When is a CCW pistol worthy to carry?

Discussion in 'Shooting & Fireams Training / Skills' started by .357 mag, Mar 4, 2018.

  1. .357 mag

    .357 mag Member

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    The 1911 thread sparked this because my Springfield 1911 hasn’t passed my test that I do before I carry a firearm for CCW.


    So what do you do? Straight out of the box, put some HP’s in it and strap it on GTG?

    I bring it home, take it apart, and clean everything up and oil.

    500 rounds total without cleaning in 3 sessions generally with the last 100 being the carry ammo. I’ll allow 1 failure in the first 50 rounds but none of my carry guns have had a hiccup.

    As said above my Springfield generally hits the 250-300 mark and the slide starts to slow cause a FTF.

    I know that may be a bit much but it’s what I started doing when I started carrying. Honesty 500 rounds isn’t a lot. That included lots of draws and reloads also.

    After the test my CCW is cleaned after every range session. Range guns I generally don’t clean every time. Quick wipe down and back in the safe.
     
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  2. anrkst6973

    anrkst6973 Member

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    That's an odd thing to have happen, if you break it down and clean, does the issue go away til you hit app 250 rounds again? I've put a 150 in one session thru my G-17 with no hiccups, best guess is it's somewhere near 2500-3000 total sent with not 1 ftf or fte yet. It's went like a sewing machine since I got it.

    Edit: I'ma dope. ;) I overread your cleaning regime, perhaps a stronger recoil-return spring? I'd be a little po'd if I was doing it to a new gun but for ccw reliability......
     
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  3. KMCMICHAEL

    KMCMICHAEL Member

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    I shoot a few rounds to see if it is sighted in, usually a box and I am good to go. I pretty much carry a Sig938 and have since I retired.
     
  4. Menace

    Menace Member

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    Mine get cleaned first but for the most part they go straight on my hip. I'll put a couple hundred through it as early as I can to check sight picture and function check.

    But, I train with my carry guns regularly, to ensure that they still function and are still shooting straight. If I can't get through a range trip without a failure I'll send it down the line. My wife picked out a Beretta nano (against my recommendation) and we couldn't get through a single mag without at least one failure. I made her sell it and bought her a glock 43.
     
  5. ny700

    ny700 Member

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    I also have a sig 938. The pistol really surprised me. It’s 19oz I was expecting it to be a handful with full power 9mm. It’s surprisingly soft shooting for its size. I also find it very accurate. The siglite sights are very crisp to my eye. The edges are really clean which may sound like an odd statement but my eyes just square them up really well

    For me to consider a pistol reliable I’m going to put about 100 rounds through it. I’ve never had a new modern pistol develop an issue at 300 rounds that wasn’t there at 25 rounds. Although my precision rifles and range guns I’ll grandly run dirty. My self defense pistols I keep clean. In like my precision rifle that I want the cold bore shot to be the same as my 200th round fires that day and there for I don’t want a super clean bore to start. A defensive pistol is more like a bench rest gun to me. It’s only going to shoot a few rounds, I need to know it’s going to fire and exact placement on that cold bore shot. So I always start with a clean bore and lubricated pistol
     
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  6. kihnspiracy

    kihnspiracy Member

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    Clean it, lube it, shoot 500 rounds thru it. If it doesn't pass that test, it doesn't get carried.
     
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  7. Hammer

    Hammer Member

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    This.
     
  8. koolaidnd

    koolaidnd Member

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    Clean, lube and run 500 through it. If it hits 500 with no malfunctions then I run 250 hollowpoints through it and call it good. Any failure before the initial 500 rounds adds an additional 100 rounds. I sell the gun immediately if the gun does make it past the 1,000 rounds without problems. I don't have time for that nonsense.
     
