Rotation
I don’t really rotate my ammo as often as I should. Do you? Or is it really worth it?
Remember, I do this to entertain me, not you.
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October 2nd, 2009 at 10:41 am
Not really. If ammo can sit in cans for decades without it being a problem, it can sit in my magazines for a few years.
The exception is the chambered round. My Kahr especially really beats it up and so I don’t like re-chambering it more than a handful of times.
October 2nd, 2009 at 10:46 am
We do. We practice with our handguns every two weeks or so (it’s nice to have a range on our own land), and when we do we shoot the ammo we were carrying, and load fresh.
We also carry a small dry box filled with an assortment of various calibers of ammo in each vehicle (this dates back to the day the Rodney King riots broke out, we were at a range in Los Angeles and shot up ALL our ammo – and then had to drive through the rioting areas with weapons, but no ammo). That ammo gets recycled every 6 months too, since sitting in the vehicles it’s shaken which theoretically can break down the grain size, and exposed to high heat (at least in the summer).
October 2nd, 2009 at 11:04 am
There is a good argument that ammo that has been chambered a few times in a semi-auto should be changed out because of the possibility of the bullet setting back in the case but revolver ammo? I’d think you could easily make a 50 round box last ten years. If I have 5 rounds in my model 36 and 5 rounds in a speedloader, I just shoot up the ammo in the speedloader when it starts to get dinged up, refill the speedloader with the ammo from the gun and put 5 fresh rounds from the box in the gun. Store the ammo properly and you should never have a problem.
October 2nd, 2009 at 11:32 am
I only rotate it in the sense that I often move things around in the closet trying to find more space when there isn’t any.
October 2nd, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Each time I unload and reload my carry gun, I rotate the cartridges in the magazine and chamber so that no one cartridge gets rechambered more than the others. When each one’s been chambered two or three times (always check for setback before reloading), I shoot out those carry loads.
Also makes sure I’m used to how they shoot compared to standard pressure 230gr FMJ practice crap.
October 2nd, 2009 at 1:03 pm
I shoot loads that have been chambered several times, but otherwise don’t really rotate. I’ve got ammo thats well over a year old and wouldn’t hesitate to carry it.
October 2nd, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Just ‘first-in, first-out’, ie, load from the oldest box.
I never re-chamber rounds … superstitious 🙂
October 2nd, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Rotation: for in-car shotgun shells and chambered rounds, only.
Lead shot will smash flat from jostling in the car for a few years, and the accuracy is ruined.
October 2nd, 2009 at 5:30 pm
How long ammo will last depends on storage conditions. I long ago built a dry well to keep ammo at ground temperature. The 34 year old .44 Mag ammo I checked a few days ago had lost a whopping 2 FPS of muzzle velocity since June of 1975.
Which could be because my first chronograph has died and been replaced twice in that time. Or it could be that I used a different Blackhawk for testing. Or range temp, or a million other things.
Keep ammo cool, dry, and well away from solvents and it will last a very long time. Keep it on you and recycle it every 30 days. Your choice.
Stranger
October 2nd, 2009 at 6:08 pm
I have some ammo that was made in the 1940s. It may be getting close to the time for rotating.
Seriously; it’s all about conditions. If you’re keeping it your pocket or under your armpit in summer on the Gulf Coast, maybe it’s an important practice. Stored in a closet in Arizona that’s all environmentally controlled and stuff, not at all. It’ll outlast you.
October 2nd, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Yeah, Jeff Cooper once fired WWI-issue .45ACP (I think it was in the 1990s), and while he admitted to being nerbous, the ammo worked as advertised. If you keep your closet in conditions similar to your bedroom (e.g. in the closet), it will last for decades.
In other words, you could leave it to your kids, and THEY’LL still be able to shoot it.
October 3rd, 2009 at 12:59 am
I rotate every time I go to the range, in this manner: 1) Shoot whats in the XDm, then the two carry mags.
2) Reload with range fodder, (usually my handloads, which I try to load as close to what I carry as practical)
3) Practice.
4) Reload with what I carry, shoot one more mag to make sure it shoots to point of aim.
5) Then reload my pistol mag and carry mags with carry ammo, and away I go.
October 3rd, 2009 at 1:01 am
Hmmm I never thought of it this way before. I have rounds decades old and never think they are to old to shoot. I don’t shoot nearly as much as i used to but I still find old crap at the bottom of the box and shoot it w/o even thinking about it.
October 3rd, 2009 at 1:02 am
PS At Boomershoot I shot several rounds of .50 BMG loaded in 1945, it all went BOOM! Nothing like 64 year old ammo to make you wonder if your life insurance is paid up!
But having done it, I’d do it again!
October 5th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
I rotate every time I go to the range, in this manner: 1) Shoot whats in the XDm, then the two carry mags.
2) Reload with range fodder, (usually my handloads, which I try to load as close to what I carry as practical)
3) Practice.
4) Reload with what I carry, shoot one more mag to make sure it shoots to point of aim.
5) Then reload my pistol mag and carry mags with carry ammo, and away I go.