When do you swap out your carry ammo and carry magazines?

[9mm]

I usually swap out my carry ammo once a year, and my magazines every 18 months or so, but it got me thinking that I should change my ammo twice a year and magazines once a year.

This would build my supply of SD HP rounds to have extra on hand, and more reliability of my rounds. Though I have tested 12-13 month carry ammo and never had a FTF, I think its just good habbit now to start changing every 6 months/seasons. Change in May, Then in October. Same goes with my magazines, more will be on hand. I only carry my carry magazine with HP's and the spares are FMJ's, saves on money.

PLEASE, when you vote, state what option you voted for, poll open for 365 days from tonight, thanks!

[TunnelRat]

When I can FIND defensive ammo again, I would like to start following a regimen that you've described. Sadly I'm not sure when that'll be :(.

[9mm]

When I can FIND defensive ammo again Oh, that stuff is easy to find here, no one wants to buy it. Only the range stuff. Tons of 45 HP boxs of 50 rounds here, and 25 round boxs of 9mm. No one wants to pay $1 or $1+ a round though.

[TunnelRat]

Oh, that stuff is easy to find here, no one wants to buy it. Only the range stuff. Tons of 45 HP boxs of 50 rounds here, and 25 round boxs of 9mm. No one wants to pay $1 or $1+ a round though.

You're lucky my friend, it's all bought up around me.

[shootniron]

I carry a 642 most of the time and I will shoot the ammo in the cylinder on my range trips when I finish up the range ammo for the day. And then replace it with new ammo from the box. I do this not because I fear ammo failure, but because it is just easier to shoot what is at hand.

[BarryLee]

Well, when ammo was readily available I would generally shoot a magazine of carry ammo about once a month, but now just shooting the practice stuff.

[MRL21]

I don't really follow any set pattern. I have had the same ammo in my 220 for over a year. Ammo doesn't seem to really go bad from my experience just because its in a gun. Now for piece of mind if something happened to compromise the integrity of the ammo I may shoot it up.

I can see rotating magazines to reduce the wear on the springs. I think I may start doing that since I'm down to two semi auto pistols.

[JimmyR]

Thats more of an estimation. I really haven't been carrying long enough to establish a pattern on switching out my carry ammo. As for my mags, since I chamber a round from them when I get ready to go out and reload the mag when I get home, I get a feel for how tight my spring is. If it starts to get loose, then it's time for me to look for new springs.

[Sheriff Gotcha]

How long do you think it'd take a mag spring to see wear? If stuffed full of ammo and never unloaded?

I've had mine loaded up since October so I'm sure I'm fine, but I have been curious about this.

[Dashunde]

At 25-35 bucks a box I usually wait for the exposed copper jackets to turn green. :D

I do shoot off the ammo from my LCP & PM9 a little more often because they're carried iwb and sweat is a small concern. Never had any of it fail, so that is probably a waste too.

I readily toss any that shows signs of set-back.

[Tony615]

I don't rechamber the same round again for my SD ammo. I put a new round in the magazine and rack the slide to chamber a round in the barrel. I then put the chambered round in my range bag and shoot them off on my next trip to the gun range.

[PSP]

No specific time for me, just whenever I shoot the gun. The first mag is whatever I'm carrying, then after that I shoot with practice ammo.

[bigghoss]

I don't ever change my mags out. After much debate and research I have come to the conclusion that a quality magazine can stay loaded for quite some time without issue, it's the constant loading and unloading that's going to wear out mag springs if anything. I dedicate my mags for either carry or range and I have a couple just waiting that don't get used for anything until something happens to another mag.

As for ammo, it's a good idea not to continuously re-chamber the same round so I avoid that. But my carry ammo is probably a couple years old and there's no reason it should work as intended. Maybe in a few more years I'll change it out, I want to go to a heavier bullet anyway but it's what I could get.

[saltydog452]

Hoss and I are at opposite ends of this teeter-todder.

Carry ammunition is expended during just about every range visit and replaced at the end of the visit. Magazine springs are a bit spiffier than std. They aren't much conceren. Neither are they compressed enough to contain eight rounds in a seven round tube.

Bulk range fodder is a different animal.

salty

[blackamos]

You should add Never. That is how often I change them out.

