How many rounds for proof?

J

JJ45

New member
If you just got a new auto pistol, how many malfunction free rounds would you fire before you would trust it as a carry weapon or in a SD situation?

This, of course, would include trouble free ammo and mags.
 
I know that lots of folks like to say that you have to run 1000 rounds of ball, plus umpteen magazines of your favorite defensive load, 147 stoppage drills and hit a partridge in a pear tree at 100 paces, but I have neither the time nor the budget to do that.... I'd run 200-300 rounds of cheap FMJ just to check general function and then 2-3 magazines of my preferred defensive round.
 
Im with Spats on this one. I have come to trust all my carry guns through 300-400 rounds between 2 or so range trips, with my about a mag worth of my carry ammo. My trust continues to grow as I shoot it more, but around that 300-400 mark of a couple range trips I officially trust for carry.
 
I've only ever had one gun that deteriorated.
It took over 500 rounds to reveal its nasty disposition.
The rest worked right out the box and stayed that way.
From that experience, the odds are very good that no more than a few hundred rounds should do.
 
As guns were breaking out of the Army surplus and target pistol mold into "high performance defensive weapons" about 50 years ago, Maj. Geo. C. Nonte said 200 trouble free rounds of your actual carry load.
 
A couple of 50 round boxes upon purchase, if all the mags preform it is good to go.
My Glock 26 has cycled and fired 100% since it came from the box.
 
After giving my new gun a thorough clean and lube, I expect it to run 100 rounds FMJ and one mag of carry ammo without malfunction. If it does, it's good to go. If not, the count starts over until it does or I send it in for repair.
 
Since when have we ever had even a single product that can ever be proven? Chernobyl was safe, over and over we've believed in "proven " products.

Don't be daft. A "proven" tool can give out the day after that one year warranty and round number 1,001 may be the one that goes nuclear and vaporizes half the county.

The people who say a thousand rounds are being ridiculous. If magazines and pistol function well for a few boxes of various brands and a box of the chosen important rounds, that is all that you can expect of an off the shelf mass production machine. So start carrying, and take it to the range with you to continue testing.

there is a reason for doing stoppage drills. you will never be certain. If $1,000 worth of ammunition is the bare minimum for some people before they can comfortably carry a sidearm for defense they shouldn't buy an off the shelf gun, and they sure as heck shouldn't be buying third world bulk stuff.

The reality is that some people have two kids, rent, a car payment, and that doggone boy keeps getting cavities. Getting a gun to save lives and seeing that gun and shooter can hit center mass is good, putting one's fiscal status at risk obeying arbitrary rules is bad. What should they leave out of the budget? Car insurance?

Every day involves a chance of violence, and a risk for death or injury. Spending three months rent on gun, ammo, range time, mags, holsters, may lower the chances of death or injury, but the possibility is almost incalculable.

Imo, 3 different boxes of top brand target grade ammo and 100 or so defensive rounds will show that the equipment is reliable. $200. $1,000 can buy a common handgun on sale, a shakedown ammo pack and carry pack,nylon holster, extra mag. After that, practice marksmanship and handling, and with every landmark that is passed, the level of safety climbs exponentially.
 
Let me add that if a sudden need or concern arises and that gun is needed asap, let's be serious. There can't be anything stupider than putting it into a drawer and waiting until it's been thoroughly vetted.
 
I just practice with my carry guns, and I like to pound on them a little with about 200 rounds of the cheap dirty stuff during a range session, then after about the 5th session, do a D.C.O.A. then shoot some defensive loads through them. I've not usually concerned with running ammo for break in through them.
 
I have to not only know the gun will work, but also that I can work the gun.
I have to be familiar enough to be able to shoot it instinctively out to 10 yards or so, and be able to know where it will shoot at different ranges.
I have run some factory ammo through my CZ. I have fire hand loads from well below anything I would consider to maximum loads with no failures what so ever. I am fairly certain the gun will work every time but I don't know the gun well yet. I know it shoots about a half inch left at 25 yards. I have never fired it left handed yet, never plinked with it to see if I can hit a target repeatedly as the range grows, and I have not fired it at extended range. I have only had it for a few months and I need to get to know the girl before I trust her with my life.
I know my 357 intimately but then I have been shooting it for 45 years. I have no pressing need to replace it as a carry gun. I will take my time to get comfortable with the new girl before I feel comfortable with it as a carry gun.
 
100 fmj range ammo, then a box of various carry ammo candidates. After I choose which one, then another box of the chosen SD carry ammo to make sure it functions.
Actually the carry ammo portion has been shortened a bit because I generally trust Speer Gold Dot will be what I end up with. So I start with two boxes of that.
 
My carry ammo and my practice ammo are the same, 230 grain FMJ. I know that load is not usually recommended for an SD load and I know the reasons why, but I'll take my chances because reliability is my first concern. And I also like to keep things simple.

The reason I asked the question is, IIRC (and I might not) Massad Ayoob advised that 200 rounds of your chosen load, bobble free, should garner trust in your weapon. This seems to contradict a lot of other opinions that advise a lot more.

But, as was said above, if the weapon fails, will it be on round 201 or 20001?, etc.
 
Your carry load once again makes my point. Assuming that you make a solid hit with the fmj, why do we always assume that the fmj will fail to properly perform, leading to death or injury by return fire, but a gold dot in identical position will end the threat?

Assuming you get into a gunfight with an empty gun. You have no chance. Load the gun and you double the chance. Have a very reliable gun, double it again, train, and double it again. Trading your 9mms for a .40 or trading your ball for gold dots aren't going to boost you chances as much as people would have you believe.

If a person is ever placed in a situation of danger, as happens hundreds of times a day, it's not particularly likely that it will involve terrorism or mall shootings. It would be nice to train at thunder ranch, but it's not practical. The thing that will really reduce your risk of death is spending the extra $500 -1,000 on better air bags.
 
After a couple hundred trouble free rounds, I would have enough confidence to carry a pistol. After all, I carried a 25 ACP RG-25 for years and have only shot a total of about 80 rounds through it in the last 40+ years.
 
I guess I am the odd man out.

Once I establish my POI with a new handgun with my chosen ammunition, I have confidence. It is during this period that function is tested.

For self defense purposes, it only has to go bang once to get the job done.
 
One mag load. Assuming the mag is proven reliable. A pistol will either work with specific ammo/load or it won't. Really no need for hundreds or thousands of rounds to prove anything.
 
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