Guardian Love & Hate

chieft 123 · March-07-23 17:03

Greetings. I have Two Guardian pistols. The .380 and the .32 acp. The .380 has been a great gun. Reasonably accurate. Reliable. Love it. The .32 on the other hand is the proverbial " jamomatic". Have tried all kinds of ammo. Silvertips, Remington, Federal, PMC. 4 different mags. Lucky to get two mags before a failure to feed malfunction results. I've a total of at least 400 rounds through it. Not a break-in issue. Never made it through 20 rounds without a feeding jam. The pistol has made 2 separate trips to NAA for warranty repair. Still jams. So far, they've change out two different springs. Recoil and Hammer. So says the repair paperwork. Anyone else experience live round "Tip up" failure to feed stove pipe issues? If so, How did you fix it?

bearcatter · March-08-23 16:03

I have been recently elected the Grand Poobah of Guardians here, but I'm no help on this. I've got two .32 Guardians, well broken in, and have never had a fail to feed.

You've had yours back to NAA twice. Their CS is normally outstanding, and needing even two trips back to solve a problem is rare.

FWIW, my ammo stash is Aguila, PMC, and PPU. I've shot a box or two of Remington and Fiocchi. All 71 grain FMJ. If you're shooting anything but FMJ, that could feed less positive.

chieft 123 · March-08-23 21:03

I feel honored you reply in person. lol. Yes two trips. Printing a label for a third trip tonight. I told them last trip. I live on an Island. Its a sixty mile round trip for me to drop off at FED X. Only H.P. I've tried were silvertips & Hornady. I've many boxes of .32 to choose from. Have two other .32's. Keltec P32 and Seecamp. Tried Remington, Fiocchi & PPU full metal jackets as well. Pistol not picky. It doesn't like anything. Starting to lose confidence in NAA gunsmith. Last return trip. I wrote a lengthy DETAILED description of the problem. GUARANTEE they did not shoot more than a couple rounds. It's NEVER shot more than 3 mags without a jam. Usually jams every other mag. Spoke to the gunsmith today. Offered to pay whatever ammo cost. For god sake shoot more than 3 rounds! Seems as though customer service has changed since Sandy left. I've got too much invested in this pistol just to sell it off. Cutom holsters and grips. Extra magazines. Besides. This Pistol has NEVER functioned. It's the company's responsibility to deliver a functional product. Lifetime warranty means nothing if they can't fix what they sell.

bill_deshivs · March-08-23 22:03

Let someone else shoot it.
Your grip may be wrong.

chieft 123 · March-08-23 22:03

Others have. It jams. I also have a guardian .380 and Seecamp .32. My grip is fine. Those guns function 100%.

chieft 123 · March-08-23 23:03

I've already tried different magazines. Tried Wolf + 5% springs in the magazine. The recoil and hammer spring been changed by NAA. Considering ordering an extractor and spring. Easier and cheaper than making another sixty mile trip to FED X.

dinooch · March-09-23 05:03

I was having reliability issues with my Guardian 32 acp when I first got it (used). I now use exclusively 71gr fmj round nose the flat points are a not 100% and I haven't even tried the Silvertips or Hydrashocks I have in stock. Gotta hang on tight to that sucker like your life depends on it (it kinda does) and it shoots 100% in the 3 trips to the range since the first trip where I was having issues. The Grand Poobah was very helpful as well as many others in offering sound advice. I want to avoid rim lock and lack of penetration so FMJ is the way to go. If your gun is truly a lemon NAA should make it right by replacing it. We all wish you good luck.

chieft 123 · March-09-23 12:03

Thanks yes. Agree. Those tiny pistols. Gotta hang on. Even the slightest limp wrist absorbs too much recoil energy so the slide may not cycle properly. I've got AT LEAST 400 rounds through the guardian .32. Never more than 2 mags with ANY AMMO before it jams. My Seecamp only cycles hollow points UNDER a certain OAL. The Seecamp shoots old style Silvertips and PMC 60 grain HP flawlessly. My Guardian .380 eats anything.

RogueTS1 · March-10-23 09:03

QuoteMy Guardian .380 eats anything.

Cannot speak for the .32 Guardian; do not have one. Can speak for the .380 Guardian and it eats everything we feed it.

autofull · April-06-23 10:04

both mine are very old but work great, heavy though.

chieft 123 · May-12-23 22:05

NAA sent me a new replacement Guardian last week. Shot it yesterday. Flawless. Sixty rounds. Two different brands of Ammo. Not a hiccup. Glad I rode it out. NAA Made it right. To have sold off the problem pistol would have just pissed off the next owner. Maybe one of you guys. lol.

bearcatter · May-13-23 11:05

Nice to hear another happy owner of the best pocket pistol there is ..

What ammo did you use? My stash consists of Aguila, PMC, and Prvi Partisan (PPU). I can't tell any difference, except the Aguila is more dirty. In about 200 rounds of each I've had 2 duds, both PMC.

PPU is Serbian just like my Zastava pistols, so I save it for them. ..

chieft 123 · May-13-23 19:05

PPU 71 grain FMJ and Fiocchi 73 grain FMJ. I also have Some silver tips and PMC 60 grain I save for my Seecamp .32. Have not tried in the Guardian.

bearcatter · May-18-23 10:05

I have a box of the same Fiocchi that I haven't tried. Went in the big box one time, and they actually had one box of .32 ACP on the shelf. That one.