How many

[ttarp]

I probably should have set the poll up with a few more choices, oh well. Interesting results though, I expected to see more "Box of 50" 's. Thanks for your participation.

 

[jasmith85]

I'm usually good somewhere between 50 and 100 rounds as long as the gun is completely flawless throughout those rounds. One issue and it requires a lot more shooting for me to trust it though.

 

[Bennyfatsack]

For me never completely reliable. Too many unknown factors, quality of components, flaws in manufacturing of both gun components and ammunition, weather dust exposure, moving parts wearing, fouling, oxidation, corrosion, over lubrication, under lubrication..... I've had three seperate rifles fail, one brand new lever action .22 never fed rounds into chamber always jammed, side by side 12g hammer shot gun fired uncountable rounds 4000+ , handed to me from my grand father failed, worn mushroomed firing pins and loose latching shears. Ruger .233 mkII not so much a fail but an example of becoming unreliable after 200+ rounds scope mounts came loose, something minor but crucial to reliability, so I've had failures at each end of the spectrum. By the time you've proven above doubt you can rely on the guns manufacturing and quality you've rendered it less reliable as you have been wearing it out, detensioning springs, hot cold cycles loosing fixtures. Maintainance obviously prolongs but not all can be maintained or prevented.Very pessimistic approach but simple and obvious.

 

[trigger643]

I shoot until I have a problem.

In this way, one of my P226's has been reliable for over 25 years and 30,000+ rounds, a Ruger 10/22 of mine has been reliable for over 40 years and umpteen-kay-drillion rounds. Another P226 was reliable for 20+ years and 20,000+ rounds until it was reliable no more with a broken frame rail.

On the other hand, a Sig Mosquito I once owned was completely reliable for 3 rounds. This was repeatable. 3 rounds. Jam. 3 rounds. Jam. 3 rounds. Fix, Repeat. Toss.

Replaced with Walther P22. The Walther was reliable. The P22 magazines were not. 3 rounds. Jam. 5 rounds. FTF. Fix, Repeat. ... Toss.

I have no unreliable guns. Unreliables get fixed or tossed.

 

[lee n. field]

I do realize this is highly subjective

Past a box or two, it's mostly a psychological thing. If a magazine fed autoloading pistol hasn't given me any trouble in a couple boxes or so of ammo, I'll call it good.

The first order of business, within a week or two, with a newly acquired piece is to clean and lube per the manual and run enough ammo through it.

and if this topic comes up ofter I haven't noticed it

"oin Date: January 4, 2013"

Yeah, it comes up once in a while. Not quite the frequency of "Taurus sux" or "9 v. .45 v. .40" or ".40 sux", but it does come up.

 

[KyJim]

Depend upon the type of handgun. For revolvers, I'll usually do 50 rounds, and that's as much to familiarize myself with the gun than anything.

For 1911s, I'll shoot 250 to 300 FMJ and then 50 rounds of whatever I'm going to carry. So, it has to be 300 to 350 trouble-free rounds.

I feel okay with a hundred rounds or so in other "modern" semi-autos that are service sized or only a little smaller (like the SW M&P and M&P Compact). I will also follow the manufacturer's recommendation. Kahr recommended 200 rounds for the CM9 and I found that to be good advice.

 

[DavidAGO]

I voted 100-500, but in practice, if the firearm digests a couple of boxes of ammunition without a hiccup it probably is fine, but if I do have a hiccup in the couple of boxes, I want a couple hundred rounds without a hiccup before I trust it. That said, with my S&W 442 I probably have 3-400 cast bullet rounds through it, but only a full box of the SD ammunition. My LCP has only a couple of boxes of SD ammunition through it without a hiccup, but I do carry it. I guess I should change my vote.

