Interesting thread from Arfcom. A rental range owner's observations on durability.

[unclejumbo]

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_5_4/160...ns.html&page=1

[Ecclectic Collector]

Thanks. I found it a very interesting thread. Having a range owner report were there are controls on the quantities of ammo counted as well as a control of the type of ammo used gives a rather detailed analysis of longevity and wear on handguns.

A point of contrast: I'm a fan of vintage Walther P.38s and the later P.1 pistol. Keep in mind that many of these guns are now 70+ years old. Many were refurnished and used by a variety of countries and organizations for over 50 years before being retired and sold off to the civilian market. Many captured bring back trophies saw use ranging from sitting unused for decades to being used and abused with little maintenance. No wonder that the current collector advice is to simply replace springs as a matter of course when buying an example and/or not shoot them at all least hidden fatigue cause a vital part to fail. Slides also have been known to crack and the alloy frames of the later P.1 were beefed up with a steel reinforcement due to it cracking as well.

The problem for collectors and shooters of used pistols is thus:
As a owner of a gun which has an unknown history of prior use, you have to be aware that a used gun may have been been shot tens of thousands of times. You have no idea if and how much +P ammo has gone down the pipe; if it was shot with super hot reloads and how much it was generally abused. All you know is what you see when you get it and inspect it.

[IronButt]

The range operator's input is interesting, but after reading for about 10 minutes I'm reminded why I don't visit arfcom anymore.

[Emptymag]

The range operator's input is interesting, but after reading for about 10 minutes I'm reminded why I don't visit arfcom anymore.

Ha. I'm not even going to look.

[Hodgie]

Thanks for the link I went through all 15 pages in about 30 minutes just bypassing all other posters and reading Ron's posts and the info he quoted only. Doing it like that gets you to the points and saves reading a lot of stupid and petty BS.

[stainless]

I only read the first page thus far but will peruse the whole thing using Hodgies method in the near future.

[Gunsnwater]

It's true it's true. Don't go past first page. Save yourself.

[unclejumbo]

I read that and the one on ARs and other rifles, (link is in the first post of the AR-15 sticky) the same as Hodgie did. Skip all of the annoying back and forth and just read the owners stuff. Excellent insight and the fact that he takes the questions to his armorers for more in-depth answers is awesome. I agree with some that thinks he should create a database. Of course, I'm guessing he has fuck-you money so anything he provides is great.

[pyld]

Excellent insight and the fact that he takes the questions to his armorers for more in-depth answers is awesome. I agree with some that thinks he should create a database. Of course, I'm guessing he has fuck-you money so anything he provides is great.

I think he has potentially one of the highest round count civilian ranges around is the key takeaway. If nothing else, it's interesting to see how guns which are run and put away wet (or more likely dry) hold up.

[unclejumbo]

I think he has potentially one of the highest round count civilian ranges around is the key takeaway. If nothing else, it's interesting to see how guns which are run and put away wet (or more likely dry) hold up.

His posts indicate that they have a pretty thorough maintenance regimine which I think enhances the observations. Obviously, equipment will fail if not maintained. But seeing some stuff that fails quickly even with maintenance (Sig mosquitoes) is telling. By the way, he has high praise for a Glock .22 conversion (can't remember the name) which he says are flawless.