Be Mindful Of Your Carry Ammo
- Thread starter Good Ol' Boy
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RetiredUSNChief
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I was talking to one of my brothers about the subject of this thread and he had an interesting point of view.
Several years ago, he ended up with a box of Federal self defense ammo that he used in his carry weapon for about a year, rotating the ammo through his carry magazines.
Time came when he decided enough was enough, and he shot through his loadedcarry ammunition.
This was when he found the box he had contained several rounds which did not fire. Turns out that lot, which he hadn't fired from, had some bad primers. Or, perhaps, repeated chambering knocked the primer contents loose. Regardless, he never knew his carry weapon was in a reduced state of readiness and reliability because of ammo problems.
Any more, his view is this: When he goes to the range, he simply drops his carry magazine and puts in a range magazine with his range ammo. The first round fired is, of course, the one chambered self defense round.
When shooting is done, he loads a self defense magazine, chambers a round, then tops the magazine off.
No worries EVER about setback and the extra cost per range trip is one self defense bullet.
One. Bullet.
Several years ago, he ended up with a box of Federal self defense ammo that he used in his carry weapon for about a year, rotating the ammo through his carry magazines.
Time came when he decided enough was enough, and he shot through his loadedcarry ammunition.
This was when he found the box he had contained several rounds which did not fire. Turns out that lot, which he hadn't fired from, had some bad primers. Or, perhaps, repeated chambering knocked the primer contents loose. Regardless, he never knew his carry weapon was in a reduced state of readiness and reliability because of ammo problems.
Any more, his view is this: When he goes to the range, he simply drops his carry magazine and puts in a range magazine with his range ammo. The first round fired is, of course, the one chambered self defense round.
When shooting is done, he loads a self defense magazine, chambers a round, then tops the magazine off.
No worries EVER about setback and the extra cost per range trip is one self defense bullet.
One. Bullet.
OP
OP
Good Ol' Boy
Member
Thats a perfectly good rationale when you're doing live fire.
However I, and I'm probably not the only one, do a fair amount of dry fire as well as dry holster practice where the gun needs to be made safe but won't be fired. In those cases some kind of alternative to firing the chambered defensive round is necessary.
But your point is certainly valid.
Garandimal
member
I do a lot of dry-fire practice, almost every evening.
Hand load - your chamber round.
With the loaded mag out.
- Lock back the slide.
- Hand load the round into the chamber.
- Ride-the-slide closed until the extractor is resting on the case.
- Rotate the pistol counter-clockwise 90 deg. (port up).
- Use your right thumb to press the rear of the slide forward.
- While you use your left thumb to "hop" the extractor over the case base into the grove. (battery)
- insert loaded mag.
Only takes a few seconds, and removes any chance of bullet damage or setback.
You can re-chamber that round indefinitely.
GR
Garandimal
member
Why?
I have already confirmed that my pistols will function reliably with my carry loads, and since I buy in bulk the "fresh" stuff is usually coming out of the same ammo can.
That said, every year or so I'll shoot up my carry mag and load fresh, for environmental reasons.
If I unload and dry-fire drill with my carry pistols every night, that is a lot of expensive ammo shot up just because.
Hand load - your chamber round, and manage your carry ammo as prudence dictates.
GR
RetiredUSNChief
Member
Perhaps it's well to remember that, like most other things in life, there is more than one way to deal with this issue.
Many different solutions have been presented...pick one that suits and go with it.
Many different solutions have been presented...pick one that suits and go with it.
herrwalther
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About a month ago I did something similar. I took the current mag and the spare I carry, and lined up all the rounds on the rim of my safe door. I do this to check for bullet set back. I found 1round that sat a little lower than I wanted, double checked with calipers, and tossed the round. But I also noticed 5 rounds where the casing looked a little too tarnished than I was comfortable carrying. So I grabbed some some replacement rounds out of the box after tossing those.
On this subject; powders are shaped, proportioned to provide a specific burn rate. I have often wondered what effect long term carry - agitation from running and movement coupled with temperature cycles - has on powder structure. So if the pellets or balls break down it might lead to accelerated burn rates and high pressures.
Garandimal
member
Federal HST .45 ACP +P cases have a cannelure.
GR
GR
This.
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