How Many Times Can You Safely Chamber the Same Cartridge?

[colorado_handgunner]

How many times can you safely chamber the same cartridge of SD ammo? I ask because I carry one in the tube and find myself unloading and reloading afterward for range time and cleanings. I don't want to do it to much so that the bullet gets set back in the case and causes a kaboom. I shoot a .40 XD sub-compact. I have considered marking a cartridge with a sharpie each time it is chambered. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[sarduy]

as many as you like. as long as the bullet looks good.

 

[colorado_handgunner]

I check and can't see any bullet set back. Does this mean I am okay?

 

[DasFriek]

Set it next to a new one to compare their heights.

My 1911 is murder on anything it chambers just 1 time,if it goes 3 times ive seen 3mm setback.Ive also seen .380 GoldDots get there mouths flattened out almost to the point it wasn't so much a hollow point anymore.
My solution is every ccw i have the 1st round is a FMJ,that gets checked and rotated regularly.Plus FMJ gives added penetration and is also non +p so the second follow up shot with +p HP's will be dead on also.
And i dont feel bad about throwing away a few fmj's if need be.

 

[DBR]

I read somewhere a couple of years ago that most high quality self defense ammo was designed to be chambered three times before bullet setback might be an issue. This of course makes a lot of assumptions.

If you really want to know load five rounds of your ammo in your mag and repeatedly rechamber them until you get measurable setback on one. That will give you an idea of the outside limit for your gun and setup for that lot of ammo.

Me, if I have rechambered a round three times and there is no setback it goes into the "practice ammo" box. If there is setback it goes in the junk box.

 

[zhyla]

As long as you don't have a floating firing pin I don't see a safety problem. There may or may not have been an incident in my past involving an SKS and a living room. Old gun designers had different priorities .

 

[RoostRider]

Set it next to a new one to compare their heights.

Cheap (free)
Easy
Reliable

Do this ONLY with the SAME ammo..... other brands may be vastly different and still be safe.

A caliper could measure even minute changes, but I wouldn't worry about that.

EDIT- in fact you can measure it without a mic

Put a brand new round on each side of your 'chambered' round... place a straight edge over the tops (ruler?).... look at or measure the difference....

 

[Shadow 7D]

Take a piece of paper and put the round down against something flat so you can get a consistent measure and mark the height, then do the cycling, I'd start in sets of 5 or 10 just cause I'm lazy and don't want to check after each one.

Or, I know some people who cycle the top round for a week, then they put it in the ammo box for the next time they go to the range.

 

[rondog]

Use some dial vernier calipers to measure it against a new round. But myself, I just leave the gun loaded. I don't take 'em in and out.

 

[lloveless]

Geez guys I'll have to try that some time. I load and unload 10 -20 times before shooting it without giving it a second thought. This is with factory ammo in 9 mm.
ll

 

[RoostRider]

I load and unload 10 -20 times before shooting it without giving it a second thought.

Your in good company.... there is no reason to think it would be a problem.... but if you have any questions, the method I propose should settle the issue...

 

[Cloudpeak]

9mm and 40 S&W are high pressure round and setback can raise pressures to high levels. I'd test and measure each brand of ammunition and check for setback and wouldn't fire any factory round in these calibers with measurable setback. I like my fingers

 

[jaydubya]

as many as you like. as long as the bullet looks good.

+1 I've rechambered 9x19 Speer 124gr Gold Dots in my Browning High Power so many times I've lost track. I inspect it each time, comparing it with a fresh one. Would this apply to just any cartridge and handgun combination? Nope, so inspect.

Cordially, Jack

 

[hammerklavier]

Fire that round off every few months and get a new one, it may have soaked up some of the oils you use on your gun and become a dud.

 

[David E]

The ammo companies don't intend for the same round to be chambered more than two, maybe 3 times.

The thing is, the changes are not always cumulative. It might "look fine" the first dozen or so times, but when do you discover the bullet has set back? After you UN-chamber it. That means, it's been sitting in the chamber with a set back bullet, which can cause a serious problem at the worst possible time.

Something to think about.

 

[Steve C]

Chamber the first one as much as you like as it will go off no matter how short it may get and the action will feed the next round. If placed in the magazine as a subsequent round after much set back it may be too short to properly feed.

 

[tlen]

Buy carry ammo that has a crimp at or blow the bottom of the bullet. You won't have worry about any set back problems.

 

[rcmodel]

As long as you don't have a floating firing pin I don't see a safety problem.

It has nothing to do with a floating firing pin.

It has all to do with repeated impacts with the feed ramp driving the bullet back in the case.
That can cause a pressure increase.

Just to be safe, and do it the easy way.
Take a black Sharpie and mark around the bullets at the mouth of the cases before chambering the first time.

When a black mark goes inside the case, you have bullet set-back.

rc

 

[Shadow 7D]

Wow, RC you are like the Sage of the Mountain, that is an easy way, but 1 question, how do you get rid of the now no longer safe round as the set back will increase the chamber pressure, especially with hot SD rounds.

 

[Jumping Frog]

One routine I use to help minimize the number of times I re-chamber a round is to rotate them within the magazine.

For example, my .45 is 14+1. If I am unloading/reloading SD ammo because I am shooting reloads at the range, put the SD ammo away in the order in which they were sitting in the magazine. 1 (chamber), then 2,3,4,5,6 . . . 15.

When I reload, the 1 (chamber) load goes to the end of the line. Then #2 gets chambered. The magazine now holds rounds 3,4,5,6, . . . . 15 plus old number 1.

If you assume that a round can be re-chambered a certain number of times, this expands the lifetime by a factor of 15. For example, if you think it is safe to re-chamber 4 times, then you can now re-chamber 60 times before a round hits the 5th time in the chamber.

It sounds more complicated in writing than it is in practice. Just put your rounds in line and move the previously chambered round from the front of the line to the back of the line. Simple.

 

[Cloudpeak]

Chamber the first one as much as you like as it will go off no matter how short it may get and the action will feed the next round. If placed in the magazine as a subsequent round after much set back it may be too short to properly feed.

Wow. I think I'll pass but good luck with that

 

[mljdeckard]

I'm with rondog, I don't habitually load and unload. I think it is safer to keep it loaded and secure than to repeatedly load and unload.

 

[David E]

Chamber the first one as much as you like as it will go off no matter how short it may get and the action will feed the next round.

Well, there is that pesky "excessive pressure" thing...............

 

[Drail]

With a high pressure round like a .40 I would try VERY HARD not to rechamber the same round. Unfortunately the ammo companies do not seen to think that there is a problem with bullets setting back (which can be prevented with good quality control) but there has been an awful lot of cases I have seen personally. I am convinced that something needs to be done since so many people are carrying today and find themselves in situation that require unloading and reloading almost daily or more and are unaware of the possible dangers. I have been shooting only my own reloads for over twenty years and I have never had a bullet setback. Factory ammo today is pretty lousy stuff.

 

[Art Eatman]

Closed per OP request.