Swapping Out Carry Ammo....

Status
Not open for further replies.
Speaking of bullet setback...

I discovered this one day after ejecting a round from my Glock that had been repeatedly cycled into and out of the chamber numerous times.
27B736E7-8B43-4871-BAEE-E6EB9C4A96B0.jpeg

After discovering this I now do something similar to what you do, @WrongHanded I rotate my ammo but I like your marker idea. I will use that. Thank you. :thumbup:
 
I don't see the point of "swapping" carry ammo. At increasing intervals without failures I simply shoot the ammo in the guns that are in my carry rotation. Then clean them and load fresh ammo.

Soon I'll be doing this for my S&W BG .380 at the ~2 yr mark with Golden Saber 102gr JHP, it passed the ~1.5yr test with flying colors.

If I have failures I make it a point to cut the test interval in half at least.
I've revolvers that are at 10 yr intervals.
 
I do not generally re-chamber the same round repeatedly.
When I shoot my carry pistol at the range, I have to re-chamber the first round, but I can swap the first and the second, extending the life of both.

I generally shoot my carry ammo up every six months and replace it. And if I have to really worry about it, I could just replace the top two and be okay. I have enough carry ammo to do that for a looooong time.

I have never seen anything like the pictured set-back. When/if I do, I will either worry a bit more or change pistols/ammo.
 
Pat Riot said:
Speaking of bullet setback...

I discovered this one day after ejecting a round from my Glock that had been repeatedly cycled into and out of the chamber numerous times.
View attachment 980710

After discovering this I now do something similar to what you do, @WrongHanded I rotate my ammo but I like your marker idea. I will use that. Thank you. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Let me guess. That is Hornady Custom with an XTP bullet. I experienced the same thing in .380 with that ammo. That hasn't happened to me in decades of using factory Speer Gold Dots in multiple calibers. After numerous rechamberings I have to pull out calipers to measure a difference. The nose of the bullet may show some dings, though, which could affect performance.

As far as the general topic is concerned, boxed ammo can sit on a shelf indoors and last almost indefinitely. For a gun and spare magazines that sit in a drawer or are concealed on a person, the ammo can go a very long time without needing to be replaced. Of course, severe environmental conditions can increase the need for changing ammo on a regular basis. A police officer or outdoor person open carrying in weather extremes will be in a different situation than a CCW person. I had been in a position to change out carry ammo frequently, but the current situation has me much less likely to do that now.
 
Last edited:
WYO said:
Let me guess. That is Hornady Custom with an XTP bullet. I experienced the same thing in .380 with that ammo. That hasn't happened to me in decades of using factory Speer Gold Dots in multiple calibers.
Click to expand...

It’s Hornady American Gunner 115 grain with the XTP bullet.
 
My ammo swapping is essentially a routine I have that has no thought or science to really justify it.

My carry gun is 7+1 and I have 2 additional carry mags that stay loaded. Every time I'm out shooting, no matter what I'm shooting, the loaded mag in my carry gun gets emptied at whatever target I'm using. 15yd pistol, 25 or 50yd rimfire, or 100 yard rifle (very rare).
Grab a box of ammo, chamber a fresh round, then load the empty mag. Mags are all marked, so I stuff the next in line in my gun, and the freshly loaded one goes to the end of the line. Rotate ammo, rotate mags, shoot my carry gun. Makes sense in my head at least.
 
WrongHanded said:
How are you guys handling switching out SD ammo given the shortages?
Click to expand...

I typically don't have a set amount of time I follow, I will sometimes rotate the top round out of the mag or to the bottom of the mag after a while, the top one will often become discolored, much darker than the rest, or get lil green oxidizing (especially in humid summer months) or if being racked in and out of a gun sometimes the front will deform (especially true of Gold Dots, very soft) and I rotate it out into a plastic ammo tray/case specifically for carry ammo that's been rotated out or for the couple few rounds left in a box that aren't worth keeping in the factory box after loading mags for carry, etc...

I have quite the collection of these after about 10+ years of carrying. I believe the ammo to still be good to keep but it is old, weathered, carried, sweated on, bumped around, etc... some of it is perfect because like I said when you load a magazine it isn't worth putting the entire box back into your ammo can if it only has 3 rounds left in it, so into the miscellaneous box it goes. I must have a couple hundred rounds of assorted Hornady CD's, Hornady XTP's, HST's, Gold Dots, Ranger, PDX1's, Hydra Shoks, etc...

I think the Critical Duty are my favorite.
 
I used to do the 6-month cycle thing, with the added bonus of firing off the magazine in my 2 carry pistols when I would go to the range every 4 weeks or so. Besides rotating the ammos, it also cycled the magazines, so I could check for problems there... I have 8 magazines for my Kahrs, my primary carry pistol, so that's a box of ammos. Now that I'm down to 2 boxes of factory... that is, 1 box loaded in mags, and one box in the Go Box, I'm not doing that so much. I have been pulling the top 2 cartridges... the ones that get abused... and stashing them, and replacing only those. At the end of the day, however, I'll start carrying reloads if that's what I have to do... I loaded up a box of Speer 115grn Gold Dots a few weeks ago just for that purpose.
 
hdwhit said:
My .45 ACP self-defense loads were handloaded in the 1990's. I still use them; testing a few each year and finding they still chronograph just as they did when new.
Click to expand...

