Ammo testing new gun -- gun vs. mag testing?

[tnedator]

Hey Mas,

Thanks for the great info you post on GT, in your courses, on your blog and all the other places you share your wealth of knowledge.

I'm going to be breaking in/testing a new M&P 9c in the next couple days. My plan is to run 200 rounds of FMJ through it and then 250 rounds of my carry ammo.

First question is what do you think of that approach? Good strategy or should I run more of the carry ammo through it?

Second, and the thing I'm real curious about is the mags. I always designate certain mags as my carry mags. After I've tested them and had no problems, I put some red fingernail polish on the bottom of each carry mag so I know they are my carry mags. I never do mag drops at the range with my carry mags, and other than shooting off (to rotate) my carry ammo periodically, I don't use them on the range at all.

My plan with this 9c is to designate three 12 round mags and two 17 round mags for carry, as most of the time I will have a 12 in the gun and two 17's on the belt, but if I'm tucking a shirt, I might opt for two 12's on the belt for added concealment.

So, with that being 70 rounds (if my late night math is correct), that would be about three cycles of each mag with the FMJ and about three cycles of the mags with the carry ammo (4 cycles if I fire off 280 rounds instead of 250).

What's your thought on testing mags before carrying them, or is this something I'm just over-thinking and shouldn't worry about as part of my testing/break in of my new guns?

Hope to see you at Nighhawk in October for a refresher of MAG-40 if I can make my schedule work.

Thanks

[Mas Ayoob]

The mags need to be tested just like the gun. Your plan sounds solid to me. Of course, there are those who think we're both pikers and there should be a thousand rounds of the carry load through the gun with zero malfs before it's trusted.

Look forward to seeing you at the refresher!

best,
Mas

[tnedator]

Hey Mas,

Thanks and followup question.

After an initial cleaning and lube, is it asking for trouble to have one long session where I put the 450-500 rounds through the M&P 9c in one range session with no cleaning/lubing in between? Asking for trouble in the sense that if it then has a failure to feed or something after 400 rounds, could it be from getting dry or dirty, rather than being unreliable?

To date, I have found both Glocks and M&P's can take a lot of rounds without stopping to clean/lube them, but I'm curious your thoughts on this with the M&P.

[tnedator]

Mas, here's follow up part deux.

I've been negligent in my range time, mostly because the local shooting spot was shut down and it had been a 90 minute drive to the closest range. Two new ranges have recently opened an hour away, and I've decided to make the commitment to getting to the range 2-4, or more, times a month.

Also, I'm going to start making courses, whether yours, Tom Givens' or others a regular part of my yearly training.

So, with that said, would you recommend me putting those thousands of rounds a year through my carry pistol, changing out recoil springs and retesting with carry ammo as needed. Or, get a second M&P 9c to use for training and range, while only running a smaller number of rounds through my primary carry gun periodically, as well as having it as a backup if my "range" gun fails during a course?

[Mas Ayoob]

We routinely see 500 rounds go through students' guns without cleaning and without a hitch. That said, it's a good idea to clean it after such a session, particularly if the ammo was on the dirty side.

I'd keep getting trigger time with the carry gun, but would still have a spare handy. Rolls-Royce or Chevy, every machine breaks something eventually.

best,
Mas