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View Poll Results: Have You Had A Failure In A Semi-Auto/Revolver That Rendered It Inoperable?
Yes, In A Semi-Auto 88 32.59%
Yes, In A Revolver 44 16.30%
No, I Have Experienced No Failures In Either 60 22.22%
I Have Experienced Failures In Both 78 28.89%
Voters: 270. You may not vote on this poll

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Old September 9, 2012, 10:02 PM   #51
pete2
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I've had lock ups on both. A 1911 with a nylon buffer, it broke and shut me down. A revolver with a squib load, bullet got part way out of the cylinder and locked the gun. Both failures were not the guns fault. No more buffers and use good ammo. I've never had a gun break and stop. I've had several that were not reliable but not totally disabled due to a faulty part.
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Old September 10, 2012, 12:51 AM   #52
lechiffre
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Broken extractor on a rented Springfield 1911. I guess it wasn't exactly inoperable, it would still work as a single shot.
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Old September 10, 2012, 01:45 AM   #53
warningshot
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Didn't listen to my common sense the 1st or 2nd time.

Taurus revolver(s) M85 that had been improved upon from last year. Twice.

3rd time I traded it to someone who wasn't listening to his common sense either and hadn't learned his lesson yet.
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Old September 10, 2012, 03:22 AM   #54
bamaranger
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sure, both

I had an extractor hook break on a 1911 Commander (.45acp) due to ingnorance and dropping the slide on a chambered round......often.

I've been present when two different Sig P229's in .40 cal, early guns and early ammo, "blew" extractors, likely due to high pressure factory cartridges.

Early in my reloading career, I tied up a 2" .38 snub with a squib round, and did the same thing with a Ruger Sec-6.

And, when we shot .38 ammo in .357 revolvers, I tied up a Smith K frame (I think it was a M66) by managing to get a .38 spent case stuck under the star of a .357 revolver.
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Old September 10, 2012, 07:20 AM   #55
dleong
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No failures that I can recall among my revolvers.

Among my semi-autos, I've had the trigger return springs break on a 9mm CZ 75B and a .40 S&W CZ 100, rendering them both inoperable until replacement springs could be procured and installed.
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Old September 10, 2012, 08:35 AM   #56
CajunBass
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One of each I suppose, although I'm not sure either one counts.

Ruger Security-Six, in .357. The cylinder bound up and got hard to fire. Knowing what I know now, I should have just carried the gun home and cleaned the face of the cylinder and the forcing cone. I was young and dumb back then so I sent it back to Ruger. They sent it back with a note that said "Adjusted B/C gap" but I suspect they just cleaned it.

Colt Series 70, in 45 ACP. Had a squib load that left a bullet lodged in the barrel. I took it home, and used a pencil and a "hammer" of some kind, I forget what, to tap the bullet out.

Neither one were the fault of the gun really. One was operator error, the other was ammo related.
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Old September 10, 2012, 08:40 AM   #57
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Had a broken extractor hook on a 1911 ......
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Old September 10, 2012, 01:27 PM   #58
BigJimP
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yes, guns are mechanical beasts....and they break...

I've had an extractor break on a 1911 ( after 40,000 or more rounds thru that gun ) ....but no, it wouldn't affect my decison about carrying a 1911.

I had an ejector rod get loose on a revolver ...and bind it up ...easy to fix / not a big deal ...but I didn't notice it beforehand ....
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Old September 10, 2012, 02:01 PM   #59
Glenn E. Meyer
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BTW - not a long arm but that Hellfire gadget on an AR jammed it solid as a rock with a squished case. Took an engineer buddy to figure it out for a friend's gun.
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Old September 10, 2012, 06:52 PM   #60
Joe_Pike
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Poll results are pretty close. I guess maybe one of each for carry just to feel a little more comfortable with things.

