Have you relaxed your Standard of use before making a gun EDC

[Pandaz3]

I at one time had 1000 total rounds and five magazines of carry ammo as my 'Standard' prior to using as a EDC.

Then I drifted down to 500 rounds and three magazines of carry ammo.

Looking left, looking right and tiptoeing around I have dropped to 150 and two magazines.

Am I the only one? I have had failure in the past but all occurred in the first 50 rounds.

Asking for a friend of course.

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[Member 34319]

1000 rounds through some 380s might mean you'll need to start replacing parts. They just are not meant for high round counts.

At the same time, some guns, I'd trust out of the box. Like a G3 19 or a SP101.

 

[bbbass]

When I bought my Ruger SR9c, I put enough rounds thru it to know I needed a trigger polish. I did that and also replaced the stodgy connector. After a few more rounds out of each of the 3 mags, I put it in use. It is as reliable as a Glock, has the same trigger system as licensed by Glock, but even a new Glock I'd have to put some rounds thru just to get the "new" out of it...

 

[Alexx1401]

When I buy a new to me gun now if I get a couple hundred with zero problems I call it good. On some guns this is a chore and they are NOT fun. The Ruger LCPII in .380 was like this. Damn painful by the time I had a few boxes run past it. Got to where I was flinching badly. Other guns are of course fun to do this with. When Wife bought the same gun in .22 that one was plain fun to run several hundred through.
Now last 9mm I bought for Wife I ran a couple hundred ball. I keep it loaded with Speer ammo that is around a buck a round. So did not want to burn a lot of that ammo. So I bought several boxes of two different kinds of 125gr HP ammo. When it ate all those with no problems ran 20 round box of the pricey stuff last and called it good. I have no problem betting my life on it now.
Do this same thing with my PCC's. They are fun, too much fun, so it's easy to test them. Did the same thing bought cheap HP ammo from a couple makers. After they ate that I was fine with them loaded with the buck a round stuff for around the house.

 

[The Heretic]

I was just thinking about this for new gun owners when they are told they need to run 500 rounds thru a gun before trusting it. With the high prices today, that can easily equal the price of many guns.

Personally, I run at least 4-5 full mags of ammo thru each mag for a given type of ammo.

I find it is more about the ammo and the mag than it is about the gun itself.

E.G., the 14 round mags for a SIG P227 are notoriously problematic as they come from the factory - the springs need to be replaced. I have not found a single one that worked reliably from the factory - of the ten plus mags I have, only one did not have a malfunction on the first try, and that one malfunctioned on the second try. Replacing the spring with a plus power spring for a Para14 fixes the problem. The ten round mags work fine.

Also, ammo. You can run 500 rounds of FMJ RN thru a gun and it can function perfectly. Then try different kinds of JHP and find that half of them don't feed right. Especially true with older manufacture 1911s that were never made to feed JHP ammo. Even Glocks have problems - especially if they have been modified with compensators.

My SIGs run fine for me and my SIL, but my daughter limp wrists them and has FTE/FTF problems. She has no such problems with a Glock.

I don't think 500 rounds is needed, but at least test each mag with the type of ammo you are going to use, 4-5 times. By then you should have an idea if the gun with work with the mag and ammo. If you have problems, then figure out if it can be fixed (like with my SIG 227) and retest. If not, try a different mag or ammo.

I have a rifle that has problems with certain mags and ammo that I am still trying to figure out.

Never trust new mags or different ammo until it has been tested in the gun. That is one reason why I try to stick with minimal different kinds of ammo and not buy just a box or two of many different kinds if I know what works. I will generally only buy in quantities of several hundred rounds, preferably more. If the ammo works, then I hopefully have enough of the same lot to keep it on hand. If not, then I can sell/trade it to someone and they can test it in their firearms - what doesn't work for me doesn't necessarily mean it won't work for someone else. Every gun is different.

 

[CRBMoA]

My thinking is a gun does not even rate EDC if it is not totally reliable.

My point being I agree with The Heretic. I am not checking my gun. I am checking how my ammo plays with my gun.

 

[WillametteWill]

I don't have a specific amount but usually in the 200 - 500 range plus a box of 50 carry ammo. I've been fortunate to take my last two guns to a class shortly after purchase they they each had nearly 1,000 run through them. Used my carry ammo for the night shoot so I could test for flash.

 

[The Heretic]

I don't have a specific amount but usually in the 200 - 500 range plus a box of 50 carry ammo. I've been fortunate to take my last two guns to a class shortly after purchase they they each had nearly 1,000 run through them. Used my carry ammo for the night shoot so I could test for flash.

When you own 9 SIGs, running 500-1K rounds of JHP ammo thru each can get expensive on a retirement income. Even ball ammo is expensive today.

 

[Lawbider]

If it goes bang every time through a box of range rounds and a box of carry rounds, it's good to go. Any time I've had reliability issues with a handgun it had them from the very start .

 

[Kruel J]

I carry Glocks. No need for break in or otherwise. Shoot a couple mags to verify function and then carry with confidence. I have a few hundred rounds of quality SD ammo and run a mag of them through my EDC at the range once in a while just for practice.

