How often should I change cartridges with CCW?

[toolmaker]

Been carrying my SP101 during hot and sweaty weather this summer. At times, my SP has beads of sweat on it after a day of pocket carry. I use factory ammo exclusively for CCW and wonder how often I should put fresh rounds in it for surefire ignition. Is there a rule of thumb?

 

[Mannlicher]

The only round you can ever be sure that will go bang, is the last one you fired that did.
If it would help your piece of mind, keep rotating the ammo trough your gun. Shoot up your carry ammo at the next range session, and reload with fresh. In actual use though, what you are describing won't have any effect on your ammo.

 

[Hypnogator]

I generally rotate my "carry" ammo by shooting it at least twice a year. Just makes me feel better.

I've still got some FBI issue .38 Spls an agent gave me in '78, that I wouldn't hesitate to load into my stainless Chief's Special, if I thought I'd need it.

However, I wouldn't want to leave carry ammo in a gun for years, as some do, because the oils and solvents from the gun might possibly penetrate the rounds and make them unreliable. Likely? No. But you should shoot full-power defensive loads every once in a while, so why not rotate your stock.

 

[Dave R]

I do the same thing. Every time I go to the range, I empty my carry gun at the target, then reload it after that.

 

[Jim K]

Generally, ammo will remain functional for decades, even a century or more, if properly stored. But some solvents can penetrate even the "oil proof" primer sealers, so never spray a penetrant or gun cleaner on a loaded gun.

In practice, I agree with the others on shooting the carry ammo at the next range session, which should be sooner than six months if you hope to keep up any kind of skill. If I lay off for even a month, my accuracy is terrible for the first 10 or so rounds, the very ones I would need in a carry gun.

One more point. Some misguided folks practice with one kind of ammo (cheap) and carry another (expensive). Not a good idea. One guy who did that was a bit surprised (to put it mildly) when he found that the super ammo he was staking his life on would not work in his gun. The chambered round fired, but all the others in the magazine jammed.

Jim

 

[XLMiguel]

What Jim K said. Good factory ammo is pretyy durable/tolerant stuff. Pragmatically, asuuming you shoot at least a couple times a year, if you shoot what's in the gun, reload and practice with your normal range fodder, then clean-up and re-load with fresh 'carry' stuff, you should have no worries.

 

[PATH]

Carry ammo is changed religiously at three or so months. I feel comfortable doing it this way. Hey, it is my life that may be on the line and I think doing this is prudent. Just my .02 cents though!

 

[Valkman]

I have 600 rounds of carry ammo sitting in the closet, and I buy 500 at a time so I won't get chinzy and NOT rotate it. I don't shoot it up every time I go to the range but every month or two. This is also in an auto where bullet set-back can be a problem, but you don't have that problem with a wheely.

 

[SouthpawShootr]

Local PDs rotatate duty ammo once a year. So I'll shoot up a magazine once every six months in a auto. Once a year would probably ok for a revolver. The thing you've got to be careful about is lubrication. Chambers in my carry guns are dry, I don't want any oil seeping in and killing the primers. Alot of people soak their guns down with oil - chambers too. For semi-autos, I try to avoid chambering the same round over and over. The bullet will set back or be damaged over time. This isn't a consideration for revolvers.

 

[Island Beretta]

..envy you guys.. i am only entitled to 50 rounds a year, and in our Tropical climate the bullets turn green quickly. To help prolong the life I very lightly oil the bullet to keep moisture at bay and clean the magazines very month. It is amazing to see how dirty the insides of the magazines can be.

 

[Treylis]

..envy you guys.. i am only entitled to 50 rounds a year, and in our Tropical climate the bullets turn green quickly. To help prolong the life I very lightly oil the bullet to keep moisture at bay and clean the magazines very month. It is amazing to see how dirty the insides of the magazines can be.

50 rounds a year period even for practice? Can you not buy more, even on your own dime? I'm not very familiar with Jamaican gun laws, but I know they're restrictive.

 

[VaughnT]

I make it real simple and fire off my carry ammo after every gun show I attend. This is usually every six months, though I might make it every quarter.

I buy GA Arms GDHP +P at the shows b/c it's sooo cheap and this allows me to rotate regularly. Keep in mind, though, that my duty weapon is carried open and is more exposed to the elements than a ccw.

Can't be too safe.

 

[RWK]

I rotate my carry ammunition (for several handguns) twice annually, just to be sure. However, I have had several experiences firing decades-old revolver and autoloader rounds (that were reasonably cared for, kept indoors, no corrosion, and so forth) and ALL have functioned perfectly. In one recent case, I found a box of FBI-issued, Winchester-Western 158 grain .38 Specials my Dad had from his Bureau service in the ‘40s and ‘50s. These rounds were approximately 50 years old and were accurate and clean, with no misfires.

 

[halvey]

Weekly if possible, monthly for sure.

Now....time to change MY ammo!

 

[Zach S]

I rotate mine weekly. When I get to the range, I empty my carry ammo into the target and go through the rest of my session with whitebox. I reload with hydrashocks before I leave.

The only reason I started was the bullet pushback with the first two rounds of the magazine after a few range sessions.