Test Your Carry Ammo & Other Lessons

[MtnCreek]

Test any new carry ammo. I purchased a small box of Hornady ‘premium’ ammo in .40sw. Don’t remember the exact name, but it came is a small (20-25rd), black box. Appears to be loaded with their XTP. I’ve loaded and fired, w/o issue, the Hornady HAP (same profile as XTP) and Speer GD’s in a G22. I was sure this ammo would function, but it didn’t. First shot fired functioned; second shot fired, but the 3rd cartridge jammed into the feed ramp. Out of 15rds, about 1/3 failed to feed the following round. I know everyone knows, but doesn’t hurt for me to say: Test Your Carry Ammo.

Other lessons learned this weekend:

40 to 50 rds of .300wm is just right for one sitting. 80 is far too many.

Spending 10 min moving needed stuff from 2wd truck to 4wd truck would have been a good investment. 2 hours, ½” of rain and a farm tractor later, it all worked out.

The inspection plate from a dozer is the perfect size to use as a target; it’s roughly the same height as a man from crotch to head and approx. the same width of a man’s shoulders. Unfortunately, it is made from mild steel and a 55gr FMJ fired from a 14.5” carbine @ 150yds will just about go through it. Great pistol target though.

 

[armoredman]

I've been stuck before, don't intend to do it again if possible.
Yes, I always run a few boxes of carry ammo through my sidearms before I actually carry it, function and POA/POI check.
As for the 300 WinMag, gah, me not a recoil junkie at all, you have fun with that one.

 

[MtnCreek]

Yea, my typical routine is 40 rds of 300wm. Four 5 shot groups, one 10 shot group and the balance is shot at improvised targets at varying ranges (ant hill at ~400, rock at ~600…). Heavy rifle, so that's not too bad. I’m in a little bit of a brass crunch right now, so I took all the misc reject loads that I had on hand in addition to the normal stuff. Somewhere along the line I loaded some toasty loads w/ 4831sc, those 11 pieces were packed away separately for full length sizing.

One other thing I figured out is if I hold a G17 right, I can pull the trigger as fast as I can and still put 99% on a 2x3 plate at 30 yds. Love that audible confirmation on the plate! I figured out a rhythm where I watch the front sight rise w/ recoil and pull the trigger as it comes back down onto target. Burned up a ton of ammo and probably pissed off the neighbors (Sunday morning…), but it was fun stuff!

 

[catnphx]

I agree 100% with test your carry ammo ... it seems logical but many don't do this. Personally, I carry Gold Dot 124gr +P ammo in all my 9mm's and they've been tested often; I'm very confident in the ammo. Lately, I've been testing Federal HST 124gr +P ammo because I'd like another premium ammo available just in case my GD's aren't available.

 

[gamestalker]

This is very reason I took up reloading over 30 years ago. Since I started loading my own I have had zero, yes zero mal-functions. I got sick and tired of mis-fires and feeding issues and decided to give reloading a try, I'll never go back to factory.

Back in the mid 1980's a friend of mine bought a brand new G17, but she couldn't get it to cycle reliably, no matter what ammo. she bought. After much frustration and disappointment, not to mention the money spent on factory ammunition, she asked me to load up a couple boxes for her. I loaded up my usual jacketed HP's and went out to the range with her. Of all 100 rounds she fired, not one failed to opperate normal. Over the years I have proven time and time again that factory ammunition is the problem, not the firearm. I challenge anyone to take the least expensive to the most expensive factory ammunition and pull 5 rounds apart and weigh the charges, you'll see first hand why they are so unreliable. Mis-fire's are another problem with factory, this is primarily do to primer's not being completely seated.

 

[beatledog7]

Another good reason to carry a revolver.

 

[Ole Coot]

New handgun for me is 300rds WWB and 200rds carry before I trust a semi to carry. Revolvers, 50rds of mixed ammo.

 

[Skribs]

An important lesson I learned the first time I took MY gun to the range instead of renting:

When testing your carry ammo, do not use ALL of your carry ammo.

Ole Coot, I carry WWB hollow points on anything above a 9mm. 9mm, .38 spc, or .380 I'll use "premium".

 

[mljdeckard]

A life lesson I have learned: Four-wheel drive lets you get stuck in places you never could have reached in two-wheel drive.

I just bought some XTP bullets to handload, I expect some tweaking to be necessary to make them work well.

 

[doc2rn]

You have now learned the valuable lesson of why god helped man invent the wench/cum-a-long. As far as recoil, I am not a big fan either due to medical reasons. As grandpa used to say, stick with what you know is working.

 

[MtnCreek]

You have now learned the valuable lesson of why God helped man invent the (wench/cum-a-long) Ford Tractor.

 

[mdauben]

Test any new carry ammo.

Definetly good advice. I like to run as much SD ammo as I can afford before I trust it in my gun (at least 40 rounds). I also try to shoot off all my "carry ammo" and replace it at least once a year, if not more often.

40 to 50 rds of .300wm is just right for one sitting. 80 is far too many.

Heh. I don't have anything that kicks like that (yet!) but I find 100-200 rounds of .22 or .223 make for a nice afternoon at the range.

 

[MtnCreek]

Forgot to mention, checked that ammo last night. It's Hornady TAP FPD 180gr. $19 and change from a local shop for 20rds. That's is just too much, even if it had worked!

 

[RainDodger]

Ok, I'll be the wild and crazy guy to say that I only carry my handloads. They've taken me years to perfect and I know with certainty that they will function as close to 100% as it's possible to be. My primary carry is a Kimber .38 Super, which I dearly love, and it has literally never failed to feed. I have never fired a factory .38 super cartridge, I don't think, although I bought a few boxes with the pistol.

When I carry a 9mm, same thing. Handloads.

All have been tested for years and years. I wouldn't carry something that I had never shot.

 

[Beaux Nehr]

Another good reason to carry a revolver.

What if the OAL of the round is too long for the cylinder to spin??

 

[Jeff F]

A life lesson I have learned: Four-wheel drive lets you get stuck in places you never could have reached in two-wheel drive.

LMAO, Yep that and all the 4x4's that get wreaked when it snows around here.
CCW carry ammo, If I can do a couple of mag dumps without issue I feel good about using it in my sidearm. I know its expensive with premium ammo but if its going to fail in any way I'd rather it be at the range then in a serious social situation.

 

[MedWheeler]

Spent an entire afternoon and into the evening stuck after an off-highway shooting session back in December of 1986. Prompted the trade-in the next month (January 1987) of my 2WD truck for a 4WD one (which I still have today.)

wench/cum-a-long.

Let's clean this up some, and use "winch/come-along."