During our semi annual qualifications our agency would issue us fresh (new) carry ammo annually. That's been my practice into retirement, but now it's on my dime and very pricey. I shoot the old carry ammo to test POI/POA, as well as my tolerance for the recoil. How often do most of you change out your carry ammo?

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

Once a year,when I qualify for record, unless there is a good reason to do it more often. The ammo you actually carry on you will almost certainly be the crappiest ammo you own as it is handled, bounced around, cycled and exposed to body oil, weather, etc. Once a year is reasonable and prudent in most environments.

My practice is the same as yours, and for the same reason. Old habits die hard. I should probably do the same with my house gun, but haven't recently.

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I need ammo, not a ride.

Bimonthly for me, I usually just use 20 round boxes though. It is kind of expensive but keeps me and the guns busy and clean. I find it way to easy to put off going to the range with my busy schedule, and that way I have to go at least once a month.

I don't change my carry ammo. Because I shoot the same handload for practice as I use for edc or hunting, I just shoot it and if I'm running low, load some more.

That said, I've never seen 'old' ammo perform poorly unless the ammo is bad to the naked eye: eg corrosion visible, bent case etc

Since I have a fair number of loaded rounds on hand at any given time, what I'm carrying on any given day may have been hand loaded some time ago.

I've shot a bunch of WW II 45 ball ammo without a single failure. Can't tell the difference between that 60-70 year old ammo and brand new ball ammo.

I think the only beneficiary of buying new ammo annually, changing out duty ammo is the ammo manufacturer.

Based on my experience, the ammo you bought last year will be just fine long after you no longer care.

If it gets cycled then two times and it goes to the practice pile,in the mags?

Well......I have some Rem 124gr rounds in my SD9VE mags that I've had since 2008? or maybe nine,I forget.

Generally if I shoot it I replace it,I sometimes go months before I use a given mag even years at times and I never pay attention.

Those Rem shells have been in several pistol mags over the years and back then I had seven or eight loaded at a time so they never got used.

And I fired some a month ago,stuff still works fine.

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Life's a grave,dig it!

I don't "replace" my carry ammo, but I do shoot the round in the chamber when I go to the range and replace it with a fresh round after cleaning the gun.

Same deal for ammo in my house gun. It's just not shot as frequently.

You are the first LEO that I have seen use hand loads for EDC.

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Stay protected my friends.

I do the same .. shoot the chambered round every time I go to the range .. and then rotate the ammo in the magazine where the last in is last shot .. so my 40 Compact with 13 rounds might take 3-4 weeks in the summer and several months during the winter when I don't seem to get to the indoor range as often .. I have spare magazine's that have been loaded for several years .. like the one in the night stand drawer ..

With a six round revolver I change out after firing the sixth shot.

Same here. The spare mag in my glove box and in the nightstand drawer have been loaded for years.

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Stay protected my friends.

2 times a year.

I just shot my EDC 147gr Federal HST's after about 6 months of carry IWB in South Carolina. The warm humid environment and method of carry expose the ammo to enough moisture that the copper jacket of the hollow point bullet leaches green corrosion after a few months.

I empty the SD mag and wipe the ammo monthly. The last time I did that, there was green oxidization on two rounds, so they got shot today.

I don't change anything. Next time I go to the range I'll shoot it and then reload the magazine with SD ammo.

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Jorge

Are you considering switching to OWB, or other steps to extend the useful life of your ammo? Or are you like many who just consider it the "cost of doing business"?

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Stay protected my friends.

I OWB when the weather cools off enough for me to add a secondary cover garment, but that's increasingly rare where I live. When I get the chance to OWB, I usually jump at the chance to switch my carry to a 3" 686+.

I'm not worried about extending the useful life of my HST's. I got a bulk order of it on-line, and it will likely outlast me at the rate I expend it.

I live in florida and have no problems like that but I guess everybody is different. The last few years I've been carrying Barnes TAC-XPD which is nickel cased and the copper bullets have that black coating that prevents corrosion. These have stayed in perfect condition for me.

Wow. That's a big "switch" (in weight) from whatever 9mm you carry.

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Stay protected my friends.

I guess it depends in what ammo you carry and your financial situation. I carry 9mm 124gr Gold Dot. They cost $26 for 50 round box. Its expensive if buying a case but 2 boxes at $52 isn't bad. I change out every year so 2 boxes last years

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Like others, after a round has been chambered and unloaded multiple times, I make sure to shoot that round next time I am at the range with that caliber gun.

This occurs with guns that I might use one ammo for HD and a different ammo to carry with me as my b/u when hunting. Also occurs with my smaller guns that I might use more seasonally during hot (AZ hot!) weather and then unload.

Other than that often chambered round, I look at the gun and rounds in the mags for any dust or dirt accumulation, like when I have carried it for a month or take a spill in the dirt out hunting. Then usually if I am going to clean up the gun and mag, I will fire those rounds. If the ammo and the mag looks clean, then keep on carrying, or if putting that gun away for awhile, ammo back in the box.

Finally, once in a while I just want to reverify POI with SD ammo. So I net out shooting about 1 or 2 mags a year per gun of SD ammo, often more if I am testing a sight change, comparing 1 ammo to another, any parts changes, etc which is sufficient to take care of rotation.

My 642 carry ammo, Speer SB-GDHP, probably gets replaced 2-3 times a year, at most, when I shoot them at the range to make sure I can still shoot them well. My ability to replenish my supply is also a factor.

