how often do you change out your carry ammo

I try to change it out every 6 months.

I have a few boxes of the Car-Bon that I use in my 357. I just shoot what I had in the chamber then my reloads. Then when I get home I load of 5 new bullets in the gun and 5 more in the speed loader.

I guess I burn them faster than most people but I believe if practicing with what you shoot.
 
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I'm with wheelyfun I'll fire 2-5 rounds of my SD ammo out of each gun every time I go to shoot. Which means I buy about 2 boxes a year.
 
Quality ammo can last 100 years or more depending on conditions. It may be a personal comfort to change out ammo every so often but it really not more than that.
 
I always carry a extra reload for what ever gun I carry in the form of a speed loader, speed strip or extra mag. When the extra rounds in the speed loader/strip or the top round in the mag becomes tarnished I shoot them, then take the rounds from the gun and put them in the extra mags/loaders then load the gun with fresh ammo. Since I carry a few different guns the time may vary from a month to a year.
 
about once a year per carry pistol . I buy box of SD ammo. I shoot all that box. But one reload . That shows me the new ammo feeds fine and I have reduced the chances of a bad round from factory at same time. Just because your present ammo worked good. Doesn't always mean the new box will. I have had that problem , 1 time from a well know company. That why I now shoot it before I carry
 
I buy box of SD ammo. I shoot all that box. But one reload . That shows me the new ammo feeds fine and I have reduced the chances of a bad round from factory at same time.
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If I understand, you are saying you shoot 35 out of a box of 50 (assuming a 15 round magazine). I agree that you are proving the feed function of the new ammo. I disagree with the concept that you are reducing the chances of a bad round.

To horribly exaggerate, let's say an ammo company sells a product with a 1 in 50 failure rate. That's one bad round per box. If you shoot 35 of them without any failures you have just increased the chance that one of the remaining 15 is bad. You started with a 2% chance (1/50) of failure and wound up with a 7% chance (1/15).

The truth is the failure rate of quality ammo is so low that taking 35 rounds out isn't going to change the odds of failure one little bit. It's still a good idea for the function check.
 
When I go to the range I use 9mm ball ammo. I purchase premium rounds for SD purposes. With that being the case I hope I never have to use them.
 
i fired them just to see if it goes well in my gun. thats it. well i never had that long of a time where i might think my ammo is going rotten
 
Every 2 to 3 years. If a handgun is PROPERLY maintained and oiled, i can see very few problems.

I have shot out 30 year old ammo that was kept in less than ideal conditions and all of them worked and cycled perfectly. Ammo lasts very long
 
The main thing isn't the AMMO that needs to be changed out ....

it's the MAGAZINE SPRINGS that I worry about.

ALL civilian pistol magazine springs weaken under load over time. In other words ... if you leave a magazine loaded for any certain amount of time it tends to weaken the magazine spring.

On all of my carry pistols I INSIST on upgrading the springs as a purchasing cost of the firearm. I purchase a majority of my magazine springs from Wolff Gunsprings, and I buy the 'XP +5" or 'XP+15" versions of the spring if they are available. These are 'Duty Rated' springs, and are meant to be kept loaded for several weeks to months at a time. A lot of US Marshalls and FBI SRT operators insist on these. Lower level / local law enforcement agencies are starting to transition their equipment to these as well. Most factory magazines rated for "LE USE" are already equipped with 'Duty Rated' springs.

The ammo isn't a worry for me. I would trust handloads or factory ammo that I had loaded into a magazine 5 years ago if given the chance. The AVERAGE shelf life of properly loaded ammunition is 30+ years ... even under humid conditions.

Like I said ... it's not the ammo that bothers me ... it's the magazine springs. Magazine springs are like tires on your truck. You change them regularly if you get any sort of use out of them. ;)
 
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i don't think it's the 'being under a load' that weakens mag springs. i think it's the constantly loading and unloading of them that 'works' them.
 
It is yearly for me, but I live in a very arid climate (7,200 feet above sea level), so that's not even necessary. I have regularly shot ammo that's been sitting around the house for 5-6 years, once some ten year old stuff, and it's never corroded or anything, and so far my Beretta hasn't failed with any of it. I even had some flat-out scummy stuff from my late grandpa's ammo can and the Beretta ate that too (deliberate test of reliability).

Right now, I have about 100 HSTs and 20 Hydra-Shoks lying around. I'll be shooting off 50 of the HSTs next time I go to the range to test reliability. The other 50 will be my carry ammo for the next year until I replace. The Hydra-Shoks I'll probably just let sit around so I'm never without at least a mag of something good.
 
No ... it's definitely from being under a load. After a certain period of time a lot of magazine springs retain a sort of 'memory' to them. I tested 4 different brands back in the Summer of 2009, and 3 of the 4 were weaker after a storage period than when they were new.
 
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