question about carrying hot

[apdturbo]

so when i conceal i carry hot, i typically rack the slide to eject the round for storage but i notice in doing so some of my ammo is getting beaten up in the chambering/ejection process. i'm concerned about these rounds and am thinking after 5 or 6 chambering and manual ejecting sessions on a certain bullet that bullet then starts to get deformed and may have issues cycling.

what are your thoughts? anyone else experience this?

[ripley16]

Yes, multiple chamberings can deform a bullet and/or cause excessive setback.

Why do you unload and reload in the first place? Why not leave the gun loaded and avoid the problem? Personally I leave my carry gun loaded and empty it usually only at the range by shooting the ammo. If I do unload for some reason I do track which round and how many times it is chambered. Two or three is my limit... just for safety sake.

[BEARDOG]

What Ripley said... and...

The setback issue is a real safety concern. If the bullet after repeated chamberings gets pushed deeper into the case the pressure level when fired could result in a kaboom!

I would not and do not unload and reload my main carry gun all the time. I just leave it loaded.

Of coarse sometimes you need to unload it and reload it for whatever reason, and after a few times it would be prudent IMO to (after inspecting for any setback, throw it away if it is) fire that carry ammo for practice and start again with fresh.

[mser]

Just one more thing for the responsible shooter to be aware of and look for. I too have discovered some ever so slight dings and/or nicks on ammunition that's been chambered any number of times on my PM9 and M&P 40C when I unload to clean/inspect or prior to entering the gun range (loaded firearms and/or magazines are expressly forbidden except on the firing line). I try to keep an eye on it to assure the same round is chambered. I've never experienced any malfunctions and hopefully never will. On one occasion I did discover a round with the bullet pushed slightly further into the casing. How it happened I don't know, just happy I discovered it prior to firing the gun.

What I can't understand is why I don't see this with my SP101. No matter how many times I load or unload, the cartridges seem to load and extract in exactly the same condition. Hmm, go figure.;)

[sierrajb]

This is really helpful advice! I've had the same concerns. Thanks for sharing the wisdom.

[MW surveyor]

What I can't understand is why I don't see this with my SP101. No matter how many times I load or unload, the cartridges seem to load and extract in exactly the same condition. Hmm, go figure.;)

Hope that was a joke!

[gundawg]

Like most have said here , bullet setback is a concern, and i usually take one that has been chambered a few times out of rotation and keep them separate to be measured, and if they past i use them as practice ammo.

My EDC (M&P 9c) stays loaded with the same round for about 1-2 weeks, my range allows me as a CC permit holder to walk in armed and concealed, go on through the store to the range and i will shoot that mag down range, and at the end of my session i will load up with fresh SD rounds.

I wish more companies would do as Hornady does with their critical defense line since their Bullets are cannelured and crimped to avoid bullet setback

[Russ]

I purchased a Gunvault on Amazon for $80 so I can store hot. Get the low profile. It will fit under the seat of my Honda Accord when not on my night stand.

[wyntrout]

Revolvers aren't immune to problems like that, either. Large caliber revolvers are more prone to the bullet being "pulled" from the case by inertia during recoil. Handloads are more prone to this and guys still bet their lives on "theirs or their buddy's".

The guy who was walking his dog in Alaska and was charged by a 900-lb, old sow bear, got off only 2 or 3 shots, he wasn't sure because his Ruger Alaskan .454 Casull jammed then. He was using heavier hard-cast bullets from a buddy and they backed out, jamming the gun. Fortunately, one hit a good spot... he wasn't "aiming" either... it happened too fast with no warning... he was pointing... and very lucky!

In a revolver, the bullets are close to the same moment of recoil and in a few shots the heavy recoil can back the bullets out until they won't clear the forcing cone... not good. Think about the inertial bullet-pullers... that's the principal... then imagine the heavy recoil of one of those large calibers... same thing.

The bullets in an auto are not subjected to equal recoil as they are each further away from the outer arc of recoil, however, repeated bashing against the feed ramp can cause setback, creating higher pressure on firing... sometimes drastically higher.

Wynn:)

[apdturbo]

thanks for the replies, so SETBACK is the bullet pushing back into the casing? i will def look for this but i generally do carry hornaday critical defense, so hornadays don't expereince "setback" as much? the rounds in question def do not appear round anymore, i will not use them, not sure about setback on them tho. better safe than sorry. maybe I will chamber a round and just leave it hot untill range visits when I can shoot the round out.

[Bawanna]

On the rare occasions when I clear my gun I usually rotate the first and second round to cut down the number of trips into the chamber.
I'll sometimes even empty the mag out and put the ones that have been chambered on the bottom if it's gonna be awhile till I get to a range or time to replace with fresh.
Some ammo suffers from setback worse than others. I've set aside questionable and shot it at the range without issue.
Kind of like you say, why take the chance.
I have a box of fresh ammo in our armory of pistol and rifle ammo for the officers to replace that top round if it looks marginal. Old stuff goes into range ammo bucket.

[OldLincoln]

I rotate the top 2 rounds simply by chambering to top one then stuffing the former chambered round in the mag. I only unload when cleaning or checking it out when a post asks "is this normal?".