When I had a Glock 23 I changed ammo more frequently. Anytime I unloaded the gun, whether for dry fire practice, cleaning, or shooting practice ammo, the chambered carry round went into a "range use" box. I also put a mark on it with a Sharpie. When the "range use" box got full, I shot it at the range. I went through a lot of carry rounds that way, but I never worried about bullet setback. FYI, I used Speer 165gr GDHP.

WWII 45 ball ammo is sealed at the bullet by asphaltum glue and the primers are crimped and laquered in order to make the entire round as near waterproof as possible. That's a far cry from your own reloads or the new ammo you buy at the shop.

My employer issues me exactly 46 rounds of ammunition every year (and I had to fight for that 46th round). So that gets changed every year.

For my personal gun I change it out when it looks funky. Maybe every 2 years

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Retired Career Security Guard

I shoot it up at least once a month.

The stuff I buy is hard to get, pricey and you're not allowed to shoot it at most target ranges I visit anyway. I think that once can talk my way into either open or concealed Home carry, I probably will have to start evaluating what to do about ammunition that has been outside of a sealed container for several months.

My 9mm is the Shield, but the 3" 686+ is a fine carry on my Galco SB2 belt and Combat Master holster and gives me the most confidence. If I could carry it without printing, it would be my EDC.

My carry mag is always the first to go boom. Do this to make sure would work if needed. Actually shot today along with my other 2 carry mags. Shoot the Winchester 124 NATO ball stuff so not to expensive.

Shot all in the bag except I kept what I needed so as not to drive home with an empty gun. Not complaining since I went shooting with my father and my son.

My EDC recently became a .380 BG (J frame 40 + yrs.) so the idea of replacing the chambered round to avoid bullet set back when unloading/reloading is something I'll use.

When I retired in '97 I had an envelope full of .38, 9mm & .40 rounds collected over time and sitting in my locker for years. They all got shot and worked just fine, and some of those .38 rounds were more than 20 years old.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

About once a month I'll shoot the 135gp+P Gold Dots in my 642, cold, first rounds of the trip and from concealment. Otherwise it gets shot almost every week with my reloads.

My EDC ammo it a bit pricey and only comes in 20 round boxes so, I only shoot the round that is chambered when I go to the range. The rest gets unloaded and replaced with "range ammo". After I return home and finish cleaning, a fresh new round goes in the chamber and the rest gets loaded back into the magazines.

As for my rifles and shotgun, while the magazines do stay loaded all of the time, only snap caps are chambered while they are stored so on the rare occasion I take 1 or 2 to the range, I shoot whatever is loaded in them at the time.

I go though about 4 boxes of SD ammo per year in my primary ccw firearm. About every other trip to the range I shoot the magazine that's in the gun before switching to reloads for the session. I guess I just want to reaffirm that my SD ammo is shooting about the same point of impact as my practice ammo.

In my opinion, since ammo has a shelf life of about 100 years or more, there is no need to ever change ammo, unless it gets damaged from loading and unloading the same cartridge or something.

Approximately once a year.

I agree, it's probably not necessary, but I still do it.

My department required us to fire the 6 rounds in our duty weapons on the first stage of the qualification course, which led to the following incident:

An officer who wasn't much into guns fired his first 6 and discovered that the cylinder on his M15 wouldn't open. The rangemaster got it open, but the empties would not eject until he persuaded the ejector rod with a wooden mallet. The rounds had been glued in place by verdigris, lint and other assorted crud, the result of at least 6 months of never being removed from the holster while in and out of the weather in temps ranging from the high 90s to 40 below. All went "bang" though.

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I need ammo, not a ride.

I shoot my carry gun a few times a year, I replace with new ammo.

Re: the officer who's Model 15 would not open b/c of all the built up crud is inexcusable. Sergeants inspected our uniforms and weapons at least monthly, more often if necessary. This management control obviously was not in place in that instance. Not all cops are into guns (most aren't) and sometimes need an incentive to keep things in working order.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

In good times, regularly. In bad times, less regularly.


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+1

The quality and commitment of the officers was variable, the shift sergeants were promoted from the line and so carried the same level of ability and commitment into that function. The same supervisor who let him get through roll call all that time also dressed me down for bailing out on a rape in progress call with nightstick, flashlight and...no hat. Actually sat in his car at the top of the hill I'd just descended calling to me over his PA to come back and get my hat. Not backing me, just inspecting.

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I need ammo, not a ride.

Although I am now retired, I still change out quarterly just as I did when still working. I practice with reloads but shoot up the Hydra shok in the guns and magazines quarterly just as I did when I was active. Ammo is expensive but could be the cheapest part of the equation if needed.

Regards.

Bob

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R. M. Bob Horton
#2170

I'm a once a year kinda guy when it comes to shooting off/replacing defensive ammo. I've yet to have one that failed to fire, so I guess that works for me. At this rate I've got several years worth of gold dots and HST stocked up.

I only own revolvers now, so I have no worries about cycling, rounds being jarred in magazines, etc.

I don't worry about the age of ammo or have a rotation schedule. I have some Remington Golden Saber 125gr. +P I bought fifteen or twenty years ago and never shot up. I'm confident it's still perfectly reliable.

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Oh well, what the hell.

With the J-frames I carry, I make it a practice to change out carry ammo at each annual "old retired guy" department qualification. With autos I carry, I make it a habit to keep an eye on set-back. I replace auto ammo 2 to 3 times a year.

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Dave Frost

Boy did I misinterpret this question.

I change our carry ammo seasonally, when I switch from JHP to solid and back based on what I expect to have to shoot.

Go to the city I switch to JHP, on the farm I have hotter solid point to deal with 4 footed predators.

I carry a revolver so I have speed strips loaded with every option readily avail but what's loaded varies by season.