Poll: Self Defense/Carry Ammunition Rotation

[WR Moore]

Ok, how does ammo "shift" in the mag? Bullets dont move unless the gun is fired.

Not true, at least for the round(s) that may be repeatedly chambered from the magazine*. Back when, and still seen in some ammo lines, the cases were cannelured at the base of the bullet to make sure the bullet stayed where it's supposed to. Nowdays, many are relying upon case tension and friction to hold the bullet in place. The general guideline is not to chamber a round more than 4-5 times to avoid possible bullet setback.

Why? Well bullet setback causes chamber pressures to skyrocket. The Glock 40's apparently figured in quite a few over pressure events resulting in damage to both firearm and whoever was holding them when they "kaboomed". There were a lot of LE agency notices of the problems, which, by the way, seemed to largely feature the 180 gr bullet. Examination of officers ammo identified the problem.

We didn't have Glocks or over pressure events, but the armorers had an interesting collection of rounds with visibly short overall lengths due to multiple chamberings.

During a previous ammo shortage I purposely had one round that I repeatedly chambered. The overall length never changed, but the case rim started looking like our puppy was using it to teeth on. I discarded that one. Haven't done that again.

When my employer was buying the ammo, we changed it out at most every 6 months due to conditions worse than ContinentalOp mentioned. The handgun ammo got replaced about every quarter due to inservice triaining.

In retirement, I've gone as long as 2 years without replacing carry ammo in the long trip/go to the big city pieces. They don't get out much and I've seen no issues when burning it up. But, it's my butt, not yours. The items in daily use get refreshed much sooner.

Best to avoid repeated chambering of rounds and if you must, keep an eye on the overall length of the top round. If you can see a difference between it and one never chambered, toss it.

Mostly, there's no significant difference between "duty" ammo and practice ammo/ball with respect to recoil, shot placement, etc. Maybe WWB or other price point ammo excepted. My reloads are factory duplication.

*Dropping a round the the chamber and letting the slide go home over works the extractor. The modern extractor designs aren't made for that.

 

[CH4]

Changing your carry ammunition every year or less makes as much sense as changing your motor oil every 500 miles - expensive and totally unnecessary. However, if it makes you happy...

 

[Muss Muggins]

I don't worry about it. . . .

Agreed. All the afore posted ammo obsession is akin to what outfit the various Kardashians are wearing. I have ammo in storage that is at least 30 years old. Ammo works forever if kept in proper storage condition.

 

[Gunslinger808]

Ammo age doesn't matter and much as people think, it's all about how it's stored.
I'm still shooting 8 mm ammo that was made before WWII, it's still accurate, still all fires, and is just as reliable as it ever was.

My big issue is how much are you willing to spend to be proficient with what your life will depend on?

Yeah , good quality SD ammo isn't cheap, but would you really want to trust your training to something other than what you actually carry?
I'm not saying you need to fire thousands of rounds of it a year, but to me it seems negligent that you hoard the good stuff to the point you've carried the same exact rounds for over a year without even touching one off.

What happened to the old " train like you fight" mentality?
Too expensive?
No such thing.
If it goes pear shaped, you'd better be proficient with your carry ammo, you'll only get one chance!

ETA...
And for what it's worth, my wife and I "practice" every week regardless of weather (hey bad guys only come out during perfect weather, right?).
Moving while shooting, failure drills, multiple targets, using cover/concealment, even exiting from our vehicle while drawing.
Reality comes at you quick, and in those situations, you're way behind the learning curve if you don't practice.

 

[Telecaster]

I don't change the air in my tires either.

 

[Gunslinger808]

I don't change the air in my tires either.

Why should you, it was good a year ago!

Why even bother checking air pressure, it was good back then too.
Nothing's changed since, has it?

 

[GerSan69]

We were issued fresh service ammo annually & I've followed that schedule in retirement since 1997.

Same here, except since 2014. Same ammo (Speer Gold Dot) as we used, too.

 

[Sheepdogged]

It depends. Some years I average about once a year and I merely replace it with ammo from my inventory. Other times I average once a year and try something new. Sometimes I change it more often than that.

 

[Smoke]

All three of the security companies I've worked for change out their ammunition once a year.

The local cops change out their ammunition once a year (I asked)

The County Sheriff's Department changes out their ammunition once a year (friend who is a Deputy)

If it works for them I'm sure it will work for me. Especially since I'm only changing out 3(ish) boxes.

