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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 October 19, 2012, 09:55 PM   #101
smh
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1911 jam

Had the barrel underlug break off and fall down, jamming the slide. Had to clamp the gun in a vise while the gunsmith placed a board on it and hit the board with a large hammer. The slide finally shook loose allowing us to see what the problem was.
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Old October 27, 2012, 10:42 AM   #102
jd70
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Dam voted wrong. Had an ejector break of a luger leaving the case stuck.
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Old October 28, 2012, 07:25 AM   #103
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Nope. Other than a few FTF's in a couple of my revolvers and ONE "stovepipe" in a semi-auto (which I no longer have)....I've never even had any stoppages (in my current guns). All my current guns function flawlessly......so far.

Oh, there was the small broken part that caused a semi-auto (I used to have) to become a full-auto. But that didn't render it inoperable, so I guess it doesn't count here.
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Old October 30, 2012, 10:01 PM   #104
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I was at the range with my PPKS when the extractor went flying. I did not notice the issue at first and kept trying to cycle the slide to extract the spent round. I finally figured out the issue. I sent the pistol back to Smith and Wesson for warranty repair. After receiving it back from them, I sold it to my ex-wife's new husband.
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Old October 31, 2012, 08:33 AM   #105
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I had a failure with my SP101. Completely my fault but a failure none the less. I was shooting MY re-loads and I had a round with a tiny bit of powder and that was enough to push the bullet into the forcing cone and jam. I had to insert a dowl down the barrel and tap the bullet back down to get it out. I promptly went home, pulled all the rounds and started over checking every load there after. Slow but it works now. Lesson learned.
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Old October 31, 2012, 01:38 PM   #106
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Forget the make and model, it was an old .22 revolver my uncle had. One time when we were out shooting it, the tip of the lifter (I'm sure that's not the right term for it, but I'm not a wheelgun guy) that moves the cylinder broke off, so if you wanted to shoot it, you had to rotate the cylinder by hand with every shot. Not sure if my uncle ever got that fixed, which is a shame, it was one fun little piece.
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Old October 31, 2012, 01:43 PM   #107
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My S&W Model 19-2 locked up the first time I put a box of magnums through it. These were mild Remington factory loads, nothing special. Between one shot and the next the trigger and cylinder locked up so tight I could barely open the gun. Turns out the gas ring at the front of the cylinder had come loose and was now lodged against the forcing cone. I had to send to back to S&W to get it fixed for a hefty fee.

Now I vastly prefer revolvers, in fact I don't even own a semiauto. But as many have said in this thread before I think the idea that revolvers are more reliable than semiautos is a total myth. I wouldn't trust any revolver to fire 100% if dropped hard on its side, for example. But any quality semiauto should be able to pass that test.
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Old October 31, 2012, 03:01 PM   #108
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broke the lifter on my NEF r92 .22 revolver..... the part that pushes the hammer back and the cylinder lever up to turn the cylinder. i can still fire it in single action as long as i turn the cylinder manually.
$5 part from numrich
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Old October 31, 2012, 03:22 PM   #109
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At training one time we had a glock 22 blow apart. All the person was left holding was the lower part of the pistol. The magzine blew out, and the slide blew off, barrel blew off, and the breech blew apart. Glock was called and it went back to glock that day I believe. I guess the reason was bad ammo from my understanding. That was the crazyist thing I have ever saw.
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Old October 31, 2012, 03:26 PM   #110
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Quote:
WOW. Call me naive, but I am really surprised to see so many reports of problems across the board
Machines break, if you use them. Some people actually, you know, SHOOT their guns .....
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Old October 31, 2012, 07:10 PM   #111
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A sig p220.The trigger spring broke.The only way to fire it was turning it upside down(of which,I wouldnt do) until a new spring could get here.

Im thinking of all the things, that spring holds the whole thing together.
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Old October 31, 2012, 07:45 PM   #112
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I've had failures in both. The cylinder locked up in a brand new Taurus 357 Magnum (returned for a refund), and the base pin popped forward in an old Super Blackhawk (fixed with an oversized locking base pin and a new base pin latch).

As for autos I've had many different issues, from stovepipes to stuck slides and broken springs, to out of battery problems. Sometimes ammo-related, sometimes it was the gun.
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Old October 31, 2012, 07:58 PM   #113
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Quote:
After receiving it back from them, I sold it to my ex-wife's new husband
Aww, now that's just cruel.
I love it.
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I have a mild interest in guns. Actually, I think the clinical term is "obsession," but that makes me sound like some kind of gun-nut. Which is fair, since I am.

Wastin' away my future children's inheritance one box of ammo, range fee, and bottle of Hoppe's #9 at a time.
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Old October 31, 2012, 08:50 PM   #114
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Quote:
jimbob86

Quote:
WOW. Call me naive, but I am really surprised to see so many reports of problems across the board
Machines break, if you use them. Some people actually, you know, SHOOT their guns .....
Does it take a great deal of pondering/research to reach such invaluable (arrogant to be sure) findings...? Thanks for that remarkably "insightful" banter. Hopefully tomorrow morning no one pi$$es on your cheerios and your mood swings...

-Cheers
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Old November 1, 2012, 08:14 PM   #115
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Cheesy mag-catch spring in my spiffy new Five-seveN was pulled loose by a bullet tip sticking out of a mag I chambered. The instant I ejected the mag, the catch and spring fell out with it, and could not be reinstalled without tools. The only way the gun could be fired was by holding the heel of the mag in by hand. To its credit, the gun still cycled flawlessly when the mag was held in with my pinky curled under the grip (just lame to shoot that way )

FNH more than made me whole with a much better-designed replacement spring (for free) that was impervious to the same kind of issue. Moreover, they sent a spare mag release (even though that part was not the problem). Both within about 7 days of my contacting them.