 

[WillametteWill]

When you own 9 SIGs, running 500-1K rounds of JHP ammo thru each can get expensive on a retirement income. Even ball ammo is expensive today.

At Cheaper than Dirt ammo prices, that adds up to about...

 

[GunInEachHand]

Yes. I have walked my "normal" routine back a hair. Used to be 1k range and 100 carry.
Even at "normal" prices that was close to $300 bucks.
Nowadays, off the shelf ammo is either unobtainaum or would be $750 in ammo.

I can still keep my costs semi reasonable if I get off my lazy butt and cast, powder coat and reload. I can get to .08 cents a trigger pull by shooting into a bullet trap,
There are 2 problems even with that:
A: part of the reason for 1k range ammo (imo) is to try a bunch of different brands and weights. This is completely defeated by using my own hand made ammo.
B: it REALLY is a lot of work to do that. I mean hours upon hours of screwing around.

 

[thorborg]

Any relaxing of standards of EDC trust, for me, is not due to the availability of ammo or cost, but due solely to the amount of plastic in the gun. I used to do 250 rounds to ensure a new (all metal) gun was broken in fair. Another 250 to insure my peace of mind it had my back. Then, if fun to shoot, would shoot it any chance I got.
But with some plastic guns my faith is spent after 500 rounds (whether realistic or not) so feel OK with 250 rounds up front, then, only shoot a mag here and there to keep up my familiarity with it thinking more would prematurely wear it out to unreliability. Like I said, facts may bear out otherwise to others, but there is no accounting for my personal feelings and a lifetime of experience and a myriad of plastic things having a disappointing short life span.

 

[Kruel J]

Any relaxing of standards of EDC trust, for me, is not due to the availability of ammo or cost, but due solely to the amount of plastic in the gun. I used to do 250 rounds to ensure a new (all metal) gun was broken in fair. Another 250 to insure my peace of mind it had my back. Then, if fun to shoot, would shoot it any chance I got.
But with some plastic guns my faith is spent after 500 rounds (whether realistic or not) so feel OK with 250 rounds up front, then, only shoot a mag here and there to keep up my familiarity with it thinking more would prematurely wear it out to unreliability. Like I said, facts may bear out otherwise to others, but there is no accounting for my personal feelings and a lifetime of experience and a myriad of plastic things having a disappointing short life span.

Your feelings are certainly yours. But facts are easier to discern. And the fact that "plastic" guns from reputable manufacturers will go 10's of thousands of rounds without failure and are carried by military and LE around the globe should be enough to settle anyone's mind about perceived premature wear. That is, the perception that somehow the "plastic" gun is going to wear out much sooner is complete baloney.

 

[Pandaz3]

I have sent back to the factory broken Para's, Ruger's and yes Glock's, all occurred early in their shooting life. I need to test some and mainly the carry ammo

 

[Member 5605]

A little bit of relaxing but nothing I carry now days has not been through the paces to prove reliability.
My G19 may be the lowest round count EDC, I do believe it still has copper lube on it but it has been around the block.

 

[HA556]

I carry Glocks. No need for break in or otherwise. Shoot a couple mags to verify function and then carry with confidence. I have a few hundred rounds of quality SD ammo and run a mag of them through my EDC at the range once in a while just for practice.

I was going to post along the same lines!

 

[edzz]

Any relaxing of standards of EDC trust, for me, is not due to the availability of ammo or cost, but due solely to the amount of plastic in the gun. I used to do 250 rounds to ensure a new (all metal) gun was broken in fair. Another 250 to insure my peace of mind it had my back. Then, if fun to shoot, would shoot it any chance I got.
But with some plastic guns my faith is spent after 500 rounds (whether realistic or not) so feel OK with 250 rounds up front, then, only shoot a mag here and there to keep up my familiarity with it thinking more would prematurely wear it out to unreliability. Like I said, facts may bear out otherwise to others, but there is no accounting for my personal feelings and a lifetime of experience and a myriad of plastic things having a disappointing short life span.

Absolutely agree with you, some pf the plastic guns I've had were VERY disappointing.
FWIW I've had mechanical failures with 3 separate glock 19's. and had a grendel P10 that always worked. Go figure.
Life is full of variables.

 

[sobo]

13,000+ training rounds through the top one without missing a heartbeat. About 500 SD rounds with same result. It likes Speer Gold Dot 180 gr short-barrel JHPs.
According to SIG's literature, I probably should have replaced the guide spring about 3,000 rounds ago. I guess I should get on that...

5,000+ training rounds through the bottom one with the same experience. About 300 SD rounds with same result. It likes Speer Gold Dot 124 gr. short-barrel JHPs.

 

[Kruel J]

Absolutely agree with you, some pf the plastic guns I've had were VERY disappointing.
FWIW I've had mechanical failures with 3 separate glock 19's. and had a grendel P10 that always worked. Go figure.
Life is full of variables.

Due to the polymer frames? I HIGHLY doubt that. In fact I have a really hard time believing you had 3 mechanical failures with three separate Glock 19s. Unless you were firing thousands of rounds a year from them.