Keep Carry Ammo Clean w/ ammo shortage

[jtmcad]

Hey guys, this is my first post ever. I have come across a problem with my carry ammo. It seems to collect a lot of lint (as does my gun and holster). I just replaced my old ammo with some really nice federal HST ammo. I’m worried that after a few months of carry this new ammo will start looking like my old ammo (discolored and dirty). Looking into this, most people on the internet say the best practice is to just shoot the ammo every few months. I agree with that. However, there is an ammo shortage and finding hollow points is expensive and difficult to do.

So I’m looking for an alternative solution. Maybe cleaning the ammo? Ways to keep it clean? What are the best practices?

Context: I carry EVERYWHERE. You’ll never find me not carrying. So my ammo and gun get pretty linty and dirty.

 

[reddog81]

For ammo and magazine compressed air or a dry lint free rag should be fine. I’d avoid using cleaning solvents on ammo. Discolored ammo isn’t going to hurt anything.

If the ammo is caked with crud a damp rag should work OK. I’ve ran factory and reloads through the wash machine without problem. If you dry it off right away you’ll be fine.

 

[troy fairweather]

Just keep your gun clean don't over lube it. The gun should run tarnished brass fine, if it didn't I wouldn't carry it. If you must have shinny brass on can use some 0000 steal wool, degrease it first.

 

[Ironicaintit]

Don’t worry about discoloration. Do worry about gummy accumulations of lint/oil/grease.

I will periodically empty the magazines (my spare as well) and blow it all out with compressed air. I don’t worry about the ammo so much as I do the magazines

 

[jtmcad]

Okay that’s all good to know. Now, over a long period of time is it possible the sweat and moisture from my body would effect the ammo? Like I’ll be outside with it and sometimes it’ll get wet with sweat. Is that not something to worry about? Like the long term effects of it being exposed to moisture. I’m not entirely familiar with how water proof ammo can get. I understand that you can submerge ammo and shoot it still. But if it’s exposed to moisture for a long period of time, could that effect the powder/primer?

 

[Zaydok Allen]

If you are sweating on the gun a lot, wipe it down with an oily rag frequently, and use a can of compressed air to blow lint out. Clean and lube it regularly even if you aren't shooting much.

Nickeled cases help with corrosion issues, but emptying a magazine and stripping it for cleaning isn't a bad idea either. Wipe the ammo down but do not get oil on them and especially not the primers.

Buy enough that when you feel the need to shoot them up, you aren't worried about shortages.

 

[Hartkopf]

Buy enough that when you feel the need to shoot them up, you aren't worried about shortages.

I tend to buy at least 300 rounds of whatever ammo I decide to carry. Before the WuFlu I would try to find deals on 500 round cases.

 

[Reinz]

What is your carry mode? Is this for a revolver or auto?

Are we talking magazines, speed strips, loose Ammo?

If mags, are you carrying on a belt or in the pocket?

Does the mag carrier completely enclose the bullet area, or is it one those new styles with just a clip for pocket or belt?

Not enough information, too many assumptions going on.

 

[jtmcad]

What is your carry mode? Is this for a revolver or auto?

Are we talking magazines, speed strips, loose Ammo?

If mags, are you carrying on a belt or in the pocket?

Does the mag carrier completely enclose the bullet area, or is it one those new styles with just a clip for pocket or belt?

Not enough information, too many assumptions going on.

I’ve got a p365, tier 1 holster, appendix style. I carry one mag in the gun and the other is in the spare mag holder on the tier 1. They are the 12 round p365 mags. But yeah everytbing is on the belt.

The bottom of the holster is open so lint is able to get through there. The top of the gun touches a little bit of my skin and rubs up against me pretty often.

 

[jtmcad]

I tend to buy at least 300 rounds of whatever ammo I decide to carry. Before the WuFlu I would try to find deals on 500 round cases.

