Posted: 5/13/2009 6:05:52 AM EDT
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So i just had a random late night thought as i was heading off to bed, figured the guru's here would have an enlightening answer for me,
how long do you / can you keep a round chambered before you should replace it? i keep a round chambered for the time i CC and then i keep it the same condition on the nightstand, never really thought about it until yesterday, any takers? |
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I would think as long as the cartridge has not been rechambered many times, resulting in set-back, it can stay in there indefinitely. Not only set back - but we noticed when I worked for the P.D (weapons inspections, clearing to hand over to corrections, etc) that the extractor would chew up the lip of the cartridge. The problem wasn't necessarily with the round going "boom", it was that it may not eject that round to chamber another due to the lip being chewed up by ejecting that case numerous times. something to think about. |
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I would think as long as the cartridge has not been rechambered many times, resulting in set-back, it can stay in there indefinitely. Not only set back - but we noticed when I worked for the P.D (weapons inspections, clearing to hand over to corrections, etc) that the extractor would chew up the lip of the cartridge. The problem wasn't necessarily with the round going "boom", it was that it may not eject that round to chamber another due to the lip being chewed up by ejecting that case numerous times. something to think about. Great point! Hadn't thought of that... |
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Don't worry about it. The only thing you might have to worry about is if you keep recambering the same round over and over (read hundreds of times) and for some strange reason the bullet gets set back into the casing and causes a increased pressure load. It doesn't take anywhere near several hundred re-chambers to drive a bullet far enough back for it to be dangerous. Go re-chamber one less than 10 times and you can visibly see the differences when it stands next to a round that has never been chambered. |
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The bigger concern in my mind would be how proficient I will be with a pistol I never shoot. i shoot it all the time, well less now due to ammo prices, but i dont shoot up my expensive hydra-shocks, they sit in my carry mag or in the chamber at all times |
| Ok, I was under the impression that you were talking about a gun that was to remain chambered and unfired for an unusually long period of time. The only real long-term ( and I mean really long) issue I could see is some sort of corrosion locking the round into the chamber. |
I've never left a round in the chamber long enough to corrode, but did once see some mild discoloration of the brass when carrying in a very humid climate. Bullet setback is more of a concern, and one of the major reasons I sold off a .357 Sig (along with the ammo price, and using that cash to fund my first AR  ).
FWIW, I use a Sharpie to put tick marks on the case heads of my carry ammo. One tick on a quadrant for each time the round is chambered. 4 chamberings makes an X on the headstamp, meaning it's time to fire that chambered round instead of rotating it back into the bottom of the magazine. In practice, 3 tick marks means that round gets thrown into the "range ammo" pile allowing some continued practice with defensive ammo. Conveniently, that X is also how I mark my reloaded ammo. |
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Indefinitely.
Seriously, like another poster said, as long as there's no kind of corrision going on (humid environment, etc.), I'd say 80 to 100 years. Seriously. The Glock can stay chambered for that long as well, same caveat as far as corrosion. Doesn't hurt a thing. |
| My first hand gun was a hipoint, which I left a round in the chamber of it. Took it to the range and fired the same round which had been in the chamber for well over a month. Took the safety off to shot at a target, it click first than fired the round after a short delay. Never had that problem before I started leaving it chambered for an extended period of time. After that I would keep a round in the chamber only at night and remove the round from the chamber during the day. I think the issue was in the firing pin mechanics and not the round. I've not had that problem since,I own a glock now and do the same, chamber round before bed,eject round in the morning. |
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There must be something wrong with me, I rarely ever rack a round in for my carry gun (G19 usually). When I chamber a round, I open the slide, drop the round in the chamber and then close the slide. I then insert a loaded mag. I started this a long time ago (about 15 years) before I even knew that a round could be pushed back in the casing causing an over-pressurization event. I was right out of college and I just figured it wasn't smart to keep hammering the round on the feed ramp over and over again. If I noticed that round's case lip started getting chewed up, I'd pull it "out of rotation" and leave it for the range. I've left a round in there for months at a time and all sorts of environments. So unless someone tells me i've been incredibly lucky not to blow my asscheck off by loading a round this way, I will continue to due so. For what it's worth, i've done the same thing with a 1911 too.
(nowadays, since i'm in a townhouse, i leave it without a round in the chamber but easily accessible. if i need it, i'll rack one in. once i get my wife to go to the range and become familiar with it, i'll go back to leaving it chambered. i've been married less than a year, so i haven't taken her shooting yet. of course, i've gone over the safety stuff many times) |
| That's called a "bubba load." 1911 purists reading the post just cringed, since there is an impression that it will wreck a 1911's extractor. IIRC, someone rigged up a device to do a huge number of loads & found no problem. I still don't do it, though. I'd rather buy more defensive ammo than have to get a new 1911 extractor fitted anyway. |
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That's called a "bubba load." 1911 purists reading the post just cringed, since there is an impression that it will wreck a 1911's extractor. IIRC, someone rigged up a device to do a huge number of loads & found no problem. I still don't do it, though. I'd rather buy more defensive ammo than have to get a new 1911 extractor fitted anyway. +1 i dont do it on any of my pistols either, the extractor isn't made to "jump" over the case |
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There must be something wrong with me, I rarely ever rack a round in for my carry gun (G19 usually). When I chamber a round, I open the slide, drop the round in the chamber and then close the slide. I then insert a loaded mag. I started this a long time ago (about 15 years) before I even knew that a round could be pushed back in the casing causing an over-pressurization event. I was right out of college and I just figured it wasn't smart to keep hammering the round on the feed ramp over and over again. If I noticed that round's case lip started getting chewed up, I'd pull it "out of rotation" and leave it for the range. I've left a round in there for months at a time and all sorts of environments. So unless someone tells me i've been incredibly lucky not to blow my asscheck off by loading a round this way, I will continue to due so. For what it's worth, i've done the same thing with a 1911 too. (nowadays, since i'm in a townhouse, i leave it without a round in the chamber but easily accessible. if i need it, i'll rack one in. once i get my wife to go to the range and become familiar with it, i'll go back to leaving it chambered. i've been married less than a year, so i haven't taken her shooting yet. of course, i've gone over the safety stuff many times) You're doing it wrong. |
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I would think as long as the cartridge has not been rechambered many times, resulting in set-back, it can stay in there indefinitely. Not only set back - but we noticed when I worked for the P.D (weapons inspections, clearing to hand over to corrections, etc) that the extractor would chew up the lip of the cartridge. The problem wasn't necessarily with the round going "boom", it was that it may not eject that round to chamber another due to the lip being chewed up by ejecting that case numerous times. something to think about. Niether bullet setback or casing damage will happen if you ride the slide forward to chamber a round, at least I've NEVER seen it happen in ANY of the autos I've ever carried(and I've been carrying for over 15 yrs now). I carry daily and load/unload often to meet different carry conditions. The current first 2 rounds in my G17 have been loaded/unloaded hundreds of times and have no set back or casing damage. 
YMMV |
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I rotate my carry ammo through every 3-6 months.
My bedside gun probably gets new ammo every couple years. As long as you aren't excessively sweating with your gun or over oiling it, a round can stay chambered indefinitely. I prefer to have fresh ammo for my carry stuff, even if there's only a 1 in a 1000 chance of problems, it's an easy problem to eliminate since I PRACTICE with what I carry anyway ;) |