When to Replace Your Self-Defense Ammo

[Bikebreath]

I consider if a round has been chambered and re-chambered in my semi-auto EDC. I haven't considered general wear and tear, temperature and humidity. There are things to consider to be ready if things go south.

When to Replace Your Self-Defense Ammo - Lucky Gunner Lounge

Routinely inspecting and replacing your self-defense ammo is an important part of owning and carrying a handgun. Here are some quick guidelines.

www.luckygunner.com

 

[MaxVO2]

*****I would definitely replace it if I had used it for self-defense use. Once the bullet is in the perp(s), I consider the ammo finished and would rather have new ammo vs having to reuse the brass and dig the bullet out, etc..

 

[Biggfoot44]

Conventional wisdom is 12 months . ( Of course if ammo has been exposed to anything particularly harsh , replace sooner .

As far as any setback from repeated chambering , replace that round as soon as evident .

 

[lazarus]

General rule of thumb, shoot your EDC mag at least once a year, if not once every 6 months. Reload it with fresh ammo. This doesn't include rounds that are frequently rechambered. That depends on the gun itself. Some are gentle on chambering, some aren't. My Cz50 is actually a carry piece. It SLAMS those bullets into the feed ramp. I wouldn't rechamber the same round more than a couple of times. This is why I drop a round into the chamber and then drop the slide on it. Then it is really just wear on the rim. My Glock 19 on the other hand is a lot more gentle. I'd rechamber a round a number of times. I don't bother recycling the round somewhere else in the mag, I just drop it in a bin and shoot "worn" rounds at a range trip some other time. I carry so rarely, I am not overly concerned about burning through a lot of ammo by taking out of service rounds that might still be just fine for dozens of more chamberings. I do always unload my carry gun when I get home. Nothing stays loaded in the safe. The only gun that stays loaded is my G17 in my bedside handgun lock box.

But yeah, humidity and moisture can be issues. Temperature not really, unless you are talking over a LOT of years. Vibration can also be a concern. But same thing, over years.

Carry ammo isn't so expensive someone shouldn't be able to unload a magazine down range every 6 months. Now, getting a bunch of the same lot of ammo is $$$, but again, I'd hope that someone can afford 250-500 rounds of carry ammo every 2-3 years. Shoot a couple of boxes when you first get it (if not more!) to ensure that lot works great. Load up your 1-4 magazines. Shoot 1-2 magazines every 6 months. Even at only 250 rounds, that should be 2-3 years of ammo. At 500 rounds, that is probably more like 5-8 years of ammo at that rate.

 

[DanGuy48]

Conventional wisdom is 12 months . ( Of course if ammo has been exposed to anything particularly harsh , replace sooner .

As far as any setback from repeated chambering , replace that round as soon as evident .

I consider if a round has been chambered and re-chambered in my semi-auto EDC. I haven't considered general wear and tear, temperature and humidity. There things to consider to be ready if things go south.

When to Replace Your Self-Defense Ammo - Lucky Gunner Lounge

Routinely inspecting and replacing your self-defense ammo is an important part of owning and carrying a handgun. Here are some quick guidelines.

www.luckygunner.com

As Bigfoot mentioned above, watch for changes in the seating depth of the bullet. That happens fairly quickly with a lot of chambering the same round, in my experience. I’m sure it varies with the type of round but that’s almost certainly the first thing you’ll notice and, if noticeable, the round should definitely be discarded.

 

[Biggfoot44]

Or if length stays same , but shows visable deformation of profile/ cavity , seperate out for range practice .

 

[Blaster229]

This is why I drop a round into the chamber and then drop the slide on it.

You'll probably make a 3 or 4 paragraph response as to why it's ok to do, but don't do this. You can chip the extractor.

 

[linkstate]

Maybe I’m dumb, but why all the unloading and re-chambering? seems like a lot of folks unload every day. Maybe I’m misunderstanding.

I take my P365X off while in its kydex holster and secure it holster and all. Now it’s an additional HD gun.

Every few weeks or so if I haven’t been to the range, l’ll unload, blow out any dust bunnies, function check, etc…

 

[lazarus]

You'll probably make a 3 or 4 paragraph response as to why it's ok to do, but don't do this. You can chip the extractor.

You can. I have a spare in my parts drawer. So far I've never chipped one in a lot of time. On my Cz50, it is extremely hard on chambering rounds. Only gun I do it with.

 

[RFBfromDE]

Maybe I’m dumb, but why all the unloading and re-chambering? seems like a lot of folks unload every day. Maybe I’m misunderstanding.

