sighting in on: Semi-Auto Pistols: Testing for Reliability
one for the pistol, and two spares.
2. For each of these magazines, load them so you have two rounds of your duty JHP ammo in a row at the very bottom, two in the middle, and two at the very top of the magazine. Fill the rest of the space in between with FMJ.
3. Shoot each of the magazines (loaded in this fashion) a minimum of three times each. On the fi rst go, shoot the pistol with two hands on the gun. On the sec- ond go, shoot it with your primary hand only, and on the last run, shoot it with your support side hand only.
4. If you experience a problem, take notes about which magazine it was, the type of ammunition (JHP or FMJ), which num- ber it was in the magazine, and with what hand combination you were shooting. It’s important to load two of the JHPs
in a row next to each other, because you want to see how they feed when the slide is powered by a fi red round of the same en-
ergy. Also, it’s important to distribute the JHP rounds at the top, middle and bottom of each magazine, because you want to see how the combination works when the mag- azine spring power is at its greatest and at its weakest, and points in between. T is is critical because (manufacturing fl aws aside) modern semiauto pistol reliability is mostly about the delicate balance between the re- coil spring, the magazine spring, and slide energy. Most modern pistols have suitably shaped chambers and feed ramps, and most modern self-defense cartridges are loaded with bullets shaped to optimize feeding, so in many cases, it’s really all about the timing dictated by springs and slide velocity/energy. When the shooting is done, you will
have tested each of your duty magazines when they are at full capacity with maxi- mum spring compression and power, at mid cycle, and at the end of the cycle when magazine spring power is weakest. You will have also tested the gun/ammo combina-
tion using a solid (two-hand) platform, and two weaker (strong and support side-only) platforms, which have greater potential to induce a malfunction.
If a certain test “fails” due to a malfunc- tion, you can follow up with repeat tests of the same type until you are satisfi ed that it was an anomaly, or you have verifi ed that there is a legitimate issue with the gun/ ammo combination.
Assuming that you ran the test with three magazines, you could do the whole evolution with slightly more than a single, 50-round box of expensive JHP ammunition. If you had a “fail,” you would certainly need more JHPs to troubleshoot, but if everything went well, you could test three magazines and have enough rounds left over for a full duty load out with just two 50-round boxes of duty am- munition—half of the amount suggested by the old 200-round standard.
Good to Go? T is test protocol isn’t perfect, but I think it’s a reasonable start, especially in the current ammunition draught. I would personally like to run more JHPs through the gun before I declared them “reliable,” but that is probably more a matter of personal comfort than statis- tical validity. If a certain JHP design is going to give you reliability problems, it will prob- ably surface during this abbreviated test. If you don’t experience any problems using this protocol, then you’re probably good to go. Even if it’s not perfect, this protocol will hopefully make it more likely that our fel- low offi cers, family, friends, and citizens will actually take that new blaster out and shoot it before they start relying on it to save someone’s life. T at would be a good start in my book.
Be safe out there! PM
Mike Wood is the author of Newhall Shooting: A Tactical Analysis. Please visit the offi cial website for
Shooting with one hand weakens the stability and strength of the shooting platform, but it may be necessary in a defensive encounter. You need to know if your ammo has enough power to reliably cycle the slide, even when the platform has been compromised and cannot offer normal resistance to recoil forces.
61 The Police Marksman Summer 2015
this book at
www.newhallshooting.com for more information.
Post your comments on this story by visiting
www.policemarksman.com
www.policemarksman.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76