How many rounds till I should trust a pistol?

a revolver id would probably put 50 rounds thru and if no problems id carry it. A semiauto i like to put about 200 rounds thru....any gun can fail but i feel like youre most likely to have the failures in the beginning (with a new gun) and as you shoot it, its breaking in. If i get thru 200 i call it gtg.
 
I've got 109 flawless rounds through mine and I trust it to carry, that is with 3 different kinds of ammo as well including Hornady hollow points (which is what I carry). Some may think that's not enough but I am shooting it every chance I get. It seems some of my friends forget how exciting it is to have a new gun you want to shoot a lot.
 
Keep it clean and very lightly oiled. Most of the problems I hear about end up being too much oil and not enough cleaning. I think the 500 round break-in period is more about the operator than the pistol. I'm continually surprised about the problems with functionality, reliability and shooting skills that disappear after after 400 rounds or so.
 
maybe, maybe not...

2 important points that have come up here to me are;
To understand that most common jams/problems with modern semi auto pistols come from the pistol magazine. To clear these jams and reload a different mag solves many problems.
The other point is to check or inspect the handgun ammunition. Even "top brand" handgun rounds fresh from the factory can be sub-standard.
I purchased a new box of 9x19mm JHP +P from a "major" firm and saw a few of the 9mm cartridges were dirty, had wierd stains or looked like #+=•.
I put the rounds that didn't have any flaws or problems in my duty-carry 9mm pistol magazines. I'm not going to risk my safety or have a malfunction due to pistol rounds that I knew were crap. ;)

As a teen, in the 1980s, I read of how US combat troops in SE Asia & later many spec ops(ForceRecon, Rangers, SEALs, SF) would check each milspec 5.56mm round in their issue CAR-15s/M-16a1s before a big mission.
This made a lot of sense and is a good habit to get into if you carry a firearm for duty or protection.

Clyde
 
With my revolvers, one box. With my SR40 a couple hundred rounds of practice ammo and a couple boxes of SD ammo. I'm nearing 1000 rounds now with zero malfunctions. I just took it completely apart to install a ghost trigger so I'll test it again the same way.
 
Most handguns manufactured today don't truly need a beak-in period before working reliably. Some do, however. Check with the manufacturer. The break-in helps the parts mate together for a better fit and smoother performance.

Kahr recommends about 200 beak-in rounds on the CM9. The Dan Wesson manual recommends 300 to 500 for their 1911s. Keith, who runs the 1911 production line has verbally indicated about 200 rounds. Les Baer recommend break-in rounds for their 1911s but I don't recall the exact amount (maybe 300 to 400). Some posters may argue they are cutting corners and the shooter shouldn't have to do this. Fine, don't buy the guns. More for me.

Now, even if a gun doesn't truly need a break-in, I still believe in shooting a semi-auto for 200 to 300 rounds before depending on it. This serves a dual purpose. First, if there are any defective parts, they are more likely to show up early (not always, of course). Second, it gives me familiarity with that specific gun. As a side benefit, all guns do seem to run a bit better after some rounds through them.

For revolvers, I'm usually happy with anywhere from 25 to 50 rounds through them.
 
I think a certain amount of breaking in for a NIB is a wise idea, like driving a new car around town to break it in rather than on the highway. Also the real weakness of most pistol is in the magazines.
 
Just remember every round you fire is one less round the gun will ever fire. That 400th round fed thru that magazine may be the last round it ever feeds. That last magazine of HP's you shot may be the last rounds before your firing pin breaks, or the trigger falls apart. And what about that primer and powder in that first round? What if....if.

It also may have been the last time your trigger finger works...or your wrist, or elbow, shoulder, eye....

It's the chance you/we all take.
 
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