How many rounds

[vincen]

Had something hit me as strange the other day. A friend of mine, an NRA instructor (noted so you know he is not new to shooting), told me he often carried a 1911 and then bragged about the fact the gun had never been shot. Okay, maybe I'm the one off here (wouldn't be the first time). Any gun I am thinking about carrying I put 300 rounds of ball through, and at least a hundred of whatever I am going to load it with for carry. Until it can do that without a hitch it isn't something I will trust. And even then that pistol gets taken out almost every time I go to the range for a little exercise. This made me curious so;

How many rounds do you put through your carry gun before you take it out and possibly bet your life on it working, if any?

Thanks,
Vince

[G50AE]

I'd put at least a half dozen boxes through any pistol before carrying it for protection for several reasons. A gunfight is no time to be figuring out that your ammo shoots low, or that your sites are out of adjustment, or that your chosen ammo hangs up in your gun, or that your gun is a lemmon. Call it verification of positive opperation, siting in, practicing, it is all those things.

When I purchaced my Glock 22 I immediately put two boxes of PMC 170gr. FMJ ammo through it to test reliability and get used to shooting it. I also later tried various brands of carry ammo to make sure they all worked. Once I settled on a regular carry round I'd rotate that out every year.

[Edsworld]

Had my Taurus pt145 for 3 months now and have put at least 500 rounds through it.
Everytime I go I put 2 or 3 mags. of my carry rounds through it.

[HunterLee]

Evert time I go shooting, I bring all my "carry" guns, run the ammo that has been in their magazines/clips thru them + about 50 rounds (a box each) to "re-familiarize myself with how they each fire.

And each of them does shoot different, even after adjusting the sights as much as possible. I cannot believe that anyone would carry a firearm without having first fired it, to see how it behaves, to adjust the sights, learn the trigger pull on each firearm, and run a couple 100 rounds thru it to “break it in”

[JimPage]

A new semi auto gets 500 rounds through it without cleaning so long as it still functions. Otherwise, I only clean when it malfunctions and note how many rounds. My 45acp guns all pass the 500 round test. The worst, a 380, is reliable to 300+ rounds.

I won't carry a gun that is not good for at least 300 rounds, but I have never owned one that was not.

[hiwall]

For sure every gun has to be shot before needed. I would submit that in the case of a revolver, a box or even 1/2 box would be enough if the shooter is experienced. That would check out the sights and function of the gun. I could see more if it was an auto and/or the shooter did not have much experience.

[jtg452]

I ain't trustin' a gun that I haven't verified will work reliably with the self defense ammo I have chose for it.

In the case of a new semi auto, at the bare minimum, I want to put at least 100 rounds of FMJ or an equivalent lead bullet reload through it just to work out any issues that may pop up. Once that's done, I want least a couple mags worth of the self defense round of choice through it (say twice through all carry mags to verify that they will lock back the slide, will feed the last round, etc, ...).

[MI .45]

I START a new gun with 2 - 3 boxes of my self defense ammo - if all is well I"ll then put 300 rds or so of ball through it - then, another 2 - 3 boxes of carry ammo. If everything is copacetic after this I consider the gun reliable enough to carry with my chosen self defense ammunition.
Obviously, one may have to make a few adjustments to sights or a change in carry ammo if your gun doesn't like a certain brand or bullet shape. Proven reliability with your ammo and what to expect when one fires is absolutely paramount.

[Kasper]

I put 300 rounds through my Glock 19 when I bought it. Since it was my first Glock I wanted to get use to how it shoots and the sights. Since it is my DC and what I will be using to defend myself it is used every time I go to the range. I have had it now for 11 months and have put 3,680 rounds through it. I have found that it will shoot almost any type of 9mm ammo without a problem. I could not see carrying a gun that I have yet to fire for protection due too the what if's and the likely result being my death.

[oldbanjo]

I hate to think that a NRA Instructor would do something that stupid. Too many things can go wrong with an Auto. Might have a bad clip. I wouldn't trust my SP101 without shooting it some. An ex Police friend of mine heard a noise and opened his front door and there was three BG's next to his Truck and Car at 3AM, he called to his wife to get his Gun. They ran. He got mad at me when I told him he was crazy to open his door at that time of the night without a Gun in his hand. He's lucky they didn't rush him. Some people can't get enough Training.