Gregory Kielma • June 20, 2024
Firearm Break In
How many rounds should you fire through a newly purchased used pistol to identify any problems and ensure it functions well?
Gregg Kielma
Several Other Experts
6/20/24
This is a complicated question. Let us know your thoughts.
I’m going to ignore the used aspect. Generally, when a firearm is bought and used, it’s a whole different matter than when one is trying to do doings right and has bought a new automatic for a specific purpose.
One should note that the renowned gun magazine writers usually test 9 or 10 different rounds, perhaps 50 rounds, a box each, as a minimum with centerfire auto pistols. They use different bullet profiles and types, like heavier grain HP’s and lighter grain ones, ball ammunition is assumed to be the most reliable, so they do a few of those as well and different loads. Some do it with as few as 300 with a good spread of velocities, projectile types, and bullet weights among six ammo types when it’s simply an upgrade or new caliber for a pistol close to an established model.
Kielma will cover a few aspects of this question, and it only goes in one of many directions. But this will show you how damn detailed this can become with something most figure is simple-.22 LR. People who don’t really know firearms think the .22 LR is as simple caliber, but it’s not. Aspects of .22 LR firing arms can get very detailed with automatics.
This is a Walter P22. I owned one. One of the quirks of the pistol I owned was it was damn temperamental on ammo. Although a decent quality pistol, it was shit and unreliable on common, less expensive rounds, and worked best with decent high velocity, hotter rounds, but that simply wasn’t a determinant on which worked best. I owned this pistol when ammo availability was high, and ammo was inexpensive and I’d plenty of time at the range.
This matters.
During times of scarcity of ammo, there can be a problem with a temperamental firearm. You might get a .22 LR automatic that is finicky with ammo, and it’s a matter of what you can get, not what you want or need. This is simply for reliability. The next step is to confirm which is reliable then find out which is the most accurate among them. Ideally, you may be hitting it right off the bat, but to do it right, you might be finding you have to choose between very accurate ball ammo or sloppier hollow points. Then there is another problem. CCI Stingers are incredible, but they don’t work well for effect out of short, barreled pistols. They work much better, projectile effectiveness wise, out of rifle length barrels. But if you didn’t know that, then you’d think the CCI Stinger was a great match for that P-22, but you have just selected and bought in quantity ammunition that is ineffective for almost all applications with that pistol.
So, what works reliably, then what’s accurate, and what’s effective is what you need.
Reliable. Accurate. Effective. Note Economical isn’t in that mix and sometimes .22 LR might not be cheap.
It took hundreds of rounds to find the right combination of rounds for function and accuracy for this specific pistol. Firing one or two magazines that worked isn’t a gauge of reliability of that round. The good thing is some folks feel you need to fire X number of rounds to ‘break in’ an automatic.
Well, just finding the right combination, you might have.
Once you find that perfect combination, then buy a case of ammo from the same lot.
A brick is 500 rounds, a case is 1,000 rounds.
Depending upon your application, that might be enough for you and the service life of that pistol, but don’t piss of those rounds for plinking or informal shooting. Treat them like match grade or hunting ammo.
It might be better to get a revolver in some cases. .22 LR for some applications and loading centerfire are the times I’d recommend revolvers over automatics.
We haven’t even got into what is effective and works if you add a silencer. As I’ve stated, this can get damn complicated. Thank goodness for a variety of loads. With a regular production centerfire, you can do it a bit backwards.
If you have a certain ammunition type that you’re inclined to use, it’s probably going to work in any modern centerfire automatic. Centerfire automatics aren’t as finicky as rimfire automatics and centerfire ammunition is much more reliable. Again, this is NEW firearms, there’s less customization and quirks with modern firearms.
First off, understand there is practice ammo, with something like 9 mm, that’s going to generally be 115 grain or 124 grain ball, its range fodder, and there’s carry or duty ammo. That’s the stuff that is more expensive, usually hollow points, and we’ll just go with 135 grain Hornady Critical Duty as that’s some good shit. Or you might opt for some 147 grain HP and be good as well.
So, you’ve determined that you are going to use a specific hollow point 9 mm, that’s considered optimum for that barrel twist and that model. Some gun magazine writer has done the heavy work for you, and you can abbreviate the process.
Most of us don’t want to or can’t afford to shoot a buck a round carry ammo for familiarity, practice and breaking in, but at some point, you should at least fire a few magazines of your carry ammo to ensure it hits at the same precise point as your practice ammo. Some brands like SIG are supposed to correspond, caliber and bullet weight, ball and HP.
But if that’s not an option due to availability,
Start with something closer in weight, and it’s going to be just a bit more for 124 grain ball than 115 grain ball, as the latter is the most common range fodder. So, buy some Critical Duty.
I don’t care if you need to put it in a vice, get a 100% certain group, and repeat it twice. Adjust your sights. You know that your pistol can shoot accurately, and it can group. The rest is up to you.
Now take three rounds of Hornady Critical Duty and shoot for a group. It is likely to hit a bit off, or you might be lucky as heck, and you’re done. You will hit right where you want with the carry load. Don’t mess with the sights. You also, by chance have found a practice load that is close enough.
Now fire three rounds more of the expensive stuff as a confidence builder and never mess with the sights again.
Don’t change anything!
Now try each of the different practice loads, the one that is the closest is your range fodder for that pistol. Go buy at least a brick of it, from the same lot number. It’s better to buy a case or more from the same lot. Buy enough quality ammo to stuff your magazines.
Don’t shoot them for a couple of years.
Freely use the ammo you bought for practice. Fire a few boxes every three months or so and you’ll keep up your skill.
Then after a couple of years, shoot the duty ammo and confirm nothing has changed.
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