What are the most reliable, trust-with-your-life firearms out there?

[richthe1]

I tried this post in the Bear Pit first but didn’t get any serious responses so I thought I’d try it again. What are the most reliable, trust-with-your-life firearms out there? From what I’ve read it sounds like these would be some of the top contenders:

Handgun: Glock 19

AR-15: Lewis Machine and Tool CQB, Knights Armament Company SR-15 Mod 3

AK-47: WASR-10, Arsenal SAM7

Shotgun: Benelli M2, Benelli M4, VEPR-12

Precision Rifle: Accuracy International AX/AXMC/AXSR, Barrett MRAD

 

[Centuriator]

Handguns:
Glocks (pick one). My favorite is the Glock 34 Gen 5. They no longer have that stupid cut out on the slide. Excellent fighting handgun. I would stick with 9mm models.

Shotgun:
Mossberg 590A1 pump, any flavor. I prefer the Magpul edition. 8+1 capacity. Great ergos.

Rifle
Colt 6920 SOCOM AR-15

For reaching out and touching someone:
LMT MWS Rifle in .308

If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one of these up, so choice:

 

[Huskydriver]

Two words: Yeet Cannon

 

[Steel head]

Pretty hard to beat a glock 19 and quality AR15.

 

[Rocketvapor]

Is being able to fire inside the house a requirement?

 

[WeiserBucks]

Anything can be fired inside a house. If you need to defend yourself and your family do it .

 

[acudaowner]

the smith 52 in 38 special is a blast the smith k-38 might be my favorite target revolver closely followed by the 686 but in truth I want them all .

 

[shoobe01]

I own (long term... couple projects still around) zero guns that are unreliable. Have purged many that had issues, even if in retrospect I vaguely loved them, then I recall how they failed me, frustratingly.

Notably reliable (no stoppages aside from being dirty, ever) things I own:

• S&W 5946 (3rd gen S&W 9mm). Failed about 10% of the time when the extractor broke after 10 years of service
• S&W M&P 9 Pro x2 (1 is CORE also)
• Star M243 (NP3'd)
• Mossberg 590A1. Have had 4 of them. Only one that stopped had a firing pin in 3 pieces, still fired 80% of the time
• FAL. Officially Century STG on Imbel gear logo receiver, but a lot of Belgian or other good parts added over time, assembled by people who know what's up.
• SIG 556/551
• HK33 (officially a Century C93, but always worked and several junky or modded-for-semi bits replaced with good HK93 parts)
• Both my ARs, and the uppers in all three calibers, but they are so put together from (good!) parts, hard to suggest anyone follow that exact path so just, as above "quality" ARs. Well lubed or else.

I have, on the other hand, never had a reliable 1911. Had two. Returned for factory service, gone over by Gunsite smiths. Meh.

Glocks with ANY aftermarket parts that have anything to do with fire control, esp barrels, are a 1911 level nightmare.

 

[MadDuner]

“I want them all”

No truer words were ever spoken....

 

[Sincerd]

Kac & lmt are good choices.

Everyone may not agree but I've had luck w a mcx virtus. Never even a hiccup. Had close to 4k without a cleaning before I broke down and cleaned it and it wasent bad at all. Sub moa with 2 non match factory loads. Trust my life with it any day.

 

[MACHTECH]

Benelli SBE with a backpack full of Winchester 3 1/2" #4 buckshot.

 

[Healy]

Sig 220 or 226
Glock 19
Beneli M4
FN Scar 17
Ai axcs

 

[Rangemaster]

Any type of six shooter with good ammo will almost never let you down. 357, 44 or judge with buck shot.

 

[Lil Casino]

Hard to beat a wheel gun! Older 686s from the Performance Center are super smooth with nice triggers. Personally though, I use H&K either USPs or P30 series in LEM variants. Could never get into the striker fired pistols.

