Can You Damage Your Ammunition by Chambering it Multiple Times?

[@PaulHarrell]

Once again, you have not won a prize. It's a scam. Also, the reason I advise against dropping a round into the chamber is the potential of damage to the gun (the extractor isn't really made to work that way) and increasing your chance of malfunction.

[@derekbootle8316]

Where's my free gun, Paul?

[@Soyfunnykids]

Try putting the copy pasted into your comment blacklist

[@newerest1]

I was sure this time I really won

[@imthatguy1878]

Damnit they got me again

[@Alex9501950]

It's okay Paul, you're enough of a prize.

[@PPISAFETY]

Paul, you might enjoy this little story. You made me think of it when you mentioned "green" ammunition. Back in the early 80's I was running a handgun re-qualification. This one was set up so on-duty deputies could drop by the range and shoot their score and get back on the street. One deputy came to the firing line and his S&W Model 66 simply would not function. It was locked up tight. We issued him another revolver and i took his back to repair it. I didn't see anything wrong on visual inspection, but did notice an oddly familiar and fairly pleasant odor coming from the revolver, but not an odor I associated with firearms. I couldn't quite place it. When I finally got the cylinder out and side plate off, I found the action full of a green and white substance that was hard as a rock. And I immediately located the source of the smell. It was toothpaste that had been liberally loaded into the action and allowed to harden. I called the deputy immediately to ask if he knew how toothpaste got into his gun. He said that he had cocked his revolver's hammer and squeezed it in that way. After a bit of silence on my end, I asked him why he would have done that. He said that when he qualified the year before he hadn't done as well as he would have liked, and another officer had told him that if he put abrasive toothpaste inside the action it would smooth everything up and the gun would shoot better. I guess he missed the part about removing it. What was worse is that his revolver had not been fired in a year, and probably would not have fired in an emergency. I thought you might enjoy this one because it might be one of the few times that your two interests in firearms and dental hygiene could overlap.

[@bronkothetervueren3246]

Once a customer called and said that their restaurant door wasn't working properly. So we went there and immediately realized it is a problem with the floor spring. When we opened it up we saw that it was totally gummed up with ketchup. They thought it would be a great lubricant. Not to mention that they had big bottles of frying oil, olive oil etc (which would have been a bad idea, too). No, they had to try ketchup.

[@worldoftancraft]

Another time an average shooter is trying to blame the Iron for the lack of training : |

[@PPISAFETY]

@@bronkothetervueren3246 That's hilarious!

[@ocshot9136]

Wow 😮

[@TUKByV1]

@@worldoftancraft I wouldn't call him average. I'm well below average and I actually own and use proper cleaners and lubricants for my firearms. I think a better description for Colgate Boy's proficiency level would be "dumbass".

[@notrobbie7893]

Paul is like that uncle we all needed but never had. Thank you for these videos.

[@charleywalker2982]

👍

[@brianking9446]

Well said. I'm thankful for the noncoms that cared enough for their own safety(and that of others😉), to explain these types of things to the "uneducated" . Thanks Paul, we owe you a lot.

[@bobroberts2371]

I'm watching the " Vintage VHS " recorded version ( 480 p )

[@youbetterwakeup2449]

Not just an Uncle, but everything my dad taught. I've had tot unlearn damn near every bit of misinformation he's ever shared. It's so refreshing to learn from people with actual experience versus a self proclaimed know it all.

[@C18H19NaO5S]

@@brianking9446 noncom?

[@MAZEMIND]

I like the "rotate your ammo at the gun range" approach. As the ammo gets older/used you get a chance to be better at the range. Without the I'm wasting money problem.😇

[@55SwampFox]

You beat me to it.

[@MindUrBiznss]

@@logicthought24 seriously! I figured it would be the end of vid "bombshell" advice haha

[@joeyj3327]

Exactly right. After 15-30 times chambered, fire it at the range. Sooner depending on guns like the Bersa. People don't like to shoot defensive rounds often because they're pricey. People shoot shoot their defensive rounds more often despite being pricey.

