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Handgun Service Life: What Does It Really Mean?

Annihilator

Annihilator

Emissary
Founding Member
Good article on the service life of guns, explains what it means. Nice read.

www.thetruthaboutguns.com

Handgun Service Life: What Does It Really Mean? - The Truth About Guns

Handgun service life is something that’s often misunderstood. A handgun is, like any tool, just a man-made object that has moving parts. While not as simple as an inclined plane, handguns are relatively easy to grasp. In this article we will be looking at what service life is and what it means...
www.thetruthaboutguns.com www.thetruthaboutguns.com
 
I'm not able to go through hundreds of rounds of center fire ammo a month even if I wanted to. I go shooting a couple times a month, bringing two boxes with me and usually bring back some of the second box.
I also cycle through about 6 different guns, spreading the wear and tear around.
Service life, to an old coot like me, is almost irrelevant. That said, I still like knowing a gun can handle thousands of rounds because that tells me it is a well made piece that can be handed down to heirs and still provide good service.
I realize about everyone else on here shoots a LOT more than I do. I used to reload and shot quite a bit, but those high energy days are just memories now.
Service life has more meaning to competition shooters and dedicated hobbyists.
 
Annihilator said:
Good article on the service life of guns, explains what it means. Nice read.

www.thetruthaboutguns.com

Handgun Service Life: What Does It Really Mean? - The Truth About Guns

Handgun service life is something that’s often misunderstood. A handgun is, like any tool, just a man-made object that has moving parts. While not as simple as an inclined plane, handguns are relatively easy to grasp. In this article we will be looking at what service life is and what it means...
www.thetruthaboutguns.com www.thetruthaboutguns.com
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Thanks for sharing.
I believe the author touched on a lot of good points however honestly I have to say the grammar and spelling errors were excessive and I really don’t know about the service life of a handgun.
I guess I expected more meaningful data.
My opinion.
 
Annihilator said:
Good article on the service life of guns, explains what it means. Nice read.

www.thetruthaboutguns.com

Handgun Service Life: What Does It Really Mean? - The Truth About Guns

Handgun service life is something that’s often misunderstood. A handgun is, like any tool, just a man-made object that has moving parts. While not as simple as an inclined plane, handguns are relatively easy to grasp. In this article we will be looking at what service life is and what it means...
www.thetruthaboutguns.com www.thetruthaboutguns.com
Click to expand...
i take/took advice from some you tube guys that many of us know, like Hikock and gunblue, and the 2 guys at Brownells', and each one pretty much gives good advice on the care of a gun. like never "snap" the cylinder of a revolver back into the frame.

i think that with proper care, cleaning, lubing, and good factory or reloaded ammo (meaning not hot loads), and replacing the items that the factory recommends at xxxx intervals, a gun should last for a very long time.

it's the abuse, like dropping it, not lubing, shooting hot loads, that i think speeds up the death of the gun.
 
ECS686 said:
Like mentioned if one does what the manual states helps. AKA don’t treat your gun like most folks treat a Lawnmower!
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you mean, don't turn it upside down with the engine running and the blade spinning..???

sheesh.......no wonder my neighbor has no more fingers.

but true, take care of your gun, and your gun should take care of you.

i find it difficult to believe what i have seen at the public range on some days when i go there.

dirty guns, people banging them at the port to undo a jam, etc,etc.

many think, "hey i can buy a gun and shoot, like anyone else can"...

uh, ok, but how's about at least 1 safety lesson first..???
 
A quality gun, properly maintained will outlast its owner. I have cowboy guns that are 20 years old or so that are in mechanically fine shape. A lead diet and occasional cleaning works wonders. I used to shoot 7 times a month and have gone down to 3 since I got older. One rifle got a new extractor maybe 15 years ago. One Pietta revolver got a firing pin retaining pin. My Rugers have just gotten smoother. The wife has used Lightning pump rifles for almost 20 years. A part on the bolt cracked near a pivot hole and was tig welded 10 years ago. Those guns like to be clean, so they get scrubbed more often than others.
 
youngolddude said:
A quality gun, properly maintained will outlast its owner. I have cowboy guns that are 20 years old or so that are in mechanically fine shape. A lead diet and occasional cleaning works wonders. I used to shoot 7 times a month and have gone down to 3 since I got older. One rifle got a new extractor maybe 15 years ago. One Pietta revolver got a firing pin retaining pin. My Rugers have just gotten smoother. The wife has used Lightning pump rifles for almost 20 years. A part on the bolt cracked near a pivot hole and was tig welded 10 years ago. Those guns like to be clean, so they get scrubbed more often than others.
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Agreed. If you take care of anything it will last, abuse it and it will fail at the worst time.
 
I agree that "most people will never successfully wear a handgun out". I've bought many vintage firearms from estates that came with a half empty box of shells that were probably purchased along with the gun. It got shot some when it was new, was well maintained, and had spent most of its time in a sock drawer. I've found that many hunting rifles, while their outsides may look like they were used for a walking stick, have very little wear on the inside mechanical parts. That's probably because it was used only a couple of weeks out of the year and even then shot very little. I believe that a firearm's metallurgy is huge factor in determining service life. A case in point, the 1911's produced before 1945 are not considered as "strong" as today's 1911's. When the 1911 was first introduced the technology of the time didn't enable Colt to heat treat the slides at all. In the mid 20's Colt began to harden the front of the slide and by the end of the war new technology allowed the slides to be fully heat-treated throughout. You never even hear about this issue with today's handguns. If you want a 1911 to shoot the snot out of I wouldn't recommend spending over 2 grand on a vintage pre-1945 1911. If you crack the slide you'll just end up with an expensive paper weight! Buy a new one from Springfield. :)
 
In my experience it seems that LE agencies that issue handguns replace them at about the 15-year mark. Many of those guns are still in excellent mechanical condition when they are traded in. I know of training revolvers used by the Air Force that had more than half a million rounds fired and were still going. A robust maintenance program will ensure those guns go on for many years. I clean and maintain my guns as I was taught-like my life depends on it. I have done armorer service on a few guns that hadn't been cleaned in years. One spent its life under the seat of a farmer's pickup, an officer's backup ankle gun that he carried that way for more than 10 years, and so on.
 
Most of my guns are just like me. :cool:
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Years ago had new Colt Trooper that had its trigger spring snap within the first 4yrs after running .38+P, some .357’s which I figure maybe had 400 rounds in total mileage. So the life of my particular run of spring was more or less five years, I’m sure plenty never had this happen in 40 yrs of use. Old metal process vs newer metal alloys…who knows. Sent back to Colt under warranty but I think they added another 5 lbs to the pull !

That’s the nature of the beast, wear and tear occurs and some things will be lucky to find affordable replacement parts whether for guns, cars, machinery or knees and hips.
 
HayesGreener said:
In my experience it seems that LE agencies that issue handguns replace them at about the 15-year mark. Many of those guns are still in excellent mechanical condition when they are traded in. I know of training revolvers used by the Air Force that had more than half a million rounds fired and were still going. A robust maintenance program will ensure those guns go on for many years. I clean and maintain my guns as I was taught-like my life depends on it. I have done armorer service on a few guns that hadn't been cleaned in years. One spent its life under the seat of a farmer's pickup, an officer's backup ankle gun that he carried that way for more than 10 years, and so on.
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I have bought several LEO guns, usually just cosmetic issues, like it was said, most are seldom shot....great buys
 
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