[This is an excerpt from the new Gun Digest Book of Combat Handgunnery, 7th Edition by Massad Ayoob. This content has been edited for length and clarity to fit this format.]
Whatever pistol you choose to carry, please consider the following: Reliability is the non-negotiable baseline! In contrast to the sporting handgun, the combat handgun is a life-saving emergency rescue tool. It must go bang when you intentionally pull the trigger. This means testing the gun with the loads you intend to use.
RELIABLE
I’ve lived long enough to see premium-brand .357 Magnum revolvers that worked fine with .38 Special ammo lock up solid and unshootable when high-pressure Magnum loads heated up the cylinder enough to expand the gas ring and “jam” them. And I’ve seen premium-brand pistols work fine with round-nose practice ammo but fail to feed with wide-mouth hollownose defense loads.
Different experts with different collective experiences predictably have different standards. Some feel a box of ammo or even one gunload is enough. My own baseline for my personal carry guns is before it joins the battery of firearms that protect my loved ones. Some think that’s optimistic and want to see a thousand rounds go through. We all agree that if the gun malfunctions, we go back to square one and start the test over