[@faymetcall7286]

Don't buy expensive ammo. Durable, subsonic, 230-grain ball ammo makes a big enough hole/tissue shock and is range & financial friendly. Historic Filipino Warriors on enhanced folk medicine provided the proof in concept a long time ago. Otherwise, thank goodness most of them don't want to murder & barbecue Europeans for invading their lands anymore. The .45 ACP is all about defense from crazy humans, so why accept anything less in close combat?

[@chiil034]

Exactly what I do... even on some of my iffy rounds that look like the bullet may have sunk slightly into the case, I'll just fire them off at the round.

[@007Chancellor]

Great vid. I worked in and managed a gunshop in CA for many years (finally escaped Californication). Every day, as guys came to work, they got out their pistol and loaded it to carry for the day in the shop. Every night before leaving, they would unload it. One day I asked the guys to see their ammo. ALMOST EVERY SINGLE ROUND THEY WERE ABOUT TO CHAMBER WAS SET BACK INTO THE CASE to varying degrees. Setback can cause higher pressures and CAN be quite dangerous. It never hurts to inspect your ammo! And rotate it out (by shooting it) every once in a while.

[@yaromeone]

If it's a concern, simply keep an empty and marked tray in your drawer along with a fresh box. Place the ejected round into the marked box (for range use) and reload your mag with a fresh round from the "new" box. Your EDC is 100% and you're going to need range ammo anyway. A little case or projectile wear shouldn't matter, but if it does... better to find out at the range than when you're trying to make smoke in a SD situation.

[@matthewbeaver5026]

When SD rounds are more than $1 thats kinda ubsurd. You could buy a set of calibers. Measure for setback and still save $ with the cost of the calibers included

[@chrisjones6002]

I've known guys like that but it seemed excessive for me. I don't unload my carry guns other than for cleaning or range trips so that helps reduce the problem. When I load them I usually rotate to a different round in the mag and make sure they look OK. I replace the carry ammo every couple of years at most.

[@mattmarzula]

Just load the chambered round by hand individually and not from the magazine. Why overcomplicate things?

[@colejohnson3705]

@@stevexracer4309 An explanation of why would have been better than " I don't recommend it". I said so, does not work for me. What is the real reason?

[@davidharris9077]

@@mattmarzula It's not good for your extractor. There are videos explaining why, just look for yourself, that's why why Paul said he wouldn't do it in THIS video.

[@DeafeningPew]

Glad you touched on this Paul. A lot of people don't inspect carry ammo and even more don't know about bullet setback.

[@cal30m1]

The “rotation” suggestion is probably your best solution to prevent funky rounds. The department I worked for had us fire the old issued carry ammo during qualification and some officers had feeding issues. A quick inspection of the cleared rounds showed rounds that were chambered and ejected dozens of times.

[@waynemensen4252]

Our agency does the same. Our practice qualification is with the ammo we were carrying. Then we qualify with fmj and reload with fresh hp's.

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

A simple way to do this would be to use a special marked magazine (perhaps you paint the floorplate red, blue, green, whatever) which you use for chambering a round, then use another one for carrying with it. Eject the once chambered rounds into a box marked "Chambered", then when your chambering magazine is emptied, reload them into the chambering magazine. Depending on the size of the magazine you use for carry, and how often you unload your gun (some do it daily), have something to act as a counter for the box to signify how many times that lot of cartridges have been cycled. That way, you'd even out the wear on cartridges by 7, 10, 12, 15, 18 times, etc, rather than chambering, extracting, and ejecting a single cartridge a whole dozen or two times. That way, when it's time to replace your carry ammo, you could go and shoot up the less worn ammo at your range with less risk of problems. You'd also avoid the chore of emptying a magazine manually to reload it with the chambered round in the bottom.

[@videolugtnicht7378]

Rotation with a fresh box sounds great! Because of our gunlaws we only have the duty-ammo we carry with us. With no chance to get more ore buy fresh ones. 😩 You can't get our duty-ammo at the free market anyway. You just get the bullets replaced you had to use.

