How many rounds

vincen

vincen

New member
Had something hit me as strange the other day. A friend of mine, an NRA instructor (noted so you know he is not new to shooting), told me he often carried a 1911 and then bragged about the fact the gun had never been shot. Okay, maybe I'm the one off here (wouldn't be the first time). Any gun I am thinking about carrying I put 300 rounds of ball through, and at least a hundred of whatever I am going to load it with for carry. Until it can do that without a hitch it isn't something I will trust. And even then that pistol gets taken out almost every time I go to the range for a little exercise. This made me curious so;

How many rounds do you put through your carry gun before you take it out and possibly bet your life on it working, if any?

Thanks,
Vince
 
Had my Taurus pt145 for 3 months now and have put at least 500 rounds through it.
Everytime I go I put 2 or 3 mags. of my carry rounds through it.
 
Evert time I go shooting, I bring all my "carry" guns, run the ammo that has been in their magazines/clips thru them + about 50 rounds (a box each) to "re-familiarize myself with how they each fire.

And each of them does shoot different, even after adjusting the sights as much as possible. I cannot believe that anyone would carry a firearm without having first fired it, to see how it behaves, to adjust the sights, learn the trigger pull on each firearm, and run a couple 100 rounds thru it to “break it in”
 
A new semi auto gets 500 rounds through it without cleaning so long as it still functions. Otherwise, I only clean when it malfunctions and note how many rounds. My 45acp guns all pass the 500 round test. The worst, a 380, is reliable to 300+ rounds.

I won't carry a gun that is not good for at least 300 rounds, but I have never owned one that was not.
 
For sure every gun has to be shot before needed. I would submit that in the case of a revolver, a box or even 1/2 box would be enough if the shooter is experienced. That would check out the sights and function of the gun. I could see more if it was an auto and/or the shooter did not have much experience.
 
I ain't trustin' a gun that I haven't verified will work reliably with the self defense ammo I have chose for it.

In the case of a new semi auto, at the bare minimum, I want to put at least 100 rounds of FMJ or an equivalent lead bullet reload through it just to work out any issues that may pop up. Once that's done, I want least a couple mags worth of the self defense round of choice through it (say twice through all carry mags to verify that they will lock back the slide, will feed the last round, etc, ...).
 
How many rounds?

I START a new gun with 2 - 3 boxes of my self defense ammo - if all is well I"ll then put 300 rds or so of ball through it - then, another 2 - 3 boxes of carry ammo. If everything is copacetic after this I consider the gun reliable enough to carry with my chosen self defense ammunition.
Obviously, one may have to make a few adjustments to sights or a change in carry ammo if your gun doesn't like a certain brand or bullet shape. Proven reliability with your ammo and what to expect when one fires is absolutely paramount.
 
I put 300 rounds through my Glock 19 when I bought it. Since it was my first Glock I wanted to get use to how it shoots and the sights. Since it is my DC and what I will be using to defend myself it is used every time I go to the range. I have had it now for 11 months and have put 3,680 rounds through it. I have found that it will shoot almost any type of 9mm ammo without a problem. I could not see carrying a gun that I have yet to fire for protection due too the what if's and the likely result being my death.
 
I hate to think that a NRA Instructor would do something that stupid. Too many things can go wrong with an Auto. Might have a bad clip. I wouldn't trust my SP101 without shooting it some. An ex Police friend of mine heard a noise and opened his front door and there was three BG's next to his Truck and Car at 3AM, he called to his wife to get his Gun. They ran. He got mad at me when I told him he was crazy to open his door at that time of the night without a Gun in his hand. He's lucky they didn't rush him. Some people can't get enough Training.
 
I wonder if the Instructor buys Cars the same way.

I'm not real sure about this adjusting the sights thing. I don't shoot at the 3 / 5 / 7 Yrd line sighting in anything. Point and shoot. That's from the draw to point shoulder. I usually have fired off 2 rounds prior to coming to full or modify extension of the arms. As for a new weapon, gotta run at least a few boxes through to get the feel and balance. I would highly suggest you use ONLY the ammo you plan to CC with. It might be a bit more expensive but the whole idea is for you to be DEAD ON with your weapon and loads. JUST my opinion....
 
