[Guest]

I took my newly acquired Smith and Wesson 3914 to the range today after installing Hogue grips. I shot 50 rounds through the gun 2 days ago and all went without a hitch. I took the gun home, cleaned it with gun scrubber and applied mil-tec for the lubrication. Today when I shot the pistol it started to bind after a few magazines. Thinking that I had broken something when I installed the grips, I had the range officer (who is a Smith armorer) take a look at the pistol. He determined that I must have blown all the lubricant out of the internals of the pistol with the gun scrubber. (I should have thought of that). He did tell me that the pistol hadn't really been broken in yet. He said that aluminum alloy and carbin steel pistols need more of a break in period than stainless steel pistols. Since this is the first pistol of this type that I can remember ever owning it wasn't something that I was familiar with. My Glocks and Sigs have always seemed to work well with little shooting and then when the round count got over 200 it was a moot point. What are some of your thoughts? Do aluminum and carbon steel pistols usually need a manditory break in period so that the parts can rub themselves into a pattern that allows them to run smoothly?

p.s. after running about 200 rounds through it today it does seem to function more smoothly now that it has been cleaned a lubricated (not with the mil-tec).

 

[Flyer]

Never heard of a steel/aluminum break-in period.
And, I don't care WHO'S a Certified "Brand X" Armorer. At one point these guys feel they've amassed so much gun knowledge they appoint themselves "Gun Gurus to the Gods"... and that's when I stop listening to them. Similiar to a lot of gun writers.
There hasn't been a problem with galling - the so-called "break-in" period - for stainless steel for over twenty years, when gun manufacturers learned that all they had to do to prevent it was use a slightly different alloy for the slide and frame.
I've NEVER heard of a break-in requirement for a aluminum-frame pistol. Go all the way back to the Smith 39 and the Colt Commander, the very first aluminum framed pistols on the market. They worked just fine.
Sounds like a load of bull to me.
Flyer

 

[Guest]

well, it does seem to run alot better after running approximately 200 rounds through it. a through cleaning and lubricating has it feeling much better when the slide is hand cycled. i think that i blew all of the lubrication out of it with the gun scrubber and then didn't apply enough to the needed areas when i put it back together. another range session without any problems and it will become a carry piece.

 

[packin heat]

i dont know much about guns, but dont most guns work better after running some rounds thru them? just like engines have break in periods, and other things?

 

[Guest]

Well yes and no. Some, in my experience require alot of break in and others run fine "right out of the box". Some say that every gun requires a standard break in period of X amount of rounds. With my Kel-Tec's I ran several hundred rounds through them before I carried them. With my Sig's and Glock's I only ran a box or so through them initially before I started carrying them without any problems. Eventually their round count became greater than 1,000 so the break in period was a moot point. With this particuliar smith and wesson however, I ran 50 rounds through it without any problems and then cleaned it. I did use gun scrubber, which has been known to dry out a gun. I am convinced that this was the problem and not so much a "break in" problem. As I can't remember ever owning this combination of metals in a gun before I was curious if anyone was familiar with a break-in period.

 

[packin heat]

ah i see. yeah sounds like you got it figgered out.