David

 

[Cheapshooter]

After 100 rounds of "shake down" rounds fired, usually with lower cost range ammo like Winchester white box, I will run at least one box of various carry choices. That could be another 100 rounds or more depending on how many rounds per box, and how many different offerings I try.
I don't really use the term break-in, because every CCW handgun I have hasn't really needed it to function properly. For my Elsea Pea, Kahr CM9, and Springfield XD40 that 100 round shake down went without a single problem.

 

[Bozz10mm]

I feel pretty good if I can shoot 100 rounds without a malfunction. I don't get that warm fuzzy tho until at least 500. The thing is, you fire 1000 rounds without a problem, then that 1001st round could malfunction on you.

If the gun were 100% reliable, there is still the ammo to contend with.

 

[saleen322]

Whatever number it takes to get the shooter where he/she can efficiently clear a stoppage without fumbling and panicking when it happens. ALL handguns have stoppages and when you consider the odds of getting into a gun fight plus the odds of the handgun stopping, it is very remote the two will happen at the same time. It is much more likely that a shooter will miss under stress than the gun fail. IMHO it is better to learn good gun skills to deal with problems when they show up rather than put my faith in the 100% reliable pistol that does not exist. YMMV

 

[pete2]

My experience is that if a pistol runs 100 straight with good ammo it will usually be ok for carry. Good ammo and good magazines are a must. New/different mags have to pass the same test.

 

[skizzums]

i must say, i am a bit suprised that most call their firearms good to go after 100 rounds, i do at least 200 in a single session

for a carry gun i think 500 seems like a fair number, enough to test several different types of ammo and diifferent scenarios and grips

i would probably be confident in a revolver after a couple of hundred w/o issue, but i need more from a semi because there is so more that can go wrong

i have had safteys break after 2-300 rounds and cause the gun not feed the next round, ive had light strike issues well into use and other issues; i would need alot more testing to feel comfortable that none of those issues would arise when i actually needed it

 

[chris in va]

It took over a thousand before my 97b's barrel lug broke. Same goes for the CX4 carbine I bought in April. Now that the glitches are weeded out I have more confidence in both.

It's like a new car. Sometimes it takes 30,000 miles for a defect to show up.

 

[James K]

I have always used 200 rounds as a benchmark. In a revolver, that is 200 rounds. In an auto pistol, it is 200 rounds from each carry magazine; the magazine is part of the pistol and changing magazines is almost like creating a different pistol.

It should not be necessary to say it, but that is with the carry ammunition. It might not be pleasant to learn that the gun that worked so well with that cheap range ammo fails completely with the high price spread you carry.

I am well aware that with the cost of ammo today, that is a lot, but then how much is your life worth? If your gun can't be depended on, leave it home, or fire it on the range, but don't carry it; a false sense of security is worse than no security at all.

Jim

 

[Brotherbadger]

For me it's 300-400 rounds of ammo, with at least 100 rounds shot during each range trip. If it can shoot 400 rounds, not only is the gun itself reliable, but the magazine is as well.

 

[thedudeabides]

I shoot 20-40 carry ammo to make sure it feeds that brand.

I run about 100-200 target just to see how it shoots and behaves itself.

I don't believe in break-in. A gun out of the box should work 100%.

Once I start to carry, I usually shoot 100-150 rounds down the pipe per month to make sure I'm proficient with that specific gun.

 

[buck460XVR]

To me, there is a difference between platforms as to how many rounds. Autos, being much more finicky about ammo and cleanliness take more than a revolver or since you did not say this was just about SD/HD in the OP, Contenders. The ammo itself in many cases, is the basis of reliable or not, and thus, depending on how many brands you test, can add up to quite a few rounds.

 

[Spooler41]

When you have spent more on ammo ,than you paid for your gun. If you
have had no major problems,you should be able to trust the weapon.

..........................Jack

 

[DannyB1954]

Sooner or later most things break. If you spend thousands of rounds proofing a gun, you may have just increased the likelihood of a failure. Stuff wears out.

Even if you replace things like springs, new springs can break. Two guns are not likely to fail at the same time. That is why a lot of professionals carry a back up.