Ever Retired A Handgun?

[SharpsDressedMan]

Just wondering if anyone has ever used a handgun so much that they actually wore it out or retired it. I would imagine hard core combat or cowboy shooters could put that much wear and tear on a gun, but I have not. I do have doubles for some of my favorite guns, in the event that I do cause one to break permanently, or to use while the broken one is in repair. I did manage to crack the frame slightly on a heavily used 1911 Colt Series 70, but I sold it rather than cut, weld, and refinish as is sometimes done, because it had been hard chromed, and it seemed too costly to restore the frame AND re-chrome it. That Colt would have still functioned for years with the crack, but it just bugged me. For those that HAVE worn a gun out, did you keep it as a souvenir?

 

[Greg528iT]

I just did. My inherited Ruger Pre Mark I, 22. My father in law shot it a LOT. The bore is pretty much smooth. It has a broken piece attach point in the take down lever. I started looking into repairing it. I bought a new Mark III instead. I may shoot it again, just cause, but I consider it retired.

 

[Telekinesis]

I didn't wear out a gun per say, but I have retired a gun. It was a S&W M&P .38 Spec. revolver that has been in my family since it was bought somewhere between 1910 and 1920 (I have the papers but can't remember the date off the top of my head). Its more of an heirloom now, but I think 3 or 4 generations of my family both learned to shoot with it and then used it as a SD gun.

Quite a bit of family history attached to that old S&W, including surviving the Katrina confiscations in New Orleans...

 

[esheato]

I have a 1911 that I retired. It was a custom job by Bruce Gray that I shot in IDPA. Put 20k cast reloads through it in about 10 months a few years ago. Anyway, I cracked the frame up by the rails. First time I cracked it, it was over the slide release....easily fixed by cutting that part out. When it cracked again, I figured it was just time to quit.

 

[420Stainless]

Not in the sense that you're talking about. My PPK/s is semi-retired. I love it too much to get rid of it, but its place it my pocket has been taken by a lighter weight polymer .45 ACP. The Interarms Walther only gets shot for sentimental reasons now.

Sad to admit, but I don't shoot enough to wear one out.

 

[David E]

I did manage to crack the frame slightly on a heavily used 1911 Colt Series 70...... That Colt would have still functioned for years with the crack, but it just bugged me.

Was the crack on the frame rail, just above the cut out for the slide stop?

If so, it was a total non-issue. Colt solved that perceived problem by simply machining away the "rail bridge." If it wasn't there, it couldn't crack.

 

[hardluk1]

I retired a colt huntsman that was new around 1961. That was the first handgun I shot when i was about 6 years old. It has been cleaned up and well lubed with breakfree and placed in the safe. I don't think I could even guess how many rounds it fired.

 

[esheato]

Was the crack on the frame rail, just above the cut out for the slide stop?

If so, it was a total non-issue. Colt solved that perceived problem by simply machining away the "rail bridge." If it wasn't there, it couldn't crack.

I realize this wasn't directed at me, but that's where mine cracked originally also. I just cut the offending crack/bridge out of the frame and continued to shoot it until it cracked again.

 

[Drail]

After nearly 100,000 major power rounds from a Springfield Milspec built in the 80s the frame finally cracked. (not above the slide stop). It sat for a long time until I mounted a Ciener rimfire top end on it and now it's a dedicated rimfire gun. I also have a Ruger Mk II that has had almost all of the rifling shot out of it. Considering what it cost new and how many bricks I shot out of it I figure I got my money's worth.

 

[Clifford]

No I haven't had to retire a gun due to wear...but Im trying :-D

Ive got an old Colt 1911 that my dad used to use in matches. Its gonna sound like internet bragging but that Colt, with its original barrel, has seen at least 70000 rounds in matches and roughly another 78000 rounds in practice. My dad shot a minimum of 7 matches a month with that gun using 70-120 rounds a match, for ten years straight. That's a total of 148000 rounds that he put thru it personally, that's a low estimate, id be willing to bet the real round count is closer to 175000 that he ran thru it himself.

He has had the frame to slide fit tightened up 3 different times and he had the original barrel welded up to clean up the slop in the locking lugs around the 80000 round mark
He gave my the gun to me about 5 years ago and between matches and practice ive added another 35000-45000 myself.

One thing that has helped the life of that original barrel it that gun has only seen about 1000 jacketed rounds. Everything else was lead reloads. My dad tells me that the barrel originally was .451 and now its opened up to .453. As loose as that gun is I can still ring the 100 yard, 12"X14" gong 7-8 times outta a 8 round magazine.

Im gonna continue to use this gun till I give it to my oldest son on on his 18th birthday. Retire it? Never

 

[wally]

I retired my Kel-Tec P32 when I got the P3AT and retired the P3AT when I got the Ruger LCP. Nothing wrong with any of them but went with more power in the same size/weight package, and then to get better reliability -- My LCP can shoot Wolf steel cased ammo for practice, the P3AT can't so I figure the LCP has much larger operational margins.

