How often should you change out your carry ammo?

I carry on the job, in a standard duty belt. My gun, magazines and ammunition are exposed to all types of weather. Who is to say that constant exposure to rain, dust, and snow isn't going to cause one of those rounds to die? Can you tell me which round is going to fail?

I can't, and that's why I generally buy 100 rounds of GDHP from Ga Arms and restock my carry load when the gun shows come around. The old ammo is used for practice, familiarizing myself with the recoil of the more powerful round.

I have never experienced a failure with the old ammo. But, I am very happy to pay that $30 for new stuff every six months. Call it cheap insurance.

Of course, I don't replace my .223 ammo in a similar fashion because my carbine isn't subjected to the same weathering as my duty pistol. While I enjoy taking my carbine out for a spin on the range, the majority of its time is spent sitting in the corner of the room. The magazines for it and my other guns might be loaded, but they are kept warm and dry, with a roof over their heads.
 
Change out your Carry Ammo???

I change the Battery in our smoke detectors every year, and they still have juice in them. But I still put in new ones!!! :) Why not shoot out the carry ammo and replace it every year for just the piece of mind it brings. Ammo is pretty cheap insurance when you consider the alternatives. :)
 
Change your ammo regularly. At least 4 times in a year. Not because older ammo wouldn't work(it should work perfectly after 3 months of carry) but carrying ammo will wear it and you should minimaze any risks at gun figth.
 
Change it a couple of times a year.

It probably isn't as critical to do so with a revolver, but with a semi-automatic, one needs to ensure that bullets do not start getting set back into the case from repeated racking/unloading of a round. If this happens, the overall length gets reduced and the there's a chance of high pressures developing.

Shoot straight,

straightShot
 
I change mine out in June and December. Even if it would cost me $50 it's still better than wondering if that green tinted ammo is going to work. I also rotate my magazines at the same time.
 
Count me among the "justifiably afraid of bullet setback" crew.

I shoot my defense ammo every six weeks. I could get away with going a lot longer, but I like to practice with a hotter load sometimes. I feel a difference, but it might be the shooter's equivalent of "placebo effect".
 
I couldn't agree with you more. I change out my carry ammo every three to four months, just to be on the safe side. The stuff I've been carrying I put aside for my next practice shoot. Modern, well sealed ammo is likely good for much longer than that, but why take the chance? Ammo is cheap, human life is not.
 
Every couple of months I usually find myself blowing off whatever ammo I've been carrying, usually if I'm visiting a friend with land or something to that effect.
 
I try to get to the range monthly. No matter what I am shooting for the day I always pop off a few in my duty gun and my backup.
No room for suprizes!!!
 
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