Most reliable Handgun of all time

[Malibru]

I also second (or third?) Sig P226, or the older Legacy slide P220's. All solid, reliable, heavy, dependable. Hammer some nails, shoot it, continue. (I would add early version, no MIMS parts; however I have been using 226/229 variants with MIMS parts and have yet to break anything. I think metal injection molding has come full circle in terms of quality.

*honorable mention* Old Ruger P89/P90 platform. I mean, ruger rough, sure. Awkward, yes. Clunky, yes. But dependable, affordable, tank-like construction.

 

[blindndead]

As I don't have many many handguns in my collection I know what I have and practiced with and will still say my first carry pistol Ruger SR9c has never! let me down . Countless rounds and practice I know that gun like the back of my hand how I draw it how I holster it is second nature to me I wish they never discontinued the model. When I got my Hellcat it felt like cheating. I believe the most reliable gun is the one you can operate blindfolded almost involuntary movement of action. everyone wants the latest and greatest but don't forget what made you the shooter you are today. If its not broken don't fix it.

 

[whatluck]

My gen 2 g19 with non drop free mags still works great. Had it 20 years and I can't remember it ever not working.

 

[Echo 225]

Any revolver, preferably Smith & Wesson model 10

 

[PappyM3]

At this point there are so many super reliable pistols that it’s kind of in the weeds to try and pick the best. But if we’re going to go down that route, let’s start using some objective data.

Mean Rounds Between Failure

Sig P320/M17: 6,944
Sig P320/M18: 3,906
CZ P01: 2,142

* note that while the P320 has a good MRBF, it failed the Army’s mean rounds between stoppage requirement.

I’m sure these data for the Beretta M9, Glock 19x, and Sig 226 are readily available. Maybe someone can pull them. I didn’t see them in a very quick search. I’m sure the 19x handily beats the P320 in MRBF, or at least MRBS.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

Probably should be, but I had the firing pin on my colt python break in the past...easy fix and repair.

I had a hammer pivot stud break on a S&W 686. S&W repaired it, but the inside of the gun is uglified - numerous staking marks where the new stud was installed (no such marks on an original install) and a very tiny cosmetic imperfection where the exterior of the gun was polished to blend in the new stud. Gun works fine, but if I knew of such internal cosmetics on a used gun I would insist on a heavy price discount to pass on it.

I disassembled a S&W 625 at a match because the owner could not open the cylinder to unload the gun. We were able to remove the cylinder and make the gun safe, but there was a broken internal part that precluded reassembling the gun. She shipped it back to S&W and was repaired. This was a broken part not staked to the gun, and I removed the sideplate properly, so it was a "good as new" repair.

 

[PappyM3]

Any revolver, preferably Smith & Wesson model 10

Revolver reliability is way overblown. Their internals are more complex than modern magazine fed handguns.

The only reliability benefit is if you get a dead primer, you can just pull the trigger again.

 

[M1911]

I had a hammer pivot stud break on a S&W 686. S&W repaired it, but the inside of the gun is uglified - numerous staking marks where the new stud was installed (no such marks on an original install) and a very tiny cosmetic imperfection where the exterior of the gun was polished to blend in the new stud. Gun works fine, but if I knew of such internal cosmetics on a used gun I would insist on a heavy price discount to pass on it.

I disassembled a S&W 625 at a match because the owner could not open the cylinder to unload the gun. We were able to remove the cylinder and make the gun safe, but there was a broken internal part that precluded reassembling the gun. She shipped it back to S&W and was repaired. This was a broken part not staked to the gun, and I removed the sideplate properly, so it was a "good as new" repair.

I had the extractor on a S&W Model 66 start to unscrew at a match, making it difficult to open the cylinder.

I wonder whether some of the folks who tout the reliability of revolvers have ever actually shot thousands of rounds through them. Revolvers are mechnical devices and they break just like other mechanical devices...

 

[BONESTOCK]

I had the extractor on a S&W Model 66 start to unscrew at a match, making it difficult to open the cylinder.

It seems to me wonder whether some of the folks who tout the reliability of revolvers have never actually shot thousands of rounds through them. Revolvers are mechnical devices and they break just like other mechanical devices...

I completely agree with this.
With enough use anything will finally wear and fail.
My only logic was based on less moving parts to me meant less to go wrong and then there is a good solid history of the model 10 seeing over 6 figures worth of use with little to no known failures.

