Is your carry gun tested and reliable?

[melensdad]

I won't carry a gun unless it has fired at least 250 rounds of the brand of defense ammo flawlessly. I want a flawless gun with the specific ammo that I carry. I could care less if the gun functions perfectly with reloads, or discount round nose, I want the gun to be flawless with my defensive ammo.

Consequently I have guns that I hope to use as carry guns, but I've not yet proven them to be worthy of carry.

Do you test your gun extensively before you carry it? Do you use defensive ammo for your testing? If not, why not?

 

[quicksdraw]

I wouldn't carry a weapon I hadn't tested enough to trust. I can't even imagine carrying an unproven weapon.

 

[Fenway]

Good question. I have over 2000 rounds through my carry gun with out a single malfunction. This includes all sorts of ammo including my carry ammo.

 

[Xring]

Absolutly! I think 250 to 300 rounds through a carry weapon is necessary to prove it reliable. I also believe a portion of range time should be spent practicing with the chosen carry ammo. I rotate out my carry ammo every six months and set aside ammo I've carried for this practice. Funny thing about that. Over the years I can't remember any failure of any type with ammo I've previously carried. That makes me wonder if I'm to anal about rotating it out of my carry weapons every six months. Anyone else find that to be true?

 

[SilentWarrior1]

I carry both Ball and JHP in my Glock 19, as I unload it and wipe it down to get dust/lint off of it (I'm anal about that). But I've put about 1000 rounds downrange in it, and no problems with a variety of ball and JHP's through it. I think it's downright reliable.

 

[sparkyfender]

Pretty much.

Of course, it seems I am more easily conviced about a gun's reliability than some folks...................

 

[BloodEclipse]

I wouldn't carry a weapon I hadn't tested enough to trust. I can't even imagine carrying an unproven weapon.

If you carry any gun without testing it with the Brand and Type of ammo you carry with you might as well just have a club.

That being said this is a good thread because I think there are those out there who think just having a gun is enough and don't bother practicing or testing.

 

[GJ1981]

Do you test your gun extensively before you carry it? Do you use defensive ammo for your testing? If not, why not?

I will normally run at least 300 rounds plus 1 full magazine of defense ammo before I feel comfortable with it. Some on my pistol's seem to need a longer break in time, my Kimber TLE took closer to 500. I try to replace defense ammo yearly, I have my set standards for the ammo and "re qualify" yearly.

 

[melensdad]

If you carry any gun without testing it with the Brand and Type of ammo you carry with you might as well just have a club.

That being said this is a good thread because I think there are those out there who think just having a gun is enough and don't bother practicing or testing.

That is EXACTLY my point. If I run 500 rounds of 230grain Winchester White Box FMJ 45acp through one of my 1911s I can presume only 1 thing, that is it is reliable with 230 grain Winchester White Box FMJ 45acp. I have no idea if that gun will feed and function with a 185 gain hollowpoint defense round, if the slide timing will be thrown off if I shoot ultra-light Mag Safe bullets, or a 230gr +P HP.

The ogive on a 185grain HP is different than that on a 230gr FMJ
The energy generated by launching the 185gr HP is different than that generated by firing a 230gr FMJ, therefore the slide will move at a different speed, the lockwork may or may not function, etc. As a 'reloader' I know I've made some very reliable rounds and some that simply won't function. Lots of trial and error in my target pistols taught me that two rounds that you think should feed may in fact act very differently.

That is why I wondered if people test their carry weapon for reliability WITH THEIR DEFENSIVE ammo.

I think practicing with discount ammo, reloads, etc is a great benefit, but that is a benefit for your shooting style, technique, and for gun familiarity. On the other hand, shooting the gun with a couple hundred rounds of high quality defensive ammo is what will give you piece of mind to trust your weapon. Yes its expensive to blow through a couple hundred rounds of Winchester Silver Tips, Honaday TAPS, Federal Hydra Shocks, etc. But how else will you know if your gun will actually feed it reliably.

 

[HiRoller]

I always pop a few hundred rounds thru a new firearm with factory ammo, carry with the same if it proves out. I never switch out carry guns unless it's to a DA revlover for familiarity's sake. You get to know your carry and in time of need, it requires no thought where to go with it.

