Changing out your carry ammo

[Rammer Jammer]

I've kept the same defensive loads for years. About a year ago I shot my 38 HST that had been loaded for about 3 years. All fired fine.

Check primers for contamination and carry on.

 

[double-dipper]

If I were in Law enforcement I would change it out once or twice a year.

No, I don't change out my carry ammo but, Massad Ayoob does make a good point for changing it out.

My carry gun has Remington Golden Sabers that are probably 10 years old. Every once in a while I will shoot one just to see if it goes boom! They have always gone off.

 

[kaaskop49]

I guess the old FBI issue (1979 MFG) I keep in my Model 60-4 should be replaced, but dadgum! It works so well and looks so mean!
Then there's the JHP stuff in 32 S&W L in my little transitional 32 I frame snub…it's only about 20 years old.
Froggie

Hey Froggie, .32 S&W Long with JHP? Never heard of this. What planet did you find it on? Please advise. Also, you BETTER keep that 70's LHP ammo! Have it in all my .38 Js.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

 

[Green Frog]

Georgia Arms used to carry their "factory reloaded" ammo in 32 S&W L and H&R with 100 gr+/- JHPs. I don't know what they have available now, but IIRC, they had some in stock at the last gun show they went to here in VA. I don't know how well (or even if) it expands in use, but it looks like it should.

Froggie

 

[Toter]

Not handgun related, but, I have several ammo cans of Lake City M-72 National Match 30-06 dated 1959. Still shoots great in my M1. Military ammo is sealed though. For best accuracy, you do need to seat the bullets back .001"-.002" to break the 60+ year old tar seal.

 

[cmj8591]

I learned two things from Massad Ayoob when I took his training courses...

1) the powder in the cases will become finer and finer because of the movement when carrying. Because the powder has a finer granularity, it probably will not shoot to the same point of aim as it did before.

2) many people will clean their handguns by spraying WD-40 on it and then wiping it off. Some even spray the cartridges in the weapon. WD-40 will kill primers.

If you're spraying WD40 on your gun it's probably not going to work anyways so don't worry about the ammo.

That's the first I ever heard about powder self destructing. I don't even know how to respond to that. In the military, ammo is shipped all over and is exposed to vibrations beyond imagination. Stored for years and still performs to it's specifications. At the risk of offending Ayoob fans out there, I think that theory is a crock.

 

[fiasconva]

There was a thread like this in another forum and I asked if anyone had ever had the old ammo fail after it was changed and then shot. Not one of the people who answered could ever recall a failure with the ammo that was changed and some of it was several years old.

 

[sigp220.45]

If you're spraying WD40 on your gun it's probably not going to work anyways so don't worry about the ammo.

That's the first I ever heard about powder self destructing. I don't even know how to respond to that. In the military, ammo is shipped all over and is exposed to vibrations beyond imagination. Stored for years and still performs to it's specifications. At the risk of offending Ayoob fans out there, I think that theory is a crock.

I'm with you. It would be easiest enough to test but I would put it up there with testing if eating Jello caused a person to shoot low from the prone position.

 

[Marshal Tom]

OK, so I answered my own question and shot it up!

I took my M&P 340 to the range with me today and shot up my SB Gold Dot 135gr. that had been in my gun and carried in speed strips for several years now. All shot just fine and I think I do feel better having changed them out. This is hard to do given the ammo shortage and prices of replacement!!!

 

[uechikid]

When in LE, I always advocated changing out our carry ammo twice a year. We used to shoot it up during qualifications and then issue new. Due to the ammo shortage and current costs, I have not been doing this with my carry stuff. for instance, I have had the same SB Gold Dot .38's in my M&P 340 and the speed strips for several years!!! I think if would be OK but it does make me nervous! Same deal with the 147gr HST's in all my .9mm carry guns. What do the rest of you do?

Have you ever had issues with older ammo when you do shoot it?

 

[Tu_S]

I just have the EDC rounds in the rotation with the practice ones, going through at least one full magazine of it on a range visit. Have always believed you need to get some practice with more than just the target loads. I would guess the oldest rounds would be 2 or 3 months old.

I generally have 100-150 9mm 147gn XTP rounds, and will reload another 50 when the count gets down to 100, rotating through the three 50 round boxes.

 

[CouchPotato]

With my home defense guns that don't get carried, I'll let that ammo go for years, because it doesn't get carried. It's fine.

For carry ammo, lately it kinda depends on what I get into. I carry IWB and if I sweat through my cloths heavily, get rained on and soaked, or similar, that ammo comes out right away and new stuff goes in.

Generally I'll unload my carry gun a couple times per week and dry fire with snap caps. The round that's chambered and ejected over and over gets chewed up a bit, and I'll rotate that down into the mag and bring up a fresh one from time to time.

We're coming into shore fishing season soon where I live and the fishing ammo will get cycled out a but more quickly. I'll sweat, get rained on, get splashed, its a more corrosive environment, etc. If you saw where I fish, you'd carry too.

Ammo that gets cycled out goes into a box and then eventually gets shot up on a range day.

 

[ruger 22]

I recently fired some 22 lr and 9MM from the 1930's. Unless your ammo was in some very bad environment I think this is a non issue.