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

Once every 10 years....maybe. Ammo doesn't go bad under normal conditions. And springs don't go bad just from being compressed. But if it makes you feel more confident... It's your money.:rolleyes:

[Ruark]

They have found old 45ACP mags from WWII still fully loaded and they fired without missing a beat. This is a non-issue.

[SauerGrapes]

Same carry ammo and same mags for the last 3 or 4 years now.

[Old Grump]

I shoot them up every 2 to 4 weeks so it gets fresh ammo when I reload the gun.

[TunnelRat]

I don't rechamber the same round again for my SD ammo. I put a new round in the magazine and rack the slide to chamber a round in the barrel. I then put the chambered round in my range bag and shoot them off on my next trip to the gun range.

Wow, so you never rechamber a SD round more than once? Holy cow. :eek: Do you just not clear your chamber or do you go through boxes of SD ammo a month? I mean if you can afford it more to you. Bet if you ever feel like selling those once chambered rounds, drop me a line. ;)

[481]

I tend to swap out my carry about once every two months, but on occasion may go as long as six months if my schedule interferes.

[LockedBreech]

Anually or bianually - once every two years, not twice a year - depending on how much it gets loaded/unloaded.

[Dashunde]

I'll add that out of curiosity I gave this a quick test...

30+ years ago my dad traded my gramps a 38spl with a few boxes of various ammo, (FMJ, JHP & Bird shot) I recently inherited that same .38 along with its ammo, all still in the same boxes my dad gave gramps. Gramps wasnt much of a handgun shooter...
I picked 3 rounds out of ten in one of the flat plastic boxes... all 3 fired.

Most all of this use-it-or-lose-it nonsense is from "experts" who worry us about humidity, sweat, drenching it, old primers, blah blah... or from those who are on the payrole of some ammo manufacturer.

I bought a 4.5" angle grinder the other day... its instructions stated to use ONLY So-and-So brand of grinding disks or "severe injury or death may result".
Burning up good ammo just for the sake of replacing it with new is the same variety of crapola.

[LockedBreech]

I'll add that out of curiosity I gave this a quick test...

30+ years ago my dad traded my gramps a 38spl with a few boxes of various ammo, (FMJ, JHP & Bird shot) I recently inherited that same .38 along with its ammo, all still in the same boxes my dad gave gramps. Gramps wasnt much of a handgun shooter...
I picked 3 rounds out of ten in one of the flat plastic boxes... all 3 fired.

Most all of this use-it-or-lose-it nonsense is from "experts" who worry us about humidity, sweat, drenching it, old primers, blah blah... or from those who are on the payrole of some ammo manufacturer.

I bought a 4.5" angle grinder the other day... its instructions stated to use ONLY So-and-So brand of grinding disks or "severe injury or death may result".
Burning up good ammo just for the sake of replacing it with new is the same variety of crapola.

That's one school of thought, and I certainly respect it. That said, switching once a year is only about $100 for all my guns. I pay more than that for Netflix. For a potential lifesaving defense tool, I don't mind keeping my stuff fresh.

[Dragline45]

Depends how often I am loading and unloading my gun with the ammo. When the case rims start to get chewed up from cycling or enough rounds start showing signs of setback it's time to switch them out. I always put these rounds aside rather than shoot them so I have a little stash of the expensive SD ammo put aside. Usually about 3 times a year ill switch them out.


I don't rechamber the same round again for my SD ammo. I put a new round in the magazine and rack the slide to chamber a round in the barrel. I then put the chambered round in my range bag and shoot them off on my next trip to the gun range.

You are just wasting your money. Unless the round shows signs of setback there's no reason not to rechamber it a couple more times. Although if I were using a higher pressure round like the .357sig, or better yet a +p variant, I would be a lot more wary of setback.

For those who don't know what bullet setback is, when the round hits the feed ramp while chambering it pushes it back into the casing. Pushed back enough and it increases pressures, and sometimes to dangerous levels. The higher pressure the round the more cautious you should be as it can spike dramatically.

[RBid]

I don't have a routine for it, but I typically run a mag of Gold Dots through at least 1/mo, and rotate mags while I'm at it. Since the craziness started, I'm slowing down. Lots of dry fire practice, and cutting my 150+ handgun rounds/week habit down to about 50/week.

