Reliability?

[BrokenArrow]

Gleened from the gunzines and other places:

MRBS (mean rounds between stoppges)

DOD

Beretta M9 30K +
SIG M11 15K

FBI

Glock 40s 19K+
SA 1911s 10K+

DEA

USP40c 10K+

INS/Border Patrol said the berettas were 3 times as reliable as the SIGs and 5 times the Glock. Are buying new USPc's.

Ohio State Police said the SIG 226 was 4 times as reliable as the 229 and 7-8 times as reliable as the Beretta/Glock, 11 times the USPf and the USPc did not finish the test.

Texas DPS fired over 300K of 357SIG ammo through SIGs w no problems. Georgia HP fired over 500K of 40 through Glocks w no problems. Texas DPS approves the Glock 357 as an option.

My Beretta/SIGs/BHPs have been the best (not perfect), all my 1911s the worst, the Glocks/USPs in the middle. All good enough though by most mil/pol stds, usually around 2K MRBS to pass.

 

[RickB]

You should get your 1911s fixed. When JMB demonstrated the 1911 to the army, it went 6000 rounds without a stoppage or breakage. Not that it then stopped or broke.

 

[BrokenArrow]

Don't need a gun that needs fixin'.

Have had at least 20 1911s over the yrs, all of em needed work, from basic models to my Clark Custom to the matched set of SA TRPs that did not work either. Fun guns, just not most reliable platform out of the box at the service grade (or even higher in my experience) level even at its best anymore. The Beretta/SIG/Glock have all done better than the FBI HRT/SWAT guns in the most recent tests for exapmple. Good enough though.

When the army tested em again before the M9 trials the 1911 only did 450 rounds between stoppages. When I was issued the M1911A1 it was rare to go to the range with them and someone not have a stoppage. Saw plenty of minor parts break too (links, firing pin stops, bushings, plunger tubes, etc). The M9/M11 were better.

To be fair, by then all of them were older than anybody shooting them. The last one I was issued was made by Remington. Let's see how the M9/M11 do in 40 yrs.

 

[Casey]

I think that many of the guns made today are extremely reliable. That is one of the really great things about buying and using modern pistols; there are so many good choices out there. If you like one style, you can usually buy the same style from several different manufacturers.

I have owned numerous pistols, from S&W to Beretta. Never owned a Glock or USP, but have friends who do and have fired them on lots of occassions.

What do I own now? Four 1911's, two Colts, one Kimber and a Springfield. Sold a Beretta 92FS cause I couldn't hit the side of barn when I was standing inside it. I don't think it was the gun, cause I sold it to an vet who had used one in the service, and he loves it.

Sold the Beretta Brigadear Elite because I couldn't shoot it as well as I could my 1911's. Sold the S&W99 due to the fact that, once again, it was not as accurate as my 1911's and it also had an oversize chamber that allowed the brass I was reloading to swell too much. Both of these pistols were in .40 S&W, which may have been part of the reason I couldn't shoot them well.

I have two Colt 1911's; a Gold Cup in 45 ACP, and one a 1911A1 in 9x23 Win. A Kimber Gold Match in 45 and a Springfield in 45 round out the collection. Of these four, I shoot the Kimber the most. I have about 18,000 rounds through it the last year, and have a total of 17 failures (I document almost everything about my handloads!) I didn't start counting till I had 1000 rounds through it. Of the 17, 16 are due to my screwing up the reloads (too short, too long, etc...). The Colt in 9x23 Win has about 2000 rounds through it, and not a single failure. None. And that's counting from the first rounds I put through it.

The Gold Cup was purchased used, and I haven't put as many rounds through it, about 1000. No failures. The Springfield I bought two weeks ago, only have about 400 rounds through it. I did have several failures with it, but realized that I was not putting enough crimp on the handloads, soon as I did they went away.

The 9x23 Win that was changed over from 38 Super had a trigger job by Dane Burns and the extractor changed to an AFTEC due to the 9x23 Win caliber. No other work that could even be remotely considered "reliability" has been done to these pistols.

Some folks seem to have no luck with 1911's, and some folks seem to have nothing but luck. I know guys who refuse to even shoot one, as if it is going to bite them. Other folks won't even try anything else, and are missing a lot of really good pistols.