TCB
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Old November 1, 2012, 08:25 PM   #116
Gary L. Griffiths
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Had a S&W Model 60 stainless Chief's Special that broke the cylinder latch inside the revolver. Jammed it completely. Had to disassemble it still partially loaded.
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Old November 2, 2012, 01:26 PM   #117
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Quote:
Cheesy mag-catch spring in my spiffy new Five-seveN was pulled loose by a bullet tip sticking out of a mag I chambered. The instant I ejected the mag, the catch and spring fell out with it, and could not be reinstalled without tools. The only way the gun could be fired was by holding the heel of the mag in by hand. To its credit, the gun still cycled flawlessly when the mag was held in with my pinky curled under the grip (just lame to shoot that way )
Was that en early model? I thought I remembering reading about that with some FiveseveNs. I have one thats been perfect but I havent shot it a whole bunch, to a reloader the 5.7x28mm ammo is expensive. And no I dont reload the 5.7x28mm round, too much work.
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Old November 2, 2012, 08:52 PM   #118
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I have had several FTF and/or FTE with various autos I have owned or shot. The problem was usually ammo or mag related. That said, I have had two revolvers lock up and could not be cleared with out taking them apart to some degree. One was a S&W and the other an old H&R. But still, my CCW of choice is a revolver.
Best.
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Old November 2, 2012, 10:14 PM   #119
barnbwt
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Quote:
Was that en early model?
No, it was all of them up until (fairly?) recently. The way to tell is to look down into the magwell with the slide off. If you see a shiny paperclip holding the mag catch in place, that's the hunk-a-junk in question. The new one is a flat double-forked leaf spring made of stamped steel that's been blackened. It is impossible for a bullet tip to snag on the new spring.

It was kinda funny, actually. The old spring was literally the cheapest/simplest looking part in the gun (looks exactly like a bent paperclip), and didn't even feel springy when I pulled it out. I think it was a job they figured was idiot-proof and they had the intern design it. The new part is more appropriate for the over-designed nature pervading the rest of the firearm

Quote:
And no I dont reload the 5.7x28mm round, too much work.
Does anyone?

--*Babushka voice*--
"You should be heh-py you have ammo to shoot at all nowadays. Why, back in August 2012, we couldn't even get SS197SR..."

TCB
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Old November 3, 2012, 07:32 AM   #120
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Have never had a semi put out of action by any kind of failure ... I bought a Taurus 617, snubbie 7-shot steel .357 mag a number of years ago, thought it would be fun .. it was, until it locked up solid after 20 or so shots ... wasn't really a mechanical failure; the cylinder-barrel gap was so tight that when heat expanded the metal, it jammed ... letting it cool for 10 minutes or so freed it up until a few more rounds went through and it jammed again ... a trip to a 'smith for a bit of work, along with a trigger job, and it's one of my favorite range guns ...
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Old November 3, 2012, 10:14 AM   #121
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Two broken extractors, two limp extractors (50+ years old) in autos.
"Inoperable" for how long? That is, a malfunction that requires fifteen seconds to clear is inoperable? Or, only a gun that needs repair to put it back in action is considered inoperable?
I've had revolvers tied-up by a grain of unburned powder under the extractor star, or a case rim under the extractor star; there's nothing wrong with the gun, but they sure were inoperable.
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Old November 3, 2012, 10:45 AM   #122
sandbag
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Squib Round

I had a 44 Magnum commercial reload squib round lock up my Ruger Vaquero-the round was stuck in between chamber and barrel-it needed a gunsmith and had to be re-timed.
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Old November 10, 2012, 11:23 PM   #123
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I have had both fail.
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Old November 17, 2012, 09:56 PM   #124
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I have had both types of guns fail. I have owned and shot and traded a lot of guns over the years. Most of the failures with revolvers that I have had, were due to factory defects in the guns themselves and were pretty much known right away. Outside of that I have had a couple of hammers break, I have had some misfires because of too light firing pin strikes due to guns being tuned to light to get a light trigger pull. And I have seen a grain of powder get under the extractor and lock up a revolver.

However, once a revolver is tested and found reliable, then they were usually very reliable from then on.

I have had and own several very reliable semi-autos, but I have also purchased several that were unreliable and those defects were usually know right away. Outside of that, I have seen a few jams due to bad magazines, bad ammo, had a few extractors and firing pins break on heavily used guns. But generally if the semi-auto is reliable it usually stays that way, unless it gets pretty dirty or encounters bad ammo or a change in ammo.

I would give a slight edge to the revolver for average use, but actually in heavy dust or mud, a good old 1911 might surprise you with it's reliability, vs a revolver that gets muddied.

Once proven reliable, I have pretty good faith in either weapon. But frankly I have had and seen a lot of lemons new from the factory, I have even had my share of Ruger Singleactions that had problems due to quality control from the factory. As far as new guns go, I have had the best luck with Glocks, over just about every other brand, to be out of the box reliable. I didn't say they were my favorites, just seemed to usually work out of the box, which is a lot better then I can say about a lot of others.

One thing I don't agree with is that a gun needs to be shot in, before it's reliable. Yes, they need to be shot, 200 rounds to prove they are reliable, but It's been my experience that if they are unreliable to start with, they usually remain that way until fixed, and some are pretty hard to get fixed IMHO. A good gun should work right out of the box, but many don't.
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Old November 17, 2012, 11:41 PM   #125
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The trigger reset spring broke on my Walther PPQ. Sent back to S&W, back with new spring one week later.
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