[Hal8000]

How many rounds does it take to make a P99 malfunction?

I'm curious as to what the P99's limit really is. Has anybody pushed this baby...
On my carry piece, I never let it get, or at least stay dirty for a minute. But, I'm thinking about pushing one by not cleaning it for a year or so. (of course, not one I'd be reallying on for protection)
What have you experienced? What is the most rounds you've put down range through your P99 without a cleaning?

 

[Jake Starr]

There was someone who posted how he had pushed his P99, I think, about 2-300,000 rds before something broke down. I can't remember who it was....

 

[Hal8000]

That sounds about right for mechanical failure, or actual breakage, but I'm referring more to a jam, or something similar caused by fouling... If I were to just guess, I'd guess a couple of thousand rounds. Of course some ammunition is dirtier than others, and for what I'm talking about, the dirtier the better....

 

[jgilbertson]

Last year, I conducted an unscientific test on my P99. I shot a good deal of IDPA matches with my P99AS, caliber 9mm. It is a date code AB model - year of manufacture is 2001.

At the beginning of the year, I thoroughly cleaned it, then used some good lithium grease on the barrel and slide rails. For the rest of the year, I never once cleaned it. I used Olympic 124g FMJ pretty much exclusively, and never had one issue. I guess I put at least 2,000 rounds through it, perhaps more.

I finally acquiesced and cleaned it at the end of the year - felt kinda bad for it.

No problems with it whatsoever.

I'm very happy with it, naturally.

-Jeff

 

[Hal8000]

That speaks well for the P99 jgilbertson, as Olympic is a dirty round. I sure can understand how you would have to break down and clean it, it must of been pretty nasty. Yet, no FTF! Thanks for posting, I was hoping to hear something like that.

 

[mbf5482]

this got me thinking, You hear all these people saying how you can beat the hell out of a glock. They say you can put sand down the barrel, will fire under water, can run over it with your car, just about anything and the glock will still fire. Now I dont know how much of this stuff is true but if it is do you think the P99 would handle all this?

 

[Hal8000]

Yes! Glocks are good guns, I own one, but I think a P99 can do anything a Glock can do, maybe even better...
The P99 has second strike capability, that NO Glock has. In my books, that is worth carrying a P99 over a Glock alone...
For me, my P99 is more comfortable in the hand, has better point characteristics, the trigger is safer and has a better pull, and is flat more sexy than a Glock...
There is a DVD out there that puts the P99 through a torture test and it passes with flying colors. Someday, I'd like to get one so I can see for myself. Most of these DVD's are made by the manufacturers so I figure they are all biased, but it would still be cool to see....

 

[onebigcubano]

Most of those 'run it over with a car' tests sound very intimidating. I have never heard any stories where someone ran over their gun with a car and the grip or slide actually broke. Has anyone tested various guns and parts to see which actually have better material properties? No.

What I would like to see are manufacturer warranty or problem claim rates. Do these exist for guns like they do for cars? No. We as gun owners are stuck with hear say, guesstimates and what tests a handful of people decide to post online like the G21 guy on GlockTalk who dropped his gun from an airplane and it still worked. Then there is the story of a convience store clerk who limpwristed his Glock and it jammed on the first round and he got shot in return (or whatever it was). So now maybe the strong springs that make Glocks last so long make it work too good for the shop clerk... and around and around it goes.

My p99 never jammed with clean ammo. I once mistakenly used a round with some sort of junk around the bullet/casing area which on any gun would not allow it to chamber. So that first time I used my 'double strike' capability which of course did nothing. Using good ammo is more important than relying on 'double strike' in the hope the round fires the second time. Has anyone done 'double strike' tests with crap ammo to see how often this works? No. But having double strike is nice anyway.

 

[Jake Starr]

Yeah a few of us have the P99 DVD. I have a copy. It is pretty cool and somewhat corny but heah...P99 in mud, sand, ice, underwater and even dropped from a helicopter. But as to just how rough you can get with a P99 well that would take a few years in the military and in the hands of the police to really give us a good test. Unless all of us chipped in some money and someone buy a pistol and put it through the mill and then post the results on the web…now there is an idea. You can send your money to me.