 

[Garys]

Everyone should own one.

Boring......very boring but.

Smith and Wesson model 10

 

[pewpewpew]

I don't have a wide range of experience, but I sure do love my Beretta 92X and it has yet to choke

 

[Individualist]

My gen 2 g19 with non drop free mags still works great. Had it 20 years and I can't remember it ever not working.

Ditto. Probably 10K rounds through mine and it was already used when I got it. Works as expected.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

I completely agree with this.
With enough use anything will finally wear and fail.
My only logic was based on less moving parts to me meant less to go wrong and then there is a good solid history of the model 10 seeing over 6 figures worth of use with little to no known failures.

The model 10 is 38 Special, not 357 mag, which would mean less stress on parts. The recent (relatively speaking) move from carbon steel to stainless has also resulted in weaker guns.

 

[M1911]

I completely agree with this.
With enough use anything will finally wear and fail.
My only logic was based on less moving parts to me meant less to go wrong and then there is a good solid history of the model 10 seeing over 6 figures worth of use with little to no known failures.

Less moving parts? When was the last time you opened up the side plate of a S&W revolver?

Edited to add: yes, revolvers aren't subject to you typical semi-auto feed failures, but they have their own peculiar set of malfunctions -- high primers preventing the cylinder from rotating, dirt and debris under the extractor star causing the same, high recoil in lightweight snubs causing the bullets to jump forward under recoil and locking up the cylinder, etc.

 

[M1911]

The model 10 is 38 Special, not 357 mag, which would mean less stress on parts. The recent (relatively speaking) move from carbon steel to stainless has also resulted in weaker guns.

While I certainly agree in principle, I’ve shot thousands of rounds of .38 through my 66 and only a handful of .357. So the issue I had wasn’t caused by the extra stress of .357.

 

[Trafficdiver]

The first round from my 1911 is guaranteed. Nothing else in life is after that.

 

[Mesatchornug]

Less moving parts? When was the last time you opened up the side plate of a S&W revolver?

Machines get simpler as time progresses and engineers figure out how to do more with less. There's a reason the word for the internals of a revolver are called clockwork.

 

[vcman]

Machines get simpler as time progresses and engineers figure out how to do more with less. There's a reason the word for the internals of a revolver are called clockwork.

I took out trigger assembly from my ruger sp101 the other day to clean and swap out the trigger spring(need a lighter one) .I made one small mistake and parts went plying all over the place lol.

 

[general disorder]

Based on what I own and use or have used. My M&P40 fs first gen. I don't have an exact round count (one of notebooks got ruined when my basement flooded in 2017.) But I believe I was around 22k rnds when a piece of the slide stop/release broke. But the gun still functioned fine. 2nd would be my gen2 22. Never an issue, and that had a stupid rnd count. Next would be my M&P2.0 9c. I'm around 8500 without an issue. Both my Glock 19s have over 10k each but they have had issues. All my other guns have less than 5k thought them.

 

[Wickedcoolname]

Single shot.

 

[AJK129]

The Sig320 is 110% reliable

 

[BONESTOCK]

Less moving parts? When was the last time you opened up the side plate of a S&W revolver?

Edited to add: yes, revolvers aren't subject to you typical semi-auto feed failures, but they have their own peculiar set of malfunctions -- high primers preventing the cylinder from rotating, dirt and debris under the extractor star causing the same, high recoil in lightweight snubs causing the bullets to jump forward under recoil and locking up the cylinder, etc.

Less moving parts? When was the last time you opened up the side plate of a S&W revolver?

Edited to add: yes, revolvers aren't subject to you typical semi-auto feed failures, but they have their own peculiar set of malfunctions -- high primers preventing the cylinder from rotating, dirt and debris under the extractor star causing the same, high recoil in lightweight snubs causing the bullets to jump forward under recoil and locking up the cylinder, etc.

Short answer to the question.

When was the last time you opened up the side plate of a S&W revolver?

Less than a week ago.

 

[Echo 225]

Revolver reliability is way overblown. Their internals are more complex than modern magazine fed handguns.

The only reliability benefit is if you get a dead primer, you can just pull the trigger again.

Revolver reliability is way overblown. Their internals are more complex than modern magazine fed handguns.

