Do you break in your carry pistol with 500 rounds?

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Do you break in your carry pistol with 500 rounds?

No I don't. Reliability test round counts that go that high aren't really dealing with probability any more...they're more like attempts to foretell the future, IMO. And nobody can foretell the future...which goes for self defense scenarios, just like anything else. It probably makes more sense to practice malfunction drills than to do that. I think it was at about 500+ rounds that my Ruger LCP started dropping magazines during shooting :D. So such an extensive test wouldn't have done me any good.
 
No I don't. Reliability test round counts that go that high aren't really dealing with probability any more...they're more like attempts to foretell the future, IMO. And nobody can foretell the future...which goes for self defense scenarios, just like anything else. It probably makes more sense to practice malfunction drills than to do that. I think it was at about 500+ rounds that my Ruger LCP started dropping magazines during shooting :D. So such an extensive test wouldn't have done me any good.
And some of us still disagree with you. A tip: buy and carry better quality handguns.
 
No I don't... I think it was at about 500+ rounds that my Ruger LCP started dropping magazines during shooting :D. So such an extensive test wouldn't have done me any good.

Yes it would have. By shooting more rounds through your gun the magazine dropping problem would have occurred sooner letting you know about the defect in your gun. If my gun has a problem I want to know sooner the better than later such as months or years especially when I need it most.
 
I will typically shoot a new gun before carrying it. The handgun I purchased most recently was my P30L which is now in my carry rotation. In the first weekend that I had it, I put 530 rounds through it. I did notice that the first 250 rounds had slightly anemic ejection. The gun functioned fine, despite that, however. After range trip number one, I took the gun home, cleaned and lubed it and went back to the range the next day with another 250 rounds. On the second range trip, I ran 280 rounds and again the gun functioned perfectly fine and the ejection was greatly improved. When I bought my Sig Legions that I carry, I did the same thing with those. I make a habit to run one mag's worth of carry ammo through every carry gun when it is out on the range.

Here's my assessment, if a gun is going to exhibit problems in the first couple hundred rounds, I get an RMA from the manufacturer and send a letter with the gun explaining what the issue is, what ammo it occurred with, and approximately how frequently the issue occurred. For what it's worth, the only guns that I have pretty consistently run into problems with were Kimber 1911's.
 
Breaking in a gun is more breaking in the shooter AFAIC. I won't carry a gun I haven't shot. There are some that do.

If I buy a used S&W Model 10 I'll usually put a box of ammo through it to see how it shoots. I bought a Taurus 709 last week. I never shot one. Took it to the range to see how it shoots and which ammo it likes best. 200 rds of various fmj and jhp later with no issues later I was satisfied.
 
Yes it would have. By shooting more rounds through your gun the magazine dropping problem would have occurred sooner letting you know about the defect in your gun. If my gun has a problem I want to know sooner the better than later such as months or years especially when I need it most.

What you say is true, but if 500 rounds "break in" is better than 200...then 1000 is better than 500, and 2000 is better than 1000...and so on and so on. So then an "accepted break-in period" becomes rather arbitrary, as guns can still break after 5000 flawless rounds.

To me, break-in means rounding off the edges to smooth out the stiffness that a new gun often has. In my experience that happens by 200 rounds for a semi-auto, less for a good quality revolver. I don't carry guns without a break in period. My LCP problem wasn't a break in problem, it was a "my gun broke" problem. Any gun can break at anytime. But stated differently, I very much agree that any gun used for self-defense should be practiced with frequently to ensure reliability.
 
And some of us still disagree with you. A tip: buy and carry better quality handguns.

Oh you mean like the Smith and Wesson 681 I owned that couldn't shoot buffalo bores without the cylinder binding up? Or maybe you mean my near mint model 36 Smith (made in 1968) that had an ejector rod problem from the factory (now fixed.) Then there was the near mint Colt that couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.

My point is this, there is no 100% guarantee for future events...which would include guns not malfunctioning. We all do what we can to keep that from happening. For some that means 500 round break in, for others a 200 round break in. Lots of other things, too.
 
