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Testing your defense gun

5K views 57 replies 40 participants last post by  Chowser 
#1 ·
I often hear of people who only shoot a few familiarization rounds through a defensive gun then no longer shoot it. A gentleman on another forum remarked that his Ruger LCP has proven reliable over the 200 or so rounds that he's fired it, and that he will only shoot maybe another 100 rounds in any given year. I used to own a Kahr P9 that was my main CCW for awhile... until the day I decided to shoot up the carry ammo that was in it at the range, and it immediately had a double-feed after the first shot! My confidence in it was immediately shaken, and even though it never jammed again after that I didn't want to trust it so I sold it.

Fast forward to the past couple of years, my pocket carry (another Kahr, this time a P380) started having light-strike issues which quickly got worse, and I stopped carrying it until it could be sorted out. I changed to my Kel-Tec P-32 in the meantime, which I'd fired off and on in the past and had proven reliable. Well, I decided to practice with it the other week, and it started to spontaneously disassemble on me! The takedown pin kept walking out and would jam the gun. So I had to give up on carrying that as well until I could get it fixed.

It just goes to show, you can't simply fam-fire a gun and then do nothing but carry it all the time. You need to let it take its turn at the range every so often just to be sure everything is still working properly. Don't assume that just because you haven't been shooting it that it's still fine. And definitely don't let your carry ammo get too stale or beat up from repeated chambering. Any equipment that hasn't been double-checked or recently proven shouldn't be trusted.
 
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#2 ·
It just goes to show, you can't simply fam-fire a gun and then do nothing but carry it all the time. You need to let it take its turn at the range every so often just to be sure everything is still working properly. Don't assume that just because you haven't been shooting it that it's still fine. And definitely don't let your carry ammo get too stale or beat up from repeated chambering. Any equipment that hasn't been double-checked or recently proven shouldn't be trusted.
I agree with you 100%

I'm pretty fortunate that I get as much range time as I want for nothing but the cost of my ammo. I try to go at least twice a month and I will usually go through at least 150 rounds in each gun I decide to bring with me.

Both my carry and range guns get cleaned and lubed regularly and the only issues I ever have seem to be magazine related. Unfortunately, 1911's are the ones that usually give me problems.

Out of curiosity, what caused your light primer strikes? A reliability issue In striker fired pistols can be related to getting any cleaning solution or lube in the striker mechanism. It causes crap to build up in there and will start to cause weak primer strikes.
 
#3 ·
I made the conscious decision to concentrate solely on my carry gun over the past few weeks. I've always shot it well and would put at least a box of 50 and the SD ammo in the mag/pipe through it each range visit. I would always shoot it first and by the end of the visit, I would be very comfortable with my range toy and not the CCW. A few weeks ago, I decided that the reality is that when I carry my PPS, it is hardly noticeable along with being a decent shooter. I would get myself unsettled about capacity at times and carry my P-01, P99, PPQ, P30SK and so on and so forth..... but I always ended back with the PPS. In the last two weeks, I've been to the range five times, putting about 1000-1500 rounds through it. I'm starting to feel like it's an extension of me. No, I'm not putting one-hole groups at 25 yards, but I can fill a six inch birchwood casey sticker at 10 ft from table to point shooting, simulating an "ambush" scenario and can blow out the orange dot in the middle at will from 21 feet. So OP, to your point....the carry gun needs to be much more than just an emergency tool. I believe that it must be your most familiar and tested firearm in the stable.
 
#4 ·
I try to shoot at least once a month. Usually my carry gun gets shot every 2nd or 3rd time to the range.
All three magazines of Gold Dots get fired and then two boxes of ball.
Get home, gun gets cleaned and fresh Gold Dots in the mags.
This is kinda a monthly quailif, like the Police dept do.


