Break in ammo

[trikerdon]

Just purchased a 9mm M&P Shield today. The guy who sold the gun to me said not to use HP ammo before shooting a 100 rds or so of ball ammo as it would screw up the ramp. I've never heard of this before. Is there any truth to this?

 

[gonerydin]

No that is BS


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[arhayes]

Shouldn't matter, though I do typically run FMJ thru a new auto before using JHP. That's more me than any tried and true rule, though. Feed ramp shouldn't care which you use.


Alan

 

[coachray]

Shouldn't matter, though I do typically run FMJ thru a new auto before using JHP. That's more me than any tried and true rule, though. Feed ramp shouldn't care which you use.


Alan

Agree. I've never heard that before.

 

[Dad_Roman]

No that is BS

Yea thats BS. Pretty sure those feed ramps are hardened. I dont believe you could hurt them with a ball-peen hammer

What they DO need is around 500 rounds to get broke in. Everything should be smooth as silk by then (so to speak)

Tolerances are pretty close in these Shields and JHP can lend itself to some hangup issues. Better when everything is mated up and broken in. Rare to have an issue then if at all.

I have 4 of em. This is just my experience. YMMV

Oh yea (afterthought) clean yer mags occasionally

 

[MichiganScott]

Find a new gun store. I prefer to shoot a couple hundred rounds of the hollow point ammunition I wish to carry in a self defense gun before I actually carry it. It can get expensive, but best to have confidence in the gun before you carry it.

 

[tbgunner88]

If hollow points were going to mess up the feed ramp, how would 100 rounds of ball help or change that? It's amazing the things people come up with, shoot what you want through your gun and forget what that guy told you.

 

[Ranger17]

I don't follow any "must shoot "x" rounds before its broken in" when I get a new gun; I do tend to first run a few hundred rounds of FMJ thru it for practice and getting used to how it feels and shoots. Then I'll start blending in some HP's to check how they work.

Am I breaking the new gun in? Not intentionally; just what I do on a new toy as I'd rather use cheaper ammo as I get used to it....

 

[Arik]

BS. The ramp is already cut for HP ammo. It's not like ball ammo will somehow mold and form a ramp suitable for HP.

You have a modern gun made to shoot modern ammo.

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[jim46ok]

Somehow he must have mistaken you for gullible. Agreed, get a new GS.

 

[Pisgah]

I hate to shout, but NEVER BELIEVE ANYTHING YOU HEAR IN A GUN SHOP!!!

 

[walkin' trails]

Two 9mm Shields broke in fine with HP ammo. In fact, you'd WANT the gun to be able to run reliably with HP SD ammo. The only reason you'd want to use ball first is because it's cheaper. If you go 300 rounds, including your intended HP self defense load with no hiccups, you could probably judge that the pistol is going to be reliable. Not all GS employees are knowledgeable, and the goal of the business is to make money. Some take this to the extreme. Ironically, I've seen some unlikely store employees at large sporting goods chains know more than some LGS sales staff.

 

[Watchdog]

He just wanted to sell you some hardball.

 

[fiasconva]

My first question would have been "Does the owner's manual say that?"

 

[swsig]

I agree with everything that was said above. My additional advice is to make sure that any HP self-defense ammo you want to use works reliably in your Shield. There is enough variation in Shield feed ramp tolerances that HP ammo that works well in one Shield may not do so well in another. For example, many Shield 9 owners like Federal HST HP ammo. In my Shield 9, 10% of the HSTs I've shot have hung up on the lower lip of the feed ramp causing a failure to feed jam. That's not acceptable for self-defense ammo. Fortunately, Hornady Critical Duty, Speer Gold Dot, and Remington Golden Saber self-defense rounds all work reliably in my Shield, so those are the ones I use. Why don't the HSTs work in my Shield? Beats me. The important thing is that by testing, I've found self-defense rounds that do work.

 

[mnarcher]

Personally, shoot whatever you want, as much as you want, avoiding aluminum and steel case.

Personally, I get new carry guns occasionally, and I do not have the luxury of going out and shooting them first. I load them up and drop them into the holster.

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[Arik]

Steel case works just fine. If your gun happens to not like them then just don't buy them

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[WR Moore]

I generally make it a practice to shoot a couple hundred rounds of ball ammo through a new semi. This is largely to remove minor machining marks or burrs still left on various parts and smooths the bore.

Now if you prefer to do that with JHPs, that's fine.

After I fitted a Bar-Sto to my 1911, that figure went up significantly. Apparently, Bar-Sto barrels are significantly harder than Colt factory.

 

[CB3]

My break in procedure is a Dremel polishing bullet and a couple hours of quality get to know my new gun time. Any minor problems are discovered and fixed. Gun is broken in the first time I fire it.

 

[yep380]

Break-in: clean it, go to the range and shoot it. Hardball 'cause it's cheap, my reloads 'cause they're cheaper, and 100 rounds of whatever I plan on carrying in it... in no particular order.