Quote Originally Posted by 1986s4 View Post
I take these "tests" with a grain of salt. Seriously, if one expects that one's pistol might fall out of the holster into the mud please get a L2 retention holster at least. There's a reason the MIL uses a flap holster. I want the most reliable pistol I can get but I also expect to take care of it as well. I saw the MAC test of the USP and to my satisfaction it did pass, which is cool since I have a USP too. I also have a Beretta 92 and a Colt 1911 as well as several revolvers. I know these pistols are unlikely to pass any such tests but used responsibly they are reliable. All of the unreliable Glocks, 1911's, etc., that I have seen in the various competitions I've attended were "tuned" versions using weak ammo. I went on such a journey with my Colt .38 super. I ended up with a pistol that just barely worked and suffered a case head detonation. My lesson; use full power springs capable of cycling through the gunk and use full power ammo capable of cycling those springs. I use a retention holster exclusively, even during rather sedate IDPA competitions. I've seen guys ejected for losing their pistols while moving too many times.
I still enjoy the extreme "tests" for their entertainment value and there are some more realistic tests out there.
Pretty sure I can't find an argument in any of that. I have never experienced a quality (and I don't mean expensive, I mean well made) handgun failure that I can remember. And the vast majority of failures I've seen ultimately came from crappy cheapo mags, amazingly shitty ammo (and I mean using stuff 20 years old from countries you can't find on a map) and my all time favorite aftermarket parts or excessive customizing.

I've seen guys take a perfectly fine 1911 series 70 and "tune" it to the point where it will only feed and cycle their hand loads, nothing else. I understand when experts create a race gun and when Jerry does it I do believe it's done so the gun can keep up with Jerry, but when ordinary shooters build a race gun when they should be building fundamentals, it usually leads to failures on many levels. It's always funny to me when they blame the gun.

Watching guys who have only been shooting 2 years talk about split times, best times is a lot like listening to the guys at the gym talk about how they'd have fought whoever won the UFC last month differently and what they'd have done to be the winner.