I take my P365X off while in its kydex holster and secure it holster and all. Now it’s an additional HD gun.

This is the way.

 

[Blaster229]

You can. I have a spare in my parts drawer. So far I've never chipped one in a lot of time. On my Cz50, it is extremely hard on chambering rounds. Only gun I do it with.

Not that you care. Start at 1:20. It isn't just the extractor.

 

[Bikebreath]

*****I would definitely replace it if I had used it for self-defense use. Once the bullet is in the perp(s), I consider the ammo finished and would rather have new ammo vs having to reuse the brass and dig the bullet out, etc..

When I've dug out the bullet to reload it's deformed, so that and the blood discourage me from reloading those.

 

[lazarus]

Not that you care. Start at 1:20. It isn't just the extractor.

I mean I do care, but isn't that technically posting a LOT more than 3 or 4 paragraphs

Some of that need not apply, as it is a direct blowback firearm. So there is no lockup getting extra abuse or wear. There is also no external slide lock. Pull the slide back slightly with no mag in, let down the slide. It is dropping with less force than the gun cycling, likely even with no drag caused by shoving a round into the chamber.

I guess saying "drop the slide" for what I do isn't accurate. I let it go with just enough force to lip the extra over the round, visually verify it is and slide seated fully, load a magazine.

You won't find me flipping revolver cylinders closed though.

 

[lazarus]

When I've dug out the bullet to reload it's deformed, so that and the blood discourage me from reloading those.

You need to get a bullet sizer

 

[outrider58]

*****I would definitely replace it if I had used it for self-defense use. Once the bullet is in the perp(s), I consider the ammo finished and would rather have new ammo vs having to reuse the brass and dig the bullet out, etc..

^^^This. Otherwise...

 

[outrider58]

This is the way.

×2

 

[hogarth]

Maybe I’m dumb, but why all the unloading and re-chambering? seems like a lot of folks unload every day. Maybe I’m misunderstanding.

I take my P365X off while in its kydex holster and secure it holster and all. Now it’s an additional HD gun.

Every few weeks or so if I haven’t been to the range, l’ll unload, blow out any dust bunnies, function check, etc…

If it's someone with only one gun (or one type of gun) and they want to dryfire....

 

[linkstate]

If it's someone with only one gun (or one type of gun) and they want to dryfire....

Yes. That is a good reason. I was just speaking in general terms for an average day. Put holster on with loaded gun, go about my business, come home, remove holster with gun and secure it. I just never saw the need to actually unload it all the time. A carry gun is just another HD gun when I am home and it’s not on my person.

Even if I had to remove the gun from the holster because of the style or material or whatever of the holster, I still don’t see the need to unload it just because.

For those that do, that’s cool. It was always just a question on my mind.

 

[Threeband]

You can. I have a spare in my parts drawer. So far I've never chipped one in a lot of time. On my Cz50, it is extremely hard on chambering rounds. Only gun I do it with.

I have a CZ50. Cool range toy. I might consider carrying it in a post apocalyptic world where it's all I had.
Why not get a Taurus or a Ruger if you want something economical?

 

[lazarus]

I have a CZ50. Cool range toy. I might consider carrying it in a post apocalyptic world where it's all I had.
Why not get a Taurus or a Ruger if you want something economical?

Wife. She doesn’t like guns. Every gun I buy is either a negotiation or a fight. Maybe half a dozen of my guns has not been one of those two. It isn’t an economy thing. My only two really compact guns are my Cz50 and a Yugo 70. Next closest s is my Cz83.

My Cz50 is incredibly reliable with euro 7.65 ball. Even runs well with JHP euro.

The shorter 32acp extractor groove cases are iffy if I load a mag passed 6 rounds. 7.65 long extractor groove ammo has been 100% reliability on feeding and ejecting. And I’ve put probably 1000 rounds through the thing. It did take months and a few hundred rounds to figure that out. But the long extractor groove cases are 100%. The only other issue I’ve encountered is three failures to fire in all that time. And that might be ammo. I only looked at one of the cases, but the primer impression was good and fired on a second strike. The other two I just hit the primer with a second trigger pull and it fired DA after failure on the SA strike.

I do plan to get a micro 9 at some point. No time soon. I mostly don’t go places I worry about carrying too much. When I do, I’ve mostly carried my Cz50. A couple times my Cz83 because it also carries very low profile. My G19 a couple times over the winter with heavy clothing. If parks and forests weren’t verboten, I’d carry my G19 or G21. Of course with concealed carry required after 10/1, it’ll likely just stay my G19 that’s a lot easier to conceal for parks and forests hiking and camping even if parks and forests sometime get opened up.