This is a very common conversation that comes up. How many rounds should I fire through my handgun to “break it in” before carrying it? That is a good question that if you asked 5 different gunsmiths you would probably get 5 different opinions.
Let me offer this opinion with a thought. You purchased a new sports car with zero miles, factory/stock tires, and gas from the dealership. Are you ready to race it? Do you feel confident in your ability to handle it? Do you know the shift points and subtle clues to what the car is doing? You probably can answer no to all these questions.
Since we answered no to these questions and let’s compare that to your handgun. You shouldn’t take it out of the box, load it, and put into service without testing and training thus “breaking it in”.
So how many rounds? It depends! It depends on how comfortable you feel about the platform. Does the platform run reliably with the target ammunition and the carry ammunition you intent to deploy? Some industry “experts” out there will say that you have to run 1000 plus rounds of ammunition through the platform to guarantee reliability. That’s perfect if you can, but with ammunition availability and costs is that practical? Now, with all of this being said, we see daily that every platform has personalities. Some more user friendly than others. An experienced shooter can pick up 5 Glock 19’s and can probably find a difference between most of them. They will be similar but will have some difference.
So what is our opinion. It depends on you and the platform. The break in of the platform is more than the gun. It’s the gun and you. It’s the total package. When the platform and/or system is able to function flawlessly and is predictable and dependable with all the components and ammunition you intend to use it is “broken in”.
Until next time,
Brad Amick