 

[Nik H]

I'm in

Pistols - HK all the way....even though they hate you
Street-sweepers - Benelli or Remington
AR15 - LWRC, Larue or KAC
AR10 - Larue or KAC
Bolt - All things named AI...I use an AT and AXMC since I am LH and need a long and short action
Rimfire - All things Annie

 

[ZiaHunter]

If I only had one firearm the choice would be a S&W 686 Plus.

 

[candyx]

Crate of M67's

 

[ddavis]

Revolvers are super reliable, just don't flip the cylinder open too hard, drop them, etc. I'm surprised to see so many recommend them. A $500 pistol (Glock, M&P, etc) is going to be more reliable than a revolver at any cost and most of them are stupid overpriced.

 

[LeftyJason]

Anything can be fired inside a house. If you need to defend yourself and your family do it .

Anything can be fired inside a house... once.

 

[x_789]

Glock

 

[captainmorgan460]

Very hard to resist the HiPoint C9, Rem 1100 12ga, Century Arms WASR10 post. But in all seriousness Glock 19, BCM 11.5, Benelli 12 ga, Accuracy International. Never had to bet my life on a firearm, but those would be my picks.

To note, I would bet these days there are more malfunctions due to not quality ammo rather than poor firearms. Especially handguns and shotguns. I would NOT pick remington or winchester ammo for anything.

 

[opeagle]

G19
870
6920

done right there

 

[UpSideDown]

Almost any AR-15 that is in spec with a good quality barrel, gas block and BCG, and that has been broken in.
Any 9mm non-Subcompact Gen3 or Gen5 Glock that has been broken in.

And ammo that is reliable with the gun.

Nothing that includes the name "Remington" made within my lifetime or "Freedom Group"

 

[BoomerC]

G17
M&P 9

any bolt gun in the safe.

Benelli M1 H&K import. It survived its test and I’m still here.

 

[101stinfantry]

Which ever one is within reach when you need one.

 

[bfk4lyfe]

Did this post get lost on the way to barfcom?

Glock 17/19
BCM 11.5"
AI AT

 

[tnichols]

Glocks (plural, that haven’t been dicked with)
Remington 870’s (yet I love my 1187 Police)
GAP10 or M1A
AK47’s and AR15’s (that haven’t been dicked with...too much ?)
AI for bolt guns (built to run in austere environments)

 

[Krazy_jim]

Bolt gun.. cheap tikka .308, or expensive TRG/AI
Shotgun.. pump action 12g. My benelli super nova has not had a single hickup. Wouldnt go semi auto, i like the pump.
Pistol.. cz75 in 9mm

 

[BAMCIS]

870 Wingmaster 12ga
2 other barrels,,21",,,28"
Velcro,,shell cards,,2 xtras
Metro sights,,Surefire
Houge forearm,, Magpul stock
Never jambs,,
2 3/4 can always be found

1gen Vaquero .45lc
Combined with Marlin .45lc

 

[Pappakap]

I’d be my Gen 3 Glock 17 and my 16” SR15. If I have my long range shit out I think I’d have to re-evaluate how real the immediate threat to my life is as I’m holding for a 500 yard shot.

 

[ggmanning]

HK USP
Benelli Super 90
LMT AR-15 also like the Tavor X-95....not as accurate as the LMT but mine has run and run and run and for what I use them for it's been flawless..

 

[RobbinsHGray]

Trust your life. What is happening? Do I have to use ammo I pick up or can I use my ammo?

If I can use my ammo.

JP AR10 in 308 16 inch barrel FGMM broken in (2K+ rounds 0 failures of any kind) 7.5 lbs all in.

Wilson Combat Super Grade 1911 in 45 ACP. (3K+ rounds 0 failures of any kind) Many different kinds of ammo I have plenty of.

Broken in and understanding what you have is important. Every manufacturer has a lemon now and then even Glock.

Practice Practice Practice.

 

[Shawn1492]

Where is the live for the Beretta 92?

