Carry Ammo

Just curious how often do you change out the ammo you use in your EDC?

For me I go 12-18 months, not sure if there’s a correct number of time but I feel the need to buy new and start over about that time.

that's about right for me. I should shoot more but I'm a lazie azz.

Buy a box of 20 HST's and rotate magazines too.

I don’t.

Provided ammunition doesn’t get wet, extreme long term humidity, or exposed to lubricants, it has an indefinite life span.

Technically you should shoot it to rotate it.

I go off this for my target ammo, just not sure how I feel about my carry ammo. I do carry often not everyday, and since it’s not stored like my target ammo I feel like I need to shoot it annually.

I have seen a few rounds change color, the copper has darkened.

A couple things on carry ammo. The main thing I'm concerned about is the first round that I'm chambering and un-chambering often. It gets chewed up after multiple chamberings. I will cycle this round to the bottom of the mag after a while.

During the summer time, if I sweat while carrying, I will check the round and dry the round and the pistol off from any moisture. After going to the deer lease for a weekend in the summer, I've had a nickel case get sweaty and rust up inside the chamber. About a week later I went to unload my pistol, and I could not pull the slide back. The round had rusted up and locked the slide up. It took some "careful" work to unload it.

The other thing to consider, is the primer. I know of several instances where the top round was chambered and unchambered daily. And this round did not fire when needed. The primer compound inside the primer had turned to powder from repeated chambering and unchambering on a daily basis. If you chambered and unchambered often, I would cycle through the carry ammo more often.

I don’t carry but when I leave town my Judge goes along. 3 solids and 2 .410’s. Ive only had to pull it once but never had to fire it.

Yup, cycle the top one if chambered several times. Setback is the problem.

Chad correctly identified the issue, which is primers cracking, and thus failing, due to being racked, bumped, banged, dropped, and all the other jostling from carrying a round.

If a round has been racked three times, take it out of the rotation and use it for practice.

My recommendation is to go to the range at least once a month for some minimal practice.

I know that realities of life can make that hard, so please try to go at least every two or three months.

The very first drill should be to practice drawing from however the pistol is really carried.

Be honest with yourself, practice with how it is really carried.

For that first drill, use the ammo in the pistol.

Practicing with carry ammo is important as it can feel different and shoot to a different point of impact than bulk practice ammo.

That means the ammo in the pistol is being refreshed at least every month.

It also hopefully means the pistol is receiving some minimal maintenance at least once a month.

If the thought is, "jee, that carry ammo is expensive, it costs $1 a round!" Yeah, so what.

What does a Whatameal number 1 cost now? How much does it cost to fill up the truck?

Skip a Whataburger.

This is not the place to cheap out and cut corners.

Practice like your or your family's life depends on it, someday it may.

Practice with carry ammo ? Why? Yup, FBI shows they shoot at sniper with 9mm pistol and hit him. A joke! What is the difference between practice ammo and carry ammo @ 50 yds? 10? Is 10 yds really SD? Just make sur what you carry WORKS/goes BANG every time.