Keeping Round Counts

[Madbull]

Being new to shooting, and loving my Sig probably a little too much, I have been keeping track of everything I feed it. I have a 3x5 card taped inside the case, where I jot down anytime I shoot - Date, Manufacturer, Grain, Round Count.

I notice on WTS ads, people make a point to inform potential buyers how many rounds they've put through. In many cases, I am suprised to see less than 200 rounds in a weapon, (and these appear to be just ordinary handguns, not collector editions or hard-to-get ones).

Am I missing something? I'm thinking perhaps some of these folks just have so many firearms that they literally don't have the time to really invest in shooting a whole lot on any single weapon?

TLDR - I know the more I shoot the more often I need to replace my recoil spring and such. But there's nothing wrong with me putting 500-750+ rounds a month downrange is there?

[Beiruty]

what gun are you shooting, a collectible?

There is no need to keep counts of ammo shots in Combat quality handgun. For example, in an HK P30, a torture test was done and some 50,000 rds where fired with minimal service is needed.

http://www.hkpro.com/forum/hk-handgun-t ... k-p30.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What changing recoil spring and such? Maybe after you shoot 25,000 rds or more.

[Carry-a-Kimber]

I guess it just depends on what type of gun is being shot. I have a Browning .270 that is twice my age and has probably had fewer than 200 rounds put through it. Not because it is a collectible (which it now is) but because a hunting rifle typically will fire only a few rounds a year. I put 200 rounds through another bolt gun in about an hour and a half while poppin' prairie dogs. I have other guns that are less than a year old that have had 2,000 rounds put through them. I have shot 2 cases through a shotgun in just a few hours at the family ranch. However; sometimes I will go to the range and only fire a ouple of mags though a gun. I bought my EDC Kimber 9 years ago when I turned 21 and have put who knows how many rounds through it (at least 25,000) but I have a couple of HKs that I have only put a couple hundred rounds though in the same time frame. For me it comes down to what is fun to shoot, what ammo I have, and where I am shooting.

[C-dub]

I counted with my first two Glocks for about two years. After then I started to not worry about it too much and back then had not intended on selling them. Then TAM let me shoot one of his .45's. Now both .40's are gone and I could only give the buyers an estimate of the possible round count. Now, my G21SF is only 6 months old and I can only estimate it has about a thousand rounds through it. The G30SF is newer and just went to the range the first time this past weekend for it's first 200 rounds, which it handled flawlessly. I won't be counting what goes through these as much as I did my first ones.

The same goes for my rifles. A few are really old and I think it would be pointless for me to count rounds because there's no tell how many have already been through them.

[texanron]

But there's nothing wrong with me putting 500-750+ rounds a month downrange is there?

Not if you can afford it.

[Madbull]

Thanks for the input guys. Guess I'm just a little anal and going overboard as I dive in. (Course, I'm not there yet, still waiting on a couple of my surplus 50cal cans to arrive, as well as another 2 cases of ammo). Hmm, wonder if I'm on any cool secret watch lists yet.........

[ELB]

There is an excellent reason to keep count of rounds fired, at least for awhile, especially if this is a carry gun.

You want to make sure that not only the gun, but ALL the magazines you will use with it, function reliably with the ammo that you will be carrying. I once polled a different forum on how many rounds people considered enough to ensure reliability (for a semi-auto). Most said at least 200, some went 500 or 1000.

I don't have unlimited funds for ammo, so I settled on 200 rounds per magazine, with no problems whatsoever, using my practice ammo. Then another 50 rounds per mag, without any failure, with carry ammo. However, I keep count for each mag every time I practice or go to a shooting course or whatever (it really isn't hard to jot down), so by now I have a substantial round count on each magazine, and feel reasonably confident with them.

Just as a side note, 25,000 rounds without changing springs sounds a little...bold...even if it's a Glock. Various people have recommended to me putting in new springs every 2000 rounds or so for a carry gun.

I do recommend counting them, because I think most people are terrible estimators, especially over longer periods

You might decide a different round count is sufficient for your mags and guns and springs. After all, it is your gun, the one you will betting your life on if you ever have to use it...

[michael e]

Only 2 of my guns have an exact round count. My 44mag, as I have never lost a piece of brass, and my 270 for the same reason. Have too many other calibers to know which one got what threw them. I did at one time see how many rounds I could put threw my GSG-5 without cleaning, its 2500 before it gets really unreliable.

[AggieMM]

I keep round counts per gun, but I only track them for "cleaning" purposes, not resale. For example, in my competition Glock 34, I'll run a bore snake through the barrel after every match, but only wire brush it every 500 rounds. At 2000, I completely strip it (mags too) to double check it to make sure it's ready for the next 2000 rounds.

Ryan

[mr surveyor]

I have a couple of handguns and a couple of rifles that I keep individual log books for. The pistols are logged, not just to keep up with the number of rounds fired, but to note which (if any) specific ammunition is problematic. The rifles are logged, again not just for round count, but to track performance of ammunition.

In my reloading endeavors, I also keep individual boxes of brass (all revolver, so easy to do) seperate and log the number of reloads the brass has been through, as well as the pertainent load data.

Having personal data for a specific firearm, rather than just a SWAG on round count, should give you a lot more credability in the internet squabbles about "Brand X Firearm" never needing cleaning, never needing repairs, always lasting 50k rounds without cleaning/malfuncioning, etc.

Besides.... I like numbers

[Ameer]

Besides.... I like numbers

Are you an excellent driver?

[terryg]

I notice on WTS ads, people make a point to inform potential buyers how many rounds they've put through. In many cases, I am suprised to see less than 200 rounds in a weapon, (and these appear to be just ordinary handguns, not collector editions or hard-to-get ones).

I think for some, the don't get a chance to 'try it before they buy it'. So they pick up a gun they think they will probably like. Somewhere between 50-200 rounds they decide they don't really like so they put it up for sale and can advertise the low round count to get as much back as possible.

When you look at the cost of renting guns at most ranges, it's not an entirely flawed system - especially if you have been at least able to handle the gun first to rule out ones that don't even fit your hand.

[CC Italian]

I stopped counting a long time ago. Especially with my Glocks. I would bet I have over 20,000 rounds now through my Glock 27.

[SATX-Scrub]

I'm not saying I keep a spreadsheet on round count or anything, but I thought it might come in handy someday and it gives me something to do when there's nothing on HBO.

I will not confirm nor deny the existence of the aforementioned spreadsheet.

[Madbull]

....I will not confirm nor deny the existence of the aforementioned spreadsheet.

I like you........