How often should you replace your carry ammo?

[chhodge69]

I change mine once a year - nothing scientific about that, it just makes me feel better to know that a) I have clean, new, unabused factory ammo once in a while and b) my gun still functions flawlessly with that ammo.

 

[ny32182]

Considering a lot of the rifle ammo I have shot is older than I am, I'm not too worried about rotating carry ammo every X number of months/years due to age.

When I shoot mine up, it is because it is noticably dented up from chambering/unchambering. And even then, it is really a cosmetic thing if I were to be perfectly honest about it. Since I no longer shoot my carry pistol in matches, it very rarely gets unloaded. I think I'm on year 2 or 3 with the same box of Gold Dots riding around in my G19. Not the least bit worried about it. 20 or 30 years from now I might put it on the to-do list.

I have dropped a magazine in a puddle once, it was submerged completely for a few seconds while I dug around for it. I shot up that magazine just in case. No issues. There is a hard press-fit between the bullet/case and primer/case that water is not goinig to readily penetrate, and most commercial top shelf ammo will have sealant in addition to that. A little humidity or sweat is not a concern.

Many reloaders tumble live rounds for hours in order to brighten them up as a final step. No one is blowing their arm off as a result. The vibration present in a tumbler is way more than anything your gun is going to be subjected to outside a tumbler.

Ammo is tough. Shoot it (or don't) and be happy. Keeping the springs, extractor, etc in your pistol and mags up to snuff, especially if it is a gun that sees a real round count, is far more important to worry about than rotating ammo, in my opinion.

 

[oldbear]

With the exception of two boxes of Speer GoldDot 158Gr. .357 Magnum ammo, I'm hoarding, I go through my ammo stash about every two years.
I don't date my ammo when I get it, which I should start doing, I simply move the fresh ammo to the bottom of the locker.

 

[WinThePennant]

RE: Hoarding.

This is something I highly recommend. You should never assume that your local Wally World will always have a box of WWB ready for your needs.

 

[RalphS]

Every 5 years, whether it needs it or not....

 

[JohnBiltz]

It really depends on the person and the gun. Unloading and rechambering is the biggest problem followed by oil getting on the primers. How often you clear and load is really what should be driving the question.

 

[AWorthyOpponent]

Both of the local sheriffs offices near me switch out carry ammo every 6 months. If its good enough for them, its good enough for me. I usually do the same with mine, firing off the rounds in a practice drill.

 

[Jonah71]

I fired some old lead rn.38 specials from the mid to late 80's last week. Everything went bang. And as far as I could tell, my old Security Six didn't suffer any damage.

 

[MikeNice]

I am a heavy sweater sometimes. I still don't worry about the ammo in my gun. In the auto the mag is surrounded by the gun. Minimal moisture is going to get in there. My second clip is caried in a nylon pouch. I am more worried about those bullets. There is more exposure to the elements.

When I unload my sd rounds in preparation for the range I wipe them down. I use a Remmington gun cloth or a cloth that has been sprayed with Birchwood Casey synthetic cleaner. I let it dry up pretty well then I wipe the bullets down to remove contamination. I would still rotate them out every couple of years. Honestly I'll probably shoot them off before I ever have to rotate them. It gives me an excuse to buy something different.

My revolver is more bothersome. The rounds are much more exposed in a revolver. They get the same treatment as the auto rounds. In fact the revolver is what started the process.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

I shoot up my carry ammo once a year. But I have shot MilSup 45 ammo that the boxed was dated 1930 and it all went boom. So as long as it has not gotten wet or soaked in cleaner or lube it should be fine. That just my 2 cents on this subject.

 

[bigfatdave]

I fired some old lead rn.38 specials from the mid to late 80's last week.

And where have those rounds been this entire time?

Riding in an IWB holster getting jostled about, sweated on, heated/cooled and generally neglected?
Or were they in a nice box in a somewhat stable environment?

