How crazy are you on range/ammo prep? (to avoid bullet setback and other issues)

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  • Do you perform any of the tests, checks, and/or preparations that are listed below?

    • NONE- I do not perform any of the listed tests/checks/preparations.

      Votes: 25 64.1%
    • VERY FEW- I perform a few of the listed tests/checks/preparations.

      Votes: 12 30.8%
    • SOME- I perform about half of the listed tests/checks/preparations.

      Votes: 1 2.6%
    • ALL- I perform all of the listed tests/checks/preparations.

      Votes: 0 0.0%
    • OTHER- I perform other, non-listed, tests/checks/preparations (Please Share!!)

      Votes: 2 5.1%

    • Total voters
      39

    NickZac

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 12, 2007
    3,412
    Baltimore, MD
    I'm curious how far you guys go for range prep and cartridge management and what you would advise as being sensible but not overkill...

    Recently I've read literature and personally spoken to a few people who have advocated that more caution be given to factory loads given case failures with these loads (while rare) isn't unheard of (for example, I know a person who claims they had a Glock KB on factory defense ammo although I did not see it personally and can't verify this). Many have argued that the chance of bullet setback is, while low enough that you may never experience it with factory rounds, still a possibility and the potential damage that it can cause justifies the time in taking a few extra pre and post steps for both plinking and carry.

    They advocate a few things, such as...

    1) When opening a box of ammo for the range, unbox the cartridges and view them on an angle to ensure none are taller or shorter than the others ... 1A) Also, complete a full visual inspection of the ammo to make sure nothing looks unusual or suggests the ammo may be compromised.

    2) Use a caliper to measure the length of a few random rounds.

    3) Chambering one or two rounds from a lot 2-3 times after an initial measure with a caliper and then measuring it with the caliper after chambering the rounds to look for bullet setback and cartridge abnormalities (or thumbing it a few times and measuring).

    4) Recording how often you chamber a single round and firing it after N(#) amount of chambers (I have to assume that something like a 180gr .40 would presumably be more sensitive to this than say a standard .45 or 9 loading???)

    5) Keeping a chart for what acceptable bullet slippage is (minimum overall length acceptable to use vs. discarding without shooting)

    6) Keeping a record of shots fired in the gun as well as what product and weight you shot (ex: 75 rounds of Golden Sabre, 124gr +p, shot on 11/25/2012)

    7) For storing/carrying chambered, easing a slide forward and then rapping the rear of the slide to avoid the gun from firing out of battery (I believe this is mainly an issue with certain generation Glocks that will fire when slightly out of battery)--oddly, I was always taught the way to avoid this is to manually pull the slide back and releasing it rather than dropping the slide via the slide release as those few extra millimeters when you pull the slide allows the spring to generate more force for the chambering in the fashion as if it were automatically chambering upon being fired.

    8) When possible, buying ammo in large quantities from a single lot rather than purchasing from multiple lots given this could potentially amplify the chance of cartridge variation.

    9) Not shooting ammo if you are not comfortable that you know its origin (ex: a beat-up and peeling box indicating it may have sat on a dealer's shelf for 30 years in a very humid environment, being sold in bulk at gun shows, packaging or cartridge abnormalities suggesting the ammo may not be what you intended to purchase, etc.)



    Any thoughts on this? Do you do any of this? Do you think it is worth it with factory-new ammo? Many of these things sound similar to the things some of my friends who reload do. I've never been this careful with (factory-new) range ammo (and defensive ammo), and while it sounds like a bit of a pain, it also seems like it isn't an unreasonable argument...
     

    WeaponsCollector

    EXTREME GUN OWNER
    Mar 30, 2009
    12,120
    Southern MD
    I think it's very important to at least visually check any and all factory ammo you are going to use.
    More than once I found ammo that would be dangerous to fire.
    One time the primer was not seated properly and was sticking out on one side and another time bullets were pushed in too far.
    I've also found badly dented cases on milsurp ammo.
     

