New Handgun Break-In Periods ????

On this forum, and others, I often read of the supposed need for 200 round + break-in periods for new handguns. I find that outrageous, and disappointing.

In my opinion, a new handgun should be 100% reliable right out of the box.
If well machined, well designed, and properly lubricated, it should work from the GIT-GO! One should be able to fire one or two magazines through a new handgun, WITH NO FTF's or FTE's, and then be very confident in its ability to protect oneself and one's family.

I suggest that gun publications, and the posters here, always report ANY FTF's with a brand new handgun.

If I ever purchased a new handgun that had a FTF or FTE in the first 20 rounds, I would immediately ship it back to the manufacturer. (I"ve never had to do so....)

JERRY

or...the Kimber 500 rnd "break in" period. :biggrin2:

"In my opinion, a new handgun should be 100% reliable right out of the box."

Wishful thinking & (for certain) not always the case.

That having been said there ARE things that a purchaser can do to help insure more flawless initial performance.

With a semi-auto - Do a standard "function check" and test to make sure that everything that is supposed to work...actually works.

Do a field strip - & perform a general cleaning no matter if it looks the the firearm needs it (or not) and check the slide/frame rails for any rough spots, metal shavings, or burs.

Re-lubricate the rails with a high quality low friction lube.

Let the slide slam home a few times to make certain that the barrel is mating properly with the slide and that the slide is going completely in battery.

Disassemble the magazine & lightly run over the underside of the magazine feed lips with an ultra-fine 3M "wet or dry" paper to knock off any factory sharp edges that normally come in contact with the top cartridge brass.

Clean the internal magazine body to remove any factory crud or old metal extrusion lube that may or may not be in there.

Buy some DUMMY rounds and hand cycle those through the firearm to to make certain that the pistol is feeding.

> NOTE: Always be extremely careful, safe, alert, & cautious if you decide to hand cycle your intended "carry" ammo through your pistol.
Typically if a full magazine of your carry ammo will hand cycle through your firearm - it's a fairly decent guarantee and a pretty good indicator that it will fire/function OK.

Remember that pistol magazines are always the weakest link in every semi-auto & "keep in mind" that some handgun manufacturers do not always supply the firearm with "BEST" quality magazines since some makers desire or need to keep production costs as low as possible.

If any semi-automatic fails to properly function the first time out - usually the first thing to try is to invest in a best quality aftermarket magazine and try another shooting session.

You can always sell that mag & recoup most of your $$$ if you ultimately/eventually decide to dump a dog pistol.

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Originally Posted by gold40

In my opinion, a new handgun should be 100% reliable right out of the box.
If well machined, well designed, and properly lubricated, it should work from the GIT-GO! One should be able to fire one or two magazines through a new handgun, WITH NO FTF's or FTE's, and then be very confident in its ability to protect oneself and one's family.

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- That would be great, but we don't live in a perfect world. Even Glocks aren't always 100% out of the box.

I've purchased many guns with a recommended break in period. I simply break the gun down, clean it and lubricate it. So far, I haven't had any issues.

I think a good percent of malfunctions with a new pistol are operator error between limp wristing and failing to clean the firearm before shooting it or using ammunition not recommended by the manufacturer. Of course certain companies also crank out junk and we should be avoiding these brands at all cost.

Kimber and Kahr are the reason that many people own Glocks.

I agree with QKShooter's comments above.

IIRC, Les Baer recommends a 500 round break-in period for his 1911's. Does that make him a low quality manufacturer?

Some guns, it really doesn't matter. I can't tell a lick of difference when running a Glock through a break-in. It feels the same on a the first shot as the 500th.

Sometimes you can really feel a gun come to life as you break it in. Kahr's may be the best example I can think of for this. They feel like a completely different gun after they have a few hundred rounds down range.

My KelTec P3AT absolutely refused to function "out of the box" - luckily I know enough to do some of my own work.

Even though I HATE the term "Fluff & Buff" (since I used to work as a metal finisher & plater)....I'll say it anyway...
I fluffed & buffed that sonofagun & then I buffed & fluffed it & then I polished every doggone "metal to metal" contact surface & the guide rod and then I went over absolutely everything else - including the extractor... and then it finally ran like a champ.
Mine was pretty atypical and was obviously either a FRIDAY :danceban: "TGIF - I Can't Wait To Go Home!" gun
or possibly a Monday :dead: "I shouldn't Have Had So Many Shots & A Beer Set-Ups Over The Weekend." gun.

KelTec just really "blew it" on my particular P3AT.

I’ve owned revolvers then auto-loaders and back to revolvers. Perhaps you can guess which type is 100% reliable straight from the box.

100% reliable right out of the box.

All my Glocks...... :danceban:
Attachment 23998

G-21 G-23
G-36 G-19

And my S&W and Ruger.
Attachment 23999Attachment 24000

Maybe I am just lucky or maybe it's the brands and models I get. :image035:

Regardless of what the manufacturer recommends, I'm going to shoot 500 rds of range ammo and a mag or two of defensive ammo through my guns before carry. This is a man made device that might be needed to save your life, the thought of not verifying function with a decent amount of rounds before carry makes my skin crawl.

My M&P9c had a FTF in the first 50 rounds. The 1500 or so after that it has been flawless.

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Originally Posted by Old School

100% reliable right out of the box.

All my Glocks...... :danceban:
Attachment 23998

G-21 G-23
G-36 G-19

And my S&W and Ruger.
Attachment 23999Attachment 24000

Maybe I am just lucky or maybe it's the brands and models I get. :image035:

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Those guns are not old school. Polymers and stainless steel? Say it ain't so!

I guess I'm lucky! I bought my Kimber several years ago, and it ran flawlessly right from the git go. I always clean and inspect a new gun before firing it, and use good quality ammunition. The only problem with my Kimber I have ever had was a failure to fire of one round of factory reloads I purchased at the range after I ran out of my own ammo and wanted to continue shooting. I've also owned a variety of S&W revolvers, and never experienced a problem with any of them. The only firearm I have ever had a problem with was a used 9mm S&W semiauto (don't even remember the model) I purchased at a gun show about 25 years ago. After 1 box of ammo I turned around and sold it. I agree with the OP that a gun should function right out of the box!:yup:

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Originally Posted by atctimmy

Those guns are not old school. Polymers and stainless steel? Say it ain't so!

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picky, picky timmy....... LOL:haha: gotta keep up with the times.

Attachment 24003

1964 T-Series OS first love :image035:

Click photo to enlarge

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Originally Posted by Saber

I’ve owned revolvers then auto-loaders and back to revolvers. Perhaps you can guess which type is 100% reliable straight from the box.

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- I wouldn't trust any gun out of the box. Revolvers aren't immune to reliability problems.

Quote:

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I'm going to shoot 500 rds of range ammo and a mag or two of defensive ammo through my guns before carry. This is a man made device that might be needed to save your life, the thought of not verifying function with a decent amount of rounds before carry makes my skin crawl.

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A mag or two ain't enough of defensive ammo. Your gun may shoot hundreds of FMJ fine, but might burp on a hollow point at the worst possible time. I shoot at least 150-200 of a particular brand of carry ammo with zero malfunctions before I'm sure.