Importance of function testing, etc

[Stomper]

Hey... lookie here!!

Glock 43x with Night Sights, S15 Magazine, Aluminum Mag Catch

Glock 43x 9mm (Black over Black). -Glock Night Sights -Shield Arms S15 Magazine (15-round flush fit) -Shield Arms Low Profile Aluminum Mag Catch (installed and pictured) -Only 150 rounds through it Meet at FFL. Buyer Pays Transfer Fee.

www.northwestfirearms.com

 

[OldTengu]

Hey... lookie here!!

Glock 43x with Night Sights, S15 Magazine, Aluminum Mag Catch

Glock 43x 9mm (Black over Black). -Glock Night Sights -Shield Arms S15 Magazine (15-round flush fit) -Shield Arms Low Profile Aluminum Mag Catch (installed and pictured) -Only 150 rounds through it Meet at FFL. Buyer Pays Transfer Fee.

www.northwestfirearms.com

I'll have one soon enough. Gotta pay off the wife's new car and my Shockwave first.
I'm happy with the shield for now. I think it just needed to get cleaned and broken in.

 

[WillametteWill]

Good OP and comments. Another area that I think is important and often missed is holsters. Getting used to a holster is important, especially if it is a thumb break (or has any type of release). Making sure nothing moves the safety (if you have one) had good retention if no retention...think these can be overlooked as well. Glad you sorted out everything on yours and checked it out good.

 

[revjen45]

If you know what you're doing it's a good idea to field strip, clean, and lube a new firearm before you take it out.

 

[OldTengu]

If you know what you're doing it's a good idea to field strip, clean, and lube a new firearm before you take it out.

I had field stripped and given it some lube. Visually checked for anything out of the ordinary as I usually do. Did not fully clean it, however, and normally don't until after range. Will likely do that going forward.

 

[The Heretic]

Not just the gun, but the whole combo; mags and ammo too.

Before I rely on a gun, it has to work with the actual ammo I am going to shoot it with and the mags.

Some people know about SIG 227s and their 14 round mags; the spring in the mags is not sufficiently strong enough to work reliably. I have ten 14 round mags for my 227 Tactical and every one I have tried has malfunctioned (fail to feed mostly) - if not the first time, then the second time I filled the mag. So I replaced the springs in six of them and each has worked fine since - need to get the springs for the rest.

I bought a used, almost new Marlin .22 bolt action here. Took it out and shot it. Every other shot was a failure to fire. Light strike. Took the bolt out and apart - soaked in in a mix of alcohol and Hoppes. Cleaned the grease out of the bolt and firing pin. Now it fires fine.

Many semi-autos are particular about self-defense ammo, so I always test with the actual carry ammo - at least one 50 rd box of it. If I get different ammo with a different bullet style, I test it with that too (I have two different lots of Winchester whit box .40 180 gr. bonded JHP ammo - each has a different bullet style in it; one is the SXT bullet style, the other is the more open conventional JHP bullet style, both work fine in my 226, but the SXT has a more rounded nose and would probably feed better in some pistols, plus the SXT style lot has nickel plated brass which should feed better too).

Trust, but verify.

 

[Ura-Ki]

I ALWAYS strip a new pistol down completely to inspect and clean and remove the storage lube. Then lightly lube with what I'm going to be using for carry. I always function test all aspects and I run the slide for a few hours while screaming at the telly and the fake news!makes for a vigorous work out of the slide that way. Then, like others, I shoot several hundred rounds of mixed ammo before I start homing in on what it shoots best for Carry duty. It must function 100% across the board before it ever gets slipped into a holster for Carry duty!
Like others have said, the holster is another area that gets plenty of attention before it gets the duty!

 

[WillametteWill]

Before I rely on a gun, it has to work with the actual ammo I am going to shoot it with and the mags.

Sage advice above. Had a new-ish gun that was going to transition as a carry piece. Took it to a week long class, used a box of 50 of my carry ammo for the night shoot, both the test function and muzzle flash. Pretty comfortable with the combination after this.