Swapping out SD ammo

[grinner]

Just killing time while my turkey smokes this Thanksgiving morning, so thought I’d start some threads on random thoughts I’ve had.

I see lots of comments that one should swap out their self-defense, or carry, ammo every X months. I assume that when the ammo is “swapped” you don’t just dispose of the old ammo, but shoot it at the range.

My question for those who’ve done this for a long time — have you ever had any of the swapped rounds fail to fire? And that brings up a second question — if they preform flawlessly, has that extended your time period for swapping ammo?

[Spats McGee]

I shoot off my carry ammo about every year or two. I typically leave it chambered except when going to the range or cleaning, so I don't have to worry about bullet setback very much. To be honest, concerns about setback are the only reasons I've ever shot it off. It's not like modern ammo has a real hard "born on date." I've never had one of my SD rounds fail to fire.

[cslinger]

I have shot ammo and replaced frequently and shot some that was 10 or more years old. Never a problem with any of it.

If I do clear and rechamber a semi auto I do try to chamber a “new” round from the mag and in some cases will use a sharpie to Mark the ones that have been chambered just for that extra piece of mind re bullet setback.

All that being said I have shot damn near 100 year old ammo with little issue at all. I am not worried about my high tech well cared for defensive ammo what so ever.

I think you should shoot it when you can more for familiarity sake then fear of ammo going bad.

[T. O'Heir]

"...fear of ammo going bad..." Which doesn't happen unless you're frequenting wet, too cold/too hot, etc. places. Carried or stored ammo has the same rules. If the environment is ok for you, it will be for ammo too.

[MarkCO]

Pretty much ditto. I am positive I don't have any from my first SD pistol from 30 years ago. But I know I have some on hand that is at least 10 years old, a portion of which I shot earlier this month. Have I "grown" up a little in 30 years of carry? Sure. What I used to do is not what I do now, for a variety of safety and performance reasons.

When I plan on going to the range, the ammo that is in the magazine is the oldest ammo I have, usually the ammo that has been chambered 1 or 2 times. I make sure that is in the gun for at least 4 or 5 days prior to the range visit for that pistol. I dot the primer on the side with a sharpie when it comes out of the chamber. Subsequent rounds are usually practice ammo loaded to the same velocity as the carry ammo, just cheaper. On average I am shooting 25 rounds a month through one of the three subcompact 9mms and 15 to 18 through a SD full sized pistol. I have had days when it might have been longer than a month and the dust cloud on the first round has made me sneeze. Other times it is back to back days. After a cleaning, never goes into the holster until I have shot a magazine through it.

Only thing I don't like about my practice is that I have 4 different kinds of ammo right now. I hope to be through the older stuff by middle of next year. I went through a "got to try that" phase a few times. Seems wasteful to shoot premium bullets with nickel cases and higher recoil in my full sized competition pistols.

Never had one of those rounds have any issue at all. But also in 200K rounds of 9mm I have loaded, never had a problem either. All three of my squibs have been factory ammo.

[Mike38]

I shoot my Carry Pistol once a month. Normally I carry one in the chamber, eight round mag, and an extra eight round mag. So once a month I set up a 7 yard target and burn up all 17 rounds. Clean the pistol well, load up and carry another month. I'm not worried about ammo going bad, my main concern is a "peace of mind" knowing that everything is in working order.

[Nanuk]

In my LE career I have worked Deserts, the frozen northern plains, the gulf coast and everywhere in between. My ammo has never failed me. I swapped it it annually when I carried a duty rig, now I don't worry about it.

[USNRet93]

Originally Posted by Mike38

I shoot my Carry Pistol once a month. Normally I carry one in the chamber, eight round mag, and an extra eight round mag. So once a month I set up a 7 yard target and burn up all 17 rounds. Clean the pistol well, load up and carry another month. I'm not worried about ammo going bad, my main concern is a "peace of mind" knowing that everything is in working order.

Same..it's to make sure this PITA wee gun works(LCP), nothing about ammo..which for me, is expensive($1.25 per or so)

[Auto5]

After my grandfather passed away, we found his S&W 42 in his nightstand. I know for a fact that the cartridges were at least 30 years old. I took the gun home, fired it, cleaned it, loaded it with fresh ammo and returned it to my father. Some of the ammo I have at home dates back to the 70s.

[Wag]

Used to worry about it. Fired and replaced every year for a couple of years and never had an issue. Then went about five years and tested without issue. Now, I don't worry about it. The only thing that would worry me these days is magazine springs but if they function with the plinking ammo, I'm confident they're fine with the SD ammo.

--Wag--

[grinner]

Thanks for the responses — they’re pretty much what I expected from quality SD ammo.

[Charlie98]

Along with some of the others... I run through all my carry ammo... about 50 rounds between 7 different magazines... every 6 months or so. I have the same ammo for all 3 of my carry pistols, all 3 are Kahr 9mm's. I try to pick a different pistol each time and run all the ammo through it... primarily to prove it loads and functions well with the ammo, but also to just turn it over. I'm not a set it and forget it guy, I handle my carry pistols every day, dropping the mag, cycling the action, etc, so the ammo does get beat up a little.

[shurshot]

My agency swaps out our duty ammo annually, but the rounds get chewed up getting racked in and out constantly. I still have some personal SD ammo that is from the mid 80's / early 90's, revolver and pistol. I try to carry fresh ammunition and use the older stuff for varmints around the barn, testing new guns, etc., but it all still works well. Black Talon, Hydra Shock, Nyclad, etc. I have some vintage 50's and 60's Herter's .22's I inherited from Gramps... it still works well.

[Rachen]

"...fear of ammo going bad..." Which doesn't happen unless you're frequenting wet, too cold/too hot, etc. places. Carried or stored ammo has the same rules. If the environment is ok for you, it will be for ammo too.

Factory ammunition is made to last almost indefinitely. I never recalled hearing about any "shelf life" on ammunition except one blurb from years back about the suspicion that some brands of ammo use certain smokeless powders that are specially designed to degrade after a time period. Which turned out to be a hoax, we can all hope it remains a hoax.

Factory ammo builders use BULLET and PRIMER SEALANT to ensure that not one speck of moisture gets into the sensitive parts of a cartridge. These sealants are also available for commercial purchase. I am a reloader and I use Markron lacquer bullet/primer sealant from Cabelas. It works very well and I have cartridges and even black powder revolver cylinders that I have loaded and sealed with lacquer from 10 YEARS ago. I intentionally exposed them to water, cold and heat as a test. Even as far as dunking them in shallow tubs of water at a time to simulate wading across a flooded river. They all fired fine. Not a glitch.

[TailGator]

I shoot my carry ammo and replace it every two years or so. I am due. I have never had a round fail, so I am probably over-doing it.