I think testing like that is a good idea. And certainly confirms the integrity of your carry ammo.
 
WrongHanded said:
...As a side note, to prevent setback issues I do the following: After rechambering a cartridge a few times, I'll unload the magazine, mark that cartridge with a sharpie, and make it the bottom round in the magazine. In time I put each subsequent cartridge that has been chambered a few times in the bottom of the stack til the sharpie mark finally makes it's way to the top. I do this first with the primary, and then with the spare magazine...
Click to expand...

To prevent setback issues... use a "Barney" round.

1. Lock back the slide of the Empty pistol.
2. Hand chamber the "Barney" round.
3. S-L-O-W-L-Y ride the slide to the base of the cartridge.
4. While pushing the slide forward w/ your strong hand thumb, use your weak hand thumb to hop the extractor over the case head into battery.
5. Insert loaded magazine.




GR
 
WrongHanded said:
Typically, I've been inclined to switch out carry ammo in my self defense handguns every 6 months or so. I currently have a few boxes of SD ammo in reserve, but not as much of my preferred load as I'd like.

As a side note, to prevent setback issues I do the following: After rechambering a cartridge a few times, I'll unload the magazine, mark that cartridge with a sharpie, and make it the bottom round in the magazine. In time I put each subsequent cartridge that has been chambered a few times in the bottom of the stack til the sharpie mark finally makes it's way to the top. I do this first with the primary, and then with the spare magazine.

Anyhow. Ammo is scarce. I'm considering holding off swapping out for a while longer. Then when I finally do switch it out, I'm considering saving that old SD ammo (marked appropriately) for potential future emergency use.

How are you guys handling switching out SD ammo given the shortages?
Click to expand...

I do the same. But am holding onto JHP's much longer until my stockpile is back up. I have enough for defense and mild training. Not enough to play with.

I ride the slide on Glocks to slowly chamber. No setback worries that way. I just compare the top round to the loose round for length.
 
DustyGmt said:
.
I have quite the collection of these after about 10+ years of carrying. I believe the ammo to still be good to keep but it is old, weathered, carried, sweated on, bumped around, etc... some of it is perfect because like I said when you load a magazine it isn't worth putting the entire box back into your ammo can if it only has 3 rounds left in it, so into the miscellaneous box it goes. I must have a couple hundred rounds of assorted Hornady CD's, Hornady XTP's, HST's, Gold Dots, Ranger, PDX1's, Hydra Shoks, etc...
Click to expand...

As long as there is no bad bullet setback, I shoot those rounds when I have a sufficient quantity. I cannot recall a dud. It ups my confidence level in the brands involved and helped me in formulating my opinion that ammo can take a lot and sit a long time and still work fine.
 
Both of my 1911 pistols tend to jam the bullet into the case pretty significantly after repeated chambering of the same round, so I rotate the rounds position every time the pistol is emptied. Eventually the rounds go below the limit of what I expect to feed properly and what would be expected to produce a pressure spike. I’ve often wondered if in .45ACP the bullet can set back enough to raise pressures above safe levels before its resting on the powder charge. I assume it can and act accordingly, but actual testing of this would be interesting. Are my shortened .45ACP going to blow my 1911 or are they simply pushed into .45 Super territory?

It’s also worth noting a reloader could easily use an inertial puller to bring the bullet part of the way back out of the case and reseat and recrimp the round to standard spec. If you accidentally pull the bullet all the way out the possibility of loosing an amount of the powder charge inside the puller exists so use caution.
 
I get setback in 380 pretty quickly, but I've never had the issue with 9mm and I tend to carry 9mm more although in the summer I lean on 380 more. I'm not sure why its only an issue with 380, might be the ammo (usualy XTP but I've also seen it with Sig HP's) or pistol (LCP). Unfortunately I'm a little light on 380 carry ammo right now.
 
My old routine was. Shoot my carry rounds that I have been carrying then some FMJs and the last cylinder or magazine on the range carry ammo again.
Now I unload my carry ammo set it aside. Shoot some FMJs reload the carry ammo and shoot it. I carry revolvers and a LCP2 so I'm talking 5 - 6 rounds a range session.

I just bought two boxes (100 rounds of 38 special) 125 grain HPs. New to me ammo so I will need to accuracy test it , but it should be a good load for my j frame.

If you carry a high capacity auto loader just top load the magazine with 3-5 defense loads and the bottom of the magazine with FMJs. Any extra magazines should be FMJs. If you need to fire your carry gun more than 5 times - its a battle not defense and the load isn't going to matter.

I'm hoping carry ammo starts showing up on shelves very soon also!
 
