How long is my defense ammo good?

[gembob]

How long can these rounds sit on the shelf/in my gun and still be 100% reliable? Do I need to shoot and replace my personal defense ammo frequently? I live in CO, so the climate here is very dry if that matters...

 

[Bazooka Joe71]

I've heard it's good to change it out every few months...I've shot defense ammo thats years old and it was flawless, but since it could save your life, its better to be safe and change it out every so often, than to be sorry.

 

[Pistol Toter]

Well let me put it this way; I've had munitions that have been stored in cool, dry, absent form the presence of any solvents or oils for 30+ years and it was / is just as good as the day it was shipped from the factory. I have not concerns that the Remington Gold Sabres that are loaded into my Ruger or my Glock will fail to fire. If it makes you warm and cozy to change your ammo out every few months, then that's what you should do. Federal, CCI/Speer, Remington... etc do surely appreciate the business. Good nickel plated brass cartridges load with semi-jacket copper projectiles loaded into a high quality firearm that rides in your holster should be viable fodder for years.

 

[CTPistol]

The ammo will be good for longer than you will naturally live.....but you should practice with your carry ammo a few times a year (at least)

 

[CU74]

Ammunition only has three enemies - wide temperature swings, moisture and politicians. Assuming you don't store your ammo outdoors or in your attic in Colorado, yours should be good for your grandchildren to shoot.

I'm shooting Communist Bloc surplus ammo (Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Yugoslovian, etc.) out of my various military surplus rifles that was probably stored in unheated warehouses or buried in the steppes for longer than many of us have been alive, and it shoots well.

That said, there is nothing WRONG with practicing with the current carry ammo and replacing it with new on a regular basis.

 

[SA Friday]

The only issue you have to be aware of is bullet set-back. loading and unloading rounds into the chamber can push the bullet back into the cartridge case and potentially cause a very high chamber pressure upon firing. If you are not doing this, it will last for 25+ years easily. If you are loading and unloading regularly, burn the ammo every couple of months.

 

[CWL]

While modern ammo will be good for decades if kept in a mild dry environment, your responsibility with SD ammo is to practice with it.

As such, you should be shooting through at least a box (or 4) every year along with cheap FMJ practice ammo. Replacing your carry/SD ammo every 3 months by shooting it is a good rule of thumb.

 

[Wedge]

I tend to replace my SD ammo about once every 2 months from shooting it.

It will last a REALLY long time though.

 

[Javelin]

Ammunition only has three enemies - wide temperature swings, moisture and politicians.

+1

 

[ID_shooting]

I recently fired some 30-06 that was dated 1947. Other than not being bright and shiney, it ran fine. As for my carry ammo, I tend to shoot a mag full every month or so so I keep it somwhat fresh.

 

[The Bushmaster]

I change out my Federal Hydra-Shoks every 6 months. I have a reload that matches the Hydra-Shok on the range and through a chronograph that I use for practice...

 

[M2 Carbine]

I don't recommend this, but my ammo stays in the guns and in my vehicles in the hot Texas sun for years at a time. Never, ever had the least problem when I shoot it to replace it.

I have some GI 45ACP that was loaded in 1942, but it has lost 25 FPS.

I'm shooting reloads that I loaded in 1993 and before and of course no problems.

I'd say that with normal use changing defense rounds once a year would be plenty.
Don't over lube your gun. 35-40 years ago I did have a chambered round in my 1911A1 night stand pistol, not fire because the primer was killed by too much gun oil.

As a side note, a while back I changed the rounds in a .380. I thought I'd shoot some of the new box. The first round was a squib load. It made it out of the barrel but just barely.
I guess if there's a lesson here, shoot a couple rounds out of your new box of defense rounds.

 

[jdorian]

Rotate the defense loads a few times a year, and use them as practice ammo at the range when they have done their duty. It does not matter if they sat in a mag or in a box, they will pretty much be the same ammo. But of course being carried around, they have higher potential of getting dirty or otherwise degraded.

 

[Linda]

One point not brought up, if you are constantly chambering/unchambering your gun, those rounds will get little burrs on them around the bullet. Time to shoot them and replace with fresh when that happens.

 

[forewiz]

I always like to send the one thats been riding around in the chamber as the first shot of a practice session. So I go through a box in about a year. It keeps me convinced that it'll be there if I need it. Although if it ever did fail I'd probably never carry the gun (G36/Bersa380CC) or the ammo (hyrdra-shok) again.

 

[jonnyc]

There's a certain feeling of comfort and well-being when you pull your carry gun and fire all the rounds without a hitch. I try to do that every 3-4 months and then reload with new, clean ammo.

 

[Deacon Blues]

If I run out of practice ammo and want to keep shooting, then there goes whatever SD ammo was in the gun when I started. Rotation is not an issue for me. I also like the idea of training with the ammo that I'm going to be staking my life on in an emergency.

I, too, think most ammo will last a lifetime; I base this on the multitude of soviet surplus rounds that all went *bang* when called upon.

 

[sinistr]

my rule of thumb is if a round has three or more extraction marks on it goes in the shoot pile.also,i don't oil my firing pin assemblies so it doesn't migrate to the primer on a chambered round and contaminate it.and of course,always check for setback.as far as lenth of time,its real humid down here,so every few months.(my black tipped ranger t's actualy get rust on the bullets,even when stored.)

 

[Pistol Toter]

I've been watching this for a couple of days and just have to add this comment: If not kept REFRIGERATED it will spoil and develope ecoli!! Almost as bad as make a suggestion as which gun to by my girlfriend or wife or the ever present why do you carry or what do you say to people when they learn that you carry or the all time winner wich is best 9mm or .45 acp..... :banghead:

 

[stephpd]

ammo age

Not sure if it's true but during the first Gulf war our solders were given old ammo to practice with in Saudi Arabia prior to the invasion of Iraq.Lots of complaints about ftf with some of the old ammo. Not sure if it was ammo from the Korean war or Vietnam. Think the military was looking to rotate stock and wanted solders to gain some experience clearing rifle before actual action.

Could have been a problem with storage of ammo or just age of primers. I think our government was more concerned with rotating stock and practice ammo was just that, for practice. For the actual invasion they were given newer stuff to shoot.

But most ammo stored in dry and stable temps should be good for 30 years or more.

 

[Mad Magyar]

I always like to send the one thats been riding around in the chamber as the first shot of a practice session. So I go through a box in about a year.

Sort alike me in that regard...Since I'm on the range weekly, all the mags regardless of caliber are topped off with couple of rds of PD ammo testing for accuracy & reliability...It does become expensive that way, but it gives me peace of mind....