I'm not bothered by leaving mags loaded for extended periods.

[efield]

I shoot up my self defense ammo on my birthday every year, replenish with new ammo and shoot one magazine full of the new ammo to make sure it feeds properly. I generally unload the SD ammo and test my magazines with target ammo (FMJ ball) once a month; usually the 3rd Monday. If the magazines are operating properly, I use them until they aren't.

[Guv]

I would think a 357 Sig would be the last round to suffer from bullet set back due to being a bottleneck case. Rather than time frame as an issue I feel improper or careless cleaning and lubing of the gun should be a concern. Be very careful to keep the area around the firing pin clean an oil free on your defense gun.

[Verbal Clint]

I didn't vote because I don't "change" my magazines. Because my carry weapon is a compact 1911, I am limited to 7+1 for the first mag. I typically carry an extra mag and right now, I just have one extra. Every 2 weeks, I have a different one at home with the spring taken out. Carry/SD ammo is switched out once a year. I use Speer Gold Dot ammo

[Bill DeShivs]

Springs aren't alive, so they don't need to rest. You are wasting your time removing the spring from a magazine.

[MRMTEX25]

With the prices going thru the roof plus if mine is even available, I'm rethinking my thoughts. I will probably just shoot off range ammo, maybe a round of what I carry every other trip or so. Every couple of years for me and the magazines. I just inspect when cleaning and see if a rebuild or new is in order.

[saltydog452]

Some of the previous responses had to do with long term stability of ammunition and the compressed springs. It seems kinda unlikely that what was asked.

The question seemed to do with shooter confidence. If you're cool with annual, semi-annual, or semi-weekly re-aquaintence with your skills, and equipment, go with what fits into your comfort/complacency level.

As ammunition expense relates to cost, at least for the time being, we can afford 21 rds a month. Fotunately, we both like Beans, Greens, and Cornbread.

There doesn't seem to be a std answer.

salty

[BGutzman]

I do not remove my magazine on my carry weapons any more than absolutely necessary. Once a year I replace magazine springs (Wolff)

You can always break out the calipers and check each round to insure that everything is within spec. Given our current despotic situation I intend to get into re-loading this year.

A quality rounds should outlast most owners with reasonable care.

[Verbal Clint]

Bill, springs wear out regardless of what they are made of, used for, or their thickness. This is a fact of engineering/physics. They more compression and longer comp time, the quicker their properties change. I WILL grant you that the change may be so small that it nearly immeasurable over the magazine's useful life. However, without the data to back it up, I like to play it safe. The practice extends their lives by 33% (theoretically). Obviously the clear solution is to buy mags solely for SD, which I will soon be doing.

[Dragline45]

I typically carry an extra mag and right now, I just have one extra. Every 2 weeks, I have a different one at home with the spring taken out

Bill, springs wear out regardless of what they are made of, used for, or their thickness. This is a fact of engineering/physics. They more compression and longer comp time, the quicker their properties change. I WILL grant you that the change may be so small that it nearly immeasurable over the magazine's useful life. However, without the data to back it up, I like to play it safe. The practice extends their lives by 33% (theoretically). Obviously the clear solution is to buy mags solely for SD, which I will soon be doing.

You say it extends the life of the springs by 33% theoretically, so really you have no idea.

Leaving the springs out of the magazine will not save the life of your springs anymore than if you left the spring in the mag unloaded. I have never heard of anyone doing this before, and it's because it really is a waste of time. I can buy a pack of springs for under $15 dollars, if I am really that concerned about spring strength I'll swap them out at the end of the year, it's not like the springs are priceless or hard to find (usually).

In fact, I will go as far to say that you are putting more wear on your springs from constantly removing and inserting them into the mag body every two weeks then just letting the mag sit unloaded with the spring in it.

[jason_iowa]

I don't go any longer then 2 years.

[Verbal Clint]

The spring is slightly compressed while still in the magazine. If it was not, I would agree. As you stated, not a big deal and pretty cheap. If the magazine is just sitting around doing nothing anyway, it just gives me something else to do with my guns to soak up time