Pistol reliability tips

S

snyper85

New member
Recently I have been on a lot of different forums researching different ammunition types and different cc guns and the topic of reliability has come up a lot. A couple months ago I purchased a diamondback DB380 for pocket carry because it felt the best in my hand compared to about 7 other guns in its class. After I purchased the firearm I began to read range report about the little guy and about 95% of them were negative due to the gun not functioning reliable. On my first trip out with the gun I shot 170 rounds through the gun flawlessly and without incident. Was there a problem with my gun because it didn't act up during the break in period? It's possible I was lucky and got a cherry, but I don't think so. Let me explain to you what I did to make my EDC firearm extremely reliable right out of the box.
As soon as I got the gun home I stripped it down compleatly and cleaned everything removing all factory lube. Next I took metal polish and poured into the slide rails. I then reassembled the gun and racked the slide about 400 times. I took the gun apart and assessed the slide rails. They were shinny and had no sharp edges. I then pulled and reset the trigger about 300 times. Next step was to polish the feed ramp with the metal polish. After that I hit all the edges of the gun with the dremal tool. I cleaned the gun and applied frog lube to the slide. At the range I shot 150 rounds of 95 grain federal fmj without incident followed by 20 rounds of Winchester PDX1 ammo. Not a single hiccup.
 
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Some other tips I can give to make other notoriously unreliable pocket pistols more reliable .

Polish the feed ramp.

Put metal polish in the slide rails and rack the gun multiple times.

Use a dremal tool to debur all sharp edges.

Use nickel plated ammo. It has a smoother edge than brass and feeds more reliably.

If you do use brass ammo for carry then use the dremal tool to buff and smooth the brass case.

If you pocket carry use a pocket holster, that way there's less of a chance of lint getting caught up inside your gun.

Clean your gun and magazine monthly!! I can't stress that enough.
 
I hear ya' Snyper... and feel the same. I guess there are a lot of (spoiled brats) out there who are not do-it-yourself types and kinda prone to complaining.

You and I and many others on these forums enjoy tinkering and maintaining and getting guns to run smoothly but some guys just don't.
 
Thank you KahrFan. If you can't tell by now from my posts I find the Dremel tool to be a huge asset to a gun owner/do it yourselfer. There's multiple uses for a Dremel and suggest everyone invest in one.
 
I find the Dremel tool to be a huge asset to a gun owner/do it yourselfer.
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Me too... But I can also see that "it ain't for everybody"... requiring a certain level of sensitivity and artistry or one can get in quite some trouble with it.
 
Sorry but Dremel tools have little use in gunsmithing !! I'm not a stranger to Dremel having used them for 50 years .But not on guns .We didn't use them in gunsmithing school either.
 
Well mete your entitled to your own opinion but I have used one with great success and will continue to use mine on all of my firearms.
 
I find the Dremel tool to be a huge asset to a gun owner/do it yourselfer.
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I find wet-dry and wood blocks to be a much better option. Doing it by hand you have much less of a chance of taking too much material off.

Well mete your entitled to your own opinion but I have used one with great success and will continue to use mine on all of my firearms.
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His opinion is a damned good one. I would heed his advice.
 
Dremel a good tool?

This is the first time I've read that. But it was from someone who has used it for fifty years. I guess, like shooting, after a while you get good at it.

I've used mine once, very carefully. I'll find out at the range if I was good enough.
 
I'd be afraid to use one a gun. But this is coming from a guy that uses a 4 1/2 inch grinder to port the throttle body on his truck.
I am planning on using a Dremel to trim the forearm on my Mossberg but that's far from internal work on a gun.

I do plan on using the metal polish trick on my Baby Eagle. Doesnt need it but I'd rather be safe than it messes up the one time I do need it.
 
If I ever had a handgun that was so finicky that I had to constantly go through the whole gun basically to make it function I wouldn't want that one. I'd sell those problems to someone else and get me something that was 100% reliable in dry weather, rain, mud, jungles everywhere in all kinds of situations. Have to buff you ammo? Not for me! Just buy a Glock.
 
I now have over 600 rounds through the gun without fail. And when I talk about using the dremel I'm not talking about using grinding blades and taking amounts of metal off the gun. I use metal polish and a fabric polish wheel to debur and slightly round off edges. This mimics the break in period that the gun goes through without having to waste ammunition.
 
IMHO, a gun upon which my life will be staked should need nothing more than a proper cleaning and lubrication to work reliably out of the box. Do what you like with your own guns, but if I had a brand new self-defense handgun that I thought needed metal polish or a dremel tool just to work reliably, it would promptly be returned from whence it came.
 
While its ok to say a gun was better than its rep, or only needed some minor stuff done to work, its important not to rationalize a purchase of a lower quality firearm by saying "well I saved money and all I had to do was this...and this" because a gun that requires that was in turn cheaper for a reason. It was not necessarily a great purchase because more times than not, you get what you pay for, both ways. I would be hesitant to trust such a gun to my life because logically a short cut internally on polishing is a clue to shortcuts other places, which could be unmodifiable.

Sometimes, when talking a CCW or something such as a safe, cheaper is often worse. I always wonder when someone tries to save money on their carry gun while giving up something important about the gun to do so, what is your life worth?

Not that a Glock is the greatest gun in the world, but for the money, its worth it, IMO. I've only cleaned and lubed mine, and occasionally not either, and with good ammo (not crap reloads) and with factory recommend FMJ, it has been perfectly reliable. Of course, many other guns can say the same thing. I feel more comfortable with any gun that needs nothing internally right out of the box and I think thats the opinion of many.

Of course we all have to do what works for us individually, there is no right or wrong. We each have to make our own choices.
 
You shouldnt have to take a dremel to a new gun out of the box in order to ensure it works properly. Thats good you were able to ensure it's reliability, but I'd be afraid of any future problems with a completely voided warranty due to the modifications you made.
 
7 inch grinding blade then smooth that with a 4 inch grinder and then the dremel and flittz. Looks like Hell but it makes your guns function like a charm!
 
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