While I've posted in this thread before I just realized I did not answer the question. I've had two guns purchased for carry. The first a Glock 26 I did not carry immediately. I got my CCW but was not planning on carrying it unless I felt the need and by the time I felt the need I probably fired at least one or two thousand rounds through it. The second a Glock 42 was to be carried if for some reason I needed to carry in a non permissive environment or could not conceal my G26 in the clothes I needed to wear. I started shooting it and after about a thousand rounds I decided to make it my full time carry.
 
I almost always buy second-hand guns to shave cost. Prior to me taking the gun home it gets two magazines worth of my carry ammo at the gun shop before it is good to go. This is not hard because I only use one brand of carry ammo with certain bullet type. It saves me range fee and time at the range.
 
1000 rounds FMJ. 200 rounds JHP. If the pistol didn't run 100% for that, it ends up in the "toy gun" safe. My EDC requirements are very strict. If the springs or whatever need replaced, so be it, replace them.

My current EDC's are Glock23, another Glock 23 (with night sight and XC1), Glock 41, Dan Wesson Valor 1911.

Federal ammo only. (or any of the other Federal labels, Blazer, Eagle, etc. etc.)
 
First time I ever carried my Gen. 3 Glock 19, other than to & from the range, it had less than 100 rounds through it. It is now approaching the 1500 round mark with zero problems, and that's with several different brands of ammo, bullet weights, etc. Bought it new in Feb. 2012 based on some other G-19's that I've seen and one that I had previously shot on a couple occasions. The reason I bought mine was that they seem so dependable & reliable that I decided I wanted one for myself. So I bought one and it hasn't failed me yet and it seems to have no need for the traditional break-in period. If I had never seen or fired other Glock 19's before and wasn't sure about it I'd probably run at least a couple hundred rounds through it with different ammo to see how it does but I bought this one figuring I was "good to go" right from day one and that seems to be the case, either that or I just got lucky.
 
The only gun I've owned that I felt the need to run 500 rounds through, prior to carrying, was my Kimber Ultra Carry II. It was recommended by the manufacturer, but I've also seen the same thing from some of the other "defender" model 1911s. Mine had a manufacturer defect straight out of the box, and I never fired that many rounds through it before sending it back to have it remedied.

Since the repairs, I have fired roughly 200 rounds of Winchester white box, and a few boxes of Hydrashoks, and I feel 100% comfortable carrying it now.

For any of my other 1911s, or my Glocks, I have never felt the need to fire them that much prior to carrying. I absolutely test them all before carrying, but unless I experience any issues I don't worry.

There is always the "if" factor with any gun though. No one on this forum can say that they know, with 100% certainty, their gun will go bang every time. We can all be sure, but in a world with infinite possibilities, where even the most tested and trusted gun works reliably all the time, it is always possible for something to fail. This is getting a little too extreme for the discussion though. If you find a gun that you can trust, and have tested it, barring those million to one odds, you can safely assume that it will function properly after a few hundred rounds, IF you are familiar with firearms. For the novice, I would not suggest carrying until they have tried and tested multiple guns, with multiple types of ammunition, and had some sort of training.

Long story short, I wouldn't trust anything straight off the shelf, but I also don't feel like I need to reach a certain benchmark before making a decision on what I carry. Others may of course disagree, and I think that it is wise to do so, each of us has our own personal standards for what we trust our lives with.
 
By the time I figure out which load is:
1.Reliable
2.Shoots OK groups
3.AND shoots where the sights are pointing ( fixed sights)
I usually have about 400-500 rounds fire through a pistol.

In my last dept, we had an initial auto qualification course that burned up about 900 to 1,200 rounds over 4 days.
Lots of tape wrapped around the trigger fingers for some types of pistols.
 
Tirod wrote:
How many of you have fired 500 rounds thru your carry gun?

I rarely carry. When I do, it is the S&W revolver I inherited from my grandmother. I know that from the time it was purchased in the mid-1970's, it had 111 rounds put through it. So, no, I don't meet your 500 round standard.

