Current Consensus on Number of Rounds of Defensive Ammo to Vet Contemporary Pistols

[feudist]

I've posted about this before, but I briefly dated a relative rookie lady LEO (less than a year sworn). Dated is generous. We hung out like mid-20-year-olds hang out I suppose. Anyway, one day she comes to hang out after being on duty and I notice she has a new G17 and I ask if I can check it out. Checking it out I notice to my horror she put the slide back on after cleaning and missed the right-side rails. The gun was completely inoperable. I asked when she had taken the gun apart and it was several days prior. She'd done 2-3 shifts with an entirely nonfunctional sidearm. She did not understand why I was so upset with her but got quieter when I asked what would have happened if she needed to back up one of her fellow officers. She ended up following a non-LEO, non-armed career track about 6 months later. Very much for the best. Like your story, a true heebie-jeebie moment. It's a story I tell often because complacency really is the most serious threat when it comes to firearms. Not choosing the wrong ammo, not having an FTF/FTE, but just that deadly-ass complacency, whether it's "the gun isn't loaded" or "I'm sure the gun is in working order." Deadly.

As a rookie I carried a S&W Model 10 for the first 2 years. I dryfired and shot the Hell out of it. Before and after every shift I would unload and practice drawing and dryfiring.
One night after a busy shift I unloaded to begin practicing and just happened to notice that the firing pin nose was gone.
I had carried an inoperable gun that night. I'd been to the range the day prior, so evidently it had broken during the practice before the shift.
I had taken a guy at gunpoint that night...

[03RN]

As a rookie I carried a S&W Model 10 for the first 2 years. I dryfired and shot the Hell out of it. Before and after every shift I would unload and practice drawing and dryfiring.
One night after a busy shift I unloaded to begin practicing and just happened to notice that the firing pin nose was gone.
I had carried an inoperable gun that night. I'd been to the range the day prior, so evidently it had broken during the practice before the shift.
I had taken a guy at gunpoint that night...

I was shooting before my shift at the range. Loaded up a magazine of jhp and did my shift. Then I went to shoot after my shift. I noticed there was nearly no tension with the recoil spring when I went to load some range ammo. I disassembled and the Wilson flatwire spring was broken in 2 spots. I hadn't noticed any issues shooting but who knows how long it was like that.

[LockedBreech]

As a rookie I carried a S&W Model 10 for the first 2 years. I dryfired and shot the Hell out of it. Before and after every shift I would unload and practice drawing and dryfiring.
One night after a busy shift I unloaded to begin practicing and just happened to notice that the firing pin nose was gone.
I had carried an inoperable gun that night. I'd been to the range the day prior, so evidently it had broken during the practice before the shift.
I had taken a guy at gunpoint that night...

Good lord man I woulda bought a lotto ticket.

[feudist]

Good lord man I woulda bought a lotto ticket.

I carried Detective Special as a BUG from day 1. For months after that incident I carried an additional J-Frame.

[feudist]

I was shooting before my shift at the range. Loaded up a magazine of jhp and did my shift. Then I went to shoot after my shift. I noticed there was nearly no tension with the recoil spring when I went to load some range ammo. I disassembled and the Wilson flatwire spring was broken in 2 spots. I hadn't noticed any issues shooting but who knows how long it was like that.

I posted on here a few years back about coming home from the range, pulling my Glock out of the holster and the slide just dropped to the floor.

Dafuq?

The slide takedown spring just snapped in two. One more round fired...

edit: Come to think of it: Every single gun I have ever owned has broken during routine use and had multiple malfunctions.

No wonder I can't not carry 2 guns.

[SW CQB 45]

Some years ago, I bought a police trade model 64 4" super cheap from an officer who was going overseas and trying to minimize his stuff.

I think I gave him $150. He said, it will come with spare Hammer Noses because it will break them every few cylinders. I bought it anyway.

The side plate, cylinder and barrel were heavily scratched, but the action was butter smooth. I took it home and studied why it was breaking hammer noses and easily discovered the U cut out at the top of the frame for the hammer was not finished. It was rough and the firing pin portion of the hammer nose was making contact with that portion of the frame. It must have been Friday for the U shape Finisher that day.

I got out my Dremel (YEAH!!) and ground it deeper and smooth it out. Never broke a single hammer nose after that. My guess, a police dept probably had that gun and turned it into a dry fire trainer since day one and likely rough handled and stored with saw blades (HA!) but over time, they smoothed out the action. It was a good performer and very accurate. I sold it for $400 even though the finish was cosmetically rough.

