[michiganfan]

how often does everyone rotate out thier carry ammo . On a similar subject how often do you break down your mags and clean them.

[Blackhawk]

I fire everything in the mags on each range trip.

I clean the mags when the guns get cleaned.

The carry guns are always clean with fresh ammo. Avoids tell-tale odors that I can't smell but gizmos and dogs can.... :D

[TheFrontRange]

Ditto Blackhawk's commentary!

I use Wilson mags with my 1911, very easy to disassemble for cleaning and I do so after each range trip, which lately equates to every six to eight weeks or so.

Lately I've been rotating out my carry ammo monthly. I work from a 50-round box of my fave Winchester "white box" 230-grain JHP and after about a month I put it in the ammo can and get myself a fresh box; however, I've gone as long as probably six months or more without ammo rotation with no problems.

[10-Ring]

Everything gets cleaned after each range session, including mags.

[Mark IV Series 80]

Every other time I go to the target range, I shoot-off all of the 230 grain Hydra-Shoks in the carry magazines.
I have 12 Wilson magazines, so after I clean the gun, I always use a clean set of magazines when I reload with defensive ammo.
The magazines that I use at the range get cleaned after two range sessions and then rested until they become carry magazines.

With the revolvers, I shoot away the carry ammo, and two or three additional cylinders full of my 158 grain, .38 Special +P, LSWCHP's, so that I maintain proficiency with that load.

[P95Carry]

Hmmm ....... think I'm gonna be the cheapster here!! To be honest, with the price of Hydrashocks bein what they are ..... there's no way I can afford to shoot em off every trip to range!!

I use homeloads with cast bullets for my practice and just a few factory defence rounds after routine deleading. Because my piece is carried 24/7, and is effectively ''undisturbed'' between shoots, I only rotate the rounds such that one currently chambered goes to the bottom of mag .. this is when I make sure mag is clean and free of any lint etc.

Because the top round is not re-chambered many times (like I know some people do, month after month!) ...... it has no significant damage but still gets rotated with the rest as described. After these have been all rotated then they'll get shot off..... not before. I will also change to a fresh mag periodically too, for carry, to let last one ''rest''......

[cratz2]

I tend to shoot up whatever is in the magazine on a pretty constant basis. Sometimes, it the shop is running low on 200 Gr Gold Dots (my preferred carry ammo) I'd just sit the carry mag aside. I doubt if I've ever had the same ammo in my favored 1911 for more than a month.

For magazines, I only clean them maybe once a year but certainly couldn't knock anyone for stripping them at every cleaning. I do usually wipe off the follower and the top 1/2" of the inside of the tube and of course a quick wipe-down of the outside after every use.

[J Miller]

Not being wealthy I cant afford to blast up my carry ammo every range trip.
I keep it about a year, then buy new and shoot up the old. My revolvers don't use magazines, so I haven't cleaned the ones I have for several years. :rolleyes: Really, not since I had to sell my last 1911.

Seriously I have found that ammo if kept clean and dry, not exposed to oils will be fine in the gun or out for a very long time.

Here is an example of cary ammo to avoid. I used to drive armored trucks. My partner was not a shooter. He would leave his revolver (we wern't allowed to cary autos) in his locker when he went home. We qualified, or were supposed to twice a year and then he would take his gun out and shoot the qualifications, take it home and clean it, then bring it back to his locker.
One weekend we went out to the desert to shoot. I asked him when was the last time he bought new carry ammo? He had no idea. We looked at the ammo in his dump pouches and it was all fuzzy green. Bullets, cases, and the insides of the pouches. I had to wipe the fur off the bullets to tell they were 158gr RNL 38's.
I mentioned that he really might want to buy a new box of ammo.
He asked me if they would fire? I said, I have no idea, stick 'em in and try. All of these corroded filthy cartridges fired. I was quite surprised. I wouldn't have wanted to rely on them, but they fired.
I convinced him to buy a box of the Win 158gr +P L SWC HP's.

Well there's that story. Wanna hear about the factory black powder .45 Colt ammo I bought? No, well it was turn of the century and it all fired just fine.

OK, I'm done now. :neener:

[bpisler]

I'll shoot my carry ammo every 6 months unless i.ve been out in the rain,then i set it aside until the next range trip.

[TallPine]

I open the cylinder and rotate it every now and then ... does that count? :)

[HSMITH]

I rotate about every 6 months, and shoot the old stuff for practice. I clean my mags every couple years whether they need it or not, JK, LOL. I usually clean the mags after 4-500 rounds. I clean the guns after a couple range sessions too.

[Stevie-Ray]

I shoot what's in the mag of my Ultra CDP II at every trip to the range; 230 gr Hydra-shoks. Usually go through 1 box at least to keep current with my carry weapons. If I use all weapons in the same trip, it can get quite pricey as the G26 lives on a steady diet of Hydra-shoks also. I'll eventually duplicate the felt recoil and point of impact of the Feds with my own reloads but I have to find the time. Until then I think it's worth it to practice with what I intend to carry.

[triggertime]

"I open the cylinder and rotate it every now and then ... does that count?" --TallPine

Probably not. To properly rotate my carry ammo, I unload my magazines, turn each round 360 degrees and put them back in. :p

[RockyNH]

I shoot off the carry ammo in each clip every time I visit the range. After cleaning, each is loaded up freash.

Pat in NH

[STEVE M]

I rotate the carry ammo about every 3-6months. Magazines get

cleaned with the gun after a range session. I don't think that

carry ammo really needs to be changed that often, the stuff lasts

a long time.

[Monkeyleg]

Thanks for the paranoia, folks! Today I went to the range and emptied every mag I'd had filled with Federal Hydra-Shoks just to be sure they worked. Took less than three minutes, proved that everything worked, and cost me about $30!

[Greg L]

Every 4-6 months here. The round up the pipe doesn't get changed unless I've been practicing with the carry gun (in which case it gets rotated near the bottom of the magazine).

Greg

[sm]

Usually each range visit.

"Cold "with carry ammo from concealment is my starting drill. Do whateve I plan to do...replace carry ammo. I will also use extra mags of loaded carry ammo , don't have a set schedule for extra mags, but often enough.