What do you do if a handgun you want to carry fails your reliability test?

[TCB]

Absolutely. But something wierd now and then shouldn't scare you off. I'll have a malf or two at a match once and a while and it doesn't sour me to a gun. High round count classes is where this is going to be the biggest problem and if you have a problem child it should go away. I don't want a unreliable weapon takeing away from the training. But if it's just a now and again type of thing...I have no problem carrying it. I don't think I've ever had a weapon that hasn't malfunctioned at all, usually it can be traced to ammo or magazines or sun spots... Even my duty gun chokes now and again...and it's a H&K!!! My Colt M4-A1 has malfunctioned during a qual (crappy mag...) but it got cleared and I rolled on. Mechanical things shit the bed sometimes...there are a lot of variables (ammo, mags, dirt/debries, lube or lack there of, environmental conditions, etc...) like one of the other posters said 500 rounds isn't enough for me to shit can a pistol but if you don't trust it carry on...like I said, that's why we train for malfunctions...just one man's opinion.

[themonk]

I get it and completely agree. All my guns have had malfunctions other than my AK74 but I think the answer to the OP should not be deal with it and do more malfunction training. It should be an honest evaluation if the gun is crap or not. If its crap, send it back and the let the manufacture have a go at it and see what it looks like when it comes back.

[samuse]

You need to be able to diagnose the malfunction. Different malfs mean different things. Random malfunctions are not acceptable and the root cause needs to be identified so it can be fixed. If the pistol is set up to run correctly, it will run, because it has to. It doesn't have a choice, it's a machine.

I believe 100% reliabilty is a realistic expectation.

[gtmtnbiker98]

If you shoot enough, you will experience a malfunction.

[oldtexan]

I would need to know a what kind of gun it is, what the malfunctions were, what ammo was used and perhaps mags if they are aftermarket. Myself and the other, smarter, members of this forum could use theta info to maybe help you figure this out.

This.

[Failure2Stop]

If you shoot enough, you will experience a malfunction.

Yup.
Round count alone does not have a stoppage reduction value.

Frankly, if I couldn't get 500 rounds through the gun without it shitting the bed, I'd get rid of it.

[WillBrink]

Let's say you buy a handgun and want to carry it. You fire 500 rounds of ammo and have three to five malfunctions that are not easily reproducible. What is your next step? Would you ever trust this gun for carry?

Need more info to make an assessment. Nature of malfunction, new or used used, Model and brand of gun, ammo used, etc to decide it it was worth diagnosing and fixing, or getting rid of it. But no, 5 malfunctions per 500rn would never be a CCW gun until it was diagnosed and fixed for me. Hell, wouldn't even use it for IDPA at 100/1 ratio like that.

If it were a used Taurus, I'd dump it. If it were a new M&P or Glock, I'd see if it could be diagnosed, fixed, re tested.

[ST911]

Life support gear should meet a high standard. When it doesn't, it goes back or gets sold with disclosure.

Don't accept mediocre gear.

[Alpha Sierra]

Couple malfs during the very first 500 rounds? BFD. Keep breaking it in and make sure you aren't using crap ammo.

Malfs every 500 or so no matter what? Get it fixed by a pro or get rid of it.

[Talon167]

At the end of the day, if you don't trust it, you shouldn't carry it.

But, I agree with the others... it'd be nice to know the gun and ammo that was used, as well as the type of malfunction.