Reliability of pistols- review and testimony

[HardCorps79]

I've been very blessed with my two primary pistols. I've had malfunctions of some sort or another with many of the pistols I've been issued or required to carry for various assignments, but the two pistols I personally own have NEVER malfunctioned despite literally thousands of rounds and in various states of cleanliness and lubricity and with dozens of brands and styles of ammo. I really wanted to hate my Glock when I had to buy it as a deputy, but it turned out to be great. I hand picked my S&W for it's reputation.

I'm just wondering what other's experiences are.

Please indicate what specific firearm you're referring to;
What type of malfunction you experienced (e.g. FTF, FTE, double-feed, etc.)
Approximate percentage of the time you experienced malfunctions.

I look forward to learning from my fellow citizen-warriors.

"None of us is as smart as all of us"

Semper Fi

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[sigmanluke]

I own a SigSauer P220R, I have put approximately 5000 rounds through it of multiple brands and loads. I have yet to have a single malfunction of any kind. I haven't found anything that can beat it yet.

[GTOGuy]

I have also had zero issues with my Glock or S&W.

[LethalStang]

My XD45 has been flawless. This is all i have until i get my CW9 out of layaway. Past guns- SP101 is excellent gun but had some issues with casings getting stuck. My P3AT was a great little shooter and was almost flawless (limp wristed my first time out), my G27 and G19's were flawless guns too but just didnt care for the way they felt in my hand.

[21bubba]

Who do I pay for the popcorn?

[MrGlock45]

I've been carrying a G30SF since they hit the market. I now own 3 of them and carry 1 as a back up. I've put over 2700 rounds thru them about 1500 of those were Fed HST 230gr +P's. Not even 1 malf of any kind, with any ammo, in any of the 3 guns thus far, nor do I anticipate any down the road either.
Just picked up (2) G38's (45 GAP) the last couple of wks and don't anticipate any probs with them either, so far they are excellent.
Good luck and always stay safe.

[Ram Rod]

No issues with my P220 SAO and about 3,000 downrange. I don't expect any in the future. I've had one KB in a Glock pistol due to factory reloaded ammo. I've had one magazine blow out on me with a +2 extension due to my own fault. You live and learn. I'm all about Glock, and I have good reasons to be. Among all of my Glocks past and present, I'll venture to say 20K left the barrels without a hitch, and there's plenty more to come. Both of my previous 1911A1 models ran just fine stock with a wide variety of ammo including lead SWCs. My former Mauser HSC .380 ran very well but shot very little. Never had a problem with the P89DC that stuck with me for a few years, and several thousands of rounds put through that one. Looking at things statistically, I've done pretty well with pistols overall and hapless circumstances. Not even a fraction of a percentage of mishaps for all.

[wormtown]

Kahr PM9: Mostly FTF's, also mag released by slide action. "Mostly" fixed after a return to Kahr for a new slide, mag catch and spring, and recoil assembly. Runs about 98% now. Will FTF 1/100 and now FTE 1/100 (a new problem). About 1500 rounds through.

G19/26: New to me, maybe 400 rounds. Perfect.

SW 340pd: it's a revolver!

P3AT: had one bad mag very early on, perfect since with everything but Double Tap, which requires a little "double tap" sometime to fully feed.

CZ p-01: perfect. Over 1500 rounds. Gone in favor of Glocks for simplicity's sake.


Excellent threads HardCorps79!

[goldshellback]

A pair of Glock 23's with well over 5k rounds through both of 'em. No problems at ALL.

Another gun that suprised me was a Ruger P85........not ONE issue with well over 12,000 rounds. Had a Springfield Armory gold cup .45 that just wouldn't fail. That .45 saved my feelings on the 1911 frame.....I'd owned a few others that just wouldn't function 'right'.

Worst gun I've owned for carry was a Sig P229 (.40). That thing wouldn't eat ANY brand of ammo. That gun was a problem that couldn't be fixed.

[RebelRabbi]

Ruger Mark 1, 100% when clean.
Jennings J-22 POS. Don't ever buy cheap!
Raven 25, reliable but very poor acuracy, keyholes at 5 yds.
Colt Gold Cup ; FTF due to adjustable trigger screw backing out, replaced with a solid trigger, 100% since.
Beretta 92, eats everything. 100% (Best auto for a Novice)
S&W M&P 45, 100%
Sig 2022 357/40, 1 FTF bad bullet, Remington Golden Saber 357. 100% since.
Argentine Hi Power, 100% reliable and very well used.
Glock 23, 100%
Sig 232, 100%
Ruger LCP's, his/hers, 100% (THE gun to have when you can't carry a gun.)
Kahr CW 9, bad slide stop spring, replaced 100% since.
Various S&W and Ruger Revolvers, 100%. My EDC is an M&P 340.
(Best choice for a new shooter / non-shooter is a SS .38 sp.)IMHO
We use Glock 17's as Academy trainee guns, very reliable, very durable pistols!
Glock's line would be great if someone wanted multiple guns using one standard system for many different uses i.e. CC, Duty, Field.

