Do you give a new handgun a chance?

[Will Beararms]

It usually takes me 1,000 to 2,000 rounds to get familiar with a handgun. 

[Valmet]

I’m lucky enough to have some nice 1911s, but other than that, if it isn’t a S&W revolver or a Glock (preferably older S&W or Glock), I’m not interested in buying, let alone carrying. 

While some folks may like to shoot hundreds or even thousands of rounds before “relying on it,” I’d ccw a Glock right out of the box. 

Edited July 18, 2018 by Valmet

[Will Beararms]

4 Roger on the Glock

[DUBSY]

15 hours ago, Valmet said:

I’d ccw a Glock right out of the box. 

+1 simply because I'm already familiar with the platform. If you hand me something I've never picked up before I'm willing to run a few hundred rounds through it before I pass judgment on it.

[Armorydoc]

If I can run a box of ammo through my handgun I'm good with it. Two or three boxes without issues and it's golden.

[t4terrific]

Not really much of a chance. I consider myself a decent shooter. If I can’t get the hang of a new type of pistol pretty fast, I’ll move it on.

I’ve got a large variety of pistols that I shoot well, so I’m not married to a new gun, and have no need to make something new work.

[minervadoe]

My Glock 30 SF had one light primer strike out of fifty rounds today.  This, after being dry fired 1,500 times and actually fired about 600.  IMHO, It is not ready to be used as a carry piece yet. 

It'll void my warranty, but I'll check the cups to see if they are dirty.

My Glock 36 had a similar issue, but the problem stopped after 500 rounds of actual firing and 800 snaps.  I've got 100 trouble free rounds through it; almost ready for carry.  Maybe I'll do one more trip to the range with it. 

My Glock 19 had the grittiest trigger of any Glock I've owned to date.  The first 100 rounds, the gun was perfectly reliable and the trigger cleaned right up.  But, I would not have carried it until I fired it. 

Edited July 18, 2018 by minervadoe

[DWARREN123]

I always make sure any firearm I own is reliable and combat accurate otherwise it is gone.

[Appalachained]

I do. I’ve bought nearly all of the striker fired polymer pistols that have been introduced in the last decade. I’ll keep them a while, put a case or two of Ammo through them, but end up sticking with what I already had. It’s a waste really, but after hearing and reading all the rave reviews after a gun comes out I have to see for myself.  All these guns were reliable and good shooters though so the practice Ammo wasn’t really wasted.

[Collim1]

Only one handgun I’ve ever bought got tossed almost immediately. 

Sig P290.  I just absolutely hated it from the first round fired. I shot 100 rounds out of it, and hated everything about it. 

I sold it to a buddy the next day. 

Besides that one, I typically enjoy learning a new platform. I have evything from DA/SA autos, to striker fired polymer guns, to DA revolvers, and cap and ball blackpowder revolvers. 

Each has their own learning curve and I typically enjoy mastering each one. 

Edited July 20, 2018 by Collim1

[Smokey45]

A properly lubricated and maintained pistol, fed good ammo out of good magazines will function right up until something breaks down causing a failure.  That failure may be on round 501, the first round fired after the 500 round break in carry reliability test so many claim to perform before "trusting" the pistol. That failure will certainly come at some unknown round count at some point in time. We can improve our odds by proper care and maintenance of our equipment and proper ammo selection, but it's inevitable.  It's been my experience, if a pistol will run your ammo of choice, using your magazines, then you have done all you can to verify reliability. 

I disassemble, clean, inspect, and lube a new pistol, take it to the range and shoot it. If it makes it thru my first magazine without problems 99.99% of the time it's good to go.  Somewhere down the line it will malfunction, usually due to faulty magazines or ammo. Rarely due to mechanical breakage if it's properly maintained. If anyone has a pistol that's never malfunctioned, they don't shoot enough.   

s45

[Moeman]

Mmmm my Home defense gun is one I can point shoot and never an issue. For years it was a Star, now for years a Berreta Elite II. Sure I have dozens of pistols and revolvers but to me all about point shooting no sights. Also think magazines are the heart of a gun. 

Shot gun and I have a bunch is an old 870 police. Never had a problem with my semiautos but me and this gun have history. 

[janice6]

I agree.  Point shooting for me is an absolute requirement.  Some just don't feel right.  That said, I don't buy a pistol that doesn't feel right first.

[autogeddon]

I bought a G43 and tried several brands of ammo though it. Couldn't hit a thing. 8 plus inches off. Drifted sights, no better. Me or the gun.  Got rid of it. Shoot good with G19's G21s  Compact 45s.  I even can shoot some what good with a Rugar LCP 380. Some guns work for people some don't?

[Swampfox762]

I do give new handguns a chance.  I carried an XDs in .45 for awhile, then the recall came out.  I personally think it was basically bogus, but I sent it in anyway.  Bought my Glock 30s with 11 rounds...fell in love.  When the XDs came back...with a MUCH harder trigger pull (I swear it was 8 lbs), I got rid of it and bought ANOTHER Glock 30s as a house gun and never looked back.