It does show you that the "revolvers are more reliable" argument doesn't quite hold up.
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Old September 10, 2012, 06:58 PM   #61
4V50 Gary
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No catastrophic failure. Part of it is inspecting and maintaining your firearm. The other part is the ammunition you use. Over thirty years and I still have all my digits.
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Old September 10, 2012, 11:24 PM   #62
JohnKSa
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Quote:
Poll results are pretty close.
Yes, but we need more information if we're going to try to determine which type of handgun is, on average, more reliable.

For example, I listed that I had seen failures of both types which might suggest , based ONLY on my experience, that they're equally likely to occur. However, I have seen two autopistol failures and only one revolver failure which would mean that based ONLY on my experience revolvers are only half as likely to have a qualifying failure. Clearly, basing a decision on only 3 data points wouldn't be wise, I'm just using that as an example.

The point is that we also need to know how many of each people have seen in order to draw a conclusion--probably more responses as well.
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Old September 11, 2012, 05:40 AM   #63
giaquir
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Grand Raptor II out of commission
just for a few minutes.
I fired a 40S&W thru it. The case bulged
down by the rim and I had to find a "straight"
stick to push it out.
Yes ,the cartridge was in the mag and was
delivered properly to the chamber and fired.
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Old September 11, 2012, 05:47 AM   #64
thedudeabides
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Semi: P220 trigger failure after SRT service by Sig. Swore me off of their custom shop forever.

Revolver: Had a Raging Bull "pimp gun" lock up the cylinder on me. No one at the range could fix it, even the off duty gunsmith.
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Old September 11, 2012, 08:04 PM   #65
Sgt Pepper
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They are just tools, and tools fail. My XD45 locked up after firing a reload round, and I had to use a mallet to knock the slide open. My trusty S&W Model 10 enjoyed a squib load that lodged halfway down the barrel. Great fun!
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Old September 11, 2012, 08:14 PM   #66
Bob Wright
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Back in 1957 I was at Camp Roberts, California, and three of us in my outfit went into Paso Robles and bought handguns, I bought a Ruger Blackhawk .357 Magnum, another friend bought a Ruger Single Six, while the other bought a Llama .38 Super. For some reason, the owner of the Llama asked me to break in his pistol, using .38 ACP.

The first shot I fired in the Llama resulted in a blown case head, leaving the rest of the case in the chamber. The slide tried to chamber another round and jammed the remainder of that case tight in the chamber. It remained stuck until we started to leave the area, when it just dropped freely into my hand.

I've had separated cases since, but had five more chambers to load.

Also, at Camp Roberts, I witnessed a shooter fire a squib load in a Smith & Wesson M1917 revolver. He didn't notice and fired succeeding shots, the second and third bullets lodging behind the first. On the fourth shot, the barrel split. I didn't know what had happened at first, only that the first shot didn't sound right. Didn't know, at the time, to see that he was failing to kick up dust down range. But I was a lot younger in 1957 and not so experienced.

Bob Wright

Last edited by Bob Wright; September 11, 2012 at 08:20 PM.
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Old September 11, 2012, 08:22 PM   #67
Cheapshooter
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Only one. A round stuck about half way in the chamber in my Beretta 92fs. The slide couldn't be pulled back by normal hand strength. I had to carefully use a block of wood, and light hammer to tap it open, and remove the round. I couldn't see anything obvious as to why it got stuck. I cleaned the gun, which had been shot only about 30 times on that range session, and maybe 300 rounds total. I haven't had a problem since.
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Old September 11, 2012, 08:35 PM   #68
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Wow...

Call me naive, but I am really surprised to see so many reports of problems across the board (apparently vendors A-Z). I realize that no one company is immune to failures (including proud gov. agencies like NASA) but this thread kind of really puts into perspective like a rude awakening. Yet as already mentioned, it should come as no surprise in that if it's man-made it has a chance sooner or later to malfunction...

However, if anyone is aware of a site that tracks gun-manufacturer failure rates, please advise.