[@bjs301]

My agency also used duty ammo for qualifications. In my state, that was 25 rounds. When I was in charge, I also had my guys shoot the rest of their duty ammo, another 25 rounds every December. We started each year with fresh ammo.

[@alancranford3398]

An advantage of using the carried ammunition for qualification is that in the real world your carried ammunition is what you'd fire in a gunfight, not a fresh box of cartridges loaded a moment before into clean magazines. If you're getting feeding issues, then administrative procedures need to change--and your department's collective experience with fatigued ammunition fired on the range was proof of that need. And you now have the solution--inspect, discard (or turn in) damaged ammunition, replace.

[@williamzeller294]

I have two directly related experiences in this line. Having been a reloader for fifty years, inspecting ammunition before use is second nature. So when I began to use Federal HST in our carry guns, .45ACP and 9x19, it wasn't long before I began to notice shortening from chambering multiple times. The previous ammunition we used was Speer Gold Dot, and it was rare that I caught any shortening or nose damage. Maybe four or five years ago, I did observe the HSTs coming out of my .45 Commander were indeed getting smashed back into the cases. A bit of testing showed me that four chamberings were safe. Beyond that, some rounds would lose enough length to be concerning, both for feeding reliably (not a big problem) to creating unacceptably high chamber pressures. That's the part handloaders are on the lookout for. I had a significant supply of this ammunition and so made it a point to not exceed four chamberings before discarding the round by shooting it off in practice, as long as it appeared to be a safe length. Event number two: my routine is to shoot off the ammunition in my carry guns every few months, normally six months at most. Again, a few years ago, I was at the club range for some general shooting and drew my Commander to shoot off the nine HSTs aboard. On the third shot, the gun stopped cold with a half-chambered round. Since this gun/magazine combination had always run flawlessly, with this ammunition and any other, I was startled. I cleared the gun and continued. Second subsequent shot and it stopped again. This time I carefully and slowly field stripped it. I was shocked to find the front half of the cartridge case still lodged in the chamber. The rear half was on the ground after being ejected. I had the 50-round box with me to replenish after the shoot-off, so I kept going. It happened again and again, the cases shearing in half at the cannelure, leaving the gun stopped dead. I gathered up all of the .45 HST I had, e-mailed Federal, and actually got a tech guy on the telephone. He insisted my gun was defective, right up until he opened the e-mail attachment with my photo of numerous broken cases and the original box. Yes, I'd been carrying defective ammunition from an incorrectly-manufactured lot for half a year that would have rendered my gun useless in an emergency. I switched back to Gold Dots. Shoot off your carry ammunition regularly.

[@Arfonfree]

One thing I would add... I think it is a good idea to periodically confirm that your carry gun functions with the ammo you're carrying, and that you can shoot that ammo to point of aim. Shooting the magazine you've been carrying for six months solves a lot of problems. And it's fun.

[@seagreen01]

I’m newer into owning guns but have general knowledge, should I be practicing with my edc, or have two of the same platform one for practice and one for carry? I’d never mind owning another p365 lol

[@skeets6060]

@@seagreen01 MHO you shoot what you carry, it would be n ice to own 2 of the same guns but, even if you do no 2 guns will shoot the same, close, but not the same. You aint gona wear your EDC piece out shooting it

[@kylesanders8276]

@@seagreen01 If its a new gun it's probably best to maintain using that one to break it in. The metal-to-metal contact parts have to find their own, similar to a new car engine.

[@ihcterra4625]

@@seagreen01 I practice with the EDC gun as a way to make sure it functions. Practice mag changes to make sure they all function. When your carry ammo gets to be over a year old, shoot it and get a fresh batch.

[@PetuniaIii-pd1ww]

@Toby that's not good...

[@jarvy251]

We're issued a duty weapon at my workplace. We've had problems with not only repeatedly chambered rounds, but also with deformed cartridges from some people repeatedly trying to load full mags on a closed slide. Our practice is to cycle through which mag we load up at the start of each day, every month or two empty the mags and shuffle the rounds, and then at our yearly requal the first thing we do is blow through that year's issued duty ammunition, and are issued new rounds when we're done.

