Changing out your carry ammo

[SeaSalt]

Love this forum!

 

[hyena]

Guess I was lucky. I used WD40 liberally on my firearms for 30 or 40 years and never once had it turn to varnish or make my guns or ammo inoperable. Shotguns, .22 rifles, pistols, revolvers. Never a problem.

 

[desi2358]

Guess I was lucky. I used WD40 liberally on my firearms for 30 or 40 years and never once had it turn to varnish or make my guns or ammo inoperable. Shotguns, .22 rifles, pistols, revolvers. Never a problem.

I tend to agree with you on the "varnish" claim. Used WD-40 a lot myself and never encountered such an occurrence with any of my guns. I would submit that it is possible under certain conditions as some other oils will tend to "gel" with age. We used to see the occasional guns come into the shop with old, hardened oil in it gumming up the action.

In most such case they were inherited guns that had last been used by an older (now gone) relative and in many cases sat unused for years. I suspect the passage of time had a lot to do with it. The worst case I ever encountered involved selling the guns from an estate. The gentleman who had owned them was a retired engineer who had worked at Wright Pat Air Base. He became enamored with Tri-Flo lubricant at some time. After he retired his health declined and he rarely shot anything, just collected more guns. He was concerned about preserving his guns and slathered them in Tri-Flo, wrapped them in wax paper and stored them away. The guns (@700 of them!) were in perfect shape except they were nearly all inoperable. Actions gummed up tighter than glue. We had to flush them out with solvent to make them function again.

PS: Got several cans of Tri-Flo along with the guns and other stuff that the family wanted sold............. I think it would be good for door hinges or cars. Not so much on guns except, maybe, in small amounts.

 

[shil]

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.

So why are we cleaning a loaded handgun? Ok, I understand a wipedown, but why not use a RigRag or spray your "preservative" (FWIW I use Ballistol) onto a cloth and then use that cloth for your wipedown?

 

[michael1000]

I tend to agree with you on the "varnish" claim. Used WD-40 a lot myself and never encountered such an occurrence with any of my guns. I would submit that it is possible under certain conditions as some other oils will tend to "gel" with age. We used to see the occasional guns come into the shop with old, hardened oil in it gumming up the action.

In most such case they were inherited guns that had last been used by an older (now gone) relative and in many cases sat unused for years. I suspect the passage of time had a lot to do with it. The worst case I ever encountered involved selling the guns from an estate. The gentleman who had owned them was a retired engineer who had worked at Wright Pat Air Base. He became enamored with Tri-Flo lubricant at some time. After he retired his health declined and he rarely shot anything, just collected more guns. He was concerned about preserving his guns and slathered them in Tri-Flo, wrapped them in wax paper and stored them away. The guns (@700 of them!) were in perfect shape except they were nearly all inoperable. Actions gummed up tighter than glue. We had to flush them out with solvent to make them function again.

PS: Got several cans of Tri-Flo along with the guns and other stuff that the family wanted sold............. I think it would be good for door hinges or cars. Not so much on guns except, maybe, in small amounts.

The military proper used cosmoline to coat and store guns. I don't think it was as harsh on the weapons, and probably cleaned out better.

 

[STORMINORMAN]

Would that be "700 guns and Tri-Flo by the drum"...?

Cosmoline, creosote, wd-40 and Ballistol all have their uses, but only the former & the last would I put on my guns for storage or any other purpose...!

Cheers!

 

[desi2358]

The military proper used cosmoline to coat and store guns. I don't think it was as harsh on the weapons, and probably cleaned out better.

Yes, having been heavily into surplus guns for a while I would agree that cosmoline cleaned up easier than this stuff did. Though cosmiline would hide in every crevice and ooze out when the gun got hot while shooting..... even when you thought you had got it all!

No idea how or why he got so enthused about Tri-Flo. His family said he was an aviation engineer with a couple patents on avionics. He really liked guns though and had the money to buy whatever caught his fancy.

