Reliability survey to help with purchase

Looks like some of you guys are ankle deep in brass. Maybe that isn't all that is ankle deep.

Seriously, the most reliable handguns I have ever owned were Smith and Wesson revolvers. I had a pair of Power Customs on K-frames that went well over 70,000 rounds each before I sold them and got new ones. That's a lot of shooting. There were no failures that I can recall and that speaks well of the ammunition as well as the guns.

If I wanted to get a small handgun for a lady based on reliability it would be a G26 in an auto or a J-frame Smith in a revolver. In the medium sized class I suppose a K-frame Smith or the G23.

Other guns well do just as well, but the ones I mentioned are readily available and meet your criteria. Whatever you do, stay away from the Kimbers. Just kidding RikWriter.
 
Beretta 92FS 2,500 rounds No Jams

S&W 669 1,000 rounds No Jams

S&W 686+ 1000 rounds No Jams (revolver, pretty ovious)

IMNSHO most reliable pistols: Beretta 92series, all glocks, and Sig P series.
 
In response to the original question...

Glock 19 2000 rds, 1 jam
Glock 26 (friends) 1500 rds no jams.

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Anarchism: The radical notion that I am the sole authority when it comes to deciding what's best for me.

[This message has been edited by SlackO (edited February 15, 2000).]
 
Ruger KP95DC 1100+ rounds--- NO JAMS all types of ammo!

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Just as there is no such thing as too much fun,
there is no such thing as owning just one gun!!!

Off my meds (quit smoking), armed to the teeth, and loose on an unsuspecting society!!!
 
Ruger Redhawk. 44 Mag, 2K, 0 jams
Kimber Compact Aluminum 2.5K, 30-40 jams
Springfield Armory Champion 2k, 0 jams
Springfield Armory Ultra Compact, 1.5K 0 jams
Taurus Raging Bull .454 Casull, 800, 0 jams
T
he older guns I've owned I didn't shoot enough to count.
 
Although I prefer auto's to revolvers, if simplicity & reliability are top mandates, I'd go with a wheelgun. I have had both Ruger Speed Six and a Security Six for 20yrs and they have never hiccuped in over 10k rounds each. I either own or have owned virtually every type of auto and at some point, they have all had a jam (most due to reloads). A S&W 642 would be a great choice.
 
I have trained hundreds of citizens to shoot and they are mostly of the female persuasion. Because as we all know most men are born Pistoleros and don't need any training with handguns. The women have consistently shot better with steel frame snubs rather than the alloy framed models. The recoil is to much for many of them with the alloy framed guns and they find the experience unpleasant. Larger size guns are a rarity since most of these people are taking the seminar inorder to carry concealed with a CCW permit. The best all around pistol that we have found for the money is a 2" stainless Rossi snub or if they have the bucks, a Model 60. The vast majority of women, will not take the time to go to the range, time after time, inorder to become proficient/safe with a semiauto. There are exceptions to every rule but most will not do it. Stay away from semiautos for marginally trained shooters. This gun safety/self defense seminar that my agency sponsors is 0800-1200 class room and 1300-1700 range time. You don't have ample time to teach them the safety aspects of the semiauto. In fact it is a rairity for a female to even bring a semiauto. Most have snubbys of some discription, usually Smiths, Taurus or Rossi. Colts are rare...7th Fleet Police Firearms Instructor/Glock Armorer/IALEFI

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SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL POLICE, KEEP THEM INDEPENDENT.
 
Twoblink

The G19 I had I consider a fluke. Something (I don't know what) would cause the gun to jam on either the last or the second to last round on every mag. This only happened with HP. What would happen is-the round would get caught on the barrel's feed ramp. I wasn't the mag, because I tried about seven different mags. No gunsmith I went to could figure it out. It wasn't because it was dirty either; my guns are clean.

The other problem you have with glock is every time one jams everybody thinks you are limp wristing and that can be frustrating.

But because of my feeding problems, I cannot recommend a glock 19.
 
Send your G-19 back to Glock. I sent my G-24 back due to the cases hitting me in the forhead. Good service, no charge, resonable turnaround.
 
Thank you all so much!!

The 1 hour or so "grip testing" in the gun shop isn't cutting it. There is a difference between holding a gun for a few minutes, and shooting it for a few hundred rounds...
www.viper-usa.com <-- Just one of the most kick ass things I've ever seen! All your favorite guns, exact replicas but in air-bb style. So I'm going to buy a few (Around $30-$40 each I think) get a Glock, a Sig, and an HK, let me gf try it out, and see which one she feels most comfortable with. That then is the one I'll buy. But a $30 rubber pellet gun is something I wanted anyways, and I can try out how my gf will handle it without spending $600+ ....

Albert
 
Interarms ppk/s (380 auto) 573 rnds no failures
colt government 380 (380 auto) 440 rnds one failure to feed (dirty gun 200 rnds one session)
Beretta MD84 (380 auto) 1784 rnds no failures
sig p229 sport (357 sig) 70 rnds no failures, lots of fun too!
EAA 10mm witness 3395 rnds 3 failures to feed, magazines weld broke, took 3 rnds to notic (replaced by eaa)
springfield p9 (40s&w) 3152 rnds, no failures
Beretta MD96 (40s&w) 2620+ (bought used) rnds, no failures
Colt diamondback (38 spec)10,000+ rnds (bad records early on) some double hits on primers due to poor reloads about 10 years ago
Les Baer 45 Premier 2 (45 acp) 2696 rnds no failures
Les Baer 45 Concept 1 (45 acp) 4271 rnds no failures.

Hope this helps

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P229 Sport and 357 SIG, Perfection!
 
Interarms ppk/s (380 auto) 573 rnds no failures
colt government 380 (380 auto) 440 rnds one failure to feed (dirty gun 200 rnds one session)
Beretta MD84 (380 auto) 1784 rnds no failures
sig p229 sport (357 sig) 70 rnds no failures, lots of fun too!
EAA 10mm witness 3395 rnds 3 failures to feed, magazines weld broke, took 3 rnds to notic (replaced by eaa)
springfield p9 (40s&w) 3152 rnds, no failures
Beretta MD96 (40s&w) 2620+ (bought used) rnds, no failures
Colt diamondback (38 spec)10,000+ rnds (bad records early on) some double hits on primers due to poor reloads about 10 years ago
Les Baer 45 Premier 2 (45 acp) 2696 rnds no failures
Les Baer 45 Concept 1 (45 acp) 4271 rnds no failures.

Hope this helps

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P229 Sport and 357 SIG, Perfection!
 
I am going to have to agree with Tecolote on his comments. Although I live and die by my H&K USP 40 Compact, I do not beleive that it is a weapon for the inexperienced, or the beginner. The safety features can be confusing, and definately more complex than, lets say, a .38. If and when I buy a gun for my wife, I will seriously consider purchasing a new titanium hammerless .38, unless of course she becomes more proficient in weapons handling procedures. Good luck.

JJC
 
Seeing lots of rounds go through lots of different guns in different hands, the Berettas, SIGs, and HKs jam the least, the 1911s and Glocks the most (but certainly good enough). Not the conventional wisdom I know; maybe I see a lot of limp wristed Glocks and garage gunsmithed 1911s ? :)
 
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