I won't own a gun that won't function with any ammo I feed it

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Deus Machina said:
Honestly, none of my carry guns had problems with any factory load I tried.
My Ruger SR9c? Never a hiccup.
CZ PCR? Only hangups were from a particular handload wedging into the rifling. No issues with a different cast bullet or any factory load. Imagine it may have trouble with truncated cone, but that's rare enough for 9mm.
S&W 469? That thing would shoot rocks if I could get them into the magazine. Ate absolutely anything. It would just deliver them low and wide.

And I won't own anything I need to trust that won't function with any quality ammunition. Steel case and weird rounds notwithstanding, and I've hardly owned as much as many of you, but anything but a range toy or safe queen needs to function with any brass-cased FMJ I toss in it.

Heck, I have yet to own a .22 pistol that has trouble functioning. Albeit I've hardly tried everything and it may not enjoy it, but they've functioned.
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I own a SR9C that has hiccups on cheap light loaded ammo, so what? My Brother has used Cheap ammo that caused his CZ to have a few hiccups, My range buddy has a number of Glocks that have had hiccups, so what? To get a gun will eat any ammo fed it is just total BS. I have a Nano that is now well over 5,000 rounds of flawless shooting with a all kinds of different weights. However, there will be a time I come across a brand of ammo that may choke it. Something loaded really light might do it. If anyone thinks I will get rid of the SR9C, Nano, LC9S, and others simply because they might not feed every ammo must be on Crack. And I can tell you, my brother would not let anyone take away his CZ. You better be on crack to try.
There are no perfect semi's, there are no Perfect Revolvers.
If there is a gun that will feed every ammo perfectly all the time, then for sure there is NO need to practice for a failure. Why waste your time. By the way, I have a Black Hawk that will not take Tula Brass Max, or Steel case ammo. If you think I am going to toss it, then you need to stop smoking what ever it is.
 
Expecting a gun to function with any ammo is akin to expecting an engine to run on any fuel fed to it. Yes....it CAN be done, but there are trade-off's and limitations and when you make something able to run on anything it normally won't run that great. The Military 'Multi-fuel' trucks come to mind being they'd run on lots of fuels but were much less powerful and efficient than a dedicated diesel would have been. Similar thing with handguns...

Especially the very small concealment pistols which lack slide mass it places a huge responsibility on the springs to control the impulses needed to function properly. These impulses change fairly drastically depending on the bullet weight, case construction and power level so much that if the gun is set up to run the lightest and least powerful ammo available it's going to beat itself to death quickly with the hot stuff. Conversely if the gun will tolerate the hot ammo well it's just not going to function with the really weak and light stuff. The only cure is to add slide mass which removes much of the spring tension needed but this is counter to the object of concealment....so you must choose what you want. If your gun MUST function with anything it's fed...it's going to tend to be large and heavy and if this is OK with you...fine!:) It's the people that cry that their Micro-9 won't shoot this or that don't seem to understand the mechanics of what's going on.
 
Jeb Stuart said:
I have heard of the years some internet poster say "I won't own a gun that won't function with any ammo I feed it".
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Traditionally, the military has considered a gun and the ammunition for it to be a system - the gun is designed for a particular cartridge and for a limited variety of loadings within that cartridge / caliber. Thus the M1 Garand was designed for the .30-06 M1 and M2 ball cartridges and similar offshoots such as armor piercing, API, tracer, etc.

Some civilian owners today want to shoot loadings in their M1's that are far different from M2 ball. Therefore we have innovations such as adjustable gas valves. I think this is a mistake. Keep your Garand as designed and get a bolt action rifle if you want to shoot a divergent cartridge.
 
Jeb Stuart said:
I have heard of the years some internet poster say "I won't own a gun that won't function with any ammo I feed it". This phrase usually comes after some owner posted a failure with a certain ammo or just a a malfunction.
Is there really a gun made that will actually feed any recent ammo made, no matter what the quality? Would you get rid of a gun simply because it did not feed a certain ammo? Sounds like a ridiculous statement, but you know the internet.
Click to expand...

Man we are lucky today if new found "toy" functions with USA forged ammo from Walmart it must be great, bravo.
 
