cleaning carry ammo

target tech

target tech

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Just curious if anyone else cleans/polishes their revolver carry ammo? I carry a 2" 64 very regularly, stoked with Buffalo Bore 158 +P HPs. I never put a gun back in the safe loaded, so the six rounds in the gun get handled quite often and the other 6 get carried in a Bianchi speed strip in my front pocket.

I believe all BB ammo is brass cased so they get a little "funky"after a couple of months. I've never let anything turn green just heavily tarnished and the speed strip will accumulate dirt around the rims.

If Buffalo Bore would offer nickle cases, that would solve a lot of my problems, besides pocket lint.

I have been actually polishing the cases with Flitz and scrubbing the plastic speed strip with dish soap. just like to know what others do.
 
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Your methods seem good to me. I may give my carry ammo a good wipe down with a cloth every now and then.
 
No, and I've had ammo ride for a year in a speed strip in my pocket for more than a year without any noticeable tarnish. I'd check for lint or pieces of gum and call it good.
 
Well, I never return my defense guns to the safe, EDCs or home defense weapons that are here and there hidden around the house. So the ammunition is virtually never "handled". If I had children coming over I guess I would put those guns in the safe but I don't expect that event any time soon and I would probably store the guns loaded and ready for repositioning at the correct time.

That said, when I get to shoot I will use my older, "loaded" self defense ammunition first, thereby ensuring it works well in my defensive guns, and replace it with newer ammunition. Guns are always unloaded when I get to the range but these rounds will be first up every time.

I never head of cleaning ammunition unless it is stored in leather and gets green/verdegris. I just popped two .22 WMR rounds out of my "robe" gun; they have been in that pocket for months. Maybe years, since I never shoot that gun, it just sits in my robe pocket for an emergency. Admittedly, the gun is a little dirty but the ammunition is pristine.

iscs-yoda-albums-miscellany-picture13625-hs-22-magnum-derringer-galco-aow-holster.jpg


And yes, I have the NFA tax stamp.
 
max503 said:
I clean ammo by pointing the gun down range and pulling the trigger. Then I put in more.
But seriously, I use reloads. I have to because no stores have 38 ammo.
Click to expand...

You're the smartest guy here!! I only thought the LONE RANGER polished his bullets.....My cc pistolas get the same treatment.....I NEVER unload My CC handgun. It stays at ready 24-7.
 
I shoot my conceal carry ammo as a means to "stay in touch" with the feel of self defense ammo vs range ammo. I don't clean my ammo. Should I place my carry guns in the safe, I have a reserved spot just for them. I do not unload them unless I'm cleaning, teaching or at the range. All other guns are in the safes and unloaded.
 
When I was an active duty officer at the end of every shift I wiped down my duty and backup weapons as I placed them into the vault at home. (I had no children so my carry weapons were always kept loaded in the vault. This practice prevented me from getting distracted as I was getting ready to go to work and forgetting to load one or both weapons, don't laugh, over the years I saw it happen to multiple officers who unloaded their weapons every time they went home.) Weekly I unloaded my duty weapon and backup, whether a revolver or semi-auto, and wiped the ammo down with a clean shop rag. I also took all the extra reloads and wiped them down also. When we transitioned over to semi-autos that practice included emptying the magazines and wiping all the rounds down. If I had been outside in rain or snow, as soon as my shift was over and as I put my weapons in the vault at home, both the weapons and all ammo got wiped down.
Now that I am retired, I've just continued the wipe down routine.
 
I also don’t unload concealed carry handguns. If it isn’t on my person or on the nightstand at night, it will go in the safe, but still loaded. Same thing if it’s placed in the console safe in my pickup.

Loading and unloading every day just adds additional and unnecessary administrative handling for no real purpose.

I also worked with with an officer once who routinely unloaded his service pistol every night and placed it on top of his refrigerator due to having small children in the home. Eventually he got distracted one morning and spent his entire shift with an unloaded weapon. He came up with a better plan.

——

I’m a big believer in shooting your carry ammo every time you go to the range. It ensures the ammo you are carrying is reasonably fresh, and over the course of a year you end up firing enough rounds to stay familiar with it and it ensures a healthy round count to demonstrate continued reliability in your pistol or revolver.

I pretty well cringe when someone unloads their concealed carry handgun with old, greenish looking ammo. Cleaning it isn’t a great solution as it always entails at least some risk of contamination of the primer.
 
There is a scene in the bank robbery episode where Barney is inspecting the bank guard's (Asa Breeney) gear. He asks what those green things are on his belt. "Bullets" replies Asa. Barney pulls his bullet out of his breast pocket and declares, "This is proper bullet maintenance." Asa looks at the shiny bullet in awe and says, "I've heard about your bullet, but I never thought I'd ever see it."
 
You should be cycling through your carry ammo long before it has a chance to develop serious corrosion. That said, you wont hurt anything running it through the vibratory tumbler for a few minutes. No, you won't hurt the powder. That was debunked long ago. It's a way better solution than wiping it down with a solvent and possibly contaminating primers or powders.
 
Give your cleaned ammo a little protection with a light coat of paste wax , like Mother's Pure Carnuba ... or a similar firearm wax product like Birchwood Casey "Sheath " ... which is very good protectant for firearms ... but you most probably have a can of auto paste wax in the garage .
I live in hot humid Louisiana and everything wants to tarnish , rust , corrode and/or turn green ... even leather will grow mold unless sealed and waxed .
Gary
 
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I'll shoot my carry ammo about once a year. Before then, if it gets a little tarnished, I'll use a little metal polish and a rag to shine 'em up. On a 12 or 13 round mag it only takes a couple of minutes. I guess I'm from the Fife school of ammo maintenance.
 
Yet another vote for shooting... Along with cleaning, new ammo has a fresher scent than that skunky stuff that has been sitting in the cylinder...
 
gwpercle said:
Give your cleaned ammo a little protection with a light coat of paste wax , like Mother's Pure Carnuba ... or a similar firearm wax product like Birchwood Casey "Sheath " ... which is very good protectant for firearms ... but you most probably have a can of auto paste wax in the garage .
I live in hot humid Louisiana and everything wants to tarnish , rust , corrode and/or turn green ... even leather will grow mold unless sealed and waxed .
Gary
Click to expand...

Thank you, that is the type of info I was looking for. Never thought of a light coat of wax.
AT $40.00 for a box of 20, when it is available, I usually run a cylinder of the BB through it once a year or so. I practice with 158swc with 3.5gr of BE.
 
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