft with a brand new chute that you didn't pack or inspect yourself. An act of faith. I didn't get to be old by having that sort of blind faith in people or mechanical devices. I love to do crazy stuff as much as the next guy but only if I get to check out the gear first. (I do my own brake work)
 
Sig Sauer P220....its the only semi-auto I own that has yet to fail me once since day one. The Sig P239 also falls within this category.

Since administering a bit of "smoothing" to my XD45 (due to a pre-mature slide lock issue), it has also proven every bit as reliable as the Sig. But, since it did not come that way "out of the box," I must leave that honor to Sig alone.
 
Last edited:
Any gun that hasn't been handled, altered, or influenced by Murphy. He seems to have messed with all guns at one time or another.............
 
none, no pistol should be used for self defense until it has been put through its paces and shown it is reliable. Every manufacturer has the possibility of producing a lemon, or letting something slip through QC.
 
So here is how it breaks down so far....

I went back through the last 122 posts and tried to come up with a tally. Having read through them earlier I had a general idea of which guns seemed to have mentioned most so I made a list of 7 (then I added an any 1911 column). when it was all said and done I probably should have put in S&W and CZ, but I didn't. They both garnered about 5 votes each as first choice. If a poster mentioned 3 guns I took the first on his list if it was on my list of 7. If his first choice wasn't on my list I kept going till I came up with one that was. So, this is how it washes out so far.

Glock 35 votes
Springfield XD 17 votes
H&K 12 votes
Browning 6 votes
Beretta 4 votes
Sig 3 votes
Makarov 3 votes
1911 4 votes

If you have read through these, as I have done, several times, you will probably think that Makarov got a lot more votes than it actually di because while it was mentioned a fair amount it was almost always the posters second choice. The same is true of others as well.

Obviously there aren't as many votes as as there are posts. Most of this can be attributed to people not understanding the basic premise of my original question, people disagreeing with what someone else said or me, running my yap. :D
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

F
  • Locked
Semi auto for the rest of your life.
2 3 4
Replies
78
Views
3K
migkillertwo
M
A
  • Locked
What new gun would you trust with your life?
2 3 4
Replies
90
Views
4K
nat
N
S
  • Locked
What SA to conceal C3
Replies
1
Views
425
Jorg Nysgerrig
J
M
  • Locked
  • Poll
lightweight and inexpensive semi auto for ccw
Replies
22
Views
1K
Willieboy
W
4
  • Locked
.44 Magnum Semi Auto Pistols
2
Replies
40
Views
21K
Thatguy686
T
Back
Top