Personal endorsement of a handgun...

[pax]

If I have seen the gun fire at least 100 rounds (but preferably 200 or more) AND at least 3 different types of ammunition without a burp. Preferably I would have been the one behind the trigger, but I will occasionally give a thumbs up to a gun that I have handled, shot a few times, and then been present and watching while someone else sent the remainder of the rounds downrange.

Doesn't matter whether I own it, a friend owns it, or the company owns it. Rounds downrange tell the tale. Ownership does not.

pax

 

[Skans]

I figure that if I put 100 rounds through a gun trouble free, it is accurate, and feels good to shoot, its a reasonably reliable gun worthy of some praise. I see no reason to put thousands of rounds through a gun before you can say good things about it. If that were the case, then why not wait until you've put 200,000 rounds through the gun and it is no longer serviceable before you opine on whether it's a reliable gun or not.

 

[freakshow10mm]

Owned one, shot the crap out of it with no problems, and carried it. Only personal experience counts.

 

[45Gunner]

Understanding that a handgun is just as much a matter of personal appeal and how the gun feels in one's hand to the novice, as functionality and reliability are important to the more experienced shooter, I need to have fired not less than 1000 rounds with absolutely no problems before I would recommend a particular gun to anyone. Because it looks nice or is "cool looking" has no bearing on how I judge a gun.

Besides being a source of tremendous amounts of fun, a handgun for me is also a more serious matter of life or death as I carry one constantly for self defense. Performance and reliability are paramount and ease of CCW are secondary.

 

[johnbt]

Owned and shot 1000 times or so with minimal problems that were easily corrected (by me or the factory.) The exception being the used Rohrbaugh I bought. It worked fine the first day I shot it 101 times and I haven't gotten up to 1000 yet.

An additional situation would involve a gun like the S&W 649 that my father bought. It worked perfectly for him; worked perfectly for me; I carried it for a couple of months before giving it back; and now 10 or 15 years later I own it because he stopped shooting after moving to assisted living/nursing. I would have recommended it anywhere along the way.

That brings me to specific recommendations. My endorsements tend to be of the variety that says "mine is okay" and "I've read or heard of few problems with that model" and "somebody I know has had a great one for x number of years."

Somebody always ends up with a lemon no matter what the make or model. That's why I like handling the exact gun I'm buying.

John

 

[johnwilliamson062]

There are different levels of recommendation.
I would recommend the LCR for someone looking for a 38 snub.
I have dry fired 3, read a lot of personal reviews about them online and know that all of my Ruger firearms do exactly what Ruger says they will do and that they back up their products.

 

[Jehzsa]

Here's a twist for which there are no exact choices in the poll. It's actually amazing and in a weird sense, disturbing.

I will only carry a pistol through which I have fired at least 50 rounds through it. If it's flawless through 50 rounds, it's good to go. But then, when I refer that I have handled a pistol, it means that I have used it. Fired it.

So I would recommend an specific model that I've handled. And if so, I have carried it.

I can't guarantee specific performance on all specimens of a particular model. Variations in manufacturing might produce different results. Shooter-handling also.

But take for example the Sig P250. I fired around 450 flawless rounds in mine. But couldn't get acclimated to the trigger. Recommend it? Yes. Even though there have been reported issues with light strikes on other specimens fresh out of the box.

So I guess it boils down to this. If I recommend one, I have handled it and fired at least 50 rounds through it and carried it. No safe queens with me. But the specimen someone could purchase might not be recommendable. My specimen was.

 

[dreamweaver]

I need to have shot a gun alot (500+ rounds) before i recommend it to others.
I would NEVER have recommended a PM9 to anyone during the first 400 rounds i shot it. it loosened up after that and at 600+ rounds now, is one of my favorite carry guns.

 

[38super]

Hi John,

Here is my take on it.

Firstly, everyone hands are different sizes, so opposed to recommending a particular model, it is better for them to see what fits best in their hand.

Also, everyone physique is different, so what may be good for me, may not be good for them. They could be left handed and I am right handed, and my handgun could not have ambi controls on it.

The best way to see what’s best for them, is to buy a blue gun for the handgun they want and run a normal 2 week body contour test, wearing the same clothes that they would do, as well as doing what they would normally do work wise. That way they can determine whether the magazine remains in their gun and their hip bone does not depress the magazine safety. Obviously this is not an issue for a heel release magazine pistol’s and revolvers, but should be done nevertheless, to determine the comfort factor.

John, you also assume everything is constant, that they will be in the same terrain, will maintain their handgun to the same standard, shoot the same brands, and reload to the same level of precision that you do.

How many people buy handguns for self defence, load the magazine and put it in the drawer fully loaded. Every magazine spring needs to “rest”, you cannot expect to function 4 or so years later kept fully loaded..

I, rotate loaded to rest every week, record in my shooting book how many rounds fired, if malfunctions, what type and with which magazine. That way you will quickly determine if there is an issue with your magazine on the range than when your life depends on it.

I have wasted so much money in the past buying the wrong guns for me, if only I wise wiser then. Like you say, it is a can fo worms topic

 

[44 AMP]

Maybe I'm missing something....

Because I'm not as focused on SD/carry guns as some. But honestly, how can you recommend a particular model of gun as dependable/reliable to some one else, just because yours is? You can't say what ammo they will feed it, how they will treat it, or even if the factory put out a good one.

Yours could be flawless, and the next one out the door could be problem city. And I don't need a 1,000 rnds to decide if my gun is good enough. Heck, I have guns I trust completely and have have for 30 years and haven't put 1,000 rounds through.

The most I will do is to recommend a particular model gun having a good reputation, and discuss the performance of my personal example. Making sure the prospective buyer understands the gun he or she gets might not perform the same as the one I have, and only testing and shooting their gun will reveal the actual truth.