Who has actually worn out a handgun?

[Questor]

Have you ever actually worn one out? What wore out? Why wasn't it fixable?

[Savage]

Had a 4" Charter Arms .357 revolver that I used to put 50 rds a day through. (38spl wadcutters) Really about 250rds a week. After about 10mos it got so loose it rattled, it would also occasionally fail to index properly. When I gave it away it would still shoot, but it would have cost more to repair than the $100 gun was worth. On the other hand I have several handguns with many more rounds thru them that show very little wear.
Stay Safe,
Savage

[Graybeard]

I've tried hard a few times but haven't done it to one yet.

My old S&W 29 with the 10-5/8" barrel that I'm holding in my avatar is I guess the one that I came the closest on. I put somewhere between 5000 and 10,000 rounds of full power .44 mag down the barrel and it was getting a bit loose in lock up but still outshot most all guns I went up against. I sold it after S&W signed the agreement cuz I knew one day it was gonna need repair and I wasn't about to give S&W one red cent of my money to fix it. The fellow who owns it now is still shooting the dickens out of it in silhouette and other competition. It probably has well over 15,000 full house rounds down the tube and is still shooting with the best of them.

I had an S&W 17 with 8-3/8" barrel that I long since lost count of the rounds that went down that barrel. One summer along I fired over a full case (5000 rounds) from it. It fired way more than the 29 long barrel while I owned it and it was still shooting inch or less groups at 25 yards when I traded it off. That sucker spit lead from the day I got it and I had to clean it off from time to time but it sure was a shooter.

So nope I've never honestly worn one out but sure tried hard on those two.

GB

[Mikey]

I don't know if I wore it out or just broke it so many times it wasn't worth fixing again.  This was one of a couple of S&W Model 19s I owned during the hayday of lightweight, highspeed hollowpoints.  I had it repaired 4 or 5 times locally, sent it back to S&W twice and hand-carried it back to S&W twice more.

It seems as though the flame cutting effect of those hig speed loads did more than just etch the underside of the topstrap - they cut right through whatever spacing washers that were installed at the end of the cylinder, or whatever they are/were.  

I doubt the barrel or cylinder were worn out but the darn thing spent almost as much time in the repair shop as it did on the range.  However, the next Model 19 I had seemed like it would go forever - I only shot the standard weight, or heavier, loads through it, not the fast burners.  I even wound up shooting metallic silhouette with the darn thing and 200 grain round nose bullets over a charge of 4227 would knock over the ram - from a 4" bbl.  

So, I don't know, I think I broke it.  Mikey.

[jhm]

NO, but I sure have seen my share of them that were so mistreated they should have been worn out, most quality guns with a little tender loving care will outlast the owner.   JIM

[handcanon]

yes a S&W 29 6" but it was becouse I was loading it bad hot but one the same note I have ruger super blcackhawk SS 10" that has even more hot load (both in number and power) and still as good as the day I got it.

[Dragon31]

Taurus PT 22.  Don't remember how many .22's when throught it but after a while the slide and slide rail showed so much wear that I wasn't sure it was safe any more.

[Double D]

Tried to wear out a S&W M-19.  I bought it new in 71. I was on the Marine Corps Combat Pistol Team and used that gun.  I fired 250 to 300 Rounds of 38 spl Ball a day 6 days a week for 2 1/2 years. That's 195,000 to 234,000 Rounds.  It got sent back to the facory once to have the Hammer stud replaced as it sheared off. That took about 4 weeks so subtract 6000 to 7200 rounds.

When I got out of the service I used the Gun as a cop and fired another 15,000 to 20,000 round through it qualifying and in Shooting matches before I retired it in 1989.  It hase been timed twice, well maybe three time, I'm sure it got worked over when the hammer stud was fixed.

That gun now has the finest double action trigger pull I have ever felt on a facory spec gun. It's not wore out and is one of the best shooting guns I own.

[Jack Gilbert]

I had a Smith and Wesson A22 on which the hook broke on the back of the barrel assembly, which left only the front barrel stud holding the barrel to the frame. The slide became very loose and many misfires resulted. Don't know how many rounds fired through it but not nearly enough, I'm saying. Anyway, unloaded it and bought a Ruger 45-22 which as it is made of real steel (parts of the Smith were cast, for sure) should really hold up. I was impressed, as the Ruger cost about the same and material is far superior. Really disappointed in the Smith workmanship.

[broken arrow]

My trusty Beretta 92F. It was issued to me Feb 1990. I retirted it in 2001. I went through SWAT school, qualified, tons of other marksmanship schools and fired it recreationally for all of those years. I thought my accuracy had diminished over time but the lands and grooves in the barrel were almost gone! I had virtually ended up shooting with a smoothbore weapon. Now with my H&K USP .45 I am back to my old self. I don't like the pistol as much, but yes, after ten or eleven years of constant use and care, you can wear out a quality firearm. :cry:

[Robert357]

I haven' t worn out a handgun, but I collect pre-WWI 32 ACP pistols.

I have a couple of Colt Model 1903's in 32 ACP made in 1910 and 1911 and a 32 ACP FN Browning Model 1900 from around 1903 and a Savage 32 ASP made in about 1910.

All of them shoot.  Two of them have worn a bit at the bushing where the side holds the barrel in place.  A light spray of Teflon based lube seems to temporarily tighten up the accuracy.  The firing pin spring in the Savage has gotten weak enought so that I don't use CCI blazer ammo as I get a few failures to fire from the harder primer and berdan primer it uses.

As long as the handguns are of solid and high quality steel, I am not sure that besides springs or an ocasional firing pin or ejector, that much can really "wear" out.  Of course the 32 ACP is not known for its bone crushing recoil, so it might be different with a really "hot" cartridge.

I think the advise about good firearms having a life much longer than the owner is very correct.  I expect that the Colts, Savage and FN will be fun to shoot by my sons and their children for many years into the future.

[His lordship.]

I bought a new in the box Raven P-25 .25 caliber pistol in 1980 and put 600 rounds through it until I sold it to a friend in 1994.  The gun was very well cared for, but due to the pot metal construction the firing pin was wearing noticably into the slide.  I requested a spare firing pin from Raven arms before they went out of business and they sent an improved pin with a smoother bushing which I put in before relinquishing it.  The slide was stretching out away from the frame rails, so that accuracy was diminishing due to increased slop.  Still the gun works reliably when my buddy shoots it.

My other worn out handgun was a Euroarms brand cap and ball revolver, an 1851 Colt Navy replica.  It saw 7 years of honest use, again well cared for, but it began to missfire due to an increase in stretch in/around the frame area.  Junked it out and sold it for the parts. :roll:

I have worn out 2 Crossman pellet guns, and a Daisy pellet pistol, if those count.  They were using too much plastic and pot metal to hold up forever.  I only got 3 years out of the Crossman .357 magnum look alike before it was sold for parts.