How Many Test Rounds Before You Call It GTG

[Heavyweight]

I'm curious to know what some of you guys consider a proper break in and testing period for your pistols before you consider them good to go for carry. I bought a Ruger LCP Max knowing full well that some of these guns had issues when it came out. So I've put a hundred rounds of ball and 50 rounds of Critical Defense through it with no failures. .380 auto is so ****ing expensive that I don't feel like pumping too many more rounds down range for testing. If it were 9mm I'd keep going but on this one I want to call it good and start throwing this thing in my pocket. The Texas summer is almost here and pocket carry is all I can tolerate this time of year. Thoughts?

Stay safe

Heavyweight

[Pappabear]

For me , it would partly be depending on what gun I bought. ie and HK P30, your 100/50 would satisfy me. Ruger LCP I might want a couple more hundred of ball, then a couple mags of HD ammo. Or one more mag of Critical defense, that shit cost $$$$$.

There are 9 million threads on this but usually rifle threads. Maybe try Google fu and see what gives if you dont get a big response.

PB

[pag23]

Shadow Systems recommends 250 rounds..... I usually run 100 or 50 rounds through my Glocks and HKs first. First 124 grain FMJ then run carry ammo.

That is just me....

[davidjinks]

For a carry gun: Clean gun, lube to manufacturer specs. 500 rounds of whatever FMJ the gunshop has, zero malfunctions. 150 rounds of whatever my preferred carry ammo is, shot through that gun without cleaning, zero malfunctions.

Range gun: Meh…whatever works.

I'm curious to know what some of you guys consider a proper break in and testing period for your pistols before you consider them good to go for carry. I bought a Ruger LCP Max knowing full well that some of these guns had issues when it came out. So I've put a hundred rounds of ball and 50 rounds of Critical Defense through it with no failures. .380 auto is so ****ing expensive that I don't feel like pumping too many more rounds down range for testing. If it were 9mm I'd keep going but on this one I want to call it good and start throwing this thing in my pocket. The Texas summer is almost here and pocket carry is all I can tolerate this time of year. Thoughts?

Stay safe

Heavyweight

[Alpha-17]

500 rounds to consider a gun broken in. A mag or two of defensive ammo after that for a carry gun.

[L-2]

The amount of rounds to be confident in one's carry gun, to me, is mainly dealing with human feelings.
Here are some of my thoughts/considerations on the subject in no particular order.

-It probably depends on the specific gun and what, if any, malfunctions occurred before carrying (if it's determined to be carried at all).

-H. Yam of 10-8 Performance, used to recommend 200 rounds with zero failures when speaking regarding his 1911 experience. This can become time & money expensive if there's a failure at or near round 200, as it apparently starts the 200 round cycle all over again.

-Where I worked with Glocks, if we got a new gun, we qualified within 50 rounds and might carry that gun (with periodic quals) for the next 10-15 years. With a Glock or many other firearms, we might get through thousands of rounds, say 15,000, without any firearms failures, some without lubrication; or maybe with better reliability than the 15,000 rounds of ammo we're shooting.

-Depending on the gun, we might carry one or two spare mags, if that. If carrying a 5-shot S&W J-frame, we'd have 10-rounds and then we are out of ammo. Hopefully, we could get through 10 rounds without a failure.

-Some guns (thinking .45ACP 5" 1911s) are failing on its first mag, but get better as more rounds are shot; that is until I get to that 2500-3000 round range where I usually need to replace the recoil spring as failures of some sort start occurring, but different from the brand new failures at the start.

-Some newer guns may literally have parts break. How many rounds may not even be a consideration at some point if we totally lose and have no confidence in a specific firearm.

-All during this time, we are hopefully getting better at manipulating a specific firearm and possibly dealing with that firearm's potential quirks and specific malfunctions; good stuff to know ahead of time.

-If you really want to carry a specific gun prior to being confident in it, consider carrying a backup gun to it for awhile. This may be opposite from what you want to do in the hot, Texas summer, when you want to carry the smallest, lightest single gun, so instead of a 2nd gun, carry a good knife or OC spray instead as a backup, with a rifle/shotgun in the car. I mean it all comes down to how confident do you feel with that Ruger LCP.

[mooseman]

For me it’s 500, but the smallest gun I own is a G26. Can’t imagine putting that many through on anything smaller. I carry occupationally for what it’s worth.

[Tanner]

I have a minimum of 5 magazines per handgun, I run a 100rds through each, rapid fire, if no problems, pistol and mags gtg.

[ThirdWatcher]

For my agency, it was 500 rounds when they issued a new service pistol. Most of In-Service Training (Classroom & Range time) for that year would be dedicated to the new pistol.

[bp7178]

Honestly, just take a class with it.

These numbers guys are giving are completely arbitrary.