I'm pragmatic, and also not really a "collector", mainly because of money.  I'd love to have more guns...may be if I hit the lotto!

I've got enough guns for me at my age. My Glocks,  Shotgun, Tri Star Raptor Automatic 12 gauge...Bad ass.  A good old genuine 1976 Romy, and a FUN gun...PMR 30.  THAT damn thing is a hoot!  30 Rounds of 22 Magnum, a 12" fireball with each shot, no recoil, and it shoots and shoots and shoots and shoots....

It's fun to watch people at the range when after about 12 rounds and I KEEP shootin...they all be Lookin!  BUT!!  
"In Glock We Trust".

[jonb32248]

I would never buy a gun and carry it without test firing it for a while. I just think it would be foolish and taking too much of a chance. I have 4 different hand guns and have had a few issues with a new gun that went away soon after.But that's me and my way of handling a new self defense weapon.

[Huski92]

I always run several hundred rounds of ball and HP through any new gun to check for reliability. I’m that time I will become familiar with it. The only time I didn’t do that was when I picked up my Sig MK25. Picked it up, bought a holster and drive to Indy. Cleaned it that night. Then spent the next 3 days in a class and ran 600 flawless rounds through it. That time with it got me very familiar with the gun. Loved it so much I bought a M1A1 shortly after. I carry that one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Spats McGee]

I would not carry a gun until I'd cleaned and inspected it, and been to the range with it.  That said, I don't have the budget to either: (1) buy new guns very often; or (2) add a couple of hundred dollars to the price of a gun when I do get a new one.  Since I started carrying ~8 years ago, I've had a grand total of 4 carry guns.  Once a gun shows itself to be reliable, I have a very hard time selling it off after that.  So, I guess my answer is "Yes, I give a gun a chance."

[aimtrue]

I need two range sessions to familiarize myself with the unique characteristics of a sidearm or long gun.  The first session is spent putting in about 300 rounds of different types of ammo and focus shooting at targets placed at different distance.  Doing this I get to know the weapon.

 

The second session is spent honing my accuracy.  I do both point shooting and focus shooting. this time using about 100 rounds of carry ammo and 200 rounds of range ammo.

 

During these first two session, I will know if the weapon is reliable and I can shoot it accurately.

 

If has failed once or twice during these sessions, I attribute it mostly to my handling.  However, if I encounter reputed failures, the weapon goes back to the maker.  I will only keep a weapon if it is reliable and accurate.

 

One of the advantages of being past the age where I must spend for growing family, mortgages and the like, I have the funds to engage in shooting lots of ammo.  Whether it is a vice or a blessing, who knows?

[Pistolay]

My routine with every carry gun I've owned has been 200 rounds of range ammo and 50 rounds of carry ammo. If there are no problems, it's good to go. If there are problems, then I go by feel, but so far they've all eventually ended up gone.

The one exception has been my G42. I bought it to be an ultra concealable companion to my G26, but it was a jam-o-matic out of the box. It went back to Georgia where they replaced the EDP assembly, slide stop lever, firing pin safety and both mags. After getting it back, it was much better, but would still have an occasional failure to feed which seemed to correlate with the gun getting dirty. However over time it seems to have broken in, and it now has gone about 600 rounds of CCI Blazer (some of the dirtiest ammo I've ever used) without a failure, including over 400 straight without being cleaned or lubed. After over 2000 rounds total in about 5 months, I'm finally confident carrying this gun on those few occasions when I can't carry my 26.

The reason I never gave up on it is because it is such a sweet shooting, comfortable and accurate gun that I was determined to work through the problems.

[Citra47]

I have found if a pistol feels good in my hand and points naturally - all other things being equal - I will shoot well with it. Revolvers are different. Grip changes can entirely alter the way a revolver sits in the hand and shoots assuming it is a quality handgun to start with. I don't feel any handgun should require more than 100 rounds break in.

I have been, for the most part, lucky to get well made and problem free firearms. If I get one problem gun from a company I figure it snuck past Quality Control and send it back. If it happens twice from the same company I never buy their firearms again. 

[Jason D]

On 7/18/2018 at 12:36 AM, Valmet said:

 

While some folks may like to shoot hundreds or even thousands of rounds before “relying on it,” I’d ccw a Glock right out of the box. 

I'd never trust a gun unless I have personally shot it enough to know it's going to work. I have had several guns that worked great out of the box, but devolved problems a couple hundred rounds in. 

 

 

 

 

I can usually tell pretty quick if I'm going to like a gun or not. I have guns that I have a lot of trigger time with. I can pick up most any like gun, and shoot it straight away. Then there are guns that I really have to work with. 1911's and S&W revolvers are my thing. 

 

 

[FullClip]

I like to have a few magazines through a gun using carry ammo before I trust it...and that includes using the actual magazines used for carry.  If I pick up an exra magazine later on, it too gets a little work-out before it's trust worthy.

[Booker]

I've carried guns that I've never fired.  I'm not worried, after all, life is a crap-shoot!

I'll be in the crap if it don't shoot!

 

[Boogieman]

Before I'll trust a gun with my life it will be shot to the point that it's nearly worn out.  Not really...but close.