 

[Execpro]

I'm with bigwheelzip. When I clean my carry pistols, I put the round that was chambered in a empty 50 round box to fire at the range when I get 10
or so rounds saved up along with my range ammo. There is the concern of bullet pushback but I noticed that on all the chambered rounds removed that there is a ruff spot on the rim. I wouldn't want a ejection issue.
When I was working they had random pistol inspection. The round that was chambered went to the bottom of the magazine when we reloaded. Our duty ammo was replaced 3 times a year (2 fed and 1 State re-qualification per year).
I also check all new replacement ammo (bullet seat, primer etc.).
My range ammo is the same bullet weight and velocity as my carry ammo.
Some of my carry ammo is 10-15 years old. It always has gone bang.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

I don't even keep track of it, or worry about it. I have yet to have a cartridge fail to fire due to age.

I'm not an LEO. Therefore, I also do not worry about it. I have never had old ammunition fail at the range - and that's when I change ammunition, when I shoot it up at the range. If I have a defensive gun that hasn't been shot in a long while (and I do - every one of my home defense guns falls into this category - they were fine when I shot them, that's what I needed to know, now go to sleep my pretty friends - one in almost every room!) I simply do not worry about it.

 

[Frank46]

I used to change out my carry ammo once a year and fire it off at the range. 15 rounds for my model 36 and 34 rounds for my 9mm. Hard to realize something so small could cost so much. 5 rounds in the model 36 and doesn't get wet and the 34 rounds in my S&W M&P 2.0 one mag in the gun and second one in my jeans.I inspect them once a month and any that look funky get replaced. So with the two fire arms total is 49rounds. That's like throwing a box away every year. Frank

 

[desi2358]

I learned two things from Massad Ayoob when I took his training courses...

1) the powder in the cases will become finer and finer because of the movement when carrying. Because the powder has a finer granularity, it probably will not shoot to the same point of aim as it did before.

2) many people will clean their handguns by spraying WD-40 on it and then wiping it off. Some even spray the cartridges in the weapon. WD-40 will kill primers.

While WD-40 has been blamed for killing primers any penetrant (which is what WD-40 is) can contaminate a primer if it is sprayed onto it and the primer is not sufficiently sealed. Some ammo is simply sealed better than others, many factories also use a sealant to protect their ammo from contamination. Still not a good idea to spray any type of lube all over a gun or your ammo.

As to the first claim while I respect Ayoobs knowledge of the law and self defense shooting he would seem to be repeating an old myth that has been circulating for years. It most often pops up in reloading forums usually because someone tumbles their loaded ammo to remove sizing lube or simply to make the finished ammo look nicer............... There is much argument, gnashing of teeth and claims thrown around which has caused many to test the theory by tumbling loaded ammo for long (often ridiculously long) periods then examining the powder and comparing it to fresh powder from the can. No one I have ever heard of has been able to show any effect from this and a tumbler will jolt the ammo around far more than riding around in your gun will.

Also consider the vibration ammo is subjected to in transport. If there was such a problem the manufacturers would have known about it long ago and taken steps to limit their own liability if the powder in their ammo was subject to such a failure. And all that is before we get into the subject of really harsh storage and handling conditions such as military ammo gets. And yet this old myth still pops up and people believe it and keep repeating it. Powder is a lot more durable than many people think!

 

[Daver7]

If you're spraying WD40 on your gun it's probably not going to work anyways so don't worry about the ammo.

That's the first I ever heard about powder self destructing. I don't even know how to respond to that. In the military, ammo is shipped all over and is exposed to vibrations beyond imagination. Stored for years and still performs to it's specifications. At the risk of offending Ayoob fans out there, I think that theory is a crock.

I don't post on here often, rather set back and see what can learn.
30 or 40 years ago we were discussing WD40 "killing" primers.
so I took a dozen empty primed 357 cases and put enough Wd 40 in them so the primer was completely covered. let them set for a month then loaded with 231 powder and 158gr cast bullet. waited until the next day and took them to the range.they a shot fine out of a L frame with a 4inch barrel. we only shot them at 15 yards and compared them to my regular reloads. same point of impact same accuracy. YMMV

 

[Alk8944]

I learned two things from Massad Ayoob when I took his training courses...

1) the powder in the cases will become finer and finer because of the movement when carrying. Because the powder has a finer granularity, it probably will not shoot to the same point of aim as it did before.

2) many people will clean their handguns by spraying WD-40 on it and then wiping it off. Some even spray the cartridges in the weapon. WD-40 will kill primers.

1) The powder in the cases will become finer and finer because of the movement when carrying. Because the powder has a finer granularity, it probably will not shoot to the same point of aim as it did before.

Assuming this is true, with the average self-defense event occurring at a distance of only three feet (per FBI), SO WHAT!

The real accuracy issue is, even for supposedly "well trained" Police Officers, is in an actual shooting event most people will not use their guns sights, and they never practice point shooting for these extremely short (any) distances!


2) many people will clean their handguns by spraying WD-40 on it and then wiping it off. Some even spray the cartridges in the weapon. WD-40 will kill primers.

THIS IS TRUE, SO DON'T DO IT!!!!

 

[cmj8591]

2) many people will clean their handguns by spraying WD-40 on it and then wiping it off. Some even spray the cartridges in the weapon. WD-40 will kill primers.

THIS IS TRUE, SO DON'T DO IT!!!!

Not to mention that WD40 will turn to varnish in a short time welding the moving parts of your gun together and making it inoperative. Use a good CLP sparingly to lube your gun and keep the WD40 for your bicycle chain. And unless you are carrying a Japanese machine gun from WW2, there's no good reason to ever put any type of lubricant on your ammo.