Reasons to rotate carry loads

[RetiredUSNChief]

What about the 98% of gun people that haven't seen their carry ammo for sale for two years?

I like the Sig V-Crown .40 S&W. I haven't seen it, or ANY .40 S&W defensive ammo for sale locally for a long, long time. Burning up a magazine full of premium self-defense ammo in the current reality may not be feasible for a lot of folks, no matter the cost.

Good question.

But there is only so much a person can do (or suggest) for not having ammo on hand already when something like this happens.

If you really want to rotate through your carry ammo, you'll find a way. You don't need much self defense ammo on hand to cover a significant period of doing so, depending on how you want to do it. So a single box of carry ammo, at whatever price, can last quite a long while.

You CAN find your ammo out there... you may not like the price. But a single box that can last you years offsets that cost.

There are probably two major concerns with carry ammo.

One is setback from repeated chambering of rounds. This can be offset a few a ways, such as rotating the previous chambered rounds through your magazine or "riding" the slide forward when rechambering.

The second is degradation of the primers from mechanical shock of repeated chamberings. Again, this can be minimized by the same methods.

A single box of ammo can also minimize these effects by simply replacing the chambered round with a fresh one as necessary. No need to replace an entire magazine load frequently.

Another thing to consider is what you're doing in the first place that might require you to replace your carry ammo periodically.

If you're not cycling the action on your carry pistol much, you don't need to worry so much about the adverse effects on your carry ammo. So consider things to reduce this, like range time with a different pistol.

 

[luzyfuerza]

Working bullets through the action without firing it seems to cause the heaviest wear on the ammo... i.e. the one in the chamber that I unload when I get home at night and put the gun up for the evening (My carry pistols are not my home protection guns. I like a full sized pistol for home protection and subcompacts for carrying). In the morning I seat the magazine, rack the slide, pop the magazine and put in the round I took out of the gun the night before. So the top 2 rounds get a lot of wear and occasionally will get pushed in (with factory ammo, I put a good crimp on my reloads... Lee factory crimp dies!).

I see no need to unload a carry gun at the end of the day. My carry gun stays in its holster unless I'm at the range, it needs to be cleaned, or heaven forbid, it is needed for defensive purposes.

The holster/gun combination comes off my body at night, and goes back on in the morning.

I suppose if someone doesn't carry in a quality holster they can't take this approach....but that is a discussion for another thread.

Daily loading/unloading creates the potential of an ND due to failure to follow an administrative procedure or of a mechanical failure. And of bullet setback or primer failure.

If the gun stays in the holster, the probability of each of these issues occurring is ZERO.

 

[Kleanbore]

I like a full sized pistol for home protection and subcompacts for carrying). In the morning I seat the magazine, rack the slide, pop the magazine and put in the round I took out of the gun the night before.

I see no reason for doing any of that.

 

[WisBorn]

Though I have FMJs for most of my carry guns I have been buying low cost HPs when I see them. I will carry a low cost HP if needed.

 

[WisBorn]

Top loading magazines?

Those of you that carry high capacity pistols or/and extra magazines how do you load your magazines?

I always thought about loading the bottom of a magazine with FMJs and topping the magazine with HPs.
Not sure if it is a bad or good idea?

 

[briansmithwins]

Top loading magazines?

Those of you that carry high capacity pistols or/and extra magazines how do you load your magazines?

I always thought about loading the bottom of a magazine with FMJs and topping the magazine with HPs.
Not sure if it is a bad or good idea?

I'm pretty confident in my carry load* and I just don't like FMJs for social work. 9mm got its reputation for many bullets needed for stops because of ice picking with FMJs.

BSW

* Federal 9BPLE 115gr +P+. Yes, they don't go thru car doors or windshield glass and maintain great performance like modern JHPs but I don't do traffic stops any more.

 

[WheelGunMan]

Given that most squibs are due to light powder to no powder loads they are possible with any factory load. An automated process is prone to the occasional error. Even if one rotates their ammo regularly there is always a chance of having a squib loaded in your EDC at any given time. The best we can hope for is it doesn't show up when we need the firearm at the most critical time.

 

[MikeInOr]

I see no reason for doing any of that.

Then don't do it.

 

[Jack Ryan]

I can't believe people let guns and ammunition sit around with out getting shot long enough for any of that to be an issue.

 

[redcon1]

I shot my Glock 19x today. Mostly Blazer range ammo and some reloads but just to see, I shot the self defense rounds that I carry, federal HST +P 124 grain JHPs. These rounds were purchased in June of 2019 and I have kept the same 15 of them in the 17 round magazine for over a year, popping round number one out of the chamber occasionally when the need arises to unload the firearm for routine cleaning and lubrication for example and then replacing it in the chamber. The magazine functioned flawlessly as did every round. The grouping was acceptable. I also unloaded my 19 round spare mag which has held the same 16 rounds of federal HSTs in it for over a year. It too functioned flawlessly when loaded full of Blazer range ammo.

 

[reloaded_in_pa]

I looked at the case today while depriming. The powder was clinging to the rim of the case just below where the bullet was seated. I tried to light some with a butane lighter and only one flake fired off. I’m convinced that CLP got into the case and broke the powder down. I’d trust the load if it were stored in a box, but I think these sat in a chamber or mag that was over oiled 10 years ago.

It's good that you found the cause. I never would have thought about the possibility of contamination before. I do change mags out every season to limit the chances of a feed issue because of the spring getting weak from constantly being compressed. Next time I'll empty the mag at a target instead of just moving the ammo over.

 

[tmd16556]

The oil snuck up on me. I guess I underestimated the power of the CLP oils. I think the problem comes from when I did carry this gun a few years ago. If I took it out and it was hot, I’d wipe down the gun and magazines loaded to clear sweat and humidity off to prevent corrosion. It’s a good reminder that you need to treat a carry gun differently from one you may leave sitting for months without touching.