I clean my carry pistol weekly regardless of if I shoot it or not. Normally this just consists of field stripping it and blowing any dust on and in it out with compressed air (have some good compressed air lines at work) maybe scrub some dirt and grime out of the grip surfaces add a little oil when I get home if it's gotten pretty dry and roll on for another week and repeat.

This means that top round gets rechambered once a week. I carry a Glock 30S loaded with Federal HST. Note these have a slight crimp that looks like a canalure on a bullet in the case behind the bullet. I would assume to help prevent bullet set back.

The top round though has started to wear through the zinc plating in 1 or two spots... Which prompted this question. At what point do I fire it and load a new round on top?

Should I measure the O.A.L. and so long as that's not shrank from a fresh one just roll with It?

If there is ANY doubt, throw it away and load a new round.

Sheriff's deputy I know from church had her Glock in. 45acp detonate in her hand from suspected setback. I don't know model, don't speak Glock.

Eta: Guess I should mention she pulled the trigger, was at the range required practice. 

I have a 30 cal can of SD ammo. When I get home, I unload my mags and dump the rounds into the can. When I load up, I reach down into the can and draw up a handful of rounds. Like reaching down into a cooler and drawing out a cold beverage. 


When I go to the range, I always end my session firing SD ammo from my carry mags.  

I slowly chamber rounds used in CC guns. Either way, I've never noticed or measured ANY setback, ever.

Z*E*R*0.

This. If I clear the chambered round it goes in the 9mm range bucket. If I do that once a week that's still only a box a year. Big deal.

Don't you think that's a bit over the top? I mean at that point your probably as likely to get a factory dud as to have a failure to fire from a once re-chambered round.

Maybe so but I don't have to try and remember how many times I've rechambered it, just toss it in the range bucket and shoot it next time out. A box or two a year of 9mm HST isn't worth worrying about.

I went this route a couple years ago.

None of the above.

I carry a handgun for a living and have never had any issues with bullet setback, I just toss it when the cartridge rim starts to look rough.

I've tested Hornady's 135gr Critical Duty and it took 25 chamberings before I could measure .01" of setback.

Tomac

This.

I know it's heresy, but when initially chambering a round for CC I will ease the slide forward and then give it a smack on the back to make sure it's in battery. Zero setback, ever.

87 times.

I don't worry about it, but every on e in a while I'll switch the top one out.

my SD mag is over 3 years old.

i keep one in the pipe at all times.

i shoot my MP alot.  so that round has been in and out well over a hundred times. and its back in the pipe.  i have 9 to follow it. whats wrong with it? its not gauged up, bent etc. looks new still besides the copper jacket is fading...i bet that round will work just as a good as a brand new round...and ill bet my paycheck on it.
and if it is "setback" a thousandth if an inch, that wont have a negative effect on performance on a defensive range.

quit being anal and pull your skirts up. the bullet is still going to come out of the barrel where you point.

please to a ballistic gell/fps/ftlb test to prove its bad to keep rechambering your rounds.  ill may listen, but again, ill bet my paycheck that there is no difference unless there is obvious damage.

Same mostly...I have noticed it on some rounds of .40, .45, & 9mm.  It's not a big concern for me.  the internet makes it such a deal then it really is.  In fact I seem to remember someone testing the pressure of setback rounds & they actually were NOT any different then normal ammo.  I'd be more concerned if the round was in such bad shape as to not chamber or eject correctly.

I had significant setback with golden saber bonded ammo in my Glock. Zero with HST bullets. I don't keep track and I dry fire everyday.

Done it this way for years.

Not clear on any reason not to.

357 Sig sets back quick.  I would only re-chamber a round 2-3 times before either shooting it or tossing it.

I do what the other guys said and if I clear a round, it's a range round.  But admittedly, I'm anal.

The concern isn't from it not firing.