That’s your method with hollow points? Not bad. I’m not too bad on the amount of ammo I have. I reload, so I have 400 Sierra Sig v crowns sitting on a shelf as well as 200 other rounds of hollow points. But with the political climate, I’ve never had a time in my life where I’ve been so uncertain about the future. Just wanting to be frugal.

 

[Hartkopf]

That’s your method with hollow points? Not bad. I’m not too bad on the amount of ammo I have. I reload, so I have 400 Sierra Sig v crowns sitting on a shelf as well as 200 other rounds of hollow points. But with the political climate, I’ve never had a time in my life where I’ve been so uncertain about the future. Just wanting to be frugal.

Yes with hollow points. Usually GoldDots, HSTs or Golden Sabers. Last year I got a 500 round case of 40S&W Golden Sabers for $199. Those days probably won’t be back for a while, or ever. Premium 40 cal is still available but at double to triple the price.

 

[Steve C]

I EDC a S&W 637 air weight J frame carried in a DeSantis pocket holster. I had got a couple pair of pants and shorts that have synthetic cloth pockets that is probably some kind of nylon blend material. These pockets do not produce any lint and the gun along with spare ammo in Safariland speed loaders stays clean. Now I look for this type of material use for pockets when purchasing casual clothing.

 

[guyfromohio]

Good replies here. Don’t over-think it. Use compressed air as often as you need it. Keep the gun oiled but not too much as it will attract lint.

Also...get as much of your carry ammo as you can. I found 1000 rounds of 147gr HST for $500 a couple years ago and still have about 3/4 of it left. I always shoot out my carry magazine with every range trip, but if I didn’t, I wouldn’t obsess about it.

 

[Armored farmer]

Its not uncommon for me to have a half dozen soybeans, a lock washer, a wrench, and six bullets in my pocket. Too many times, I have had to dig these items out of the washing machine sump.

I made a habit of turning my pockets inside out when I throw them in the laundry.

This keeps them lint free too.

 

[Riomouse911]

It sounds like you’re pretty diligent, care and maintenance is your friend. Don’t over-lube your gun or mag, wipe off gun-mag-rounds if covered with salty sweat and keep an eye on everything for corrosion and you’ll be fine.
You may want to wear a T-shirt or undershirt if you’re carrying next to your belly and the gun touches your skin all day long. If your skin is exposed to the chemicals from solvents, oil, carbon, etc. for long enough in one spot you may develop a rash.

Stay safe.

 

[9mmepiphany]

...over a long period of time is it possible the sweat and moisture from my body would effect the ammo? Like I’ll be outside with it and sometimes it’ll get wet with sweat. Is that not something to worry about? Like the long term effects of it being exposed to moisture.

First, welcome to the Forum.

Much depends on how you define "a long period of time" and "long term". If you're talking about hours, you're over thinking it...unless you have highly acidic sweat. It is something else if we're talking about days.

If you gun is covered in sweat when you take it off, it needs to be disassembled and wiped off...paying special attention to the rails, barrel, and magazine body. Just as general maintenance, you should be wiping your carry pistol down once a week.

...there is an ammo shortage and finding hollow points is expensive and difficult to do.

Unfortunately this is true. The rule of thumb used to be shooting your carry ammo (at least the mag in the gun) everything you went to the range...at least once a month.

Planning for the future, keep and eye out for sales and buy a case of your preferred carry ammo when you find it. Another idea is to not get fixated on a certain bullet. I carry 9mm 124gr Speer Gold Dots and Winchester SXT pretty interchangeably...I even have some Federal 115gr 9BP stashed away for my H&K P7

The bottom of the holster is open so lint is able to get through there.

Open bottom holsters are usually better for keep "stuff" away from your gun...it lets "stuff" fall out the bottom

 

[guyfromohio]

It sounds like you’re pretty diligent, care and maintenance is your friend. Don’t over-lube your gun or mag, wipe off gun-mag-rounds if covered with salty sweat and keep an eye on everything for corrosion and you’ll be fine.
You may want to wear a T-shirt or undershirt if you’re carrying next to your belly and the gun touches your skin all day long. If your skin is exposed to the chemicals from solvents, oil, carbon, etc. for long enough in one spot you may develop a rash.

