How much of your carry ammo do you have?

[Skribs]

I'm getting ready to go to the range today. So I pick out the two handguns that are going with me. I unload my premium self-defense ammo. I grab a bunch of range ammo. And that got me thinking.

As it is right now, I have less than 1 box of any of my carry ammo, other than that which is currently loaded into my guns or spare magazines. The only exception is my Ruger LCP, which as of right now I just use range ammo, because I don't trust hollowpoints in .380 ACP. But my XDm .40? I have 3 boxes, 2-1/2 which are loaded into the gun or my 2 spare magazines. My M&P 9? a box loaded in. My LCR? A box spread between the gun and two speed strips.

I'm looking to overhaul and consolidate my carry ammo. I'm primarily looking at the monolithic rounds. If they feed in my LCP, I plan to switch all my carry guns over.

As part of this overhaul, I'm considering how much ammo I want to have in reserve. Do I want to cycle through every range trip? Or how often? I could simply keep enough to keep the guns loaded, and then have a lifecycle process for the ammo. Or I could keep enough to load 3x over, so whenever I do cycle at the range, I can replace it with my reserve, and still have reserve leftover.

It does catch my mind that a big reason I probably didn't have much of a reserve before is cost, which is less of a concern for me now.

 

[sparkyv]

I keep a case of SD ammo in inventory that has demonstrated reliability in my firearms. At least twice per year, I shoot the full mag of these SD firearms, as-is to verify function...clean, reload, carry, repeat. Note that I usually don't unload my SD rigs; I don't fidget with them, so bullet setback is not a concern for me.

 

[murf]

Just the 18 rounds of 380 acp xtreme defender reloads in my lcpII (and 2 spare mags), and 45 rounds of the 9mm xd reloads (15 currently in the g19). I have 230 gn roundnose flatpoint lead loads in my g30 and 265 gn lead swc loads in my 45lc Blackhawk. I carry reloads in everything, so if I run low I make more.

murf

 

[Corpral_Agarn]

You should have mags designated for range use so you don't have to unload anything.

I have a few hundred rounds of carry ammo in loaded mags.

I'm due to shoot a few mags worth and replace those rounds.

 

[CDW4ME]

One box?


For my 9mm & 40 carry guns I have several boxes of carry ammo.
For my unbeloved LCP 380 I have just one box. I tested it with Fiocchi Extrema but the OAL was too long for my magazines; Sig V-Crown worked okay but I saw tests where its performance was not up to par. I tested with a couple boxes of Hydra-Shok deep and not only did it work okay, I saw testing from a LCP where after heavy clothing it penetrated about 15'' and expanded to .49 which I think preferable to FMJ. So yea, I've only got one box but a LCP 380 is not a primary carry gun for me, more of a 2nd option or "back-up"; nonetheless (taking my own meme advice) I should probably acquire a little more HP for it.

 

[Hartkopf]

I’ve always kept 2 to 3 hundred Gold Dots for whatever caliber I was carrying. I’ve sorta changed my view now and am more likely to have 1000 of a cheaper yet proven defense round. (think bple) Now I can burn my defense rounds a little more often at the range and not go broke as quick.

 

[.38 Special]

I'm not one who is overly concerned with using handloads for the task (yes, I know the arguments, admit they have some validity, but have made my choice and don't want to sidetrack the OP) so generally have about 500 defensive loads on hand, and several thousand in the "pre-assembled" state.

 

[Pistolay]

I keep several hundred rounds of every different caliber on hand, and I shoot one mag or cylinder every time a carry gun goes to the range. I go through hundreds of rounds every year and it isn't cheap, but IMO it's necessary.

 

[LimaCharlie]

I keep cases of carry ammo onhand. I practice with what I carry.

 

[Agsalaska]

Right now I have about 400 rounds total of Federal HST both 124g and 147g(for different pistols). I also have about 500 Winchester White Box 115gr JHPs because they feed well and perform fairly well. I have two boxes of Hornady Critical Defense in .32mag and two boxes in .38sp.

I don't shoot the revolver ammo off much, but I shoot off the loaded magazines of 9mm once a month or so and change them out. Paul Harrel's Hyper ammunition video was eye opening to me when I realized he was talking about people like, well, me. At the time I had zero backup SD ammo and my mags had been loaded with the same Critical Defense bullets for a decade. It was then that I realized I needed to do some research into what ammo I wanted to carry and invest in it. I settled on the two different HSTs and the WWB for backup.

Last, I like having the WWB not just because it is cheaper but as we have seen twice now in the last 12 years or so ammo can completely dry up and knowing that your primary weapon will reliably feed multiple brands is a positive. I have also shot a lot of Hornady Custom and Critical Defense out of them and would not need to do any testing if that's all I could get. I occasionally buy one box of something different just for testing purposes.