[HardCorps79]

RebelRabbi-
Thanks for sharing your extensive experience. I have to agree that the Beretta 92 isn't a bad pistol. We use them in service and they rattle with such a loose fit you'd expect them to be a POS, but I've only ever had one FTE resulting in a stove-pipe (and while qualifying, too! d***!) I think they're a bit overpriced for their poor fit/finish, but overall a true workhorse once you figure out not putting it on safe when racking the slide.

Keep 'em comin' folks! This is great reading already.

[RebelRabbi]

No issues with my P220 SAO and about 3,000 downrange. I don't expect any in the future. I've had one KB in a Glock pistol due to factory reloaded ammo. I've had one magazine blow out on me with a +2 extension due to my own fault. You live and learn. I'm all about Glock, and I have good reasons to be. Among all of my Glocks past and present, I'll venture to say 20K left the barrels without a hitch, and there's plenty more to come. Both of my previous 1911A1 models ran just fine stock with a wide variety of ammo including lead SWCs. My former Mauser HSC .380 ran very well but shot very little. Never had a problem with the P89DC that stuck with me for a few years, and several thousands of rounds put through that one. Looking at things statistically, I've done pretty well with pistols overall and hapless circumstances. Not even a fraction of a percentage of mishaps for all.

You know what you are talking about in your posts and reading this reminded me that the single most important element in shooting is the Shooter! I never cease to be amazed at people downing a particular type, brand etc. only to find out that THEY didn't understand the basic mechanics of shooting.

[chiboxer]

My issued pistol is a M&P 40 and I carry a G27 off-duty. I was assigned to our range when we transitioned to the M&P and in the 100 or so guys I personally trained I only observed two problems. Very reliable guns both of them.

[Bunny]

I have a Beretta Neos (.22) for my son as a range plinker. It's got maybe 3 or 4 thousand rounds through it, and the only time we ever had an FTF was when he got this junk ammo that didn't have enough oomph to cycle the thing. Dumped the ammo and got some remington, and it's been fine.

On the other hand, the rear sights started falling off, and we've fixed them twice, and they're still falling off again. I'm hearing from some other folks that this is not uncommon with this particular model. Pretty frustrating.

My EDC is a Sig P-239 (9mm) and it's also my range gun. I put close to maybe 10,000 rounds through it since April, and it's never let me down. Well ONE time I had an FTF in October, during a Tac Pistol class. But again, I think it might have been the ammo. I did a tap-and-rack and there was a strike mark, but maybe the round was just a dud? I put 2500 rounds through it in 5 days during that class and didn't clean it once. (Ok, yell at me about that later. I was tired, sunburned, and my fingers hurt like heck.) When I finally field stripped it after class, it looked like a melted Hershey bar down there, but you'd never know because it fired beautifully every time, just like it was brand new. When I cleaned out the mags, there must have been 1/2" of grit and sand and mud in there. The gun and the mags definitely took some serious abuse, and except for that one round, haven't had any problems.

Plus the Sig will eat whatever I feed him. I've done at least 15 different types of ammo, different grain, sometimes hot loads, sometimes the really cheap stuff, etc. You'd never know, I get beautiful performance every single time.

[Bunny]

We have some rentals for the classes.

Sig Mosquito (.22) -- don't even bother with this one, it's a jam-o-matic no matter what ammo you're using. Or maybe we just got a bad one? It's gotta happen sometime, I guess.

Walther P22 (.22) -- it's VERY finicky. I've seen two side by side and they each prefer a different brand of ammo. It's weird. And the one likes to be kept wet, we have to lube it for maybe 1 or 2 out of 3 classes. But it's a great beginner pistol. It's light and small, and very manageable, especially for new shooters who tend to be a little gunshy their first time. Honestly though, I'd say I notice FTFs for an average of 1 or 2 every 50 rounds. And doublefeeds once or twice a month. But then again, sometimes I think maybe it's not the gun. The new shooters tend to ride the slide, or they don't seat the mag properly, so I don't know what percentage is the gun, and what percentage is just operator error.