 

[bigwheelzip]

I live in a usually warm and humid region and EDC carry IWB. When I carried a 9mm Shield with Federal HST ammo, moisture would cause green oxidation to build up on the ammo's copper jackets and run down the bullets in the pistol. I would regularly remove the ammo from the chamber and loaded magazine and wipe the green crud off. After about a year of these ammo oxidation and cleaning cycles, I'd shoot it at the range.

When I switched my EDC from the plastic framed Shield to the aluminum framed CZ PCR, in the same type of IWB holster, the ammo stopped getting covered in that green oxidation. Now I only shoot the chambered round at the range, to avoid bullet setback.

 

[ladder13]

Never given any of the options a thought. I shoot what I have.

What is "fresh" ammo anyways?

 

[Ogandydancer]

I just see no need to unless it is at the range when practicing.

 

[chief38]

I've been at the EDC game for quite a while now and have NEVER..... I mean NEVER had a single round go bad or FTF because I carried it for a year or so. If I by accident get them wet, drop them, or they look funny I will of course replace them immediately, but about a year is when I will normally rotate the ammo out and shoot he old stuff for practice.

I also target shoot, shoot sporting clays, skeet & trap shoot and hunt with rounds that are older than I am (I am 66) - inherited that ammo and going through it with a smile! You have to see the faces of my Bird Hunting Buddy's when I load PAPER Shot shells in my Superposed Shotgun or Browning A-5 when out on a Pheasant Hunt!!

As long as your stored ammo is kept cool and dry it will outlast you. Ammo that is not brand new off the shelf is just fine as long as it was stored properly. 40 years ago I discovered 6 rounds of .38 special ammo that was lying in a pool of gun oil in a local gun stores basement (the owner was a friend). The owner said it had been there for at least 10 years and always forgot to dispose of it. He wasn't sure how long the the oil can was leaking but he gave me all 6 rounds to pulls and dispose of - but of course I was compelled to try and shoot them. Brought them to the Range the following evening and every one went off!!! Not suggesting to EVER carry ammo that has been exposed like this - just giving an extreme example on just how durable ammunition really is.

 

[tops]

Water does't kill primers like in the cowboy movies where after crossing the river their guns won't fire.I put some primed cases in water and left them for several hours and the primers fired.
I have never placed a loaded round in water too see if it will still fire but I do remember paper shotgun shells getting wet and swelling up and being hard to chamber but they would still fire. If concerned about moisture causing misfires I recommend placing a loaded round in water for several hours and see if it still fires. If it fires place another for a longer period.
Here on the homestead when wandering around I rarely shoot empty and I just replace the empties so sometimes the shells may be in the gun for several shots but I've never had any trouble with the bullets shifting in the cases. Larry

 

[rwsmith]

Years......

I don't 'rotate' ammo as long as it 'looks' good. All of mine are nickel cased so they don't turn green and get cruddy.

I try to use all commercial ammo for HD purposes. If ammo gets more plentiful and cheaper (?) I'll probably buy more then. I can fall back on reloads if I get into a monumental gun battle.

 

[Rammer Jammer]

Other

I go years inbetween replacing carry ammo. Every few years I'll just decide to shoot what is in the gun and every time it goes bang.

Old ammo gets way overhyped in gun forum land!

 

[Martya]

For a long time I actually rotated guns, summer 45 and winter 357. Couple times I'd shoot some drills each time of year. I was usually alone at my range so I could do any number of draw-n-shoot, positional, and multi-target practices.

Finally I parked my Gen III and carry my 60 full time. So 3-4 times per year I practice, mostly 38, then a few 357 ball. The 1st 5 rounds are my EDC rounds. The last 5 rounds are whatever HP ammo I was or will be carrying if different, just to verify POA.

So at least 4 times per year I'm using uncarried ammo in my EDC - it may be from the same box, however.

 

[JJEH]

Fresh carry ammo after each trip to the range -

This.

I usually shoot what's in the magazines (I'll never take 'em all at the same time), reload with range ammo and then with my favorite BB round once I'm done. Easy peasy, no rocket science

 

[Echo40]

I try to rotate my carry ammo at least once per year with fresh ammo.

However, my ammo may potentially be cycled more frequently, depending on how frequently I am able to visit the range and purchase replacement ammo. So far, this method has never failed me, as my older carry ammo has always functioned with perfect reliability at the range, even if it have been in my gun or carried in a spare magazine for over a year.

 

[Rustyt1953]

What is "fresh" ammo anyways?

Inquiring minds want to know!