[@john-paulsilke893]

Do you get issues at that time or do they all typically function?

[@BigSmartArmed]

'deformed cartridges from some people repeatedly trying to load full mags on a closed slide' - what firearm is that?

[@mtnman8876]

@@BigSmartArmed Yes please elaborate, never had that happen. Ever.

[@epicfacethe3rd614]

hi jarvodachi

[@NinetyMinusTen]

Yup. Once a year I shoot up the carry mag and the spare mag ammo at the range. This also verifies my choice of ammo is still functioning properly.

[@luthergillis5632]

This is an important topic and I’m glad Paul made a video about it. When I was traveling often, for various reasons I would have to leave my firearm in a hotel room. I was never comfortable leaving a loaded firearm at a hotel and always unloaded it. The wear and tear from cycling a round after returning from a meeting, the beach, dinner, etc, seemed excessive. Over time, some rounds did become compressed. Eventually I settled on a J-frame revolver for travel. Thank you Paul for another informative video.

[@ctdieselnut]

Thanks for posting this. The difference between first hand experience(good) and anecdotal evidence (considered weak) seems to be in what color a person wants to paint a situation as. I don't know about others, but I'd rather listen to experience over theory any day.

[@dagnaldblumbf1882]

@@ctdieselnut First hand experience is actually still anecdotal evidence.

[@shalafi71]

Can't believe I'm seeing this video today. Had this EXACT question regarding my Colt Government Model, and here Paul is demonstrating one! I have noticed that my cheapo remanned loads get scarred up reloading, so I've been leaving one of those on top and JPH underneath. If I forget to swap mags at camp? I only wasted a single crappy round! (Hopefully...)

[@Mortablunt]

As I have used weapons professionally for three years now ,and have owned them personally for longer, I like to heavily advise against unnecessary gun handling. It is as much a safety issue as it is a readiness issue. Every time you handle a weapon you have an opportunity for a discharge of some sort. This can be voluntary or involuntary, deliberate or accidental or negligent. As every gun owner with enough experience does, at some point while handling your weapons you will get an uninventional discharge at least once in your life. Modern weapons and ammunition are made to exceptional safety standards, meaning apart from a perfect storm of mechanical error, near certainly this unexpected discharge was caused by you pressing the trigger in some way when there was a round chambered. Therefore the best way to avoid this is to reduce the opportunities this has to happen, which means reducing how much you handle your gun. No handling, no opportunity for discharge. You should only handle your weapon when you are at a range taking your shots, in danger using it for serious purposes, performing maintenance, or transferring to a new carry/storage position. The readiness issue is also a valid concern. Quickly grab your nearest firearm, fiddle with it for a minute, put it away, and then tell me two minutes later its exact condition. Will it absolutely yes or not go bang if you pull the trigger right now? Are you sure? Is there no way you could’ve accidentally done something or been mistaken? You’re most likely you forgot something or didn’t know something for sure following that quick exercise. This is why I recommend that you handle your weapon as little as possible so that way when you said it’s condition for storage transportation or carry you absolutely know it for sure because you have not been fiddling with it; it is exactly as you left it. This means that if you have to use it for serious purpose you know exactly what you need to do with it in order to get the desired result. You aren’t going to find that you left the chamber empty or forgot to put on the safety.

[@sethtenrec]

@@ctdieselnut dag is 100% correct. First-hand experience is simply a synonym for anecdotal experience.

[@coreygraham6628]

My Springfield 1911 would over time push ball ammo deeper into the case after mult chambering. Mr. Harrell mentioned that specifically and I’m glad he did. Moving to defensive hollow points made this a non-issue, but rotating ammunition should be a good practice anyway. Good info here as always.

[@ChrisWilliams-lf8ex]

I've also seen that pushing occur with hollow point ammo on my 1911 as well, however.

[@celticviking577]

I am so grateful that Harrell does these oddball presentations... where else would you find KZbin videos on this specific topic? Or other oddball topics like “does slamming the slide down on an empty chamber cause any noticeable/considerable wear on a firearm?” Or “does built up lint in your firearm cause reliability/accuracy issues?” Things we rarely see testing or talking points on... thank you P. Harrell for these presentations.

