Is it luck or do I just know how to care for pistols?

[espacef1fan]

So far I have purchased two pistols that the Internet has said won't work/will be unreliable / etc. I cleaned them upon receiving them and lubricated them. Hundreds of rounds later not a single malfunction. ..

My theory is lubrication is important.

The pistols in question are a Sig 1911 and a Walther PK380

Anyone else have any similar stories?

[wileecoyote]

Congrats on your success and recent acquisitions.

I've worked on literally thousands of guns, and find that almost anything can be made to function reliably given enough effort and attention. Many times its just a proper cleaning and lube, sometimes different ammo or a repair.

But I wouldn't classify a Sig 1911 or PK380 as problematic, those guns run all day long. Try your luck with a Jennings, Lorcin, Bryco, or some of the really old junk guns and see how well you can do. They are still doable but more of a challenge, especially after some idiot has been at them with a dremel or worse. Edited February 18, 2015 by wileecoyote

[hipower]

Lucky...definitely.

"Lucky" in that you not only know how to take care of your firearms, but that you do so.

[espacef1fan]

Congrats on your success and recent acquisitions.

I've worked on literally thousands of guns, and find that almost anything can be made to function reliably given enough effort and attention. Many times its just a proper cleaning and lube, sometimes different ammo or a repair.

But I wouldn't classify a Sig 1911 or PK380 as problematic, those guns run all day long. Try your luck with a Jennings, Lorcin, Bryco, or some of the really old junk guns and see how well you can do. They are still doable but more of a challenge, especially after some idiot has been at them with a dremel or worse.

You may not consider a Sig 1911 or PK380 problematic, but if you searched any reviews of them you swear they are paper weights and that Sig and Walther don't even have a customer service number. Thats what I was kind of referring to, its crazy out here on the internet.....haha. 

 

Thanks on the congratulations, I'm loving these things, I also recently acquired a Taurus PT111 G2... haven't went shooting yet though.

[Fourtyfive]

Read any Taurus reviews lately ?

KY a great lubricant ..... :) Edited February 18, 2015 by Fourtyfive

[NRA]

IMO lub has very little to do with it.

[Fourtyfive]

Depends on the age of the weapon .....

[musicman]

IMO lub has very little to do with it.

I lub my guns. I really do! Since I lub them, they have never given me any problems yet. :-)

[Clod Stomper]

As a friend of mine likes to say, "if ya lub it, lube it. "

[TNWNGR]

My $.02 are its more likely you got good representative product samples, are using ammunition within design parameters and are holding them correctly when shooting them. All guns require lubricant and all manufactures recommend new guns be cleaned and lubed prior to shooting them.

[justinjr21]

My wife got her a PK380 the other day. She brought it home and I showed her how to break it down and lube it up. We then took it to the range the other day and she went thru around 120 or so rounds without an issue. She likes it because it is one that she can rack the slide without it being a .22. It will just take time to see how it holds up. I hope that it is reliable for her.

[K191145]

Congrats on your success and recent acquisitions.

I've worked on literally thousands of guns, and find that almost anything can be made to function reliably given enough effort and attention. Many times its just a proper cleaning and lube, sometimes different ammo or a repair.

But I wouldn't classify a Sig 1911 or PK380 as problematic, those guns run all day long. Try your luck with a Jennings, Lorcin, Bryco, or some of the really old junk guns and see how well you can do. They are still doable but more of a challenge, especially after some idiot has been at them with a dremel or worse.

 

I know people who will never clean or lube a pistol, or run a brush and patch through the barrel and think it's properly cleaned. My brother has a habit of that. Many moons ago he had a cheapo Davis .380, he said he's lucky to get 2 rounds to fire before it malfunctioned. Well I cycled the slide, sounded worse than an old screen door and hard to cycle, not to mention the carbon dust that came out of it. Well I searched on the net at that time and found out how to remove the slide and it was just dry and nasty as i've ever seen a neglected gun. I blasted it with gun scrubber, I scrubbed it with Rem oil, tooth brush, dental pic and a couple of other tools, wiped it all down with rag, Q-tips, patches and lubed every friction area with Outers oil, all the supplies he had in his cleaning kit. I reasembled it and the difference was dramatic. We fired about 6 mags of ball .380 through it without a single malfunction so it's very possible to make even a cheapo run reliable with proper maintenance. I told him since we ran almost a box of ammo through it he needed to clean it again, he said he would "do it later", yea right.