gun parts and tools and thinking ahead
I recently got myself into a situation with a CCW gun wear a magazine that was stored for a long time ended up not functioning properly even though the springs in it were fairly new. I believe the Sig 239 pistol magazine had less than 100rds through it when it was left loaded for approximately 2yrs. I’ve heard debates about single stack pistol magazines holding up better than double stack magazines, but I’ve come to the conlusion that it is NEVER a good idea to leave a full loaded rifle or pistol magazine for more than a few months. It’s best to rotate your carry ammo especially if you are cleaning your sidearm fairly often. After about 3 chamberings of any ammo, the ammo really should be used and not loaded back into a firearm. Bullet separation is something that will eventually happen, and the last thing you want your gun to do in a defensive situation is to blow up.
I highly recommend getting a gunsmithing video on dissassembling or assembling your firearms so that you can familiarise yourself with firearm maintenance. A big problem I have run into when doing maintenance is having the right tools to actually take guns apart and replace hammer springs and firing pin springs. A Glock pistol is probable the easier to take apart and for just about $5 you can pick up glock dissasemble tool to replace any Glock parts you think you need replaced. Do a search on youtube to see if you can find any free instructional videos, but also check with AGI or the manufacturer because there’s a good chance something is posted from the factory reps.
We all know that Glocks are tough, I won’t say they are the toughest because there are other guns out there that may be as tough, but they are in the top tier of firearms. We know that everyone likes to talk and argue about all of the flaws in firearms and which guns are more reliable than others. Some handguns are meant for concealment and are not combat worthy and aren’t expect to put 500rds through them without cleaning to function flawlessly.
There seems to be a big transition in the Law Enforcement community to leg holsters. Its kind of funny how the old western look disappeared for a few decades but now it’s back again. If we all road around on horses we’d probable agree that carrying a sidearm on a leg holster is appropriate and its not just for the cool Han Solo look.
There are a lot of Police trade ins and used firearms out there that can be purchased and 30%-40% below what NEW prices are. There are a few online FFL dealers that pick up the police issued Glocks and Sigs and resell them for under $400. I picked up a few that had a lot of holster wear but once I opened the action, they were hardly fired and they ran flawlessy. Most of the time this is the type of condition most Police trade ins are found.
Something like a 1911 has a questionable reliability track record depending on the conditions they are used in and the type of magazines they are using. Pistol magazines have evolved and improved as much as firearms and the reality is metal guns aren’t in the same category as polymer guns just based on lubrication and climate conditions. There are many firearms out there that will function reliable if lubricated properly and cleaned properly, but polymer guns are the future.