I put at least 250 rounds of carry ammo through mine, I want to make sure there will be no mishaps if it is needed. I agree with Oldbanjo....What kind of instructor would do that. Remind me NOT to take any classes from him..
 
:angry:Are you 100% sure that your friend is a Real NRA instructor?

seems to Me (NRA instructor) that he needs to go back to be recertified.

He should not be putting his life and the life of others by carrying an untested firearm on his side.

You are actually doing the right thing. Always test your firearms and maintain them well ( clean and lubricate as needed) so you know that you have a reliable side arm.

best of luck to you. Your friend need to go back and re-evaluate his NRA certifications he is dangerous and he is also giving us NRA istructord a dang bad name.
 
Tackleberry561 said:
.... I agree with Oldbanjo....What kind of instructor would do that. Remind me NOT to take any classes from him..
Click to expand...
Same type of instructor as the LEO/instructor teaching a gun safety class who does not check his gun to make sure it is empty and shoots himself.

Even a used gun gets a couple boxes of FMJ run thru it and some of the planned SD loads. If not, all you may have is a hammer.:fie:
 
I don't think there is any real magic number... At least 100 rounds of FMJ through the autos to make sure there is no real issue with the firearm in general. In most cases if there is an issue with the firearm it will show up in 100 rounds. 20-25 rounds of carry ammo is the usual for me. If it's gonna have an issue that is ammo specific it will happen in 20-25. Further practice will keep the cycle going.
I'll try different carry ammo after some research and note if there are other users who have had issues or good luck with it in the same firearm type then I'll try some and see how it works for me..
 
Yep stingray2100 I'm sure he is an instructor. He tough the carry class I had to go through. And yes there was more than once I bit my tongue. I hope you didn't think I was giving NRA instructors in general a hard time. I just found it odd someone with 30 years of shooting experience (he says) and going through the NRA instructor training, would be doing something that sent a cold chill down my back. He is a nice guy for the most part, but as I tell the people I train & work with "bad training kills." I agree he needs some time back in the class room listing, not teaching.

oldbanjo, totally agree that if a door opens that late at night I have more than just a flashlight in my hands. And sure not a pistol I never shot. :)

Thanks everyone for the feed back. Though we each have our own way of getting there sounds like we all agree that a pistol needs to prove itself before we bet our life or those of our family on it doing so.
 
I guess you can be an Instructor and not have any common sense. Someone with common sense wouldn't do some of these stupid things. These are the people that need to practice every single day.
 
If I'm going to trust my life on the dependability of a weapon, it's going to have proven itself as reliable with the ammo it's loaded with. I like to practice on a regular basis to maintain and increase my skill level.
 
I get out the Ouija Board for an extended session with the Spirits before I decide on a load I can carry without shooting it first. :biggrin:
 
A new Glock get 2 or 3 mags threw it to ck the sights, then I will carry it, ANYTHING else gets a minimum of 200 rds with no hicups before carrying, we also have 3 Taurus, a Ruger, and a Walther, and before anybody comes back and starts in on Glocks I'm sure there are some Glocks somewhere that have screwed up, but between me family and freinds, I personaly know of almost 30 differany Glocks of all diff calibers, and between all of us I have not seen one gun caused screw up
 
Rocketgeezer - good to hear that. The people I shoot with around here bad mouth Glocks all the time, one of the local dealers won't even let one pass through his shop. Yet when really questioned they haven't owned one or have no firsthand experience with one. Perhaps that is why I am looking at getting a Glock 22 this next year. I so enjoy being the odd man out.

revjen45 - now you tell me about the Ouija Board. You know how much I could have saved in ammo if I had known that before?:sarcastic:

Enjoying all the responses, thanks.
 
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