It might be said, the new normal - instead of 500 rounds ($500 of ammo for some) how much have you limited yourself to check a new gun for reliability?

I have a good friend who only ran 30 rounds in one and that was a year after he bought it. It was "never fired" yet carried loaded with good defensive ammo. A gun is better than no gun they say. Ammo is staying expensive or even going up as the ammo makers short the market giving it away, and I read on forums now where the 500 round practice is considered too much now.

How few have you shot thru a new gun and then carried?

My current normal is the same as it's always been in my life.

200 rounds ball with no hiccups, followed by 2 boxes of my carry ammo of choice with no hiccups.

I’m also in the 200 or so rounds of FMJ ammo camp, and as much JHP as I’m willing to expend (typically at least one box). The JHP I usually carry is coming back into a little more availability, thankfully.

I will say that the above JHP comments apply, for me, particularly to both semi-autos and revolvers. While the revolvers may often be less finicky, I still want to make sure they (and I!) can handle a given JHP round.

about 20 rounds. thats about all I could stand in myGuardian 32NAA. But in fairness it never hiccuped.

There is no “new normal”. I won’t shoot less even if it costs more. I buy cheap and stack deep. I shoot a lot and it’s what I do.

quote:

Originally posted by richamor:
about 20 rounds. thats about all I could stand in myGuardian 32NAA. But in fairness it never hiccuped.

I feel your pain. I foolishly ran 220 rounds through my P3AT in one range session years ago.

You could see the imprint of the backstrap in my palm for a couple of days.

My normal test fire scenario for a new gun is 100 rounds plus a few hollow points. Recently though I took three new ones too the range and only ended up putting about 60 +/- through them due to costs. But given the fact they were two GLOCKs and an HK I feel pretty comfortable with less then my normal 100.

Last year I bought a Canik TP9SF and took a box of 50 to the range, along with three new Promags. It's not a primary defense gun, and since its an excellent copy of the P99, I was more interested in the range test on the Promags. They got ten apiece in the drizzle and I had no issues with the old round nose that went into it.

I got spoiled in the Reserves, was issued a new FN M16A2. Qualified on it after sighting in - that's all it got. Next year more qual. Same when we were issued M9's, a class, cleaning, qualification. Nobody had any issues. One of the benefits - full power NATO ammo, not white box junk. Nobody expected stoppages and there weren't problems. Rifle buffers shoot smooth and 5" barrels aren't finicky. It's the short 3" carry compacts that require finesse and a firm grip.

As our carry guns got smaller up to 2010 or so, the 500 round mantra continued to grow, and I'm thinking the two are related. That is also the track record with shorter barreled 1911s - make them small, malfunctions increase. It became normal to buy an $1100 semi carry 1911 and expect to send it back for more tuning for the bragging rights or something. Like having the AD regulate your Swiss Dive watch to get it closer to 20 seconds a week +/-.

I've heard it recommended to dry fire 500 times, rack the slide 500 times, and leave the mags loaded for at least a month before shooting. Of course I've also read of an owner going to some extreme lengths to "fix" the "poor design features" of a new gun before they even get 100 rounds out the barrel. Do we want to look at some of the action cycles as a poor mans substitute for expensive ammo these days?

6

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:
6

Can't go wrong with a revolver!

Gents,

Kudo's to you for testing your edc's...
I still hold to a minimum of 200 rounds and I make it a point to test ALL of my magazines(minimum of 6). Testing mags is as important as testing the pistol or revolver.
Revolver shooters should be shooting more than 6 rounds.

Wes

75. Glock 20. 50 FMJ + 25 JHP.

On a new gun, usually 200, and then 25 rounds of my carry ammo.

I'll shoot plenty more later, but that's what I'd shoot the first time out before I'd consider carrying.

About 10 rounds of .32acp in a Seecamp. For two reasons, hard to find ammo and pain associated with firing that little gem.

No problems with feed or ejection and very accurate.

Least?

6 rounds of .416 Rigby through a Ruger #1H off a bench.

Got the scope sighted in and had zero problems with extraction or feeding

And I know a .416 Rigby "isn't exactly ideal" for CCW carry, or EDC for that matter - unless you're salmon fishing off the Kenai peninsula -- but it is the least I've ever shot one and declared it "good enough."

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mannlicher,

200 hundred rounds ball and 20 of my carry load. Less of a shake down needed with a revolver …….usually 50 to 100 rounds in my opinion.

Used to be 400 rounds before I’d edc it. Fortunately I’m still carrying what I’ve been carrying. Shooting what I’ve been shooting so..

I’m with GW, but I shot my Seecamp 24 times (4 mags) or expensive Silvertips.
Reliable and accurate.

For me:

2 magazines FMJ
1 magazine of whatever JHp's I am carrying.

I have only carried classic Sig P Series pistols (P226/P228/P229) and I am confident in their reliability.

I'd say about 200 FMJ rounds also. For SD ammunition, about 2 magazines worth.
I have the opinion that you'll know real quick what SD ammunition works and doesn't work. If it hangs up when you're racking the slide or going from slide lock, you'll probably have problems.
Had one pistol that only liked the Critical Defense/Duty ammunition as it has the polymer tip.