The thing I see alot, Young people want a gun for protection.
Take their pistol course, get their Permit, Buy a new gun.
Then shoot it once or twice and it sits in the draw at home.
Shooting is a perisable skill and needs to be practiced.
The gun you choose to protect yourself, you need to be familiar with so that if you need to use it, Your not saying. Is the round in the chamber?
Is the safety on or off? , etc.
 
#5 ·
I shoot my M&Pc in .357 sig just about every week for at least 2 mags, sometimes more than that in the summer when it's nice out.
Now I don't shoot it with my carry ammo [ Gold Dot] because that stuff is expensive and hard to come by, but I shoot it with the same weight bullet in the cheap stuff and in testing POI is about the same.
 
#11 ·
This is why I made a major effort a few years ago to learn to carry a gun i enjoyed shooting. I practiced consistently with my government model, but dreaded shooting the lcp. Though i understand the need to occasionally carry a small gun (bersa thunder for me), i now carry my well used compact 1911 whenever possible. I do need to be better at cycling through my carry ammo though...
 
#13 ·
I shoot my carry guns enough to know that they will function 100%. But, I go to the range weekly and my primary range gun is a PII and certainly far more rounds go through that than any other. When I shoot my carry guns, at least some of my carry ammo is shot every time. Probably could/should shoot my carry guns more. All my primary carry guns are 1911's so no issue with different platforms.
 
#14 ·
Why would you own a gun and not shoot it unless for some investment or sentimental reasons?

I shoot hundreds of rounds through my Mk III to practice technique a week and routinely shoot my carry guns at least every two weeks. If I don't have at least 500 rounds through a firearm, it's not in the rotation for carry.

Functionality is part of it. The other part is responsibility. I am responsible for every round. So I better KNOW where they are going.

Now I know I shoot a lot. Most cannot shoot this much. But it is important to do what you can when you take on the responsibility to carry.

Sent from my QTASUN1 using Tapatalk
 
#15 ·
I changed to my Kel-Tec P-32 in the meantime, which I'd fired off and on in the past and had proven reliable. Well, I decided to practice with it the other week, and it started to spontaneously disassemble on me! The takedown pin kept walking out and would jam the gun.
Redirection of topic: I had a similar problem with my P-3AT. It turned out that the spring which secures the takedown pin had popped out of its notch in the frame.

Back on topic: I know a retired state trooper who carries a Sig of some sort that he's never fired. He figures that Sig is a reputable company so the gun will work.
 
#17 ·
In my opinion one should regularly practice mainly with one's carry gun.
During all these years I've been to the range at least twice a week.
You never get too much good and realistic training.

My 2 bobs.
 
#19 ·
I just got a new carry gun, more of a pocket gun, and I'm trying to decide how much shooting is enough, and at what point does the "enough" line cross the "wear" line?
If I never shoot it, it will never wear, but the gun won't be proven.
If I shoot it a lot, then it's constantly being proven, but, eventually it will be worn-out; the constant shooting causing problems that I'm trying to convince myself don't afflict my gun.
I'm thinking 100 rounds a month is probably a good balance of maintaining familiarity, and not putting so many rounds downrange that gun will soon suffer from wear.
 
#21 ·
I just got a new carry gun, more of a pocket gun, and I'm trying to decide how much shooting is enough, and at what point does the "enough" line cross the "wear" line?
Wear?!? Naw... That's just sign of a well loved gun. ;-)

Honestly, replacing springs is just like changing the oil in your car. Most quality firearms will last beyond your lifetime even if used regularly with proper care and maintenance.

If it wears out, it shouldn't be carried. Also, now you have reason to get something new!
 
#22 ·
my advice is do some idpa or uspsa matches with your carry gun(s) and gear at least periodically. whole different animal than just sending some rounds downrange at a leisurely pace at a static range. this tests both the guns, gear AND the shooter under a little stress. and it's a lotta fun.
 