I bought a Taurus PT945 once. It fed ok, but would only shot single-shot. Turned out the frame was not bored to spec just enough. However, after three trips back to be worked on, was one too many. Turned it into a different firearm.

When my Series 70 was young, it did not "like" Federal truncated cone profile bullets of any kind. They just seemed to not ride the feed ramp well. Everything else did, including the CCI 200gr "flying trashcan" JHP (even the Blazer cheapo aluminum ones, too). At the time, the Lawman 200 was the test of how good a ramp job a .45 had. About a thousand rounds later, Federals feed just fine.

Now, I have arms that "like" a particular brand/weight of ammo to give their best. I expect that with .22lr almost all of the time. Enough that I chart which likes which best. So, the Nylon 66 wants PMC, the Mossberg M44 like Aguila Super Extra, and so on (my Auto-Ord 1911 really prefers S&B).
 
Some guns are pickier than others though. If ammo gets scarce I’d hate to be limited to a small selection of brands.
 
I had two guns that went because they would not shoot everything. In fact, those guns would not reliably fed anything. There were enough good guns out there to waste time trying to get turkeys to fly. Looking through this forum one finds many threads on reloading cartridges to be reliable. I just cannot throw any old thing together. When I do make my rounds correctly same will feed in any of my self-loaders. Those include Glock's and HK and one Colt 1911. No problems. I'm tempted to think that speaker that was cited by OP may have been carried away by the moment. We have a grand example of this being carried away in the news daily.

Glock: would you buy something that looked like that if it was chronically temperamental? Meaning malfunctioning reliability.
 
There are too many variables to consider---
Could be a bad lot of ammo
Could be a defective magazine
Could be limp wristing
Could be tight match chambers requiring match ammo
I wouldn't blame the firearm without considering such issues first.
 
I don't own a gun that doesn't function absolutely reliably on factory ammo. I must be lucky. My M1, M1A, AR's, 2 9mm handguns and a Springfield 1911. My AR's are one factory gun, one PSA upper, one I built fully with a BHW barrel. I reload 10-11 rifle calibers but the semi-auto stuff all works just fine unless I get a primer turned on me.
 
Certainly, I prefer a gun that will feed any off-the-shelf ammo that I find, but I'm not going to get rid of an otherwise good gun at the first sign of trouble. I'm also more tolerant of ammo-pickiness in a range gun than I am in a defensive gun. My G19 has fed every kind of ammo so far, with the exception of one magazine that I have. That's a magazine problem, though. My 22/45 Lite, on the other hand, has fed most of what I've tried, but it really didn't care for some Winchester LRN bulk pack that I've had sitting in a closet for about 30 years. It fed that at about 80-ish%. My solution: Save that Winchester bulk for my bolt .22, and feed the 22/45 something different.
 
I have one semi-auto 22 rimfire that won't reliably feed one major brand of ammo. I spent a lot time with a micrometer and a magnifying glass to determine why. No joy. It shoots other brands that measure the same without one problem, just not this brand.

I like the gun and there are a tub full of different brands of ammo it does shoot reliably so I don't plan to get rid of it.
 
Is that like the people who make all their guns the same?
They like the trigger this way or that way and custom every piece.
Sometimes learning the gun is half the fun. Plus guns are like people. Some are picky and some are sloppy.
 
First, I will state that I’m a Revolver guy. I own a few semi autos and do buy and trade for one here and there. I’m also one that normally stays away from cheap guns although 2 of the guns I regret getting rid of were 44 spl. One a Rossi and other a Charter Arms. About 3-4 years ago I bought a Tautus 709 Slim for $100 for a cheap truck gun. Only fired one mag through it and soon it got put away and forgotten. Seeing a lot of post on several forums about picky autos made me decide to test out my cheap gun. I dont load 9mm so I started accumulating different 9mm bullets from everyone I know. Some SD loads, some flu and even 10-12 different reloads from cast to Jhp. I even found some old steel case and aluminum case that have been in a friends toolbox for years and was pretty rough looking. I took the ammo and my cheap Taurus to my range and shot between 300-400 rounds. Mixed it up and did everything I could do to create a ftf. My cheap gun never missed a beat. No failures at all. I will have to also state, I had 3 jams with a Glock when trying to mix up the dirty different brands at the same time. I was very surprised at both guns. Would I buy another Taurus or recommend someone else buy one based on my test? NEVER. Maybe i just got a good one. Would I trust my life with this particular gun. ABSOLUTELY. It’s proven itself. Any gun auto or revolver that will be carried or used for SD by my family will be checked out completely. I love a Smith and Wesson’s and think the quality of the older Smiths is as good as any out there but I’ve seen 2 new ones that wouldn’t fire out of the box.
 