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  9. Zeek

    Zeek Member

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    Just stick to carrying Glocks... :eek: :p :D
     
  10. jpowell44

    jpowell44 Member

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    For starters I only carry Glocks and I only carry Gold Dots in my Glocks. There are plenty of other good choices out there but it is a proven combo. I’ll shoot at least 100 rounds through it then detail strip it and give it a thorough cleaning and inspection. Every time I shoot one of my carry guns it gets a full detail strip and cleaning.

    I am always amazed by people that carry a gun they have never shot.
     
    Last edited: Mar 27, 2018
  11. John

    John I know who I am! Staff Member

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    This is odd. I've run 800-1000 through both the XD and XDS over 3 days (without cleaning) and never had an issue. Like you, I completely break it down afterwards and give it a thorough cleaning. You might want to have a gunsmith take a look at this. This shouldn't happen on any brand.
     
  12. Zeek

    Zeek Member

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    It's a 1911 though... not an XD or XDs.

    Just had a discussion with my buddies yesterday about their trip to the range last Friday. They pretty much described the same scenario, both their 1911s had failure to feed and or failure to go into battery problems after a few hundred rounds. They both just shrugged it off as "normal". :confused:
     
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  13. jpowell44

    jpowell44 Member

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    I had a Kimber for a while, what you are describing was definitely “normal” for it.
     
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  14. Hammer

    Hammer Member

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    Or a revolver... ;)
     
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  15. Teddy12b

    Teddy12b Member

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    For me, it's going to be a couple hundred practice rounds through the gun in a very short amount of time without cleaning as my first step. Once the gun and I have gotten to know each other and if it's proven reliable, then I'll round 100 rounds of whatever carry ammo I plan to have in it through it. Making sure your carry ammo functions is probably the most forgotten or overlooked part of peoples process. After that, my carry gun gets cleaned after almost every use unless it was just a mag or two.

    My 1911 is a springfield loaded that I bought as a range toy before they did their Illinois stunt. First round through the gun was a Hornady critical defense that had a failure to feed. I always treat new guns to nice fancy first bullet through the barrel and go figure this time I got hung up. Since then the gun has run like a champ for reliability, but the only thing holding the front sight in is the pin. I don't carry a 1911, but they are fun to shoot and as an American I feel obligated to own one.
     
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  16. Hammer

    Hammer Member

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    I put 500 rounds of various ammo through my new M&P 2.0 out of the box, without cleaning. Not a single hiccup. That's GTG, as far as I'm concerned.

    On my Shield 2.0 I put 350 rounds through it, out of the box, before cleaning. I continue to shoot both of them regularly.

    In both cases, I feel confident that reliability is not a concern.
     
    Last edited: Apr 18, 2018
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  17. Teddy12b

    Teddy12b Member

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    Another part of this that plays a factor for me, is that while I am interested in newly designed guns when they first come out, I won't buy them till they've been in production for at least 6 solid months. Perfect example of that for me would be the new sig P365, because I'm very interested in it. I pocket carry because of my back and currently I use a shield 2.0 for that. If I can get more capacity in the same package I'm interested, but I don't want to be a beta tester and help work out the bugs from new production. I'll wait till my favorite you tubers have reviewed the guns and then I'll see about buying one.

    Once it's in my hands then it'll get kicked around in the dirt and shot a bunch, but first it's got to have a good track record.
     
  18. TangoDelta59

    TangoDelta59 Member

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    Fieldstrip, inspect, make sure that everything looks correct and lube is good. Shoot a variety of hardball and defensive loads of my choice (200 to 400 rounds usually per outing). Check the accuracy to see if any adjustment is needed on the sighting system. Run through various shooting drills and then it is fieldstripped and cleaned. Don't clean after each range or training event though. Then it's carried concealed. I had very few if any misfires, feeding issues or anything with the handguns I use often. XD's (service, sub and recently a XDs added). I have shot thousands of rounds in XD's and they've been very reliable for conceal carry protection and shooting. Use S&W, Ruger as well but typically carrying an XD of some flavor ...
     

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