Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns How good does it need to be?

Before you'll carry a pistol, how good does it need to be? I've never really put a number to it, but have been wondering just what that number would be if I were to. Does anyone else have a standard that they use to decide what's worth carrying?

As far as reliability, I'd like it to go 500 rounds without any serious cleaning and still be malfunction free. Any malfunction has to have an explanation...ammo to light for the recoil spring, magazine springs too light for the slide speed, feed lips out of spec on a magazine, or whatever else might cause a problem.

The 500 rounds is pretty arbitrary, honestly. But I think it's indicative of reliability and a number that's easy enough to reach.

For accuracy, the standards become a little less scientific because they're so dependent on my shooting ability (or lack of it), but these are some general standards that I've come up with that I'd expect from a carry gun....
-From 5 yards I want to be able to hit a 2" circle without problem
-From 7 yards a 3.5" circle
-From 25 yards I want to be able to put an entire magazine in an 8" circle
-From 50 yards I want 60% of my shots to hit an A-zone on a USPSA target and all of the shots to be in the C-zone

Additionally, I've gotta have at least seven rounds and it be magazine fed.

Any ideas? Do y'all have a standard you want your carry guns to meet?

I have broader standards for my carry pistols and revolvers.
For one thing, I clean my stuff more often than you do. Just the way I have always done it.
I don't mind a 5 shot J frame S&W .38 Special. Never felt under gunned with one in my pocket.
As far as accuracy goes, I am right in sync with what you feel, with the caveat that the J Frame probably won't measure up with regards to the longer range shooting.
No hand gun, or any gun, is any more reliable than the last time it went bang. Do your best with maintenance, load, and handling, and still, there is never a guarantee for that next shot.

I have always used the 500 round number myself. That means zero malfunctions with no tinkering to get it there. Straight outta the box.

That's all reasonable. I'm a little tougher on them accuracy-wise, holding out for 5 shots in 5 inches at 50 yards from a rest.

I will allow 'reliability trust points' for Glocks Gen 3 and earlier, because I've never seen one fail that didn't have a major mechanical problem. Same for the full-size Sig 22X pistols. If either of those go a couple hundred trouble-free rounds using all mags, they are probably gonna run like clockwork.

I'm good with 4-5 boxes of ammo (50 rounds) of what I intend to use, then I like to play with a few other types just to see.

So long as I can hit a can at 20 yards every time, I'm good.

I guess I should've added that all the accuracy stuff is offhand. So it's not just the pistol can do, but what I can do with the pistol that matters the most to me.

Yeah, I can't remember the last time I used a rest, if ever, with a pistol.

I have never owned an unreliable pistol. Every 1911 and variant I've owned has been consistently reliable from the get-go with quality magazines. I'm not expecting to repel the Spartans, so if the gun shoots the first 100 rounds without a hiccup, and close inspection during cleaning doesn't reveal any odd wear patterns, chips, scratches or metal flakes, it can go in my holster.

Currently, my carry pieces vary from 1911s, full length, Commander length and Officer's length, a Kahr CW-9, a Springer XD-S (.45) and a Charter .38 Undercover.

As for accuracy, I don't measure groups much, but at 25 yards, I expect every shot to be in the head of a life size silhouette. At 10 yards, 5 of 7 better be touching each other and at 5 yards I'll expect a one-hole ragged group.

The red target was off hand at 12 yards with an RIA Compact (Officer's length) .45 and that's typical of what I expect.



This is slow fire, off hand.

I like about 500 rounds of whatever ammo I can stuff magazines with and 100 rounds of my carry ammo. With that said I don't really begin to trust the gun until I hit the 1000 round mark. I've had a couple parts breakages over the years between the 500 and 1000 round mark. Seems that if something is going to wreck it will happen somewhere in there, after that it's routine maintenance stuff and the gun will run trouble free.

I mentioned rested shooting to confirm mechanical accuracy and zero and I admit, I'm OCD about that.

Once there, it's all on me. I expect to stay middle of the head on a B27 at 25 yards and 9 ring at 50, with a few sprinkled in the 8. At 10 yards I should be chewing out the little mini B27 in the upper left corner of the target.

I favor a 45 and I don't feel nekkid with 8+1; but I like 11+1 and 13 round reloads better.

Not carried the 2 .45 Colts, the 27, or the 2 MK's for SD carry. Everything else has been on my person for that at one time or another. They all fit the OP's requirements, except the J-frame. I'm not near enough good with it to put every shot in an 8" spot at 25 yds unless we're talking about a slow, non-SD, non-threatened scenario.

If it will go 500 on one cleaning and shoot into 3.5" at 25 yards off of a rest with me shooting I'm happy. I worry about getting the trigger how I like it more than pure accuracy.

I know it when I see it, and it's based on how the firearm performs and the quality of the components rather than some arbitrary round count. I'll know long before 500 and most often after a few magazines or cylinders.

If a problem appears it gets addressed at the workbench, not the range. Or, I decide the guns not for me.

The horrid SA and DA guns chambered in 45 Colt will go bang every time with 44 Mag brass and an undersized bullet, hit the requisite 8" at 35 yards and then clean up with two more shots of its properly chambered fare.

They are terrible guns with limits....

I suppose if by "tinkering" you mean screwing around with no real knowledge of what is causing the problem and what will fix it, that's a good policy.



I'm with ya, Blue. Except, I also want to see at least 200 continuous rounds of perfect function - no excuses.

Self defense carry? I carry a LCR 5 shot revolver. It has gone bang every time I shoot it. I also have a SIG 229 40 S&W I would carry. It has never ever FTF or jammed.

Accuracy, minimum...Keep it in 6-8" at 7 yards. I'm only looking at Self Defense. I don't think I would shoot anyone further than that.

So if a bad guy is shooting at you from 20 yards, he gets a pass?

No, when he gets to 7 yards I will kill him.

I carry a 5-shot 649 mostly. I'm just used to it after 30 years. I practice almost daily, but not with the 649. That gets shot once or twice a year, when I change out ammo. I've found from 30 years of regular competitive shooting that marksmanship skills are transferable between weapons.

I shot this awhile back at 10 yds with my old duty load. Good enough. Revolver has been altered to DAO by the LAPD armory.
Bob