I’m lucky to get to the range once every other month, whereas every 3-4 months is more typical for me with my family’s current budget… It’s more often than not that I’m balancing my personal monthly pocket allowance on personal things, or wifey and daughter gifts, or training ammo, or range time - so training and gear is typically planned at least a month to four months in advance with limited other purchases in between…
So, the household income just increased a little bit, Praise the Lord Jesus!
And I just purchased my first box of carry ammo in like two-three years
Yeah, during my last range trip, I discovered one of my SD rounds was severely setback as I was reloading my mags before leaving the range. YES, I completely set that one aside and replaced it with one of the few “extras” beyond my current EDC magazines’ capacity.
it’s been long enough that the copper of my carry ammo is starting to look pink … reminds me I need to bring that box of ammo in from the car…
Here is the thought and it may sound weird, and it might sound crazy, but thus is why I’m asking for feed back…
BEFORE I start loading the brand new fresh ammo into the magazine (and I think I need another box to top off the second mag, which might be another month before I have the budget to buy since defense ammo is easily 2x-4x range ammo), I thought about taking a extra fine sharpie and marking: “4/26” on the shells of each individual round so I have an idea of when each round was purchased…
I realize in a critical defense incident, any rounds I fire would have [whatever] date on the shell casing ejected into the space. Thus it would have my hand writing on the casing… Could this create issues if there is a super hardline prosecutor? I think it is the Armed Attorneys in Texas which talk about small details are unlikely to change a bad shoot into a good shoot or vise versa, and how they’re more desiring to try explaining the small details away when it is truly a good shoot than trying to defend a bad shoot regardless of other details… but…
yeah… thoughts of this rambling man at near midnight?
Sharpies come in many colors. Instead of actually writing the date, maybe come up with some unique colored bar code system for the ammo instead. Just put the colored lines on the casing in a particular order. Then keep a diary of what that pattern of colors means separately.
I wouldn’t be as concerned about them comparing my handwriting, as I am about not being able to read it myself later. Especially when writing on a small, curved surface.
Some people put a mark on the round just before it gets chambered. Once it gets 4 marks, it gets used as range ammo.
Other people (me) periodically unload the magazine and stand all the rounds together up on a table. If any are visually shorter, they get a mark and go in the range ammo box.
Or, instead of using them for range ammo, you could scrap them.
That’s some midnight rambling there! I typically buy cases of practice ammo and only a box or two of carry each year. For magazines I paint a stripe on the base with yellow or orange sight paint marker for EDC rounds, usually just 3 or 4 with the rest loaded for practice. For my speedloaders I leave them empty or load EDC after practice. So far as age I don’t care about the practice ammo, it will either go bang or it will be used for malfunction clearing drills. For EDC I shoot it often enough to replace yearly or it goes into the practice bin. Waste not….
Rounds that experience set back are usually the ones that get chambered repeatedly, or jarred by heavy recoil. Since I’m a wimp and don’t fire heavy recoiling loads I guard against set back by keeping once chambered rounds separate and then check the case over all length to determine if they go back in the box, or if they’re fit for range ammo, or worse case they get pulled apart for the components.
Set backs that exceed what is allowable can cause pressure spikes, and that isn’t good----so I have no need to mark cases in that particular scenario.
A kinetic bullet pulling tool is cheap and works well on setback semiautomatic brass. Dispose of the gun powder safely.
I do what Gary does, unloading the magazine and checking the rounds for setback. It also gives you the chance to put the ejected round at the bottom, so each round gets a similar number of chamberings before you decide to refresh your carry ammo.
If you’re concerned about dating the cartridges, maybe use a sharpie and date the magazine. For me, I have a couple SD/carry magazines I keep only full of SD ammo, then several others that stay in the range bag for general practice. This way, you’d just rotate ammo through your SD mags and would know when to shoot off an SD mag full of old ammo and reload with fresh.
I think I’ll start with this, simple and straight forward.
I would like to thank everyone for their feedback and suggestions! I do agree running a few Carry Rounds through the EDC once in a while is wise to ensure no issues with one’s selected carry ammo and their EDC.
… reminds me I need to bring that box of ammo in from the car…
Thanks in advance!
This!
I typically buy cases of practice ammo and only a box or two of carry each year. For magazines I paint a stripe on the base with yellow or orange sight paint marker for EDC rounds, usually just 3 or 4 with the rest loaded for practice. For my speedloaders I leave them empty or load EDC after practice. So far as age I don’t care about the practice ammo, it will either go bang or it will be used for malfunction clearing drills. For EDC I shoot it often enough to replace yearly or it goes into the practice bin. Waste not….