Should you practice with your self defense gun? Answer Absolutely not.

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I stand corrected, but would really rather take it lying down.:)

Seriously, hat in hand, my humble apology is offered to all.
 
W.R.

I talked to Larry Seecamp this afternoon. He doesn't think there is a limit to how many rounds you can fire from a well maintained .32 caliber model.
What type of "extreme wear and deterioration" are you experiencing with your 200 round Seecamp .32?
I've fired about 250 rounds of Gold Dots through mine and, other than the scratches I've put on it during field stripping, I haven't noticed any wear at all.
Just curious.

Kentucky Rifle
 
One should practice with ammo that is of the same recoil as the self defence loads. Practicing with a 22 and then using a 32 or 380 for self defence is simply planning to fail. A better solution is to buy 2 pistols and shoot the one for reliability testing and then stop. Then practice with the other identicle pistol. This is expensive however. I had a tomcat that the factory replaced because I shot it to death in about 800 rounds. But I got another gun free.
PAT
 
It shocked even me and I am very used to seeing guns wear out because of the thousands of rounds of practice that I have shot through various weapons over the years. W.R.
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...and that sentence shocked me because I know lots of serious competitors in many shooting disciplines and the really serious ones shoot over a thousand rounds a month. Some of the IPSC guys shoot a couple of cases a month. Shouldn't that be "10's" or "100's" of thousands of rounds "over the years"? I mean, heck, I had 3 Glock 23's that each went over 30k rounds myself and I don't consider myself that serious a shooter.

_______________
What color is the boathouse at Hereford?
 
I absolutely disagree with you.

You SHOULD practice with your carry weapon. You MUST practice with your carry weapon.

I have never had a handgun, any handgun that gave out after so few rounds through it. Where do you get this info from? :confused:
 
Practice

I guess this means that I can bring my new car home from the dealer, but never drive it again. Or, should I buy a duplicate car that I can drive and leave the other one in the garage. As a semi-pro joker and put on artist, sometimes even I have trouble understanding some of these posts.:confused:








"It's a corporal joke, private." Coach to Spencer in Southern Comfort
 
9x45,

WR does not own or use cheap handguns: "no cheap castings, aluminum or cheap meltable plastic", as he would (and did) say. Also, the arms he favors can go for either 50 yrs or over 150,000 rounds. Why are you suddenly shooting cheap handguns, WR? :p

Also, can you give just one acknowledged expert (and cite the source, or give contact info) who espouses the idea that "practicing with a gun that you may have to rely on to save your life is an extremely bad idea. "

Just one?
 
WR'S IDEA OF NOT OVERUSEING YOUR CARRY GUN IS NIETHER ORIGINAL NOR INVALID. IT IS AN ACCEPTED PRACTICE IN SOME CIRCLES TO OWN TWO IDENTICAL WEAPONS, ONE TO CARRY AND SHOOT OCCASIONALLY AND ONE TO USE HEAVILY FOR PRACTICE. AS AN EXAMPLE, MANY IN THE COMPETITIVE CIRCLES ROUTINELY KEEP MORE THAN ONE OF THE SAME MODEL GUN TO COMPENSATE FOR PARTS BREAKAGE IN A TIME OF NEED. I HAVE ALSO READ THIS PRACTICE RECOMMENDED BY SEVERAL WRITERS IN THE GUN FIELD, NOTABLY WALT RAUCH AND I BELIEVE AT ONE TIME, MEL TAPPAN. THEORETICALLY, IN MY MIND AT LEAST, I WOULD HAVE MORE CONFIDENCE IN ZERO PARTS BREAKAGE IN A GUN THAT HAD 500 ROUNDS THRU IT THAN ONE THAT HAD 50000. DO I FOLLOW THIS ADVICE?.......NOT NECESARILY....WHERE WOULD I PUT THEM ALL? HOWEVER, IF I COULD BE HAPPY WITH JUST ONE GUN......I WOULD HAVE TWO THAT WERE IDENTICAL TO EACH OTHER AND SHOOT ONE ALOT AND THE OTHER I'D CARRY AND SHOOT SPARINGLY.
 
Do these include crop circles too?

Its also practice in some circles to buy a nice car but not to drive it very much for fear it wont go as fast as it did new.

Your right... its not a new idea. Its been a stupid idea for many many years.
 
To Kentucky rifle

What type of "extreme wear and deterioration" are you experiencing with your 200 round Seecamp .32?
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Sorry I got back with you late but unfortuately I must work for a living.

My seecamp trigger bar has already developed an elongated hole in it. In other words it has become egg shaped. This results in a trigger pull that is deteriorating fast and occasionally sticks.

In other words the reliability of this weapon is already less than 100 percent at the 200 round mark. W,R.
 
To 4Dir

HOWEVER, IF I COULD BE HAPPY WITH JUST ONE GUN......I WOULD HAVE TWO THAT WERE IDENTICAL TO EACH OTHER AND SHOOT ONE ALOT AND THE OTHER I'D CARRY AND SHOOT SPARINGLY
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Thanks for the post 4dir. I was beginning to think that very few people on this forum ever read anything about the gun world and the famous writers that publish their thoughts and philosophies in it.

I was also beginning to think that damn few of them even had any common sense or mechanical aptitude.

I see that you are in neither one of those catagories.

I look forward in the future to reading more of your comments and thoughts about shooting. W.R.
 
Thanx, W.R., but always remember I don't think of myself as any sort of Guru, and I can have Senior Moments as easily as any other certified Old Fart.
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Your too modest Art. When Jeff Cooper retires and no longer writes Cooper's corner why don't you apply for the job.

You could call the new magazine column Art's Corner. I think your articles would be much more interesting than Jeff's. W.R.
 
To Tamara

"? I mean, heck, I had 3 Glock 23's that each went over 30k rounds myself and I don't consider myself that serious a shooter.
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Now we are finally getting somewhere. If all you got was 30,000 rounds out of glock's then you yourself just admitted that they sure don't have much of a long service life.

Ok I will quit joking with you. Now be honest surely you got more than 30,000 rounds out of each of them. Didn't you? Or are you actually being Frank with us. Why did you get rid of three of them. What problems were you experiencing with them to cause you to get rid of three of them in a row like that. Just Curious W.R.
 
To Sig Fan

One should practice with ammo that is of the same recoil as the self defence loads. Practicing with a 22 and then using a 32 or 380 for self defence is simply planning to fail. A better solution is to buy 2 pistols and shoot the one for reliability testing and then stop. Then practice with the other identicle pistol. This is expensive however. I had a tomcat that the factory replaced because I shot it to death in about 800 rounds. But I got another gun free.
Click to expand...

This is one of the rare times when you and I agree 100 per cent. It is also one of the rare times when I am speechless. W.R.
 
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