 

[Lars]

I haven't tested my Carry pistol with my Carry ammo yet for two reasons.
A) I haven't taken ownership of my Carry pistol yet.
B) I haven't received my Carry permit yet.

I'll be putting at least 20 of several types of JHP rounds through the gun. Once I pick two types of carry ammo, I'll put another 200-250 of each through it.

 

[jrogers]

If you carry any gun without testing it with the Brand and Type of ammo you carry with you might as well just have a club.

Which is why I didn't bother testing my carry weapon.

 

[Barry in IN]

Nice club!

I try to shoot at least 100 rds of the intended carry ammo before I carry it. Then I shoot some more of it now and then, and at least use up the ammo in my mags once a year.

But I also understand that NO gun is immune from malfunctions. They are machines and machines fail. So I carry a second gun that I practice transitioning to. I practice malfunction clearances too, but feel a second gun is the best fix to a malfunction.

I have over 5,000 rds through my carry gun without a failure...or did have until yesterday, when I had one during an IDPA match. It was a mild reload and that particular round was probably a little "too mild", plus that same magazine had caused a malf recently in another gun. But just the same- It showed that problems can happen even after a lot of trouble-free rounds.

To my satisfaction, my first reaction was to reach to where I usually carry gun #2...but had left it in the truck for the match. Glad to see my practice is paying off by doing the right thing without thinking about it. It's also a good lesson that if I practice with a spare gun in a certain place, then I should keep it there.
(But I think they would have frowned upon me pulling a BUG from a pocket and blazing away during the match!)

 

[campbellrex]

i test mine but that doesn't mean it won't fail after all it's man made

 

[Fenway]

What is that?

Which is why I didn't bother testing my carry weapon.

 

[4sarge]

I'll occasionally carry this one, it's easily concealed but I hate the trigger pull and it is heavy for it's relatively small size.

The smallest .45ACP auto pistol ever built


DOUBLE ACTION ONLY

 

[jrogers]

What is that?

It's a Hi-Point. Arguably the ugliest pistol in recent memory, unless you want to count the truly ridiculous custom jobs.

I don't actually have one, as the cheap alloy reportedly tends to deform over time rendering the weapon completely unusable.

 

[bigkahunasix]

Don't forget, even you wheelgun shooters need to run at least 200 rounds thru your carry guns also. Revolvers can have problems also, such as: timing, lite hammer strikes, cartridge clearance between case heads and recoil shield (locks the gun up, making it an expensive suppository), forcing cone problems...etc,etc.

BK6

 

[Prometheus]

I won't spend (waste) the money on shooting 250 rounds of whizbang ammo thru my carry guns.

I do however test them using my own "stress test".

My XD stress test was 100 rounds of WWB, 50 rounds of wolf, 50 rounds of remington, 50 rounds of remington hollowpoints (from bulk pack) and a mags worth of +p. I staggered the hollowpoints every couple mags so as to try and gauge any differences and the carry ammo mag was the last one. Zero FTF's. That was good enough for me.

On backups (like a keltec P3at) all I care about is that every time I shoot it the first mag always goes off without a hitch. Why? Because I never carry a spare for a backup, so who cares how many consecutive rounds will go thru it.

I routinely test my primary carry with remington bulk pack hollowpoints (in addition to any FMJ I shoot) and cycle thru my magazine ammo every 6-12 months.

One thing to note as others have said, just like FMJ and HP aren't the same, different type of hollow points aren't either. My 1911 is still a tad picky on hollowpoints.

FWIW I don't have a problem using those remington HP's as primary self defense rounds. I've never had one fail to go bang and they group very nicely.

 

[nofear]

I agree that you should run several hundred rounds through your CC gun. Perfect case in point. I picked up a Sig P6 (known to be picky about HP). I shot about 100 rounds of my 124gr +P speer GDHP through it without a hitch. Went back a few weeks later and ever since then, it will jam occasionally. I've sent it off to greyguns but I still get occasional jam's. I wont even consider carrying it until I can put 250 rounds or more without it jamming even 1 time. Until then I carry my glock or other sig's.