Bill Wilson: Compact 1911’s Can Be Reliable

Interesting article. “I often hear comments like ‘I only trust a full size 1911 because they are more reliable,'” Bill Wilson writes at wilsoncombat.com. “Well folks I’m here to tell you this statement isn’t necessarily true. While it is true some ultra compact 1911s with barrel lengths under 3.5” often have reliability issues, there are other important factors involved such as spring weights, firing pin stop dimensions, ammunition selection and whether or not the pistol will push feed.” In other words, it’s the same advice I give for how to train a dog: buy the right dog. Bill’s blog then goes on to tell readers/consumers how to buy the right compact 1911".

Some folks claim to have "Perfection with a particular firearm are and it will it eat any ammo made. Sorry, I find that statement to be about as reliable as a CNN anchor.
If you want something close to total perfection, be prepared to spend a whole lot of money.

https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2014/02/robert-farago/bill-wilson-compact-1911s-can-reliable/
 
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When I bought my pump shotgun, a few years ago, I did not know about THR and consequently a lot less about guns and ammunition. I would have been saddened if I had found out that it malfunctioned with a brand or a class of ammo I of which I had just bought cases. I can happily report it has skipped only one beat. It was caused by a bulged shell. If failed to feed. A vigorous pump got it out of there. I see that failure as mine, not the gun's. I should have inspected my ammunition before I used it. Further down the road that morning, I spotted another bulged shell. Maybe was it a bad lot. That one did not jam the gun, it was not discarded either. I used it as a target. The ammunition was not faulty, I was.

I cannot express how negative I get when someone who's just bought an inexpensive shotgun is told to "just buy good ammo" when encountering problems with malfunctions for two reasons. First, the source of the problem should be investigated seriously. Second, if a lad buys an inexpensive shotgun, there is a slight chance the reason is he doesn't drown in money.

Considering a long time favorite of the crowd directed at someone without large financial resources to buy a first gun for home defense to make it a pump shotgun (which I fully endorse even if other options also very good) and to train with it as much as possible, I see unfairness in telling that same someone tu buy expensive ammunition because it is the only way to do things.

An inexpensive pump shotgun is required to shoot the ammo it is fed. The shooter is expected to sort his ammo, with minimally a visual inspection prior to fireing. The ammo is expexted to go bang.
 
I would NOT use any firearm that is the least finicky off the range.

For repeating firearms this means revolvers for SD, maybe bolt action rifles. I have had no problems with my Mossberg 500. I have semi rifles only for historical value, though I do shoot one on the range. I have one semi .22 handgun primarily for beginners that I take to the range.
 
Good Ol' Boy said:
If you haven't had a malfunction your not shooting enough. Doesn't matter the gun.
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Yeah ... I'm not believing this. I shoot several times a month, several hundred rounds per range session, both as part of my job and on my own time. I own, and am issued, many handguns that have never malfunctioned, not once. My personal guns are shot using a wide variety of domestically-produced and foreign (i.e., S&B, Fiocchi, IWI, Armscor, Aguila, Privi Partisan, Red Army, Tula), ammo, either purchased at Wal-Mart, Bi-Mart, Sportsman's Warehouse or ordered on-line. I've put foreign cheap-ass steel and aluminum cased cartridges as well as premium domestic JHPs through every one of my semi-autos without issues.

Good Ol' Boy said:
Murphy is out there, he just doesn't always visit those who are minimally active.
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I disagree. Some of us are maximally active and can spot trends.

And, I just don't consider misfires resultant from bad lots of ammo as the "gun being finicky."

