Casey

I guess this is the appropriate forum to ask this question. How often do you all rotate out your ammunition in your carry guns? This is probably something I should have searched before posting, b/c I'm sure its come up before, but I haven't completely figured this site out yet. Any way, I try to rotate new rounds in every 6 months or so. That may be too often. What do you do?

titleist

How long to keep carry ammo

How often should I change my carry ammo?

Seems like most agree that it depends on your situation. If you carry in the rain, humidity, bad weather, leave it in your car, etc., it would be good to shoot the ammo that is in the gun when you go to the range every few months or so. On the other hand, most agree it will still fire and function after decades, barring anything abnormal happening with the ammo(e.g. extreme corrosion)

Casey

Thank you. I'm playing with the search function now so I won't be asking newbie questions if I can help it. I remember Col. Cooper writing once about seeing no need to switch out non-corroded ammunition, pointing to the many boxes of GI ball loaded in the '40s he had gone through without a hitch. I guess its sort of like changing the battery in the smoke detector twice a year. The old battery may still be fine, but why take the chance?

Ram Rod

No problem with newbie questions, I guess I'm in a good mood, or I owe the man upstairs tonight for more things than one. Carry ammo is expensive. Carry ammo is always in the magazine for...well......carry! So....for most of us this means carrying locked and loaded. No matter what your choice of sidearms is-this requires chambering a round at a certain time, then un-chambering that same round at another given time. Doing the same actions over and again for an extended period of time have been proven to 'set back' the bullet in it's original case, up to and including deep enough to cause over-pressure and possible firearm damge and/or personal injury. With these things considered, and let's just say an average magazine capacity of twelve rounds....one should regularly rotate that chambered or 'favored' round to the bottom of the stack and start anew. On average, I myself load/unload or chamber/unload one or more times a day depending. I also chamber conservatively----not like I was at the range fixing to rattle off a full magazine. I save empty ammo boxes and the shell holders within for the purpose of carry ammo disposal after six months or so of activity, and these salvaged rounds will be shot at the range during normal practice all at once in a mag full, or laced intermittently with the regular octane practice loads for cause and effect. It's not a hard guideline to follow, and it's more than user friendly. Just whenever you feel the time is necessary to do so. I still rotate my full mags for carry whenever the urge strikes me, even though we've all pretty much clarified the notion of magazine spring fatigue to be another one of those tall tales or hand-me-downs from a previous technological era. In essence, whatever makes you feel comfortable about your ammo and equipment will likely do you just fine so long as you retain all of your God given mental faculties. Just be aware of the environmental factors previously mentioned as they do become issues at a certain point in time. Happy shooting, and above all, be safe.

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RamRod-----sans remords

jeephipwr

I try to go shooting every weekend with one different gun and my 22lr 1911. With all my firearms this lets me practice with each one about once every 6 months or so. What I do then is shoot up what ever carry ammo I had in the magazine at that time plus some regular practice ammo. Then the gun gets cleaned, lubed, and packed with fresh carry ammo.

Plus I shoot IDPA.

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1911packer

I replace my carry ammo once a year. I rotate rounds to the bottom of the mag about every two months.

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echobaby

I only change the round in the tube. Once a month.

retsupt99

I replace the 'ejected' rounds...(loading/reloading)...only...every few months...those the ejector has contacted several times.

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Thanis

I try to practice / get in range time once a week (if lucky) / month (at a minimum).

Typically I shoot 45 rounds of my practice round and finish up with 15 rounds of my SD round. My practice and SD rounds feel the same when shooting. I spend the rest of the range time with a rentail, a friend's firearm, etc.

I have three mags. My mags hold 15 rounds. I not only rotate rounds, I rotate mags every session, giving one mag a rest, keeping the other two loaded with SD when not at the range.

Since I use a .357 SIG, I'm a little concerned about the necked down cartridge / set back issues. I try to always use the "in the barrel" round at the start of my last 15. I take one round out of an already loaded mag of SD rounds. I put the "in the barrel" round on top. The round I took out of the top I save as next week's "in the barrel."

I keep on hand 100-600 round of my practice rounds. I maintain around 100 (but never less than 50) of my SD rounds. I always write the date of my purchase on the ammo boxes, and I use older ammo first. In theory, I could be shooting ammo that is newer (even though I purchased it later), but I figure it all works itself out.

For my Glock, I take it a step to far and document the rounds (make, date purchased, etc) on a spreadsheet, along with any issues I had at the range. Like one time I had a FTC using 125 GR. FMJ American Eagle, during DT. Was a possible limp wrist. I admit, I need work on my DT.

Clean once a month (min). Don't always oil everything. Usually just a spot check. Have not desided if my cleaning method is the right plan, but this thread is not about that :)

Does any of this really matter? Most likely not, but I feel it is the right thing to do. My method is tedious, but I counter my lazy nature with a detailed plan. In a way, I follow the plan to the letter because I am lazy, and don't want to think about it every week. I just follow the drill I have set for myself.

The best part, none of this feels like work. I really enjoy the time I spend taking care of the firearm and practicing my skills.

Some LE people I have spoken to use a method more like Ram Rod detailed.

Thanis

The one thing I feel 100% on target about is the use of the "in the barrel" round (to prevent set back).