How often should I shoot my primary / duplicate CCW handguns?

[G19Fan]

My vetted carry gun gets shot maybe once a year.

I clean it out and relube maybe once a month.

I don’t rechamber the round more than a few times. I always plunk test every round before I load mags.

My vetted spare is in the safe ready to go.

My range beater is in the range bag and it’s filthy and I don’t even keep a round count on it.

I feel like we are long lost siblings haha

I really hope to eventually wear out my range Glock 19

[BWT]

My vetted carry gun gets shot maybe once a year.

I clean it out and relube maybe once a month.

I don’t rechamber the round more than a few times. I always plunk test every round before I load mags.

My vetted spare is in the safe ready to go.

My range beater is in the range bag and it’s filthy and I don’t even keep a round count on it.

Is this the “Plunk Test”?

https://www.shootingtimes.com/editor...unk-test/99389

You clean your carry gun monthly?

[TCinVA]

The handgun I carry most often is a Sig P365. About a month ago I noticed the front tritium sight wasn’t illuminated at night and I sent the gun to Sig. It only took about two weeks turnaround for the repair but I didn’t like being without my main CCW so I recently bought a second P365 as a spare / duplicate.

I’ve read several older posts here about having a carry gun and a training gun etc. but I’m curious how those of you with duplicate CCW handguns handle shooting schedules. Should I rotate each P365 equally (every other time) for my range trips, shoot my main carry P365 only annually and put the high round count on the duplicate, fire a couple of hundred rounds through the duplicate and put it away indefinitely, etc?

My carry gun was a training/proof-of-concept gun first. It went through just shy of 12,000 rounds and I liked the concept so I decided to carry it. I got a second gun and set it up almost identically. It wasn't quite as accurate as my POC gun, so I replaced all the wear items in the POC gun, shot it a little bit to make sure it worked properly, and since then it's been fired maybe a couple of hundred rounds.

The not quite as accurate gun is my volume gun now. It gets used when I teach or take a class. I just remove my carry gun from the holster and put the training gun in.

I shoot a magazine or so through the carry gun every now and then to make sure it's still holding zero and functioning properly.

The idea is that your carry gun and carry magazines get used enough to make sure they work properly and then only as much as you need to confirm they're still working properly after that. Rack up the miles on the training gun so that parts breakages, stoppages, and all that jazz ends up on the training gun instead of the one you're pulling in a fight.

I'm currently working through another POC that will likely become my carry option if it works out. If it does I'll buy an identical pistol and probably use the new gun as my carry gun after I fit a barrel and ensure it works as expected.

[G19Fan]

My carry gun was a training/proof-of-concept gun first. It went through just shy of 12,000 rounds and I liked the concept so I decided to carry it. I got a second gun and set it up almost identically. It wasn't quite as accurate as my POC gun, so I replaced all the wear items in the POC gun, shot it a little bit to make sure it worked properly, and since then it's been fired maybe a couple of hundred rounds.

The not quite as accurate gun is my volume gun now. It gets used when I teach or take a class. I just remove my carry gun from the holster and put the training gun in.

I shoot a magazine or so through the carry gun every now and then to make sure it's still holding zero and functioning properly.

The idea is that your carry gun and carry magazines get used enough to make sure they work properly and then only as much as you need to confirm they're still working properly after that. Rack up the miles on the training gun so that parts breakages, stoppages, and all that jazz ends up on the training gun instead of the one you're pulling in a fight.

I'm currently working through another POC that will likely become my carry option if it works out. If it does I'll buy an identical pistol and probably use the new gun as my carry gun after I fit a barrel and ensure it works as expected.

Curious what your online proof of concept was and what you new one is

[TCinVA]

Curious what your online proof of concept was and what you new one is

Old was a Gen5 G17 MOS with an Acro P1. That works very well.

New one will get written up when I get it sorted.

[G19Fan]

Old was a Gen5 G17 MOS with an Acro P1. That works very well.

New one will get written up when I get it sorted.

Nice I went through that with a g19 and holosun 509T.

Now have too many of that combo but they are really my only handguns besides a single g43 and a cr920 that may or may not get sold

[oldtexan]

I'm probably an outlier and may get lit up by my betters but I don't follow the "one to carry, one to shoot" philosophy.

I have two but I shoot one for few sessions, clean it, and rotate. Both guns get about the same number of rounds over time.

I have less trust in a gun that has been carried too long but not shot. Lubricant might start to dry or fail. Crud starts to collect.

I also think the gun that has been running great at the range, once clean, is the most "known good" gun.

Regular preventative maintenance is part of the routine, too. The clean gun with new parts becomes a range gun until I'm confident the new parts are ok. Then it's cleaned, moved to carry status, and the former carry gun gets the same maintenance. This keeps me from having to fuss over, "when is the last time you got a new recoil spring versus your brother?"

Bear in mind I'm talking about Glocks here and "wear and tear" isn't something I worry much about. Springs and small parts replacement, yes, but I don't see myself wearing out the frame, slide, or barrel.

I was also going down the "one to compete" route for a while. It ended up everything that I liked on the competition gun got put the carry guns. Everything that wasn't practical for carry got taken off the competition gun. So I ended up with 3 identical pistols. Wups.

My carry, training, and home defense handguns are a trio of P30L V1s in 9mm. I rotate them through the three roles to try to keep a roughly similar rd count on all three.

[ST911]

I have less trust in a gun that has been carried too long but not shot. Lubricant might start to dry or fail. Crud starts to collect.

The carry-shooter-spare idea doesn't mean the carry gun doesn't get handled, checked, or PM'ed. It just means it's not a shooter, or at least not a regular shooter. I follow that model, but check the gun for what you describe about weekly or as needed environmentally. I treat my shooter like stolen lawnmower.

[breakingtime91]

The carry-shooter-spare idea doesn't mean the carry gun doesn't get handled, checked, or PM'ed. It just means it's not a shooter, or at least not a regular shooter. I follow that model, but check the gun for what you describe about weekly or as needed environmentally. I treat my shooter like stolen lawnmower.

same, I used to barely check my carry gun. Then on fourth of July it got wet, and I forgot to check it. It had surface rust on the controls, FCU was fine, slide was fine, barrel was fine, (sig 365s are known for the mag release, thumb safety, trigger, and slid stop rusting). Optic window, which was previously covered in lint, now had matted lint on the edges of the window. Having to tear down the whole gun and then coating with CLP was a lesson relearned for me. Now I check it weekly to look for rust, clean off the rds window, and everything has been good since. I check lube and recoat with a light layer of CLP on the controls that rusted monthly now.