Cycling carry ammo
How often should I shoot my carry ammo and buy new rounds? I guess the question is how long can I keep my carry ammo without firing it and still be reliable? I use CoBon +P 9mm 124 gr JHP, had them for about 3 years now...
Originally Posted By massmann:
How often should I shoot my carry ammo and buy new rounds? I guess the question is how long can I keep my carry ammo without firing it and still be reliable? I use CoBon +P 9mm 124 gr JHP, had them for about 3 years now...
Ammo doesn't go bad unless it gets corroded when exposed to the elements or stored improperly. (Think ammo sitting on a wet basement floor.) I have carry ammo from several years ago and it looks almost the same as when I originally loaded it in a magazine. However, I shoot self defense carry ammo if/when the bullet starts to suffer from set-back. In my older pistols, a BHP and a G27 about, 10 chamberings of the same round would result in some bullet set-back and I would throw it in with my range ammo for the next range trip. I've since gotten rid of those two pistols. I now carry M&P's which don't seem to cause any bullet set-back no matter how many times I chamber the same round. I carry 180 grain HST's in .40 caliber. My new Springfield Loaded 1911 doesn't seem to cause set-back either. I load it with RA45B's and Winchester PDX-1's, (the same exact round in different packaging.) I don't know if it's because of the pistols, the ammo is crimped better(properly), or its a combination of both. I inspect my carry ammo once a week for set-back especially in the .40 calibers. Anyhow, its been nice not having to buy as much SD ammo as I used to have to.
I shoot up my carry ammo about every three months. But I almost never cycle my gun unless I am shooting.
I am not a believer in emptying a round out of the chamber when I am home, etc. Just leave it loaded and in the holster.
Pretty much weekly.
I've had some carry ammo for probably 2 years or longer. I usually will drop the mag and shoot the one in the chamber if I shoot that gun.
At the PD we shoot ours up once per year. Those pistols get unloaded/loaded very often. The purpose is to shoot up the ammo before setback becomes a problem, but we have never seen any setback issues when shooting up the old duty ammo so we feel that this interval is appropriate for us. My personal HD gun has had the same ammo in it for a couple of years. Probably time to get some new for it.
I've shot 7.62x39 ammo from the 80's without missing a step. I don't know if ammo ever goes bad as long as its stored properly.
Originally Posted By Buffman_LT1:
I've had some carry ammo for probably 2 years or longer. I usually will drop the mag and shoot the one in the chamber if I shoot that gun.
I agree with this.
I generally carry Speer Gold Dots and have found them to exhibit zero bullet setback.
Very pleased with the +P 124 gr GDHPs.
4073
I will shoot the one in the chamber so I guess eventually all of my ammo gets cycled.
I figure every 10-15 years. That's about how long it takes for the ammo companies to come up with a better performing projectile.
In all seriousness ammo does not simply "go bad".
Originally Posted By NVGdude:
I figure every 10-15 years. That's about how long it takes for the ammo companies to come up with a better performing projectile.
In all seriousness ammo does not simply "go bad".
This is true....however, if doing any loading and unloading, bullet setback may take place (and very importantly, light primer strikes occur when loading AR15's. Any ammo that was chambered even once in an AR should be put in the "practice ammo" box and never be relied upon as defensive ammo ever again)
Once it's been chambered, It's better to be on the safe side and just use it for practice with your actual carry ammo.
I have had the same several ammo boxes for a couple years. It still looks like new.....I don't re-chamber rounds though. I don't have any plans on replacing it any time soon either.
Every once in a blue moon I shoot a mag of my defense ammo and I have never had a problem. Unless you have someone else paying for it, or you are made of money, I don't see a reason to cycle through ammo on a regular basis (unless re-chambering rounds).
I function check with carry ammo probably once per year after the original function test.
I typically shoot the two mags I've been carrying and then re load them with stock.
I agree that stored ammo last for a very, very long time. It's ammo that's carried every day in rain, with body sweat evaporating all over it and constantly getting loaded and unloaded that's the issue. It would be almost like saying "I've got loose rounds rolling around the floor mat of my truck. Should I use them for duty rounds?" I realize that not everyone carries their weapon exposed in all sorts of adverse weather all year long day in and day out, but some do. Having said that, it's very rare to see a pistol round go bad, but I've definitively seen rifle rounds go bad from being loaded/unloaded in AR's I think its due to the floating firing pin.
