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Equally as important as making sure a gun is reliable is learning how to quickly clear and correct a malfunction. You can put 5000 flawless rounds through it, but maybe you have a failure to feed at 5001. Hopefully that's not during a time you need it to defend yourself, but if it is, it's important to know how to get it going bang again as fast as possible
 
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.

This. As a matter of fact, I shoot steel/aluminum framed guns more during break in due to the tolerances. I've literally taken a brand new Glock 22, lubed it up, and shot in an IDPA competition with it.

The service life of a G22 was about 20k rounds. Something like 30k for a G17 or a G21.

When I was first issued the M&P, there were enough problems overall that I shot 1000 rounds before carrying it. That was in 2008. Now, with the bugs worked out of it, I hold it in the same regard as Glock.

1911s, which I am very fond of, generally get 500 ball and 100 carry ammo through it before I'll carry it. Sometimes more. Manufacturers think they have to be so tight. New Colts rattle like a maracas, but seem to run great out of the box.
 
Equally as important as making sure a gun is reliable is learning how to quickly clear and correct a malfunction. You can put 5000 flawless rounds through it, but maybe you have a failure to feed at 5001. Hopefully that's not during a time you need it to defend yourself, but if it is, it's important to know how to get it going bang again as fast as possible

Great point. Sometimes its not the gun that needs 500 rounds, its the shooter. When I started carrying a Sig P-series gun, I had to unlearn where a Glock slide stop was. That location on the the Sig is the decocker and the slide stop is to the rear of that. I had to learn the DA to SA transition. I also had problems with my grip interfering with the slide locking on the last round. Had to adjust that too.

Remember to shoot your gun fast and from the holster. Controlled singles don't show you if you have technique problems that will choke your gun when fired rapidly.
 
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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.
1 very early 19 bad slide stop spring caused the slide to stay open after every shot. I wasn't the only one with this problem. Glock fixed with an updated spring. very low round count.
2 Clinton era 19 with adjustable rear sight. F ing thing got knocked off chambering a round. very low round count.
3 POS plastic guide rod failed. high round count.

And yes I was firing thousands of rounds a year. During the same time frame my the only other guns I had break was a HK psp that broke an action spring after many thousands of rounds fired and my Detonics .45 broke an extractor. My bad, I was in the habit of loading the chamber than releasing the slide even knowing better.

I willing admit that most of the plastic guns I've owned have not needed work or tuning to function acceptably. Mind you I also am not inclined to make many modifications to my plastic guns. Lipstick on a pig and all...
 
1 very early 19 bad slide stop spring caused the slide to stay open after every shot. I wasn't the only one with this problem. Glock fixed with an updated spring. very low round count.
2 Clinton era 19 with adjustable rear sight. F ing thing got knocked off chambering a round. very low round count.
3 POS plastic guide rod failed. high round count.

And yes I was firing thousands of rounds a year. During the same time frame my the only other guns I had break was a HK psp that broke an action spring after many thousands of rounds fired and my Detonics .45 broke an extractor. My bad, I was in the habit of loading the chamber than releasing the slide even knowing better.

I willing admit that most of the plastic guns I've owned have not needed work or tuning to function acceptably. Mind you I also am not inclined to make many modifications to my plastic guns. Lipstick on a pig and all...

Thank you for the clarification. And even better for showing that the "plastic" frame did not fail. Polymer guide rod? Yeah, I'd like to see Glock address that although I've never had one fail.
 
When I got my new Gen 5 G19 MOS a couple of years ago, I loaded up some different defensive loads to try in it. Most were the same loads I used in the previous Gen 4 G19. Took it to the range and discovered many of the rounds would not chamber. WTH?

Double checked the ammo and all was within spec and functioned flawlessly in my other 9mm firearms.

The problem was that early versions of the Gen 5 9mm Glocks were produced with shallower throats that would not chamber some bullet designs at industry-standard lengths.

I reworked some loads and it functioned fine, but some factory defensive ammo won't work in it. I contacted Glock and they were more than happy to have me return the pistol so they can "fix" it. The problem is that with properly configured loads, it is extremely accurate and I don't want to have to start over working up loads for it or risk getting a pistol that is mediocre in accuracy.

When I get my new Gen 5 G23 on Wednesday, I will take the barrel out and plunk test all of my various loads before going to the range. I'll figure out what loads it likes best, then call it good and carry with confidence.
 
When I buy a new to me gun now if I get a couple hundred with zero problems I call it good.
Same here, and that's especially true if l know and trust the seller personally.
An online EDC purchase is usually BNIB, so we get to spend more time together before entering the circle of trust. Used online purchases are usually just for fun.

New-to-me pieces bought FTF for carry will get vetted w a few boxes plus 4 or 5 mags of my carry ammo to make sure everyone plays well together. If there's an issue, what happens next depends on how much l like the gun.
 
No.
My Kimber Micro .380 got 5 mags run through it before I carried it. I tried to make it malfunction. I put the safety on and pulled the trigger on a loaded chamber 50 times. Same with my new RIA 1911. My shield got cocked and dropped off of a 6 foot ladder to see if the trigger reset. I was a little easier on the sp101, but still put a few cylinders of Heavy .357 Buffalo Bore before I carried it.
The last pistol I carried without testing first malfunctioned repeatedly and was sent to the factory for repair, and then I tested it again to be sure it worked.
 
The Ruger LCPII in .380 was like this.

They don't call them "Our second Little Crappy Pistol" for no reason!!!