 

[Rexster]

Yes, I retired an S&W Model 58 .41 Magnum. It became too loose, overall, and the hammer started to fall before full lock-up was achieved in DA mode. This being a retired San Antonio PD duty sixgun, it had seen hard use before I bought it in late 1984, and then used it as my duty sixgun for most of the rest of the 1980's.

Yes, it can be tightened by a talented 'smith or by the factory, and someday, I may well have it restored. There is no hurry; N-frames are just a bit too big for my hands, anyway. If I use grip/stock panels small enough for my hands, so I can get enough finger on the trigger in DA mode, too much recoil is concentrated in the base joint of my thumb. I prefer using fuller grips, firing it SA, which brings the trigger back within reach while the gun is properly centered in my grip, and do so on occasion.

I don't think I will manage to wear out any of my other firearms, unless I take up serious competition, which cannot occur while we are primary caregivers for my elderly father-in-law, or we retire, whichever comes first.

 

[burrhead]

Twenty odd years ago I bought a S&W M65 police trade-in. In those days I was doing a lot of action shooting and firing 4-500 rounds a week. That M65 put a bunch of mid-range 38s into silhouettes fired very fast. About five years worth. Took a lot of rounds but it finally went out of time. It certainly wasn’t the fault of the gun because it received a lot of abuse. Traded for an M19 4” round butt that I still have (yeah, “they” say they don’t exist but there are some out there).

Also have a S&W 38 double action, 3rd model, in great shape, that I’ve never fired but has been respectively retired.

 

[StrawHat]

Even after ten years on the PPC circuit, I never had to retire a revolver. Rebuild it? Sure, but not retire.

Not mine, but this one is probably retired.

 

[bikerdoc]

Does semi retired position of honor count?

When I retired in 88 the PD gave me my Ruger security six. I use it but not as much as my others, dont EDC it, but during the recent hurricane the old friend was on my hip.

An old friend I can rely on.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I can't afford enough ammunition to actually wear one out. Even then, unless a large piece of frame or slide has cracked off or something, you can replace the worn parts and continue to use the handgun. A non-fixed barrel, for instance, is easily replaced other than maybe needing some individual fitting. With revolvers, if the action parts are worn, they can be repaired or replaced. Rebarreling a revolver is more difficult.

 

[searcher451]

I've retired a lot of the guns in my concealed carry rota over the years, though never because I wore them out. They become "retired" because I've found a better alternative: a Walther P99C instead of the Walther PPK/S, for example. The only difference between my cars and my guns is that I sell the cars when I'm done using them. The guns most often go into the safe.

 

[jdh]

Does this count?



Model 39 Smith & Weson
That is a BMW it is sitting on, BTW. It was in the glove box.

 

[usp9]

I retired a Beretta 84 from carry duty after it saw about sixteen years of flawless duty. It was a great gun... still is. I went to a new CCW in 2007. I occationally break it out from retirement for a range visit and I'm reminded what a outstanding gun the Beretta is.

My Seecamp has 24 years on it but I think I'll keep it on active duty for a while longer. Can't find anything I like better in a pocket gun.

 

[armsmaster270]

I had a 9mm Ingram semi-auto that went full auto. Took the Sawsall to it and cut it into 3 pieces & put a piece a week into the garbage.

 

[1911Tuner]

Put 20k cast reloads through it in about 10 months a few years ago. Anyway, I cracked the frame up by the rails. First time I cracked it, it was over the slide release....easily fixed by cutting that part out. When it cracked again, I figured it was just time to quit.

Shoot it. One is a non-issue and the other...at the front of the rails...is a self-limiting crack. I've got two that cracked at the same place somewhere around 30,000 rounds on both. They're now approaching 200,000 rounds each...and the cracks haven't gone anywhere.

 

[Strykervet]

Haven't worn out a pistol, yet anyway, I have a Glock that was rebuilt in the late 80's by the factory, had numerous parts changed over the years, but it won't die. A plain old 2nd gen. G17. I have no idea how many thousands and thousands of rounds have been fired through it. Works fine, and my wife actually carries it.

I have worn out a few rifles though. All but one in the army. Gone through a few barrels, burned up an M4, and I also burned up a few SAW barrels. I totalled an entire round count for one M4 barrel in one weekend (they dropped off a pallet of ammo and said have at it --I never thought I'd be sick of shooting, but it did happen, once).

I just don't shoot the pistols as much as the rifles.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

Odd that the magazine held up so much better than the aluminum frame of that S&W 39..........

 

[Cop Bob]

Every time I buy a new one, something gets pushed a bit farther back in the safe... I have a PP in 380 that the left grip is just about worn through from riding in my boot for 25 years, I don't shoot it much anymore, There are a few that belonged to my Dad that I am reluctant to drag out.. My PPC guns haven't seen daylight since I went to Trifocals.. yeah, I guess there are a few, but they all work just fine...

 

[CHEVELLE427]

i retired a Remington 1908 sxs shotgun