    Howe

    Howe
    Apr 27, 2010
    310
    exMD
    only do visual and chamber check with reloads. I would use a chamber tool instead of wrack a round in. On auto loading pistol it could change the bullet setting depth if keep on chamber the same round.
     

    jimbobborg

    Oddball caliber fan
    Aug 2, 2010
    17,112
    Northern Virginia
    I'm laughing at number 9, especially after four years ago. Unless it's for guns made before 1950, I doubt there's any really old stock left. I use a cartridge checker on my .40/10mm loads since there are a couple of Glocks that shoot those rounds and I scrounge brass every chance I get. .38/.357 get dropped into cylinders, same with the .45 Colt ammo I reload. I don't shoot enough .45 ACP yet, but I'm still scrounging brass for it. When I hit 500, I'll get the bullets and load up a batch.
     

    r3t1awr3yd

    Meh.
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 14, 2010
    4,721
    Bowie, MD
    If I bought the rounds from a store, I do no checks. I can make money if these go wrong and I survive. :P

    If I loaded them myself, I check everything until my eyes bleed. I don't want to die from my own reloads lol.
     

    djleepanda

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    Mar 10, 2011
    643
    Elkridge
    I would be doing this for surplus ammo, especially the eastern block ones from 50 or more years ago. But I don't own any communist rifles or ammo. :)
     

    alucard0822

    For great Justice
    Oct 29, 2007
    17,643
    PA
    I take 2 different approaches.

    For range ammo that will be loaded once and fired, I just pay attention when loading, if it looks short or somethng is wrong, it's fairly easy to catch provided you are always paying attention. My reloads are checked and double checked at each step of the process, and again as they are loaded, never had a problem.

    Now if I am carrying with that ammo there is more testing, and yes, ammo does wear out. When I "approve" a round that I want to carry, I need a couple hundred rounds of it, I shoot it in water jugs, and some barriers to see how it does, make sure it functions flawlessly over a couple hundred rounds, soak ammo in water to make sure it is well sealed, and chamber a few rounds numerous times(about 50) to see if it has setback or damage, usually along with a FTF drill, if it does all this, is accurate, and has acceptable recoil/flash/noise, then I carry it. After all of that, I still check my ammo, holster and pistol weekly, and clean it. If the rounds look beat up, I replace them with fresh ammo, or if I have time I head to the range and shoot a couple mags of old ammo. I keep my carry pistol loaded and holstered, then take off the holster and secure it when needed to minimize how many times a round is chambered, and rotate my ammo when I unload for the weekly cleaning, following this my ammo lasts a few months before it gets beat up enough to replace.
     

    ToBeFree

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 5, 2011
    2,614
    Highland Cnty-Va
    I'm here

    If I dont notice anything while loading the mags then thats the extent of it lol

    I am not reloading yet and of the thousands of manufactured ammo shot maybe, I said maybe, have had a few ftf or misfires.

    I believe that standards and processing are keeping things pretty tight in the manufacturing of ammo.

    That's good for us!
     

    NickZac

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 12, 2007
    3,412
    Baltimore, MD
    This is all good to hear as I've not given the ammo nearly this much attention and really no attention in this regards other than the visual inspection and cycling chambered rounds. Between me and a few of my buddies, we've probably shot 100,000 rounds of factory-new ammo. Of that, we've never personally experienced anything like a kaBoom, which I have to assume is overstated in terms of odds with factory ammo and a properly functioning gun. We've also never experienced what I would call real bullet setback.

    Are there any guidelines on how much you should chamber a round before firing or destroying it? I assume higher pressure loads would be more sensitive to this theoretically, correct?
     

    monkey

    B-A-N-A-N-A-S!
    Feb 20, 2012
    472
    Monkey County
    When looking at rimfire ammunition, I check the level of wax buildup on the bullet and make sure the first round chambers ok if it's a new type of ammunition (CCI Stingers seem to fit weird).
     

    erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,866
    Rockville, MD
    Stingers fit weird because their cases are longer than standard.

    OP's precautions seem a little overdone on factory ammo; for one thing, the manufacturer is already doing that sort of QC at the plant.
     

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