That is not entirely true.  Constant chambering a round can cause a primer to fail.  The constant shock to the cartridge can make the compound in the primer to break up and not go off when fired.  Their are several documented cases of officer involved shootings where the officers chambered round did not fire.  After investigations by the ammo makers they found the primer was the failure because of the constant chambering of the round breaking up the primer material.

Do you guys rotate your tires weekly too?

I'll say it again, they will fire.  All the rounds you guys are throwing out are still fine.

If it makes you guys feel better, I washed a pocket full of rounds by mistake, pulled them out wet when I moved the laundry to the dryer and loaded them in my mag and shot them just fine a hour later.

I don't think anybody is "throwing out" their chambered rounds.     Throwing them out the end of the barrel at targets maybe.    

I'm guessing that's not really what you meant.  But it's what you said.  

I doubt anyone is surprised they worked.  Doesn't really make a good point.  I'd shoot them too.  Well, I'd probably make sure each one wasn't a squib real careful like.  Rotating your tires is a heck of a lot more work than just setting aside a round for the range.   But if you think it's that crazy, more power to ya.  Chamber a round as many times as you want.  It's your funeral.  LOL.  I'm just kidding.

Mine usually don't get re-chambered, except in range practice.

I keep a couple empty magazines on hand, in addition to my primary magazine and two spare magazines.  When I clear a round from the chamber I put it in an empty magazine and then load another one from the box into the primary magazine once I've chambered a new round in the now freshly cleaned pistol.

In effect, the primary and spare magazines all start out with 12 new rounds.  The top round of the primary magazine is loaded into the chamber, and is replaced in the magazine with a new round from the box. That new round subsequently gets chambered the next time I have an administrative reload.  The other 11 rounds in the primary magazine never get chambered at all.  

The cleared rounds eventually fill the extra magazine and when it's full it gets set aside as for range practice (as all rounds in it have been chambered once).  Since none of the rounds in the #1 spare magazine have been chambered, it moves up and becomes the primary magazine.  The former primary magazine gets a fresh round on top and becomes the a spare magazine as all the rounds in it have once again never been chambered.  

At the next range session (or in the extreme when all my empty magazines are filled with once chambered rounds) the once chambered rounds get expended in live fire practice to provide both practice with the carry ammunition and also verification of reliability.  

Every 3-4 months I expend all the ammo in my primary and spare magazines.  Otherwise, the bottom 11 rounds in the primary and spare magazines would hang around for years in those magazines, doing nothing other than getting old.  Again this live fire will verify the carry ammo is still 100% reliable and provides more practice with my carry load.

I've been chambering the same RA9T in my M9 for about 10 years.

I should go shoot it and see what happens.

Never worry about it; taking them in and out of the cylinder does not cause a problem.

I don't normally cycle out the chambered round for no good reason.

That having been said, were I to notice visible setback of a round I would probably just fix it using an impact puller and seating/crimp die.

Breech load it.... problem solved.

Horrible advice.

Breech loading is not only very hard on your extractor, but also tears the shit out of the case rim.

Nice video, but Hornady critical defense is crimped with a cannalured bullet so it would be less prone to setback than others. I use Gold Dot LE which is not so it might be more prone to setback.

When you clean a CCW gun, is a simple external clean every week OK, or does it need to be a good field strip? If only external, no need to unchamber the round...

I was always taught not to clean a loaded gun.

Well sweat and a shit load of lint, some dust from abrasives and metal... so yeah, I clean it when I start to notice it accumulating in areas. Which takes about a week of carrying it all day. It goes on when I get up and comes off when I got to bed, otherwise it's on me.

Haven't cleaned any of my G19s in years.  I grab one when I'm carrying (IWB) or shooting at the range or a pistol match.  Never had any issues, always go bang.

Hand cycle when loading for CCW and a thumb on the rear of the slide to make sure it's fully in battery.  No measurable setback with micrometer.  Still will pull that round after a year and replace with a new one (HST 147).  Pulled round goes bang.