carry ammo

I put a few rounds through my EDC at least once a month. I use the stuff in the magazines and then go with fresh ammo.
This. The last place to cheap out is your carry ammo. Practice ammo, ok.
Carry? Nope...

lather, rinse, repeat ♻️
 
Usually when I replace my carry firearm.

Honestly, I try to do it once or twice a year, mostly to test the function of the magazines. I then load and shoot a few mags full of ball ammo before reloading with carry ammo. Usually at least.
 
Why would carry ammo need to be changed out?
So, you can train with your carry gun regularly with the ammo that you intend to defend yourself with.
If you don't shoot the ammo that you've been EDC'ing, and you instead only shoot your newest, freshest ammunition,
then return your old carry ammo back into the mag and gun... You weird. 🤪

Or, you consider that ammo that you carry in your gun "too lucky to shoot"... 🤔
 
One cost-saving work around for Lucky Ammo is to shoot 4 of the old hollow points, then top off with "fresh" hollow points. That way your "Lucky" ammo
will work like sourdough starter and spread throughout to the new ammo...
 
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Why would carry ammo need to be changed out?
In the Glock 40's it became a REAL problem, known as the Glock KABOOM

Somebody above me in this thread alluded to it

The feed ramp of the Glock 40's was such that when you chambered the round, many bullets would get forced back into the case just a C hair

One shot deal, not a problem

Go home, drop the mag, eject the round, put it back in the magazine, next time you carry you insert the mag and rack the slide to put the round back in the chamber.... it moves back some more.

At some point, doing this more than a couple of times pushes the bullet back in the case far enough to cause an over pressurization issue, and when you pull the trigger the gun explodes.

This is not myth, it is not internet lore, it is a real thing.

So any semi you have that you keep chambering the same round needs to be looked at for setback, it may exist, and once you look or measure the overall length you can figure out if it is something you have to look out for

Lots of guys with Glock 40's would toss the round into a can after the second or third chambering and use it for range ammo

It is also an issue in Glock 10mm's but they are not heard about in large numbers because there are not as many 10mm pistols out there

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I shoot my carry ammo regularly because I have yet to find a "practice" ammo that shoots exact POA/POI as my carry ammo.

If I intended to defend myself with practice ammo... I would carry practice ammo... 🤔
 
So, you can train with your carry gun regularly with the ammo that you intend to defend yourself with.
If you don't shoot the ammo that you've been EDC'ing, and you instead only shoot your newest, freshest ammunition,
then return your old carry ammo back into the mag and gun... You weird. 🤪

Or, you consider that ammo that you carry in your gun "too lucky to shoot"... 🤔
I have three identicle versions of my current carry, seven mags specifically for carry (one in and one next to stored ones and one in and two spares for carry), six specifically for the range and a dozen or so mags still in the packaging. Some of the mags do sit loaded for a while before they go to the range.
 
Buy 250-300 rounds of carry ammo in a block.
That allows 10+1 firing per month for two years (one mag plus chamber)
If you reload, work up a load with a similar weight and profile bullet and load to same POI as the carry ammo.
Load 2400+ of the training ammo so you can burn 100/month.

Can probably lower the once a month the carry ammo if you have a good training round but you really need a schedule for burn down so you don't end up with a carry mag full of old ammo and lint.
 
I have three identicle versions of my current carry, seven mags specifically for carry (one in and one next to stored ones and one in and two spares for carry), six specifically for the range and a dozen or so mags still in the packaging. Some of the mags do sit loaded for a while before they go to the range.
Organized. I like it...
 
So, you can train with your carry gun regularly with the ammo that you intend to defend yourself with.
If you don't shoot the ammo that you've been EDC'ing, and you instead only shoot your newest, freshest ammunition,
then return your old carry ammo back into the mag and gun... You weird. 🤪

Or, you consider that ammo that you carry in your gun "too lucky to shoot"... 🤔

Do I shoot EDC ammo? Yes, but not every trip to the range. I keep it in a different mag that I know to be "good". I'm not going to throw 19 rounds of hollow point ammo at paper every other week.
 
Do I shoot EDC ammo? Yes, but not every trip to the range. I keep it in a different mag that I know to be "good". I'm not going to throw 19 rounds of hollow point ammo at paper every other week.
I shoot both. Practice and carry. Every week.
I finish my last string with carry, wipe down and reload with fresh carry.
Maybe not good for everyone... but it works well for me.
 
I shoot both. Practice and carry. Every week.
I finish my last string with carry, wipe down and reload with fresh carry.
Maybe not good for everyone... but it works well for me.
I shoot carry roughly monthly. Same with last exercise being carry, but I do an especially thorough cleaning/oiling after.
 
I shoot carry roughly monthly. Same with last exercise being carry, but I do an especially thorough cleaning/oiling after.
I carry dirty...



well... wiped-down.
 
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Every 3 mos or so. I also rarely if ever unload my EDC so setback isn't an issue. I have two identical carry guns that I swap out whenever I shoot off my carry ammo so when I leave the range it's with new carry ammo in a clean gun. I will make trips to the range w/ my "off" EDC in between and use ball ammo.
 
So, you can train with your carry gun regularly with the ammo that you intend to defend yourself with.
If you don't shoot the ammo that you've been EDC'ing, and you instead only shoot your newest, freshest ammunition,
then return your old carry ammo back into the mag and gun... You weird. 🤪

Or, you consider that ammo that you carry in your gun "too lucky to shoot"... 🤔

I think the intention of the question from the OP is with regard to the ammo itself having some need to change it out. Not the need to practice with carry ammo. Maybe I'm wrong about that. But thats the question I have too. What would be the need to change out defense ammo, with regard to the ammo itself needing to be changed?
 
I think the intention of the question from the OP is with regard to the ammo itself having some need to change it out. Not the need to practice with carry ammo. Maybe I'm wrong about that. But thats the question I have too. What would be the need to change out defense ammo, with regard to the ammo itself needing to be changed?
Oh, no need. Preference.

I have Garand ammo from the 1940's that shoots perfectly well.
But if the balloon ever went up it would not be the first ammo I'd reach for... 🤔

I figured he was asking about "carry" ammo and did not read as "what is the shelf-life of modern ammunition..."
 
Oh, no need. Preference.
Okay, cool. I almost never change it out and thought maybe I was doing something wrong. I do set aside the ones that get chambered the most so that the bullets don't get setback too much and shoot those now and again. But other than that I generally don't shoot EDC ammo once it has proven reliable. Sometimes I'll unload some bags and make sure they're not full of lint and crap. But generally, I can work up a load that is similar enough to my carry ammo for about a third of the price and use that at the range. I'm too poor to shoot the fancy stuff lol.
 
Almost nothing is wrong... just preference.

Well, except that one guy here who used to top off his magazine and chamber with snap-caps... for safety from a failed firearm retention event. [rofl]
 
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