The only reliability benefit is if you get a dead primer, you can just pull the trigger again.

Wooont whrrrr

 

[yogi]

My G26 has proven to be my most reliable - although I have other glocks that have never had a malfunction, the 26 has the most rounds with zero malfs

Exact same experience…..thousands of rounds through the g26……and no issues with G21 or G19

 

[Rob Boudrie]

Revolver reliability is way overblown. Their internals are more complex than modern magazine fed handguns.

The only reliability benefit is if you get a dead primer, you can just pull the trigger again.

Some semi-autos offer second strike, but with revolvers you are getting a fresh round so the make-up shot is less of a maybe.

Another issue is how well a handgun holds up to extended use, and the ease of maintenance.

What consitutes heavy use has changed. In the old days of PPC and gallery shooting, 50 rounds was a lot and someone practicing would likely use a box or two of ammo. Newer action oriented handgun sports increase round count and rate of fire dramatically. A local match can be about 150 rounds; a larger one about 300 rounds. A serious competitor can put thousands of rounds through a gun in a year (some claim many tens of thousands, but the math on that tends to break down when you convert to rounds per day and then to rounds per range trip).

Rates of fire that would get a "Whoa there, yer being unsafe, slow it down" in the old days would be considered probmatically slow in a world where a split fime of more than a quarter of a second is considered on a slow side. And waiting 30 seconds after a round fails to go off after a trigger pull? Not going to happen in USPSA, IDPA, IPSC or similar competitions. My club (Hopkinton) hosts a very active USPSA program, and the only way someone will tell you to slow down your shooting is if you are not keeping your rounds safely on target. Much contrast to the time at the club decades ago where a director demanded my ID and gave me a safety lecture for keeping my rounds on target a too rapid a pace.

Repairs of wear items on semi-autos is often simpler than on revolvers. Replacement of extractors and springs is generally simple user level stuff. Replacing the mainspring on a revolver is often a gunsmith job (less so on some Rugers) , and any issues with the action are also out of reach of most users.

 

[Ultrarunner]

I've had issues with Glocks and never with M&Ps. No doubt Glocks are reliable, but if we had this thread 40 years from now M&P would be neck and neck in reliability. There just enough enough data and the Glock fan boys refuse to believe that other striker fired "copies" can be as good or better.

My Sig 220 10mm platform, of which I have approximately 15,000 rounds through has never had an issue.

Per the revolver talk, if you buy a Ruger revolver from 2015-2019 or so, good luck. Poor timing on a brand new Bisley 45 Colt, Super Redhawk that locked up on a live round, and forget about accuracy. I don't what happened to Ruger those years. My 2001 Super Redhawk in 454 locks up as good as my Freedom Arms. I've sat alone in a tent 90 air miles from civilization on a Moose hunt out of Galena Alaska and with that gun by my side, I slept like a baby.

 

[T-Unit]

Not sure which is most reliable, but this new Ruger Mark IV nost definitely is NOT!

Was considering buying a Security 380 this year, now I think I'm avoiding all Ruger's until they get their fukking QC fixed.

ETA: At least it's cycling well and impressively accurate with CCI.

 

[40 Creedmoor fan]

At this point there are so many super reliable pistols that it’s kind of in the weeds to try and pick the best. But if we’re going to go down that route, let’s start using some objective data.

Mean Rounds Between Failure

Sig P320/M17: 6,944
Sig P320/M18: 3,906
CZ P01: 2,142

* note that while the P320 has a good MRBF, it failed the Army’s mean rounds between stoppage requirement.

I’m sure these data for the Beretta M9, Glock 19x, and Sig 226 are readily available. Maybe someone can pull them. I didn’t see them in a very quick search. I’m sure the 19x handily beats the P320 in MRBF, or at least MRBS.

Beretta 92FS/M9: 35,000
Glock 17 Gen5: 20,000

 

[PappyM3]

Some semi-autos offer second strike, but with revolvers you are getting a fresh round so the make-up show is less of a maybe.
…

Yeah, that is what I was talking about. No need to rack the slide on a bad round. Though, this is far less necessary for centerfire than rimfire.

 

[Road_Clam]

OK so i'll call it like i see / shoot it

#1) any revolver.

#2) any full size Glock

#3) Beretta 92