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Old February 18, 2012, 02:29 AM   #6
JohnKSa
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Join Date: February 12, 2001
Location: DFW Area
Posts: 24,986
Quote:
The cop in the story had rechambered and extracted the same round 100X, which I can understand is too much. My question is, how many times can you rechamber before you risk damage to the round?
It depends on the ammunition, and to some extent, on the gun it's being used in. Some guns drive the round hard into the feedramp while in other designs the round feeds almost direcly into the chamber. As far as ammunition goes, I've had some factory ammunition that would set back noticeably from only one chambering.

If you're talking about premium self-defense ammunition, under 5x is probably safe.

If you want to push the limits, it would probably be best to contact the ammunition manufacturer directly, however, if you have some fresh ammunition from the same box, you can check your old rounds to see if they're setting back. Set two new rounds on a flat surface with an old round between them and put a straightedge across the top of the two new rounds. If there's a noticeable and significant gap between the straightedge and the top of the old round then the old round is garbage.

Different loadings and calibers exhibit different sensitivities to setback, but in a particularly sensitive loading, like the 180gr .40S&W, discharge pressures can double from only a tenth of an inch of setback. That's enough to take most any gun apart in abruptly impressive fashion.

Unless your circumstances dictate that you load and reload frequently, a better solution is to avoid the process. For example, with only a very few exceptions, a modern handgun in a good quality holster that covers the trigger can be safely stored that way as long as it is kept out of unauthorized hands.
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