Question for DocGKR regarding a statement in the 5.56 Duty Load stickied thread

[Nephrology]

"Once a round has been chambered, DO NOT RE-CHAMBER IT for duty use. Do NOT re-chamber it again, except for training. This is CRITICAL!!!"

I am aware that this is specifically for 5.56 in AR-15s and that the crushing of the primer compound was a result of the floating firing pin of the AR-15, but are you aware of anything similar happening to handgun ammunition that has been rechambered?

I am aware of (and have personally experienced) serious bullet setback in defensive ammunition that I have re-chambered multiple times, but it seems limited to my 1911. Have not noticed significant setback in any of the 9mm JHPs I have re-chambered in my Glocks.

[DocGKR]

It happens with handgun loads as well.

I know of one large organization that was repeatedly re-chambering their duty service pistol loads in .40 Glocks--when finally checked, a significant number of these multiply chambered cartridges failed to fire or exhibited other functional issues.

http://lightfighter.net/eve/forums/a...6541#752106541

http://lightfighter.net/eve/forums/a...63#98820543663

[Nephrology]

Interesting. Thanks for the heads up. My current JHPs are at least 6 months old - some of them older now - and I was totally unaware that such a problem could exist.

Now seems to be the right time to retire them. The next time I get the chance (unfortunately not likely to be soon given my rather demanding schedule) I will send them down range and see how they do. Time to put in an order for some Gold Dots...

[DocGKR]

Purchase a case (500-1000 rds) of duty/carry ammo at a time. Shoot a few hundred to ensure function, verify POA/POI, as well as to assess both flash and recoil characteristics. Once that is done, load your 2-3 carry mags with fresh ammo and chamber a round. Take the remainder of the ammo (200-500 rds) and store it in a dry and temperate location for future use.

Keep your pistol loaded--don't be jerking off and loading/unloading all the time. Be really smart and instead of acquiring a bunch of varied junk, just purchase 2-3 identical quality pistols, one to carry, one to train with, and perhaps an extra one to sit in a lock box at home to serve as a back-up or to arm another family member if needed.

Do the math--if you unload your pistol once a week then you will go through 52 rounds a year from your stored stash to ensure a fresh round is always chambered; if you unload only once a month, you will go through 12 rounds a year...I suspect 200-500 rounds of stored ammo will last a reasonable amount of time at that rate. Every once in a while (2-4 times a year or so), shoot a magazine of old carry ammo to re-verify function and POA/POI.

[Shawn Dodson]

Keep your pistol loaded--don't be jerking off and loading/unloading all the time.

BINGO! When I remove my pistol from the holster it goes straight into its lock box without unloading. When I remove it from the lock box I perform a quick Battle Readiness Check and holster it.

[Nephrology]

Purchase a case (500-1000 rds) of duty/carry ammo at a time. Shoot a few hundred to ensure function, verify POA/POI, as well as to assess both flash and recoil characteristics. Once that is done, load your 2-3 carry mags with fresh ammo and chamber a round. Take the remainder of the ammo (200-500 rds) and store it in a dry and temperate location for future use.

Keep your pistol loaded--don't be jerking off and loading/unloading all the time. Be really smart and instead of acquiring a bunch of varied junk, just purchase 2-3 identical quality pistols, one to carry, one to train with, and perhaps an extra one to sit in a lock box at home to serve as a back-up or to arm another family member if needed.

Do the math--if you unload your pistol once a week then you will go through 52 rounds a year from your stored stash to ensure a fresh round is always chambered; if you unload only once a month, you will go through 12 rounds a year...I suspect 200-500 rounds of stored ammo will last a reasonable amount of time at that rate. Every once in a while (2-4 times a year or so), shoot a magazine of old carry ammo to re-verify function and POA/POI.

Good advice. Currently I own 2 9mm glocks -a G17 and a G19 - that I keep for competition and carry. Looks like I will start keeping the G19 hot all the time and using the 17 for dry fire practice. They both have nearly identical sight pictures (the 17's rear notch is a little wider by ~.1" in each direction). The only other handgun I own is a junker RIA 1911 that hosts a .22 conversion kit that I use to introduce newbies to shooting. Might flip it for a .22 kit for the 17.

BINGO! When I remove my pistol from the holster it goes straight into its lock box without unloading. When I remove it from the lock box I perform a quick Battle Readiness Check and holster it.

I am new to carrying - only been a year since i've had my CHL, though I've been a shooter for some time now. Still learning the tricks to carrying - it is incredibly useful to have professional resources like the Doc and everyone else here at m4c to rely on for good advice.

[sjohnny]

The best way to get that round out of the chamber is to shoot it. I usually empty the magazine that I've had in the gun when I get to the range. That way there is always a magazine of fresh rounds in it for carry. There are a few occasions when I end up unchambering and rechambering a round but I try to limit how many times I do it and rotate the previously chambered round with other rounds in the magazine when I do have to unload and reload.

[Nephrology]

I am thinking that I will set my limit to 3x per round and use a sharpie to denote how many times it has been exactly.

[ack495]

The .357 sig round is notorious for set back. My former dept uses 125 gr gold dots. Non gun guys used to come up to me while at work and say, "This bullet doesn't look right. Is this bad"? To my horrified eyes I would see a round with the bullet half way down the case! I had to spread the word quick that guys had to stop rechambering the same round over and over again.

[CLHC]

Purchase a case (500-1000 rds) of duty/carry ammo at a time. Shoot a few hundred to ensure function, verify POA/POI, as well as to assess both flash and recoil characteristics. Once that is done, load your 2-3 carry mags with fresh ammo and chamber a round. Take the remainder of the ammo (200-500 rds) and store it in a dry and temperate location for future use.

Keep your pistol loaded--don't be jerking off and loading/unloading all the time. Be really smart and instead of acquiring a bunch of varied junk, just purchase 2-3 identical quality pistols, one to carry, one to train with, and perhaps an extra one to sit in a lock box at home to serve as a back-up or to arm another family member if needed.

Do the math--if you unload your pistol once a week then you will go through 52 rounds a year from your stored stash to ensure a fresh round is always chambered; if you unload only once a month, you will go through 12 rounds a year...I suspect 200-500 rounds of stored ammo will last a reasonable amount of time at that rate. Every once in a while (2-4 times a year or so), shoot a magazine of old carry ammo to re-verify function and POA/POI.

Another sound advice and one that I have to keep in check!