 

[mavracer]

This is an old picture I moved everything to ammo cans on a shelf. But there's between 8 and 12 boxes in each stack. 9mm and 45 ACP are under bandoleer.

 

[kje54]

All my ammo is carry ammo. It gets carried to the truck then from the truck to the range then from the range to the truck and again from the truck back into the garage...........

 

[The Last Outlaw]

Rather than unload my mags, I shoot trough my carry ammo every trip to the range. I currently have two hundred rounds of 9mm and three hundred rounds of .380 carry ammo. For me that is about normal.

 

[AUhiker]

As of now I have one box of hst, one box of gold dots, one box of critical defense and 200 rounds of Remington green and white box jhp. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 fmj for practice. When one box gets shot I replace it and the cycle continues.

 

[Atavar]

I'm not one who is overly concerned with using handloads for the task (yes, I know the arguments, admit they have some validity, but have made my choice and don't want to sidetrack the OP) so generally have about 500 defensive loads on hand, and several thousand in the "pre-assembled" state.

I am also in the carry my hand loads camp. I know the arguments but I believe those risks are outweighed by being able to afford to practice with what I carry.
I tend to go through a couple hundred rounds or more every range trip.
Right now I have 1500 each of 9mm and .45acp on the shelf. Maybe 1000 .22lr and 500 .22wmr. 100 of .300wm that will last a good while.
I am due to use a couple hundred of each at the range soon.
I don’t think I need to stock that much but bench time is like yoga for me and I like not worrying about running out so I try to keep a years supply on hand.

 

[hutch51]

As it is right now, I have less than 1 box of any of my carry ammo, other than that which is currently loaded into my guns or spare magazines. The only exception is my Ruger LCP, which as of right now I just use range ammo, because I don't trust hollowpoints in .380 ACP. But my XDm .40? I have 3 boxes, 2-1/2 which are loaded into the gun or my 2 spare magazines. My M&P 9? a box loaded in. My LCR? A box spread between the gun and two speed strips.

Use Hornady Critical Defense in a Sig P238. It's picky, even on some ball ammo, but eats the Hornady just fine.

 

[Skribs]

I know the arguments but I believe those risks are outweighed by being able to afford to practice with what I carry.

My argument is that my handloads are as likely to go "click" or "kaboom" as they are to function properly.

 

[Atavar]

My argument is that my handloads are as likely to go "click" or "kaboom" as they are to function properly.

Then you really need to learn how to reload ammo.
It is not magic and is actually easy to make reliable precision ammo.
If you cannot trust your reloads I suggest you get ALL of your ammo from the local gun shop.

 

[Skribs]

Then you really need to learn how to reload ammo.

No.

I don't.

 

[Atavar]

No.

I don't.

Sorry, I should have said then you need to stop reloading. If you can’t trust your work not to go click or kaboom then you shouldn’t be doing it. Which is ok, reloading is not for everyone. Recognizing it is not your skill set is actually a very positive thing.

 

[Lo-Profile]

I usually have a couple hundred rounds for each gun caliber I carry. 9mm, 45 ACP, 38 Special.
When you switch ammo, check your chambered round when you remove it to look for bullet setback. This can happen if you've chambered it numerous times. I usually just drop the magazine and insert a different one with target ammo and shoot the chambered round.

 

[WrongHanded]

I use handloads for some guns. But as I use only new brass (which I don't like to buy in massive quantities), I only have a couple hundred on hand for any cartridge at any time.

 

[DTL]

30 rounds in 3 mags(State limit is 10 per), Maintain 400 rounds in the safe. Train with 100 rounds a month.

 

[trackskippy]

I generally have 4 or 5 boxes. I dont get too carried away with it. I use my reloads for practice, and they pretty closely mimic what I carry, so theres really no point in shooting the over priced and generally over rated stuff.

My argument is that my handloads are as likely to go "click" or "kaboom" as they are to function properly.

That hasnt been my experience, but Im not shooting "your" reloads.

I generally shoot around 35-40K rounds of "my" reloads every year, and other than the occasional malfunctions (which is great and important practice too, by the way) and brass failures, due to worn out "practice" brass, I rarely have any issues.

If I were to load new or or fairly fresh brass with components of a known quality, I wouldn't have any issues using my reloads for serious use, even with FMJ bullets. I shoot them all the time and know how they shoot, they mimic my factory carry ammo in how they shoot and power, and its what you do with what you have more than it is about special bullets or ammo.

I understand some dont want to reload, and thats fine, but I do think you miss out on some things that you wont get with factory, and the main thing being, being able to shoot a lot more for the same money.

 

[Madcap_Magician]

I usually try to buy a case every few years. I probably have 500 or so left from my last case.