Stay safe.

Good point about the undershirt. I’ve been wearing too-small extra long Hanes white tanks under everything so I can tuck. Far more comfortable AND it serves as a girdle to keep me looking svelte.

 

[FL-NC]

Is it safe to run live ammo through a tumbler?

 

[Fiv3r]

Its not uncommon for me to have a half dozen soybeans, a lock washer, a wrench, and six bullets in my pocket. Too many times, I have had to dig these items out of the washing machine sump.

I made a habit of turning my pockets inside out when I throw them in the laundry.

This keeps them lint free too.
View attachment 944260

Looks like my pocket dump. My wife has finally gotten to the point that she will just drop whatever random round that I forget to fish out my pocket into a coin tray on top of the dryer.

I dont do that too often, but it happens from time to time on range days.

I keep my carry autos blown out with keyboard spray. I used to just shoot the lint out, but the ammo shortage has kept me from doing that as much as I would like. I wipe the rest of the gun down with gun cleaner and call it good.

Carry revolvers get dumped and defuzzed about once a week. All the dust bunnies gathering around the rims are easily wiped away, and i can jet a bit of air from the breach side to clear the barrel.

 

[Riomouse911]

Is it safe to run live ammo through a tumbler?

I haven’t done it myself, some people do.
Reasons I have heard not to is the increased rattling of the powder grains together may wear them down or remove coatings that control the powder burn rate.

I dont know if this is a real thing or not. It sounds plausible, so I’ll personally avoid doing it just in case.

I use a wipe down with a dry cloth after I’m caught in a downpour or if ammo gets sweaty/dirty, so far that’s worked fine.

Stay safe.

 

[Drail]

Buy a compressor. You know you need one for everything you own with tires on it. Once a week blow all of the lint out of your gun and holster. Lightly oil your gun - don't use anything with silicone in it. Don't worry about what your ammo looks like. It doesn't matter if it's not shiny. Oxidation and stains do not affect its reliability at all. Unless it sits in water or oil it will be fine. Tumbling live rounds is a complete waste of time and electricity. I still have boxes of ammo I loaded 40 years ago and they all go off just like new ammo. Ammo does not have an expiration date.

 

[herrwalther]

My dollar store sells small cans of compressed air. Useful for cleaning computers as well as blowing lint out of magazines and barrels.

 

[DustyGmt]

Its not uncommon for me to have a half dozen soybeans, a lock washer, a wrench, and six bullets in my pocket. Too many times, I have had to dig these items out of the washing machine sump.

I made a habit of turning my pockets inside out when I throw them in the laundry.

This keeps them lint free too.
View attachment 944260

That's a real man's pocket dump right there....

 

[luzyfuerza]

Is it safe to run live ammo through a tumbler?

One potential failure mechanism which has been raised that might emerge by tumbling is cracking of primer compound.

The post by Tim Lau mentioned in this thread

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/another-reason-to-rotate-carry-ammo.802960/

is one discussion of this idea.

To find out for my stuff, I took my carry ammo and repeatedly loaded and ejected live rounds to see if primer compound cracking might be a thing for my ammo in my guns. Nope.

Could tumbling cause primer compound cracking? Who knows? But it would be fun to test!

 

[DR505]

At my agency (now retired) we used to shoot up all of our duty ammo at our quarterly qualification shoots. Once the price started going up and our ammo budget was stagnant (since 1998!), we began downloading our duty magazines and setting the duty ammo aside, only using less expensive FMJ for qualifications and practice. I know that some of that duty ammo was carried for more than a year. When finally used up I never saw an issue. This is from my perspective as an instructor, not just my ammo.