How soon do you carry a new gun?

[foreveryoung001]

I ended up picking up the XD-9 this afternoon. After an early supper with an understanding wife (She said no more guns for 6 months), I headed over to a friends house. He lives a ways from town on some acreage and has a simple backstop where we like to plink. I cleaned up the XD (tons of packing grease... I guess you need it if its coming from Croatia) and we managed to put about 30 rounds through it before it got dark. We didn't have any targets set up, I just wanted to function test the newest family member.

Those few rounds got me thinking though. How soon do you like to wait before you start carrying a new gun? Or maybe I should ask, how many rounds do you like to put through it before you trust your life to it?

Normally I like to get a couple of hundred rounds through a new gun, with at least 25 or so of the ammo I plan to carry. Plus, if I have any early issues FTF or such, I can usually get them figured out, but sometimes it takes a few more rounds.

I do plan on carrying the new XD as soon as I can, but it will be after this weekend when I can really put it through some paces at the range.

So how many rounds does it take for you to trust your new gun? Or do you fire off a mag or two and say, "I'm good to go"? Or even walk out of the store stuffing your new gun in your IWB holster on the way out the door?


(Range report and pics after I get out with it this weekend.)

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[msgt/ret]

Unless the manual recommends more I prefer to run at least 200 rounds through a new weapon, that includes at least 50 rounds of the ammo I plan to carry. This not only serves as a function test but helps to familiarize me with the weapon.

[ccwguy]

For a semi-auto, I have seen people answer anywhere from 200 to 1000 rounds. I do the 200 to 250 without cleaning.

For my revolvers, I only did about 50 rounds each.

[JimmyC4]

I usually carry Glocks, and find that it doesn't take much for me to become trusting in one for carry--several hundred rounds, testing out any mags I'll be using. I use WWB or similar, but make sure I run each mag full of my carry ammo through as part of the process.

My experience with XDs leads me to the same recommendation.

Not to bash other pistols, but there are some designs/brands that I'd not trust without a much more stringent test period. I won't own any such handguns.

[BikerRN]

For autoloaders I shoot 200-500 rounds to "break in" the new gun and then shoot 200 rounds of what I plan to carry in it. When I'm testing the carry ammo, if I have a jam, I "fix" the problem and start all over at round #1. It's exspensive, but I'm worth it.

For Revolvers I usually shoot about 200 rounds and then 50-100 of my carry ammo and call it good.

Biker

[buckeye .45]

I'd say somewhere between 200-300 shots of practice stuff without a malfunction.

Then all the mags I will be carrying filled and emptied two-three times with carry ammo. Most auto malfunctions are mag issues, so gotta make sure they work well with the ammo. if I can run through a mag two-three times with hollowpoints and and malfunctions (also assuming they don't malfunction at all during practice ammo), I consider the mag fine.

[dukalmighty]

I usually shoot at least 200 rounds fmj everything from slowfire to rapid fire double and triple taps,then my carry ammo i run at least a box through to make sure theres no feeding or ejection problems.if she runs without a burp then she's good to go.

[wht06rado]

I would agree with most of what everyone else is saying. Any where around 300-500 rounds of ball and about 50 rounds of carry ammunition for me.

About 100 rounds of ball and 25 rounds of carry ammunition through my revolver.

Wht

[ctr]

For a semi I typically run 300 - 500 thru. I've had a few that took more, and one that never made it to carry status. For revolvers, 25 - 50 is enough. This includes several cycles of full power carry ammo, not just practice ammo.

My experience - any factory problems or reliability issues show up in this kind of evolution. Your miliage may vary.

[ripley16]

Those few rounds got me thinking though. How soon do you like to wait before you start carrying a new gun? Or maybe I should ask, how many rounds do you like to put through it before you trust your life to it?

Your first question makes more sense to me than the second. Confidence in a new CCW should not be a reliability proposition only , but should included the time and handling needed to become comfortable, familiar and accurate with the particular pistol. For some that may be very quickly but for others it may take some time, especially if shifting to a different type of action, size or trigger.

I've only changed my CCW a few times in the years since I obtained my first permit in 1975. I'm on my forth gun, so this isn't something I do often or without cause. In getting familiar with a new gun I probably put close to 1000 rounds through it, just in sighting in, testing ammo brands and also having some fun with it.

The only gun I've ever carried with a very low round count was the Seecamp. I probably put only 50 rounds through it before it went in my pocket. The gun instills great confidence and the years have proven it to be a great gun. I doubt I'll ever trust a gun like that again.

I carry when I'm comfortable in handling the gun and have put a nebulous number of rounds through it...no magic formula.

[Fast Cloud]

I would agree with most of what everyone else is saying. Any where around 300-500 rounds of ball and about 50 rounds of carry ammunition for me.

About 100 rounds of ball and 25 rounds of carry ammunition through my revolver.

Wht

This is my routine, exactly.

[Kerbouchard]

For an XD-200 rounds of ball. 2 boxes of your carry, with enough left over to load both your mags.

For the ball break in, I would load 3-5 rounds in your magazines, alternating magazines for about 5 times per magazine. The only reason I would do this first is to get used to the trigger pull and find where your shots are grouping.

Then load all magazines to capacity and see if you can get tighter groups. I would just forget about the malfunctioning thing.

If you want to practice failure drills with an XD, buy some snap caps.

[Betty]

I send around 500 rounds through a semiauto and 100-200 for a revolver before I trust carrying it. All mags must be tested as well.

[obxned]

Usually any new gun gets at least a box or two of WWB bulk pak as soon as I can get to the range. If all is well, then 50 or so of carry ammo will be shot.

I have some pistols that I would have had full confidence in after a mag of FMJs and another of JHP, and 1000's of rounds later I know my judgment was correct. Others really do need a couple of 100 rounds to break in.

[Thumper]

I'll carry a new weapon after a couple hundred rounds of practice ammo and then running at least 20 rounds of my intended carry ammo through it.