IdaD said:
I get setback in 380 pretty quickly, but I've never had the issue with 9mm and I tend to carry 9mm more although in the summer I lean on 380 more. I'm not sure why its only an issue with 380, might be the ammo (usualy XTP but I've also seen it with Sig HP's) or pistol (LCP). Unfortunately I'm a little light on 380 carry ammo right now.
Click to expand...
My LCP just kind of rams the bullet into the chamber, straight blowback. Isn't as nice and smooth about clambering as my glocks and other semi autos.
 
WYO said:
Let me guess. That is Hornady Custom with an XTP bullet. I experienced the same thing in .380 with that ammo. That hasn't happened to me in decades of using factory Speer Gold Dots in multiple calibers. After numerous rechamberings I have to pull out calipers to measure a difference. The nose of the bullet may show some dings, though, which could affect performance.
.
Click to expand...

I like Gold Dots, but I definitely do not care for their tendency to deform after repeated clambering. Not the bullets fault though, it was designed to deform, just probably not meant to be rechambered many times. I have some, especially .380 Gold Dots that I dont even carry anymore that look like the profile of a FMJ because the tip has folded inward and rounded off at the nose to such an extent that I think it would act very much like a FMJ except lack penetration. I want something like a hard cast flat point or a Lehigh penetrator for micro .380 anyway.

I like the Hornady CD because there is no deformation or setback whatsoever and it's designed in a way that it would be immediately obvious to tell if it was seated any differently and I'm pretty sure the only way you could deform the tip would be to shoot it into something...
 
I do visually inspect my ammo when I clean my carry guns. I unload the mags, clean them and look at the rounds I put back. Any sign of damage or corrosion those particular rounds get replaced. I see no reason to rotate out the whole loading. But I have seen damaged rounds and setback from the factory. Worth giving them a look.
 
I used to rotate it out every year but since I now have to buy ammo from a licensed vendor in CA (no internet sales without having it shipped to someone else) and with the current ammo crisis I haven't lately.
(and of course there is none around right now)
I figure when it is a about 5 years old I will worry about it.
 
I do not normally clear/unload my carry weapons, so there is no repeated re-chambering. I can lock them away, loaded. A cartridge can be measured, to see if set-back has occurred, but I have usually avoided re-chambering.

Between retirement from LEO-ing, in 2018, and the social isolation of 2020, I have gravitated toward revolvers, for carry, anyway. With my aging right hand not always doing precisely what my brain tells it to do, my right hand is not the most-stable platform for auto-loader cycling reliability, if shooting righty, and if shooting lefty, my right hand can fumble running the slide, unless I grab it “just-so.” Plus, long-stroke DA is my least-perishable trigger skill, during these times, when live-fire sessions are few and far between. An added benefit of revolving-around is that bullet set-back is not a factor. ;)

Not that I consider revolvers to be any kind of real-world handicap, anyway. On a police duty belt, over-crowded with all manner of gear, an auto made plenty of sense, due to space-efficiency. As a private citizen, I do not tote a Taser, two pairs of handcuffs, radio, etc.
 
I do usually "swap" out my carry ammo after 6 months by practicing with it on the range. Since I carry a revolver I don't worry about bullet setback. Now, since the pandemic hit, I haven't changed my carry ammo in over a year now. It is Hornady American Gunner 125gr .38 Special; the speed strips have been in and out of my pants pocket, handled by my hands, etc. so many times the cases are no longer yellow but brown in appearance along with the projectiles. I would buy more to replace it but I can't find any near me nor online. So, I'm going to try and make it go two years. The ammo and gun don't ever go into hot/humid environments like being left in a car in the summer; my friend who is in law enforcement advises me he has carried ammo for several years in varying environments and, as long as it was quality manufactured to begin with, hasn't posed any problems for him.
 
American Finn said:
I do usually "swap" out my carry ammo after 6 months by practicing with it on the range. Since I carry a revolver I don't worry about bullet setback. Now, since the pandemic hit, I haven't changed my carry ammo in over a year now. It is Hornady American Gunner 125gr .38 Special; the speed strips have been in and out of my pants pocket, handled by my hands, etc. so many times the cases are no longer yellow but brown in appearance along with the projectiles. I would buy more to replace it but I can't find any near me nor online. So, I'm going to try and make it go two years. The ammo and gun don't ever go into hot/humid environments like being left in a car in the summer; my friend who is in law enforcement advises me he has carried ammo for several years in varying environments and, as long as it was quality manufactured to begin with, hasn't posed any problems for him.
Click to expand...
https://www.bigronline.com/hornadyreg-38-special-125gr-xtpreg-american-gunner-25-rounds-2209115.html
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

C
  • Locked
How Many Times Can You Safely Chamber the Same Cartridge?
Replies
24
Views
3K
Art Eatman
A
K
  • Locked
What SD ammo do you carry
2
Replies
39
Views
1K
FMF Doc
F
E
  • Locked
Kel-Tek P3AT or S&W 642
2
Replies
25
Views
3K
DAdams
DAdams
Baron66
  • Locked
What is the best and most capable .22lr handgun for concealed carry?
2 3
Replies
54
Views
9K
Robert
Robert
ChCx2744
  • Locked
Need opinions on my new choice of BUG carry ammo
Replies
3
Views
479
hardluk1
H
Back
Top