The company I work for issues 1 box of Speer Gold Dot ammunition every six months and requires you to shoot the box you were issued for the previous six months when you do your qualification (I.E they give you a box in January and you shoot it when you qual in June and you’re issued a new box.)

I generally change out my Self Defense Ammunition once a year.

When I was in the Army I was issued ammunition that was decades old and it worked just fine.


So my question is how often do you change out your ammuntion

Once a year for me...at LEOSA quals.

I shoot up ammo that is now at least 8 years old.

Old ammo works just fine.

Be safe.

PS:

If there is anybody who doesn't believe their old ammo is still good please send it to me. I will pay shipping costs.

The rounds in my clips are about 4 yrs old. I guess it might be time to shoot 'em and buy new.

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Not enough space

Every range trip, I put at least 6 rounds of carry ammo through my K frame, 5 through my J frame, 15 through my Beretta bottom feeder. Then I shoot hundreds of reloads. I go to the range twice a week. So a box of 50 38s lasts me about 2 weeks. A box of 50 9mm lasts almost the same.

So four boxes of carry ammo (2x38, 2x9mm) through my guns every month.

Then once or twice a year, I do scenarios with carry ammo where I shoot about 100 rounds per gun (300 total).

That sounds pretty complicated, I guess. Simple answer is I cycle through new carry ammo at least once a month and typically twice a month.

The ammo I'm cycling through might actually be a few years old. I don't buy one box at a time every two weeks. I don't have any problem with ammo sitting on the shelf for a decade or two. But I want to stay current with how and where it shoots/feels etc.


Sgt Lumpy

I've shot some of it that was at least 10 yrs. old & it all worked fine.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

Once a year and I rotate mags every week after each range visit.

I don't see a need for changing ammo. It doesn't go bad.

I shoot my issued "duty ammunition" once a year during my qualifications. Even though my Department shoots qualifications two or more times a year (depending on budget)... the issued duty ammunition is used during only one of them.

The ammunition that I personally buy and carry in my off-duty is used and replaced at least once a year as well.

Are you retired?

Six months poses no danger of the ammo going stale. I've got some Winchester 9 +p+ that was probably made circa 1991 that still works. You should consider that if ammo is bought in bulk, it might sit on the shelf several years before it get issued. I finished up my bulk 22 stocks that I bought in the late 80s, and they were no less reliable than the stuff I've bought recently.

If the boss is giving me a new box every six months, then I guess I'd rotate every six months. Since it comes out of my pocket, there is no schedule and I shoot it when I see fit. There is no timeline involved.

In all my weapons that are used for SD/HD yearly.

As a test last year I left 6 Remington .38 +P 125gr HP's outside on my shooting bench for 1 full year, uncovered and fully exposed to the elements.

And then fired each and everyone of them from a Model 10-6.

Test complete.

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Take your time..quickly.

Prior to retirement from LE, we rotated ammo at each quarterly qual for both shotgun and handgun. Since retiring I shoot my carry ammo whenever I take those weapons to the range to exercise them. Under HR218 I qualify once per year and I do shoot it and rotate in new stuff then.

Don't be confused by the life of military ammunition. USGI ammo has the bullet sealed with asphaltum glue and the primers are crimped in and lacquered over the edges in order to make them waterproof. For all intents and purposes they are. I shot 30-40 Krag ammo my great uncle was issued in 1917 when he was an aircraft mechanic in France and it went bang. That was in the 70's when it was over 50 years old. The military used to have everything engineered for long life and kept everything around. For example when I was in AIT in 1967 we were issued C rations that had "green" lucky strikes in them for our field meals. Just for info lucky strike turned their pack from Red/Green to Red/white and Blue in 1942 when "lucky strike goes to war." Those meals were definitely old but you could eat and survive on them.

I change mine out about every month or two. Not because I feel a need to change but rather that I just want to fire a mag of my carry ammo ever so often. I fire what I have in my carry mag and then reload mag with more carry. I use my other mags for target ammo.

I try to go to the range about once or twice a week. I'm retired and live less than 10 min. from the range. Normally, I'll shoot 25-50 rounds each trip. Works out to about a box a week. I feel if I shoot much more than that I'm just throwing lead and wasting money. Fun, but expensive. Lately because of back/leg issues I haven't been able to go but a couple of times a month.

I change my elf defense ammo every time I go to the range. My first shots are from the mags I carry.

The issue with ammo is not age, but how much it has been handled.

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Freedom isn't free.

About every month or so. The magazine in the gun is the first one I shoot, and I get the satisfaction of knowing my ammo works fine and my magazine isn't worn and my gun operates fine. I have no reason to suspect old worn stuff but I'm ever so slightly paranoid so the what if's set in and I go shooting

the original point and click interface, by Smith and Wesson

I do the same. I empty the gun downrange, just for piece of mind, then in goes the spare mag, or the mags I use for practice ammo. The Kel-tec 380 is fired 7 times. Thats usually enough!

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Because of the metric system?

Every time that a gun gets to the range the defence ammo loaded in it gets run through it. For some guns in the safe that can take a while, but generally it never takes more than a year to cycle them trough the rotation.