-Cheers
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Old September 11, 2012, 08:58 PM   #69
oldgranpa
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I should have mentioned a lockup with a revolver using MagTech .357ammo. The recoil caused the bullet in a round to slip forward from the cartridge case, extending out the front of the cylinder so the action just locked up. Not the fault of the gun but in this case the ammo. Easy to fix, just pushed the bullet back a bit, but in a SD would be a disaster.

Anybody else ever had that happen?

og
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Old September 11, 2012, 11:41 PM   #70
Budda
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I saw it happen ina s&w 340 Pd. 11.2 oz super light. Recoil (supper heavy!) Pulled bullets out and locked up gun. I would say it was from too light of gun and too much recoil.
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Old September 12, 2012, 08:23 AM   #71
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I also had an Air Force S&W Model 15 which became inoperable when the ejector rod backed out.

An AMT Hardballer Government Model that I had was effectively a single shot. The first round would fire (using manufacturer suggested Winchester Silvertips), the case would be extracted half way but then stick so tightly it required putting the gun in the vise, putting a dowel down the barrel, and whacking it out with a mallet. Did it every time.

Sent it back to the factory, they sent it back to me "fixed". First round fired, it did the same thing. Got rid of it.
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Old September 12, 2012, 08:40 AM   #72
JimPage
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Guns are mechanical devices so they will fail from time to time. It's nature!

The most disconcerting failure I ever had was due to ammunition, not the gun. I was in Vietnam, shooting a .38spcl Combat Masterpiece, (great little gun). I had a squib load. How would I hear that in all the heat of battle? Fired one behind it. No burst barrel, but it looked like it suddenlty became pregnant. I guess that's why the ammo always seemed under powered to me. For my own protection. Dichotomy?
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Old September 12, 2012, 02:44 PM   #73
JN01
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Excellent guns, terrible ammo. My ex-wife was an Air Force firearms instructor in the early 80s. When the duty ammo was rotated, they got to shoot off all the old stuff. She said some of those FMJ bullets would fail to penetrate the wooden ammo crates.
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Old September 12, 2012, 03:57 PM   #74
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A few mishaps. As a kid of 9-10, I shot so many rounds through a cheap 22 revolver, it got so out of time that it would misalign and split bullets in half. !/2 would go down the barrel, other half would jam the cylinder.

Shooting a Taurus .38 some years back, the barrel followed the bullet. I learned then about pinned barrels and threaded barrels.

My S&W 63 extractor will loosen and jam the cylinder.

Other weapons? While jacking a shell into my W-1200 at a skeet match, while standing with a group of friends, the gun went off into the ground. Got our attention. When asked if I had fired it, I said no, and pointed it downrange and jacked another shell in. It went off. Carefully unlaoded it and on dissambly, found the firing pin had broken in less that 500 rounds.

M-14 bolt rod came loose while qualifing many years ago. I could see a round had chambered and the bolt was home. I lowered my head and fired. Handle re-engaged the bolt.

Accidently bought a single shot shotgun many years ago. Heavy as sin. Somebody had bored the chamber out so much you could see around the rim of the shell. Every now and then, a shell would go 1/2 way or more past the chamber and into. the barrel. Knock it out and keep shooting. Once, while hunting, it happened and I broke a limb off getting it out. After we had all studied it, we all took cover, I held the gun around a tree pointed downward and lit it off again. Didn't hurt the gun, but did clean out the bore. A second cousin is still using it last I heard.
There were probably other instances, but those still stick in my mind.

Yeah, I know I lived dangerously, but in each instance, "It seemed like a good idea at the time........." I'm a tad less adventerous nowadays.
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Old September 12, 2012, 04:46 PM   #75
nutty ned
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I shot a .45 acp shot shell, the type that are necked down
in a revolver and found out why they say don't.

The necked down part splits and jams in the cylinder with
the case jammed against the recoil shield so the cylinder
will not turn or open.
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