But I still won't carry a sidearm that hasn't given me 200 trouble-free rounds in one session.
I completely agree, & 200 would be a minimum.......but I would qualify that & say not necessarily 200 straight rounds in one sitting.
I allow for cleaning at, say each 50 rounds or so.
Well, yeah, you're gonna HAVE to clean it every 50 rounds if you're gonna use Unique as your powder of choice!!!
Most CCW's are not going to run into a 200 round firefight with their pistol, even if they had that much ammo on them at the time.
MM
Right. But there's a method to my madness, and I've taken it to some degree from experience.
A problem those of us who shoot a lot run into is having time to properly clean and lube our guns after a range session. Let's say you shoot your daily carry pistol in an IPSC match this weekend, but it's cold and gusty and gritty so that when you get home you break your usual routine and instead of cleaning your pistol you opt for a bowl of hot soup and a sandwich... then your honey suggests an afternoon nap, and before you know it it's time to get dressed to go out for that dinner engagement you've had planned for weeks...
... and before you know it you've holstered your tried and true faithful sidearm full of crud and dust and gunk from the match, and you have forgotten that because you
religiously clean your guns after every match... except this one time.
Then a week later your worst nightmare comes to pass and you have to draw your sidearm to defend your life. Your sidearm, which has had 150 rounds of ammunition through it in a match and hasn't been cleaned and lubed. Will it fire and function as you need it to when the SHTF? You won't know unless you've proven it to yourself at some point.
I realize this hypothetical seems farfetched, but I know it's happened in at least one case. Fortunately, the firearm in question had met the 200 rounds test and although neither cleaned nor lubed, functioned flawlessly and ended the deadly force situation in a positive manner.
It also very nearly happened to me a few years ago.