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Regards,
Guy-Harold Smith II

This
I will shoot a mag of it when I pick up a new box but generally I swap out to range ammo ammo and reload the defense stuff when finished.
I do shoot my carry gun at least a couple mags thru it every time I go shoot.
Ammo doesnt spoil heck I just shot some 30-30 shells a couple weeks ago that were over 60 yrs old. Every single one went bang and some looked pretty ugly as in the brass was anything but shinny. If the stuff has been properly stored and handled it will work just fine.

Oh great. Here I was, finally coming to terms with the idea that zombies might some day attack. Now I've got to worry about elves as well?


Sgt Lumpy

Hey those elves can be nasty little buggers. Plus, they're small targets. Need lots of practice for them.

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Freedom isn't free.

I change out the chambered shell out most frequently. I worry about dead primers from the firing pin channel leaking oil. I had a super close shot at buck one season with my 1911 and it went click instead of bang multiple times. That started me rotating out the chambered shell in my carry guns and being very careful about getting all the oil out of the firing pin channel.

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This≠DodgeCity&You≠BillHickok

The Local PD went to S&W 45's in the late 80's. All ammo was changes out every 6 months, this included the 3-50 round boxes in each cruiser. I had a 5 gal. bucket of this ammo. They changed from 230 Federal Hydo-Shoks to some LE Speer HP, I had Speer changed out ammo. 5 shooters couldn't group less than 18" at 25 yards from a rest (the guns usually shot in the 2" range with SD ammo) I got word to the OD Ordinance guys, they tested some, called Speer, the there was a big recall (including my bucket full) The PD went back to Federal. Nobody had been shooting the factory ammo to qualify (twice a year) or for practice. 1500 officers X 4 boxes ammo X 2 times a year = 12000 boxes a year (And nobody knew it was junk?) Ivan

Since retiring, and for 45 years of my personal gun, once a year. Never had an issue.

Every week when I shoot it.

I normally only change out my self defense ammo when I go to the range and practice. Usually once a week, but it always gets put back in for the ride home.

Tom Givens at Rangemaster says it should be changed every six months.

See his Rangemaster newsletter, February 2013.

http://rangemaster.com/publications/...uary-2013.html

I change out all my sd/hd ammo every 6 months.i buy twice as much as i need to fill my handguns and at least one extra mag each.shoot half for reliability and load up the rest.My 5.56 and 12g ammo is cycled every month.Speer gold dots for my handguns and whatever in the long guns,they eat anything.

Once a year for 38 years. No failures yet. I have fired ammo (including Military & non Military) that was older than me (60) and it all worked just fine. The only reason I'd change it out sooner is if it were to get wet.

The only time I might want to change out my SD ammo is if a round is chambered numerous times. It starts to develop scratches on the case and the rim gets chewed up fro the extractor. Also, after a while, it can develop bullet set-back. I will shoot those rounds or discard them if have any set back. Other than that, it's good forever.

With a revolver, you really don't have any of those problems, tho.

Yep -- My experience also. I leave my USP 40 cal mags loaded all the time and rarely change ammo. Except for the chambered round I don't worry about them at all.

If they didn't cost $1.50 apiece, I'd shoot more of them more often.

I recently shot some of my 357 reloads from the early 70s that had been exposed to temperatures from -37 up to maybe +105 for over 40 years. No problem.

I'm not recommending how I do it to others -- It just works for me.

No, not elves to.

Yearly....SD ammo for a retired guy is just to danged expensive to shoot up willie-nillie. Plus I have plenty of reloads for target and practice work.
I know ammo does not go stale, heck I have '06 rounds for the M-1 Garand made during the Korean war...they shoot just fine.

Could not find that info in the newsletter that I downloaded.

Be safe.

every time I go to the range I shoot what I have in my BG380 and then when I am done I reload one mag with SD ammo

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carpe diem
one day at a time

I change mine once a month. Actually I expire the whole box every month.

And of course I also clean my carry weapon once a week. Even if it hasnt been fired any. I just hate to have a dirty weapon. Either from burnt powder or from the lint on my clothes.

carry ammo, specifically that what lives in my mags being carried, gets rotated every year.
This is then replaced out of my reserve stock which is about 4 years old now.
Due to reasonably decent storage, I've fired ammo that was older than I was, with absolute reliability.
Its the stuff you lived with in the heat, cold, wet and sweat that might flake out on you.

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it just needs more voltage

About every six months, but I'm still not sure that's necessary.

Nothing is absolutely reliable. Ammo that gets handled a lot falls into the same category as that which sees a lot of climate change.

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Freedom isn't free.

I just can't resist...........
Clips go in a woman's hair

Magazines go in a gun

Once a year when the gun range opens in the spring I shoot what I have been carrying.

Really? How do you load an M1 Garand?

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Retired Career Security Guard

I shoot the cheap stuff at the range, and keep the good self defense ammo for my carry and my home defense gun. Since quality factory ammo will last almost forever I see no need to change it out unless I shoot the good stuff once in awhile. I have heard about folks shooting 45acp ammo that was almost 100 years old and had no problems with it.

Never. It all goes bang, every time.

Cherrs;
Lefty

Magazines are for reading. Larry