 

[Bumpus13]

Nope.

I will however inspect for set back with those from auto loaders. In which case, they get replaced. Otherwise, I simply don't see the point in disposing of perfectly fine ammunition.

 

[Rlg#17]

When on the job it was every 6 months, but the ammo was on the department's dime. Now we might do it once a year, after we examine it and check on its condition. Stuff is so expensive, but if there any suspected issues it goes in the range only bucket.

Regards, Rick Gibbs

 

[CH4]

While working our agency policy was to shoot our duty ammo every 12 months and replace with fresh. As a retiree, I've never contemplated changing it, with the exception of the first round in my autos if their COL was shorter than a new round due to setback. All ammo manufacturers occasionally send out a dud or two, but I've never heard of a round that didn't fire at a critical moment due to being carried too much.

 

[rosewood]

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!

^THIS^

If this was an issue, what about all of that military ammo that is transported by truck to airport, then by transport aircraft such as a C-130 to the desert in the middle east, then hauled across the desert in a Deuce and a half or the modern equivalent to the troops. All that vibration would surely cause issues.

I have some military 230 grain hard ball in 45 ACP made from the mid 60's through the mid 70's, been hauled all around and it shoots as good if not better than the modern day stuff. I have been thru at least 1000 of them and they have been 100% reliable and accurate.

Rosewood

 

[rosewood]

I can't even find my SD ammo at stores. I guess it's fine if you are using sub-par stuff. I use 357 barnes vortex. Anything else just doesn't cut it from a snub

This is very true today. Most ammo folks carry hasn't been on the shelf since before the Rona. If you are shooting it everytime you go to the range or even twice a year, you are likely gonna run out unless you have hoarded lots of your carry ammo.

Rosewood

 

[max503]

Due to the ammo shortage and current costs, I have not been doing this with my carry stuff.

All I have are reloads so mine get shot up and replaced regularly. I haven't owned a factory 38 load in decades.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

If it chambers I shoot it no matter how green it may be. A few weeks abo when going to the range with my son we found a box of .45 that got wet and was all nasty wit cardboard clinging to the cases and a beautiful shade of green. Cleaned them up the best we could and had not one FTF or hang-up out of the Colt. Ditto with shotgun shells, If it chambers I shoot it. A little gradoo on the shell never hurt anything. Plastic don't swell like paper used to.
And I learned a new LEO name today....."Bu-car"
I like it Brad!!

 

[steelslaver]

tons upon tons off ammo was fork lift and crane loaded on cargo ships, transported across the waves in vibrating steel hulls, air lifted by helicopter or planes, dumped, dropped, dragged to trucks and jeeps to ammo dumps and dumped to sit in high humidity and heat. Issued, hauled in bandoleers, magazines, drug though rice paddies. Round number 20 shook its way to the top of the mag and fired even in a smoking hot gun.

You might not want to take it to Camp Perry after that, but modern ammo can put up with a lot and still be way better than paper plate accurate at 25 ft.

My carry ammo is in full moon clips. I check the extras from time to time and shoot enough none of it is rattled around for more than a year.

 

[STORMINORMAN]

Nope.

I will however inspect for set back with those from auto loaders. In which case, they get replaced. Otherwise, I simply don't see the point in disposing of perfectly fine ammunition.

I try to "dispose" of my ammo on a regular basis... Usually at the range!

Cheers!

 

[sousana]

Prob overkill on my part but I change out carry ammo every month. In and out of different climates, mags concealed under shirts. Last day of the month I put all the ammo into the range bucket and go with fresh ammo.

 

[cmj8591]

^THIS^

If this was an issue, what about all of that military ammo that is transported by truck to airport, then by transport aircraft such as a C-130 to the desert in the middle east, then hauled across the desert in a Deuce and a half or the modern equivalent to the troops. All that vibration would surely cause issues.


Rosewood

You're dating yourself my friend. The deuce and a half went out with the steel helmet!