[WDR]

Come to think of it: Every single gun I have ever owned has broken during routine use and had multiple malfunctions.

No offense man, but you are the reason SKD sells a "shit magnet" morale patch.

I have personally taken a Glock out of the box, ran a bore snake down the tube, and loaded up with my favorite JHP, and carried it without worrying much. Not the best thing to do, but sometimes you do what you gotta do. My normal routine with new a new gun (which doesn't happen often, I'm pretty much a 9mm Glock and J-frame guy) is to shoot at least 200 rounds of practice ammo, and 50 rounds of JHP before carrying it. I shoot more of the carry load over time, zeroing sights, yearly swapping of carry ammo, etc. I've found that malfunctions while using "premium" JHP ammo are pretty rare. I think the 200 ball/50 JHP is a fair place to start. If gun runs 500-1000 total rounds without issue, its no longer even on my mind.

I'd love to shoot 200+ rounds of JHP at a time through my carry guns, but it's generally not in the budget. I have burned 500+ rounds of practice ammo in a sitting, and let guns go 1000+ before cleaning, just to see what would happen. With proper lube, most will keep chugging along. I think the real truth is that most modern guns will feed most types/brands of good JHP, without issue most of the time. Most of these guns are not designed around military ball ammo anymore.

[feudist]

No offense man, but you are the reason SKD sells a "shit magnet" morale patch.

I have personally taken a Glock out of the box, ran a bore snake down the tube, and loaded up with my favorite JHP, and carried it without worrying much. Not the best thing to do, but sometimes you do what you gotta do. My normal routine with new a new gun (which doesn't happen often, I'm pretty much a 9mm Glock and J-frame guy) is to shoot at least 200 rounds of practice ammo, and 50 rounds of JHP before carrying it. I shoot more of the carry load over time, zeroing sights, yearly swapping of carry ammo, etc. I've found that malfunctions while using "premium" JHP ammo are pretty rare. I think the 200 ball/50 JHP is a fair place to start. If gun runs 500-1000 total rounds without issue, its no longer even on my mind.

I'd love to shoot 200+ rounds of JHP at a time through my carry guns, but it's generally not in the budget. I have burned 500+ rounds of practice ammo in a sitting, and let guns go 1000+ before cleaning, just to see what would happen. With proper lube, most will keep chugging along. I think the real truth is that most modern guns will feed most types/brands of good JHP, without issue most of the time. Most of these guns are not designed around military ball ammo anymore.

Prezactly.

[revchuck38]

I started carrying way back in the 80s. The conventional wisdom at that time was that autoloaders required at least 500-1000 rounds before they could be considered reliable enough to carry. Back then, 1911s were the standard, and the high round count was considered necessary because, well, 1911s gonna 1911.

Contemporary autoloaders with contemporary defensive ammunition are pretty much faultless. I put three magazines of 124-grain +P HST through my new G45 plus a couple hundred rounds of hardball and called it good, and I’m comfortable carrying it. It has since gone through several hundred more rounds of hardball and coated lead bullet ammo with no issues.

I’m about to take delivery on an LE trade-in M&P40. My plan is to shoot the two magazines of 180-grain HST from my current M&P40 plus about 100 rounds of my handloads and call it good. I figure it’s already broken in.

Do I need to do more?

Just to bring this thread full circle...I ended up putting a total of ten magazines of my handloads and three of HST through the gun with no malfunctions. The last few magazines, including the third one of HST, were to verify zero after swapping out the sights. And the gun fits in the JMCK IWB3 I have for my 4" M&P45, too. We're good to go.

[Jeff S.]

Just to toss in my own two cents, good defensive ammo is expensive and, even worse, hard to come by. The shortages aren’t as bad as a year ago, but there’s still a shortage.

When breaking in a pistol (or honestly anytime I’m out practicing), I’ll load the first couple and last couple of rounds with 147 HST, and everything in the middle 147 Lawman, and maybe a whole mag of HST here and there. Basically 3 or 4 boxes of Lawman to 1 box of HST; after a couple of those sessions, and I feel good about the new gun.

I also have a baggie full of HST. Every time I buy a box, I pick out any weird or blemished rounds. I also only chamber an individual round once, so once it’s unchambered it goes in the bag. These rounds make good practice rounds (to test the blemished and chambered rounds- never, obviously, had an issue, which ups my confidence with HST).