 

[uncut]

I too have the DVD.....
As Jakestarr said.... it is corny at times... but non the less it is about real tests done ......
I guess this will sound like a broken record to some now.... some might not know it at this point though.....
The torture tests on German guns like Walther and H&K are done in order for the gun to make it to a police trial.....
Soooo you all know why those P7's P5's P225's(P6) and some other German guns are all well built machines....
Without a drop test... no gun will be allowed "to do policework" in Germany... so thats why the gun fell out fo the helicopter...yadayadayada...

Glock users who abuse their guns like some do on videos show nothing to me than that they are unmature and should not have the right to carry.....A Handgun is a tool, which should be taken care of since your own and other peoples live depend on it.... and for anybody to bragg how much their Glocks take is just silly to me since non would carry a weapon like that for selfedenfense. Yea guns get dirty in real combat... but there you only use the handgun till you can get to a long-gun... Is there any military unit that issues a Glock

 

[Hal8000]

Quote[/b] (onebigcubano @ Sep. 30 2006,8:56)]Has anyone done 'double strike' tests with crap ammo to see how often this works? No.  But having double strike is nice anyway.

Yes! It's a great feature! Over the years, I've had badly seated primers fail to go off on numerous occasions. Some of the stuff was my reloads, and some of it was the cheap stuff you can buy OTC. Not just in my P99, but my Sig's too... If you've shot the "cheap stuff" very much, you've experienced it (a dud)... In almost every case, with the second trigger pull, it will go "bang".
Dud's happen very seldom with the "better" stuff, but all it has to do is to happen at the "wrong" time and your toast... With the "second strike capable pistol", all you have to do is pull the trigger again and your good to go...
I'll not buy another pistol that does not have the double strike capability. Since it's a rather smart feature to have on a defensive weapon, and CAN be part of it's design, to do other wise is fool hardy in my opin...

 

[stunksinatl]

+1

I've never had a bad primer on centerfire ammo, but when firing the good 'ol P22, sometimes you get a good dent on the rim, but no bang. A second DA pull usually fires the round chambered. Convenient!

-D

 

[fryeg7]

i would guesstimate a P99 would take slightly less fouling and crud before a malfunction than a comparable glock model. this is simply because P99's are 'tighter' than glocks, which are notoriously 'loose' to improve reliability by design. glocks are the AK's of the pistol world, not the most refined, accurate or aesthetically pleasing firearms out there, but purpose-built and great at their designed task.

i think P99's are inherently more accurate and a better-feeling shooter than a glock because of the tighter manufacturing tolerances.

shooting a P99 feels good (although not as good as a CZ ), shooting a glock makes me want to shoot something else

.

that being said, P99's are reliable and well-built enough for any 'duty' and a much more enjoyable pistol than glocks on so many levels.

frye

 

[InfernoMDM]

Quote[/b] (fryeg7 @ Oct. 10 2006,9:28)]i would guesstimate a P99 would take slightly less fouling and crud before a malfunction than a comparable glock model.  this is simply because P99's are 'tighter' than glocks, which are notoriously 'loose' to improve reliability by design.  glocks are the AK's of the pistol world, not the most refined, accurate or aesthetically pleasing firearms out there, but purpose-built and great at their designed task.

i think P99's are inherently more accurate and a better-feeling shooter than a glock because of the tighter manufacturing tolerances.  

shooting a P99 feels good (although not as good as a CZ ), shooting a glock makes me want to shoot something else

.

that being said, P99's are reliable and well-built enough for any 'duty' and a much more enjoyable pistol than glocks on so many levels.

frye

I'll beg to differ with you on this point. Take some Tetra grease and put it around the Glock's fire pin safety, and watch it go from a safe action glock to a don't drop me glock. The walther is more resilent and will keep the safety fully extended from the slide. Maybe its a stronger spring or some design feature that prevents it from gooing up.

Not to mention I have seen the fireing pin channel literally caked full of sand on several occasions. This created light primer/ no primer strikes. I can only guess that comes from its larger hole. What is worse that a Walther went through the same thing and didnt jam up.

Now the big issue with walther are the magazines will rust on a moments notice.

Just food for thought, but I would rather abuse a glock then a walther.