#24 ·
Previously I carried a P226 as my primary carry gun. It went with me EVERY range session not only because it was fun to shoot but I felt that it was important to be very efficient with a gun that I would be carrying in public. For those concerned about "wear", that gun received about 4000 rounds (probably 400 being SD rounds) through it last year alone with no parts replacements. It was cleaned after every session and not abused, though it is definitely used. Recently due to career change I have been carrying a S&W 442, while not as fun to shoot it goes with me to the range everytime I'm there. The point being is I don't think that you can shoot your carry gun too much. There's a lot more to worry about in a fight than just proficiency with a pistol so by eliminating any questions about your proficiency with said pistol will likely lead to a better outcome for you.
 
#26 · (Edited)
Absolutely, if you plan to carry, it’s a good idea to put at least 300 rounds or so downrange with that gun first. And then you need to shoot at least 200 rounds of the carry ammo you have chosen. It's no excuse that carry ammo is expensive. Your life is worth more to you than a few cases of ammo (I hope). You should do this not only for reliability and for getting your sight hold, but also to see if there are other problems you weren’t noticing with your plinking load. This video below is the best example of what can happen if you don’t. At 01:00, the guy reveals that he’s been carrying the ammo in question for a month!! He shot it for the first time with his buddies in the video, and had all sorts of problems. Burn a little money and practice with your carry gun and carry ammo!

EDIT: I personally carry a Beretta Pico. I have over 1,000 rounds through it, including 200 rounds of my carry ammo (Precision One XTP).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLNYfx2lx2Q
 
#28 ·
I try and toss a couple of mags minimum down the pipe every time I hit the range (usually once a month, sometimes twice). sometimes I'll toss a full box of 50 down range. I won't really wear it out, but good to know the feel and recoil impulse of your gun when needed.

that doesn't mean I don't shoot the living crap out of my range/house guns (like my CZ and glocks and 1911s) but that I want to make sure it STILL works, cuz you never know when something has gunked up from something dropping into the mechanism or what not. always good to KNOW something works...
 
#29 · (Edited)
Good OP (+1911 dsk) and thread.

Because I keep my carry guns in C-1, and leave them that way at all times, I don't unload them for taking to the range (indoor) very often (cannot bring loaded guns into the facility I use, and I choose to follow that policy).

Never have liked hand-ejecting that round from the chamber .. as I'm in an urban setting. Never had an unintended discharge... of any kind... Just a little uneasy about taking the safety off and yanking the slide back in an urban setting. I've done it, of course, and always with great care ... But it is still that one moment, in being a 1911 owner, that I don't like. Fully aware than many folks do this everyday, but that sense of "not a fun thing to do" doesn't go away.

Gotta do some re-thinking here, as it's probably a good idea to shoot my carry guns more often. Thanks again for the OP and thread input.
 
#30 ·
I live across the road from my hunting club. Until last year I hiked 3 miles through part of the club almost every day March 31st through September.(several surgeries this year) There are two spots along my hike with large piles of wood chips where I shoot handguns, do pushups, and give the pup some water. I normally carry a "j" frame every day and own several of them. I would put 10-15 rounds on target clays I put on the wood chips, coming from a draw several times. I usually bring a larger handgun with me, a Glock 20 or a 1911 or a revolver and will shoot another 15-20 rounds from that gun. During hunting season October through March I go to an indoor range or join my buddy behind his house every other week for 200 rounds or so. I always shoot some of the expensive rounds every time I shoot. So probably 150 rounds a month in spring and summer(unless I get a new toy!), and 200-400 rounds a month fall and winter.
 
#32 ·
1st Sunday


.. of each month, whatever is in my holster gets cautiously drawn and fired; at least 5rds. But the CCW pack has enough guns fun to shoot that one or more goes to the range other times as well. Never many rds in a visit: not looking to test a CCW to destruction. But 5 - 10 to re-establish memory of its sight picture; confirm reliability; knock the dust out. CCWs do collect a lot more lint than a safe queen; good to get that out or at least thoroughly lubed.
 
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