My grandmother bought the gun, took it to the police station in the town she lived and asked to use their range (the police department allowed residents to use their range when it wasn't otherwise engaged) and fired three strings of 5 shots each until she ended up with a group that could be covered by a Kenedy Half Dollar and concluded it was broken-in enough to use across a room at an intruder. My grandfather fired it twice in 1982 and I have fired it 94 times working up loads and then getting to where I was comfortable I could hit someone from across a room.

I will periodically fire it to ensure that I maintain proficiency with it but don't imagine shooting more than 500 or 600 more times during the rest of my lifetime. I guess by the time my heirs receive it, it will finally be "broken in".
 
My brand new Glock 42 fired Remington 95g FMJ (and other ammo too) flawlessly, but couldn't get through a mag of WWB 95g target (flatnose). After several outings, I gave up on the WWB and figured I could live without the WWB and just shoot what works (the same supply of WWB worked just fine in a Walther PPK/S). After hundreds of rounds of the Rem through the G42, I was advised that the gun, with use, could well "break in" the feeding ramp(or whatever) and "cure" itself. I was skeptical, but I revisited the WWB (I'm obsessive). Surprise -- the G42 from that new first shot has now been feeding and firing hundreds of rounds of WWB perfectly; not a hint of the original problem.
 
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I almost always buy second-hand guns to shave cost. Prior to me taking the gun home it gets two magazines worth of my carry ammo at the gun shop before it is good to go. This is not hard because I only use one brand of carry ammo with certain bullet type. It saves me range fee and time at the range.

Buying a well used gun would "pass the break-in test", at least.
 
I don't break in my carry pistol. I shoot thousands through it, practicing. It is a tiny thing, and shooting skills are perishable.

Function test it with several types of ammo, especially the ammo you'll use. Then practice regularly.
 
IMO it depends on the handgun. I wouldn't carry a Kahr without their break in period plus extra. I also wouldn't carry a Les Baer, as tight as they are to start with, without a good break in. My Sig P290RS and my LCP I felt were GTG with around a hundred rounds.
 
Since I shoot mostly my reloads, most failures are likely my ammo.

I shoot 25-50 failure free carry rounds before its "good" for carry.

As to 500, yeah I shoot about that many with a new carry gun. Mostly because it takes around that many to really tune my hands to the trigger and recoil. Also, new guns are just so much FUN to shoot.
 
There are a bunch of lightweights in here! Just messin with ya.

I buy a gun and take it to the range. Usually when I go I fire 250-300 through each gun I brought, might be 1 or might be 5 of them. Since I don't get out much I have to take advantage of the range time. One day after I am used to the gun, I'll carry it. Could be 1000 rounds and could be 3000 rounds through it. It is a gun, it fires when I pull the trigger, when I am tired of carrying whatever it is I am carrying at the time, I just grab the next one that I want to carry. It will take many, many rounds to wear out mag springs, recoil spring, this spring, that spring.

Take that pistol out, shoot it for fun, and get used to it and stop worrying.
 
There are a bunch of lightweights in here! Just messin with ya.

I buy a gun and take it to the range. Usually when I go I fire 250-300 through each gun I brought, might be 1 or might be 5 of them. Since I don't get out much I have to take advantage of the range time. One day after I am used to the gun, I'll carry it. Could be 1000 rounds and could be 3000 rounds through it. It is a gun, it fires when I pull the trigger, when I am tired of carrying whatever it is I am carrying at the time, I just grab the next one that I want to carry. It will take many, many rounds to wear out mag springs, recoil spring, this spring, that spring.

Take that pistol out, shoot it for fun, and get used to it and stop worrying.


Dang yer eyes!

My edc only has 800+ round through it. Now I will have to go to the range tomorrow and get the round count to over 1,000.
 
I put about 50-75 rounds through it and feel comfortable carrying it after that. I give it a good cleaning after initial firing.
 
"I wonder who started this "break in" myth. I would bet it was some gun "guru" that bought some stock in ammo making corporations."

It's not a myth. It is with rifle barrels, but not with pistols. Grab a brand new Kimber or Kahr. Drag your fingernail down the outside of the barrel. Feel that rough machined finish? Reliability will improve when that finish wears down some.

Better pistols, and pistols with glass smooth hammer forged barrels, don't have this issue.
 
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