 

[ChCx2744]

My department used to have us shoot off what was in our mags and what was in our guns twice a year. I've pretty much stuck to the practice of switching out ammo twice a year, but I'm starting to dwindle down towards once a year. This year I'll be changing out my ammo at the one year mark, but that's just because I want to try out another brand.

 

[WinThePennant]

The easiest way to "rotate" your ammo is to hit the range at least once a month. First to go down range? The stuff you've been carrying around in your gun.

Really, though, ammo is made very well these days. Especially, the top name American stuff. Worry about something else, folks...

 

[Jonah71]

And where have those rounds been this entire time?

Riding in an IWB holster getting jostled about, sweated on, heated/cooled and generally neglected?
Or were they in a nice box in a somewhat stable environment?

In an old wooden box along with some misc. junk in a desk drawer of my desk at the house. I didn't expect all 6 of them to fire.

 

[Mike1234567]

I'm just echoing what others have said but... I never worry about ammo getting old because the first ammo I shoot at the range is what's already loaded in the mags so it's rotated fairly often.

 

[Ex-MA Hole]

My 99.9% carry gun is a 642. I shoot the snot out of it, but my five carry rounds and my spare strips get shot up and replaced every fall. I've just always done it that way.

My other carry gun is my LCP and I'm not using carry ammo per se, so that just gets shot when I go to the range,

 

[rscalzo]

I replaced all departmental carry ammo every year at the Spring qualification session. While ammo can and will last longer, we weren't going to take a chance.

A box or twenty or fifty at best is $40. My life is worth more than that.

 

[ms6852]

I shoot mine about every 2 to 3 months to get a feel for it, different recoil from my practice rounds.

 

[The_Shootist]

Time?

I refresh the carry ammo in my G19 (Remington GS 124 gr +P) about every 6 mos. Thats more to test fire for accuracy / familiarity than anything. Properly stored, I'd have confidence in modern SD ammo for 1-2 years. The time period for practical purposes is likely longer but why push it for defensive ammo that you might have to protect yourself with?

 

[c1ogden]

I shoot up my carry ammo on each qualification and replace it with fresh ammo.


"Have you ever had one of your "old" rounds misfire or be a dud?..."

Several times. When I first started for the sheriff's office you qualified in the academy and that was it. An officer who had been on five or so years was still carrying the ammo that he was issued in the academy. It had corrosion marks on it so I took it away from him and gave him fresh ammo from my personal supply. Two of the six that had been in his gun failed to fire.

About ten years ago I had two brand new, right out of the box rounds fail to fire. One jammed my Sig P226 and cost me a match. The primer had been installed backwards and when the firing pin hit it it trapped the pin so that it couldn't retract. This locked the slide up and it had to be hammered open. Another round failed to fire even though the firing pin had made a nice dent in the primer. I hit it again and it still didn't fire. Both rounds were CCI/Speer 9mm.

 

[gamestalker]

I've never had one single mis-fire with my reloads and that includes my carry ammo that has been around for decades. I change the carry ammo only after having shot it. My feelings on this is the powder and primer are better preserved by the sealed brass than in any other container. And the fact that it's been in my gun for years isn't going to change it's reliable function, under any circumstances.

 

[gamestalker]

Oh, I forgot to mention the only mis-fire I've ever experienced was with factory ammunition. In this respect, I've had countless mis-fires up until I began reloading over 30 yrs. ago.

 

[Paulgibs]

We sow lots of watermelon, pumpkin, honeydew and cantaloupe seeds near my home range. We can't nearly consume all of the crop. We and our friends use our SD rounds once a year to dispatch the extra melons. It's fun to see how the targets react, and it takes some of the sting out of the cost of replacing our supply of SD ammo.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Once a year just for the hell of it....

 

[303tom]

Every time I am out where no one gives a damn , I empty & reload , just to keep the feel ! Maybe 2 or 3 times , depends how I feel !