How offten should I change my carry ammo?

[TXDonkey]

I am sure this has been asked before but I had no luck with the search.

How offten should you change out your carry ammo?

Thanks

[kauboy]

Depends on whether I have a hankerin' to use it or not. Normally I just unload and shoot target rounds. But sometimes I get impatient and want to try some new carry rounds. Then I fire the whole lot of 'em.

But to be totally honest, my carry rounds that are currently loaded in both mags are the same ones I bought 6 months ago. No extra $$ for spending more carry ammo.

[mkim1120]

in your question.
do you mean change your ammo out of the magazine?
or
do you mean change your ammo type of the rounds you plan on (hopefully never) using?

[PhilR.]

Modern metallic cartridges have been known to work correctly after many decades of storage, however there have been instances where over a long period of time a gun's lubricating oil had worked it's way into a chambered cartridge, causing the powder to not burn correctly. Nowadays this is very rare, and is more likely to happen with rimfires, but nonetheless I will not keep the same rounds in my carry guns for more than six to twelve months.

As I keep my stockpile of ammo in a cool and dry location, I don't mind if they sit in the box for many years. However, I seem to shoot too often to let a years-long stockpile build up....

PhilR.

[DoubleActionCHL]

Your life could depend on the reliability of that ammo, so how often is too often? I generally cycle through mine once a year. I never oil up a mag while loaded. It's a good idea to unload and reload your carry mags now and then just to give the spring a rest and to be sure the it operates properly. I typically use my carry mags at the range. I'll unload them, fill them up with target ammo, and let 'er rip.

Right around my birthday (makes it easy to remember) I'll shoot up the carry ammo and reload with fresh personal protection rounds. Always shoot a few rounds out of a new box to be sure you didn't stumble across a bad lot. If you're changing to a new brand, shoot at least a full mag to be sure they feed, fire and eject reliably all the way to the last round.

While there are plenty opinions on which is the best carry ammo, one thing can't be argued: Don't cheap out!

[WildBill]

I usually change them out after every two visits to the range ... so about every 2-3 months. I shoot them for practice, along with some other practice rounds, and then load my magazines with fresh defense rounds.

[Moonpie]

I change out carry ammo once every six months or so.
Usually shoot a few boxes of a particular brand/type to see how it performs and then carry the remainder for about 6 months then shoot that ammo. If I like it, it is replaced with the same.

IMO, magazines should be left unloaded until you are using them.
They are expensive and a pain to replace so why stress them?
Keep what you need loaded and swap them out every few months.
Revolver chambers should be cleaned of oil before loading.
A revolver can be kept loaded forever but IMO the ammo should be stored outside the gun.
NEVER leave a loaded gun anywhere you do not have absolute, complete control of it.

Ammo can and will go dud on you if stored close to exposed oil.
It is rare but it can happen.
Keep ammo clean, dry, and in proper boxes. Plain old GI ammo cans are hard to beat for this purpose.

[Xander]

My routine is similar to Wild Bill's. I shoot mine off every couple of months and reload fresh.

[AFJailor]

I used to think they needed to be changed out every few months, until I realized that the ammo we carry at work has been carried for duty every day for god knows how many years. I realize this is done because of the money it would cost to buy like half a million rounds, but I dont have the cash to be buying hydrashoks all the time either.