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Posted: 3/4/2016 2:43:48 AM EDT
How often do you switch your self defense ammo in your daily carry? I switched about a year ago. Ammo looks good so far. The time before that was a couple years, 4 or 5 if I remember right.
Link Posted: 3/4/2016 5:23:45 AM EDT
[#1]
Once a year for work. I usually rotate the existing to extra-spare mags. The ones with especially nicked up case rims or dented jackets get cycled into range ammo.
Link Posted: 3/4/2016 5:50:08 AM EDT
[#2]
Yearly for SD guns. Old ammo gets put into the 'range practice' box.
Link Posted: 3/4/2016 8:18:20 AM EDT
[#3]
Carry guns, every 3-6 months, Ill end up shooting it.  Mainly because of carry restrictions, Ill have to load and unload throughout that time.  Ill rotate loaded ammo through mags so that the same bullet isnt constantly loaded, but after a while I feel better just to shoot it and load up some fresh ammo.

My home defense guns that stay in mini vaults in the house all the time, typically cycled out after a year or so.
Link Posted: 3/4/2016 8:57:49 AM EDT
[#4]
Switch or rotate?

I've been using the same type for a few years now, I bought a big batch of SD ammo when I had some "extra" money.
But I rotate it out a couple times a year by shooting a mag of it and replacing it with fresh stuff from my reserves.

Cheers!
-JC
Link Posted: 3/4/2016 9:19:37 AM EDT
[#5]
TTAG actually just did an interesting article about how often you should switch out ammo and the factors that influence the ammo's life.  I'd post a link, but TTAG is blocked here
Link Posted: 3/4/2016 12:04:17 PM EDT
[#6]
Work gun every six months.

Personal carry?  years.
Link Posted: 3/4/2016 1:12:55 PM EDT
[#7]
It depends- If you chamber a round over and over, it will suffer setback and have shorter COAL causing a host of problems from feeding to high pressure.

IF the same round stays chambered, I just fire it whenever I go to the range and keep the ammo in the mag the same.

I update my carry rounds at least every six months in my autos and j frames. For  Night stand guns- I stretch things out to a year or so.
Link Posted: 3/4/2016 8:24:42 PM EDT
[#8]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Switch or rotate?

I've been using the same type for a few years now, I bought a big batch of SD ammo when I had some "extra" money.
But I rotate it out a couple times a year by shooting a mag of it and replacing it with fresh stuff from my reserves.

Cheers!
-JC
View Quote


Rotate. I love My Black Hills and have no intention of going to a different brand any time soon!
Link Posted: 3/4/2016 8:25:39 PM EDT
[#9]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Carry guns, every 3-6 months, Ill end up shooting it.  Mainly because of carry restrictions, Ill have to load and unload throughout that time.  Ill rotate loaded ammo through mags so that the same bullet isnt constantly loaded, but after a while I feel better just to shoot it and load up some fresh ammo.

My home defense guns that stay in mini vaults in the house all the time, typically cycled out after a year or so.
View Quote


Thank God I'm not the only one that rotates the ammo in the mags. I also rotate mags too........ I HATE OCD sometimes
Link Posted: 3/5/2016 9:00:20 PM EDT
[#10]
Every 6 months if I don't shoot it.  No reason other then to have a set schedule.
Link Posted: 3/10/2016 4:31:08 AM EDT
[#11]
6 months to a year, I try to remember and shoot through mine every 6 months in my training. Just to remember what the recoil feels like and POI is compared to my reloads and training ammo.

Sucks to replace though, takes 1/2 of a paycheck to replace it all for all my carry guns. So I try to replace one gun at a time
Link Posted: 3/17/2016 7:57:10 PM EDT
[#12]
Quoted:
How often do you switch your self defense ammo in your daily carry? I switched about a year ago. Ammo looks good so far. The time before that was a couple years, 4 or 5 if I remember right.
View Quote


As long as it hasn't got submerged in water or bullet setback isn't an obvious problem then it stays in the magazine as carry ammo. I inspect my carry ammo every quarter (every single round in the carry mag(s)), when I clean my magazines. A digital caliber is a must for measuring set-back for OAL. The rounds that are set back too much for my liking go into a MTM bullet box to be shot at my next range session. I've washed and dried rounds accidentally multiple times with .223 Hornady's to .40 and .45ACP HST's... All went banged the next range trip. The only thing that worries me about carry ammo is if excessive moisture is a problem. But good SD ammo has sealed primers and the bullets are crimped properly. Thus every SD round I've ever fired has went pop. I've shot Russian 7.62x39 with 1964 date stamps on the case head with lacquer smeared all over the rounds. They all went pop too. 50+ year ammo stored in only God knows conditions that still fires reliably is a testament to the tenacity and resiliency of exactly just how really tough modern ammo is... Abused ammo stored in a basement under 6 inches is nothing I'd ever consider shooting though...
Link Posted: 3/17/2016 8:45:04 PM EDT
[#13]
uh, maybe um, .... I really don't remember  

Every once in a while I will pick a random round that is in the mix and shoot it.  So far no issues.

