when to replace EDC ammo

[Clusterfrack]

So, I've been running an informal experiment. When I pick up brass at the range after a practice session, I often have a bay that was used for LEO training. If I find live ammo, I throw it in my brass bag (dog poo bag). Since it's Oregon, the live ammo has typically been sitting in rainwater for days to weeks.

The brass and any live rounds have the following treatment:

Frankford wet tumbler 1 hr (hot water, 1tsp buffered disodium EDTA, 1tsp Lemishine, 2 oz Meguiers carwash)
Sit in wet tumbler for 12-36 hrs until I have time to deal with it
Wash in cold water 3x
Dry in case drier for 3 hrs
Spray with Hornady 1-shot case lube

Then at this point, I pick out the live rounds. When I feel like it, I try to fire them.

Now, here's the cool part: every single round has fired. The sample size is well over 100 rounds.

[Bucky]

So, I've been running an informal experiment. When I pick up brass at the range after a practice session, I often have a bay that was used for LEO training. If I find live ammo, I throw it in my brass bag (dog poo bag). Since it's Oregon, the live ammo has typically been sitting in rainwater for days to weeks.

The brass and any live rounds have the following treatment:

Frankford wet tumbler 1 hr (water, 1tsp buffered disodium EDTA, 1tsp Lemishine, 2 oz Meguiers carwash)
Sit in wet tumbler for 12-36 hrs until I have time to deal with it
Wash in cold water 3x
Dry in case drier for 3 hrs
Spray with Hornady 1-shot case lube

Then at this point, I pick out the live rounds. When I feel like it, I try to fire them.

Now, here's the cool part: every single round has fired. The sample size is well over 100 rounds.

Do you weed out reloads? I have 9mm major and .40s that I’d not want to fire out of anything other than a 2011.

[Clusterfrack]

Do you weed out reloads? I have 9mm major and .40s that I’d not want to fire out of anything other than a 2011.

Yep. If it isn't an obvious factory round, I don't take it. These are all hollow point factory rounds. Usually HST or similar. I don't shoot .40, so it's all 9mm.

[2xAGM114]

I have read about "bullet setback" where the repeated chambering of a round can eventually cause the bullet to get pushed farther inside the casing causing reliability and cycling issues, and thus developed the following method:

I have a plastic container on the shelf in the gun safe. Every time I unload the chambered round in my carry gun to do some dry-fire, the round in the chamber goes into this container. After a couple weeks of this, the container of once-chambered rounds goes to the range and then gets fired.

[Clusterfrack]

With 9mm HST rounds chambered at least 20 times, I could not measure any setback. When the case or bullet starts looking visibly worn, I swap it out.

[psalms144.1]

I've mentioned this before, but our issued .45 FMJ ammo was loaded in 1986 - that's right - 32 years ago. The cases look GNARLY, I'm probably pulling out 1 out of every 20 that's so corroded that I won't shoot it through one of MY pistols. However, every single round has fired, every time.

Our issued 9mm JHP that we're working through now was loaded in 1992 - and functions just fine...

[RevolverRob]

I have read about "bullet setback" where the repeated chambering of a round can eventually cause the bullet to get pushed farther inside the casing causing reliability and cycling issues, and thus developed the following method:

I have a plastic container on the shelf in the gun safe. Every time I unload the chambered round in my carry gun to do some dry-fire, the round in the chamber goes into this container. After a couple weeks of this, the container of once-chambered rounds goes to the range and then gets fired.

In my experience, bullet setback with pistols seems to happen most with .45 ball ammo. I'm not sure if that's because there isn't a good crimp on a lot of ball ammo or what, but the only time I've measurably seen setback is with .45 ball that has been chambered and rechambered in a 1911. I've never had a problem with high quality JHPs in any caliber, including .45, by that I mean HST/Ranger/Gold Dot.

Now, with PCCs? Chambering the same round as few as three times, I've seen measurable setback. I ASSume that is because of the mass of the AR9 bolt and the way everything slams together in there. That includes FMJ and JHP rounds. So, I do like you and dump the chambered round into a bag, at the range, I just load them into pistol mags and fire them off. This is one reason why I strictly run "cheap" JHP through my AR9 for defensive purposes (e.g., Fed 9BPLE), because when I do dryfire drills with the carbine, I'm losing a round or two a week just to that.

[psalms144.1]

In my experience, bullet setback with pistols seems to happen most with .45 ball ammo. I'm not sure if that's because there isn't a good crimp on a lot of ball ammo or what, but the only time I've measurably seen setback is with .45 ball that has been chambered and rechambered in a 1911. I've never had a problem with high quality JHPs in any caliber, including .45, by that I mean HST/Ranger/Gold Dot.

I've seen SIGINIFICANT set back with our issued .40 S&W JHP - which is a major concern since the load we're running is already on the ragged edge of safe pressures, IMHO.

[BehindBlueI's]

I quit worrying about how ammo is stored long term when I saw how the military stored it long term. Quality ammo is pretty robust and withstands age, temperature swings, moisture, etc. pretty well. My only concern is repeated battering of the primer leading to the primer compound moving. I've seen some folks here recommend never rechambering a round. I think that's overkill, but each to their own. I also suspect it's different firearm to firearm. Revolvers don't have anything hit the primer when you "chamber" each cartridge. ARs will lightly dent the primer upon chambering.

[DocGKR]

I have seen multiple 5.56 mm rounds fail to fire after being re-chambered and having the primer compound damaged....