How Often Do You Replace Carry Ammo?

[f355spider]

One year sounds right. Afterall, your life is depending on it.
Also, if you carry with loaded chamber and unload often, rotate and inspect top round in magazine that goes into chamber when loading, if you don't you may end up with a bullet set back into case after many load/unload cycles thus risking extreme pressure on firing it that can potentially cause catastrophic gun failure.

The other issue, beyond bullet set back, is the rim gets chewed up, if you constantly extract and reload the same top round. There are reported instances of police officers that constantly load and unload their service pistols and when it came time to fire (on the range or in the field) the top round would not extract. Remedial action would not clear it...needed a rod to punch the case out. Inspect your ammo occasionally. If the rims are chewed up, replace the ammunition.

Bottom line, unless by policy, don't unload and reload a carry gun all the time, not only for potential damage to the ammunition, but more handling/fiddling induces the risk of a negligent discharge. Leave the gun in the holster when you don and remove it from your belt.

 

[jhellwig]

I don't carry but in my mind it should go like this: You should know where what you carry in the gun regularly shoots so shoot what you carried in the gun when you go shooting regularly.

 

[football]

I have like ten carry guns so I have a spreadsheet and I keep track of when the ammo is replaced. Usually every 2-3 years, since most get rotated and carried perhaps once or twice a month.

I carry a P320 at work and it gets cleaned and lubricated monthly. I swap the chambered round to the bottom of the mag. So each round is only in the chamber for a month.

As to the guy above that has rounds not firing after being chambered for a year or so, I have seen this before and it was usually an over abundance of lubrication. I would also change brands of lube. The brand you are using likely has penetrant qualities. I’d dry the barrel really well and not leave any excess lube going forward and probably use less lube.