I have some .45 ACP that I bought 18 years ago still in the mix.  I am down to 5 mags of it, so it may be time to replenish and get rid of the older stuff.
Link Posted: 3/17/2016 9:42:17 PM EDT
[#14]
I've never had to worry about rotating my carry ammunition.  Most of my practice is with a load with a very similar recoil, but I still expend my carry ammo downrange every few months, in large part to continue to verify that it cycles with 100% reliability.  

You have to consider that while you make or acquire very high quality ammo for your self defense, load, it ends up being some of the most abused ammo you own, given the conditions it gets carried under.

----

The degree to which set back is a problem really depends on the ammunition and the pistol.  It's a non issue for a revolver, and it's less of an issue of you don't unload your self defense pistol every evening.

Even if you do, some rounds are extremely tolerate of being repeatedly chambered and set back isn't a concern over a reasonable period of time.  However some rounds in some pistols can have set back issues after being chambered as little as 2 or 3 times.  

In any case, set back is something that you should be checking/testing for in your self defense handgun using a small sample of rounds and repeatedly chambering them to see if/when you first detect set back issues.
Link Posted: 3/18/2016 3:53:41 PM EDT
[#15]
Carry guns: once a year or so

Home defense guns: maybe every 5 years
Link Posted: 3/18/2016 4:26:52 PM EDT
[#16]
Twice a year, when we change the clocks in spring and fall
Link Posted: 3/20/2016 10:25:33 AM EDT
[#17]
Carry and home both around 6 months.
Link Posted: 3/20/2016 11:05:01 AM EDT
[#18]
One year deer hunting I dropped a Winchester white box .44 mag 240gr JSP from my tree stand. Look for it but it was lost in the dead leaves. A year later while putting up the stand I found it. It had been out under heavy snow, sub zero temps, heavy rains, and heat and humidity. I cleaned it up with a little 00 steel wool and fired it mixed in with two "fresh " rounds. I could not tell the difference and all three group within a 1 1/2" . So I think some of this worry is unfounded.
Link Posted: 3/22/2016 1:15:35 AM EDT
[#19]
Once a year  ammo is shot and then mags are loaded with fresh ammo. Honestly I rotate mags more than ammo .
Link Posted: 5/22/2016 8:41:11 PM EDT
[#20]
When the top round s start looking nicked around the mouth or the case is dented .

Shoot the first two or three and unload mag and move ammo forward from carried mags and Kit mags .
Link Posted: 5/22/2016 11:54:18 PM EDT
[#21]
In my personal guns it's pretty much whenever I feel like it or it starts to look beat-up.  No set interval.
 



At work we shoot what's in our guns at qual once a year, supplemented with practice ammo, then load up with new ammo.
Link Posted: 5/24/2016 7:41:04 AM EDT
[#22]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted: A digital caliber is a must for measuring set-back for OAL. The rounds that are set back too much for my liking go into a MTM bullet box to be shot at my next range session.
View Quote


No reason your calipers have to be digital; both of my home sets are dials. For 99% of uses I honestly prefer the dial to digital.
But I do the same thing for my autos. About once every month or so I'll check all the rds in my carry mags to ensure they're within what I think is a reasonable range compared to the rest of the ammo from that box, any that aren't get set aside for range use (or disposal if they're bad enough - never had that happen though).
Link Posted: 5/24/2016 8:26:19 AM EDT
[#23]
Once a year all mags that are used for carry
Link Posted: 5/24/2016 8:14:31 PM EDT
[#24]
Carry guns, I'd say every 3 or 4 months, at the longest.  Not sure that I "need" to, but I just like to do it to ensure that nothing has changed in POI (I shoot one of my two carry guns quite a bit, as it's my work horse for training, fun, etc).
Link Posted: 5/26/2016 11:09:36 PM EDT
[#25]
Yearly!
Link Posted: 6/12/2016 2:08:20 AM EDT
[#26]
With the issued sidearm we shoot quarterly for qualification with carried duty ammunition. With personal SD firearms, I rotate at much longer intervals depending on perceived need.
Link Posted: 6/12/2016 11:02:02 PM EDT
[#27]
A few weeks ago I shot off a mix of old self-defense rounds that I've been cycling, swapping between guns, and generally finger-fucking for the last 5 years.

9mm, a mix of cheap WWB hollow points, Gold-Dot, and some variation of Hornady. All 9mm.