Know your guns, clean your guns (well), know how to maintain your guns, and know how they operate.

Caveat: I don't carry or shoot mouse-guns and I certainly don't expect 22 semi-auto pistols and rifles to function reliably with any ammo.
 
Old Dog said:
Yeah ... I'm not believing this. I shoot several times a month, several hundred rounds per range session, both as part of my job and on my own time. I own, and am issued, many handguns that have never malfunctioned, not once. My personal guns are shot using a wide variety of domestically-produced and foreign (i.e., S&B, Fiocchi, IWI, Armscor, Aguila, Privi Partisan, Red Army, Tula), ammo, either purchased at Wal-Mart, Bi-Mart, Sportsman's Warehouse or ordered on-line. I've put foreign cheap-ass steel and aluminum cased cartridges as well as premium domestic JHPs through every one of my semi-autos without issues.

I disagree. Some of us are maximally active and can spot trends.

And, I just don't consider misfires resultant from bad lots of ammo as the "gun being finicky."

Know your guns, clean your guns (well), know how to maintain your guns, and know how they operate.

Caveat: I don't carry or shoot mouse-guns and I certainly don't expect 22 semi-auto pistols and rifles to function reliably with any ammo.
Click to expand...

I am also maximally active, do have a gun that will not feed a certain ammo, but will shoot my carry ammo like M&M's and many other over the counter ammunitions just fine. I know this gun well, I shoot it often, I clean it, maintain it. There is no way, I am going to get rid of a perfectly great gun, just because it does not like one brand of ammo. Ridiculous. And I doubt any bad guy that gets a load of ammo I carry with this gun is going to give a hoot that the gun did not like a certain brand of ammo that he did not get hit with.
Also, while I do not own a Mouse gun, I do own a Pocket gun 380 that will eat any ammo, I have fed it. Thousands of rounds down range. I have not tried steel cased ammo in it, but if I do and it does not feed it, I will not have a melt down, go to pieces, fall apart at the seams, I simply will not buy the ammo. Pretty simple, straight forward.
I was a competitive runner since high school, ran twice a day most of my life. To say that a gun must run on every ammo made is far fetched IMO and unnecessary. It is like saying, a runner should be able to race in any Model shoes. Sorry, that is not real life either.

Buy a quality gun, and yes, get to know your gun, become one with the gun. In today's world, it certainly is not difficult to find the perfect ammo for your carry, or any gun. And if the guy next to you has a gun that supposedly eats any ammo in the world, so what? It gives him not one bit of a edge. It means absolutely nothing.

I do not loose sleep that any gun I have must eat any ammo I come across. What I do focus on, is the quality of the ammo I do carry. The gun is reliable, but is the ammo? Consistent, accurate etc. That is much more important IMO, then trying out every ammo made just to say, "My gun will eat any ammo and I will not own a gun that does not? Each to his own.
 
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I can't say I won't keep one that won't function 100% with everything. I have a CZ97 that can be finicky with SWCs that isn't going anywhere.

They say the newer ones addressed this somehow and feed SWCs no problem. Love that gun though, it's a keeper.
 
Picky eaters aren’t allowed at my house. Anything that won’t reliably fire any descent ammo gets culled unless it’s a project I have a soft spot for.

I’ll put it this way. If a gun won’t fire ammo that meets spec it’s gone or worked on until it does. Not counting dirty guns or ammo that won’t pass plunk tests or has unreasonable velocity.

I used to love my ak’s because they would cycle with anything that would go off still. The AR’s have really caught up in the last 15 years though. I currently have 2 picky eaters.
AN AMT hardballer that I’ll classify as a project.
And a cetme that rips the case head off commercial rounds that have soft brass (federal)! Cases fire to fluted chamber and stuff that’s too soft and thin gets stuck in it. I keep it around for a truck gun when I’m gonna leave my pickup somewhere higher risk of getting broke into.
 
I have a Beretta 950 .25 ACP. I've fired well over 1,000 rounds of various brands of ammo through it with never a hiccup. (Meticulously cleaned and lubed after firing)

A well made, and maintained, weapon will always be reliable.
 
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