My wife has a Taurus .380 pocket gun that is a total PITA to shoot... I don't like those "two finger" guns. Might as well have a derringer "ear gun" that you shove in the BGs ear because the little guns won't cycle and you're only getting one shot anyway!!!
 
No.
My Kimber Micro .380 got 5 mags run through it before I carried it. I tried to make it malfunction. I put the safety on and pulled the trigger on a loaded chamber 50 times. Same with my new RIA 1911. My shield got cocked and dropped off of a 6 foot ladder to see if the trigger reset. I was a little easier on the sp101, but still put a few cylinders of Heavy .357 Buffalo Bore before I carried it.
The last pistol I carried without testing first malfunctioned repeatedly and was sent to the factory for repair, and then I tested it again to be sure it worked.

That is a much more thorough process for failure testing than mine.

I dropped my EDC out of my pants, barrel up, on a ceramic tile bathroom floor.

When I didn't die, I finished my business and carried with confidence!
 
I've got a few 9's and they all work perfectly with my reloads.. using unsized fatties of around .360.
My nephew got his first gat a few weeks ago, a Shield, and my hopes of having him help me blast through my piles (giggity) were dashed when the first round tried stuck so hard into the throat it pulled the bullet after clearing the round using the bench and some force.
Good thing he had some factory ball practice ammo so it's good. His gun works fine with that. I did of course let him use what guns I brought using my ammo. Now he just needs some carry ammo and I don't give or sell that to anyone these days.
 
I usually do a range session or two and a mag of my chosen SD ammo and call it good. Like Kruel J, I primarily carry Glock and have no such trust issues
 
They don't call them "Our second Little Crappy Pistol" for no reason!!!

My wife has a Taurus .380 pocket gun that is a total PITA to shoot... I don't like those "two finger" guns. Might as well have a derringer "ear gun" that you shove in the BGs ear because the little guns won't cycle and you're only getting one shot anyway!!!
Taurus does have a bad rep for letting out too many lemons. Of course they also turn out thousands of guns that just work. That of course does not make the people who get a problem feel better. :mad:
My LCPII in .380 has never failed. It's fun to shoot now as I only shoot a few mags now and then. That first trip out with it though it got PAINFUL trying to run a couple hundred rounds through it. The damn thing is so light that there is a lot of recoil for that little round. I carried a Kel-Tec .380 for many years as an always EDC. It too was painful when it was new and I was running multiple boxes through it to test it. The reason I sold it off was the trigger in the LCPII. It is light years better. Makes hitting something with the little cannons FAR easier. So much so I have not got around to putting a laser on it yet since I can hit what I shoot at with it. Still will put a laser on it, just have not bothered yet. The only real downside to these is the recoil. Wife is VERY recoil sensitive. I warned her not to buy the little .380 but she felt the trigger in a shop and wanted it. She fired one round out of it and that was the end of that for her as I knew it would be. I really wish they would offer it in .32 as that would work for many. The .22 version of it is of course a super simple pistol to shoot and can even be fun. :)
 
Same here, and that's especially true if l know and trust the seller personally.
An online EDC purchase is usually BNIB, so we get to spend more time together before entering the circle of trust. Used online purchases are usually just for fun.

New-to-me pieces bought FTF for carry will get vetted w a few boxes plus 4 or 5 mags of my carry ammo to make sure everyone plays well together. If there's an issue, what happens next depends on how much l like the gun.
I VERY much miss being able to buy used. To me it never mattered. If I bought a gun NIB it only stayed that way till I could get to the range with it. Normally a matter of hours. So loved being able to buy and sell. If I could save a few bucks getting what I wanted used, was great to me. That way I could buy stuff and when I wanted something else sell one and buy another. Now that's pretty much out the door:mad:
It's such a PITA to sell now, unless someone wants to just take big hit on money, that I own more guns now than I ever have at any one time. Since I don't want to take a hit to sell.
Since I normally had never been able to shoot the used gun I was buying I would treat them just like NIB.
 
Taurus does have a bad rep for letting out too many lemons. Of course they also turn out thousands of guns that just work. That of course does not make the people who get a problem feel better. :mad:
My LCPII in .380 has never failed. It's fun to shoot now as I only shoot a few mags now and then. That first trip out with it though it got PAINFUL trying to run a couple hundred rounds through it. The damn thing is so light that there is a lot of recoil for that little round. I carried a Kel-Tec .380 for many years as an always EDC. It too was painful when it was new and I was running multiple boxes through it to test it. The reason I sold it off was the trigger in the LCPII. It is light years better. Makes hitting something with the little cannons FAR easier. So much so I have not got around to putting a laser on it yet since I can hit what I shoot at with it. Still will put a laser on it, just have not bothered yet. The only real downside to these is the recoil. Wife is VERY recoil sensitive. I warned her not to buy the little .380 but she felt the trigger in a shop and wanted it. She fired one round out of it and that was the end of that for her as I knew it would be. I really wish they would offer it in .32 as that would work for many. The .22 version of it is of course a super simple pistol to shoot and can even be fun. :)

The problem with that Taurus in not that it's defective, at least I don't think. It wouldn't cycle reliably for the wife... I looked at the mag and opened up the lips a little, but still had problems. I know she was limp wristing because it is so hard to hang onto, so I tried it myself... I just can't get a firm enough grip on the little beast to make it run right.
 
My minimum standard is 500 rounds, consisting of 400 rounds of target ammo without a failure, followed by 100 rounds of carry ammo without a failure, all through three magazines.

I'm not sure what I would do now with the ammo shortage on if I was trying to test out a new gun, but I have no intention of changing my carry guns currently.
 

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