All of it went bang, and hit where I pointed. I'm not really going to worry about rotating ammo as often as some from here on out, unless its damaged, setback, or otherwise heavily exposed to oil or water.
Link Posted: 6/19/2016 5:10:29 PM EDT
[#28]
Pretty much weekly.  I try to shoot at least once a week.  I generally take whatever I'm carrying that week along with whatever strikes my fancy.

I start by running through all of the carry ammo, both in the firearm and spare ammo.  This keeps stuff fresh without thinking about it.

Now if you're one that believes you must use the latest and greatest(?) super defense round it might get expensive.  But I only shoot my own reloads.  I can honestly say that I've had factory ammo fail to fire, but never had one of my reloads do so.  Yes, I'm pretty darned anal about the ammo I'm loading for that purpose.
Link Posted: 6/24/2016 10:03:26 AM EDT
[#29]
I usually go years, even though I should swap out sooner.  Why do I go years?  Because in 1996, I had the pleasure of getting my hands on some 1911 magazines and ammo that had been loaded since the end of WWII.  For most of the time, it was either stored in this person's garage or attic and he gave it to me saying that I could do whatever I wanted with it.  Well, I went to the range with it and a borrowed Colt Gold Cup...  Every single round went BANG!  
Link Posted: 8/25/2016 1:56:27 PM EDT
[#30]
I'm the odd ball out here. I've always believed that you should shoot defensive ammo during practice  to get the feel of it for recoil and accuracy as well as  your  shot placement.  I generally shoot carry ammo during  matches and regular  range practice since I  carry department issue ammo in my off duty weapons.
Link Posted: 8/25/2016 11:23:20 PM EDT
[#31]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
I'm the odd ball out here. I've always believed that you should shoot defensive ammo during practice  to get the feel of it for recoil and accuracy as well as  your  shot placement.  I generally shoot carry ammo during  matches and regular  range practice since I  carry department issue ammo in my off duty weapons.
View Quote


If I'm trying a new load, I will buy a box or 2 to get used to it, but other than that I'll stick with target ammo. I just can't afford to shoot  about a dollar a round every time I go out.
Link Posted: 9/5/2016 1:06:34 PM EDT
[#32]
Quoted:
How often do you switch your self defense ammo in your daily carry? I switched about a year ago. Ammo looks good so far. The time before that was a couple years, 4 or 5 if I remember right.
View Quote


Carry ammo, as long as it hasn't been sweated up and doesn't look tarnished then I'll leave that ammo in my carry mags and pistol for a year before wiping it all down and putting it in my range bag to shoot/train with next session. The ammo in my house defense weapons; because the house is a controlled climate and very dry; it stays in those firearms magazines pretty much permanently. Ammo that is stored high and dry will outlast a human lifetime easily. I've been shooting 1968 head stamped Russian ammo for years as I still have stock left from when I bought a crate of it over 25 years ago. It's good to unload, detail clean your EDC pistol and wipe out your magazines monthly, especially in the summer months or when carrying in the woods/outdoors. I've cleaned out sand, small gritty pebbles, pieces of vegetation, lady bug wings even... out of my EDC pistol. All kinds of stuff gets in them when walking thru brush, etc...
Link Posted: 9/5/2016 1:53:20 PM EDT
[#33]
Yearly, but it's summer 10 months a year in my hood.
Link Posted: 9/8/2016 7:12:19 AM EDT
[#34]
Lol at all the people acting like defensive ammo has a expiration date in the next century...

For my carry ammo I only chamber the top two rounds by rotation between shooting sessions, and after several chambering's I will replace the worn top rounds with fresh cartridges.

The worn rounds go into my "plinking" ammo, and is shot during the next range session.

Link Posted: 9/8/2016 8:07:33 AM EDT
[#35]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Yearly for SD guns. Old ammo gets put into the 'range practice' box.
View Quote



Been doing it this way for years.
Link Posted: 9/11/2016 9:18:44 AM EDT
[#36]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Carry guns: once a year or so

Home defense guns: maybe every 5 years
View Quote


This ^^
Link Posted: 9/11/2016 9:25:43 AM EDT
[#37]
I had some 230gr CorBon that was in my carry gun that was 13 years old.

All of it worked when I finally shot it up.
Link Posted: 9/11/2016 6:13:48 PM EDT
[#38]
If you're not rechambering it all of the time why does it need to be replaced or rotated?  I could see doing that if the ammo gets exposed to lots of moisture or sweat.  If it isn't then why bother?   Are there any case histories of ad ammo that failed because it sat in a magazine for too long?  I'm just not seeing it.
Link Posted: 9/14/2016 4:18:48 PM EDT
[#39]
I inspect it every few months. Usually only swap out the top rounds after they've been unloaded/reloaded a few too many times.
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