 

[Centuriator]

Fun thread...as I suspected it is crazy all over the place.

I'll say this too.

Most every truly MAJOR brand of firearm is going to be reliable out of the box.

IF YOU DO YOUR PART...cleaning, lubrication, storage in low humidity.

 

[Son of Dorn]

If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one of these up, so choice:

View attachment 7265226

When you own one of those, you never fire it. You just rub it with a diaper.

 

[308pirate]

My CZ handguns (P-01, P-09, P-10) have proven to be so reliable that I will gladly use any of them to fight for my life.

My LMT carbine is the same way. So is my beater 870 Express with a cylinder choked 18" barrel.

 

[Strykervet]

I Wanna shotgun, wanna Tavor TS12 because it looks like it'll drop Robocop with one tube, the Terminator with the other and still have five rounds left, doesn't use a box mag, but I'm not all sure it's a better buy than an M4 Super 90.

 

[Progun1911]

CZ P01 / P07 ,Colt 6920, Mossberg 590 ,Tikka CTR 6.5 CM.

 

[chevy_man]

Cz-75 is used the world over for a reason. That said, I've never had a stoppage in my 4" XD 9mm. That gun just runs and runs.


Any tested and lubed ar with decent parts. I've never had issues with any of my mutt builds paying attention to the parts and assembly.


I have no love for AK's. Just horrible ergos and nasty to shoot.

Beretta shotguns with the blink system. I swear they never stop. Ran 5k rounds of trap loads without cleaning and it still ran anything it was fed, and will run slugs or birdshot without changing anything.

Any Remington 700 that's proven. Sloppy enough to run dirty, just don't try and rip the bolt handle off and they're fine.

 

[WtxShooter]

Pistol: Glock for sure, but I’ll admit. I have a thing for HK VP9’s. Just love that gun.

AR’s: judge me all you want, but all my BCM’s have just been amazing. Just tough as hell.

Bolt: Frank sold me. AI AX all day, every day. Best decision I ever made.

Shotgun: Benelli anything. All of them. Lol

 

[Boon20]

M&p 9, ddm4v7, mossberg 590 and rem700 308 because i have them, use them and i trust them and most importantly they work

 

[Mater2009]

Glock? Mossberg? S&w m&p? This is the hide how come everyone moved to the cheap seats. On that note I'll take my colt 1911. Never had any issues even with shit ammo. If there was an issue then its metal and heavy enough to beat someone to death with

 

[MrSmith]

The ones I use and practice with.

Thank you,
MrSmith

 

[Mater2009]

I just figured they didn't think their life was worth more than $500. To protect myself I'd hit them with everything in the safe regardless of cost.

 

[dzander]

HK vp9

 

[Vinootz]

A double barrel shotgun or double barrel rifle are probably the least likely firearms to fail. That’s why many dangerous game guides use them. Ironically a derringer is reliable too. Then you have to figure a revolver. Pump shotguns would be next. Semi autos offer the most firepower. If high capacity is required then you have to opt for the most likely firearm designs to jam which is any automatic. My Glock has stove piped a few. So have most of my other semi auto firearms at one time or another. But never has a revolver malfunctined. Well, actually one has- so even they can. That’s probably why many law enforcement officers have a revolver as a back up and why brown bear hunters have a short barrel magnum strapped across their chest. It’s a trade off. Reliability equals lower capacity. Higher capacity equals greater risk of malfunction.

 

[Hippy_Steve]

 

[SonicBurlap]

Which ever one is within reach when you need one.

...and loaded.

 

[SonicBurlap]

View attachment 7268852

Are you advertising for, or against?

 

[Rerun7]

The name printed on them isn’t as important as using them enough to know they are going to work.

I’ve had more than one “highly reliable” brand of firearm malfunction to the point it needed work. My Glock and Colt AR have thousands of rounds through them and I’ll take them over any other gun you try to hand in in a life or death situation.