[@DallenRex]

If chambering a round was in some way supposed to cushion the slide slamming forward, to such a degree that slamming it forward on an empty chamber was bad for the gun, then you would see parts of the brass that get squashed by that force dissipation. Sure there's a bit of friction in stripping a round off the mag and getting it into the chamber, but it's probably barely taking the edge off of the force the slide has in a properly operating pistol. Remember, the recoil spring is absorbing a large portion of the force of the actual round being fired, and it's strength is suited to that job. The recoil spring is seriously overkill if it only needed enough force to chamber a round. Sure some weird rounds will catch while feeding in some guns and a dirty gun will add friction, but these guns are designed to take the full force of that slide while it's clean, not while it's slowed by something. I would expect that it is ever so slightly harder on the parts to slam the chamber forward on an empty chamber, but probably nowhere near enough harder to make it worse than the slide slamming forward with an actual round several times. So unless you slam your slide forward unloaded about as often as you do loaded, I wouldn't worry about what it's doing to the gun. Pistol actions are not gentle operations, so any quality pistol expected to endure tens of thousands of rounds or more with only minor replacements won't even notice you closing the slide on nothing here and there.

[@celticviking577]

@@DallenRex yes...

[@valuedhumanoid6574]

I bought a crate of cheap Chinese made 22LR at the Indy 1500 Gun & Knife show back in the early 2000s. It worked out to be 2 cents per round. I was "king of the show" after that purchase. Thought it was the deal of a life time. I would never have to buy 22LR ever again. Well...not so much. The brass was so thin that the force of pushing them into the magazine made them oval shaped. Then the powder would leak out because there was no longer a tight fit to the bullet. So I could not use them in magazines. Just revolvers. Well, the issue there is when you did manage to get one to fire, the case would expand so much that you could not get the empty cases out with the extractor. I had to use a screwdriver to pop each one out they were so tight. On top of the normal no fires you get with rimfire, this junk was tickling the 40% no fire rate. Almost half. Just pathetic. But I learned a lesson. Never again.

[@platinumbrick6]

Best lesson learned by a burnt hand 😂

[@valuedhumanoid6574]

@@platinumbrick6 I didn't quite get that far, but it would not have surprised me. You know it's literally a powder keg when you tip the empty mag upside down and powder falls out. Whoa Nellie!

[@se7enthedge382]

Was the lesson “Chinese = cheap?”

[@valuedhumanoid6574]

@@se7enthedge382 Absolutely. And I knew that going in, but I figured for backyard plinking ammo, how could I go wrong? Well, turns out that when cheap = junk, it's worthless

[@ahmada.thabata8615]

@@se7enthedge382 not true my friend. Some of the best Ak's and sks pattern rifles and many more are some of the highest quality firearms and some decent ammo. While that might not always be true and there are some bad examples of Chinese ammo and weapons many of them are great quality.

[@chrissmalley83]

My dad was a "once it's been chambered, throw it away" guy, because that's what the guy at the gun store told him. I have converted him to a "once it's been chambered, retire it to the range bucket" guy. I will let a round get chambered a few times. I'll mark it with a Sharpie when I unload it, and when it gets its third mark, it gets used for practice. Three or four times being chambered is low-risk, but only you can determine your level of comfort. That is mine.

[@rwally192]

You're the only other person I've met that does that(besides critical duty/defense... Ive chambered a 9mm glock and 380 lcp over a dozen times to see what'd happen, no change ymmv)

[@nova68cutie]

@@rwally192 same here.

[@Deezle_Gaming]

Since you're not in a gunfight when you're loading your carry gun, simply ride the slide home and make sure it's fully in battery, congrats, you've chambered the round without subjecting it to the forces of the slide under spring pressure.

[@10toppers]

One time i beat a 10mm almost entirely into the casing, still have it somewhere, its kinda scary

[@rwally192]

@@10toppers that's the real reason glock 20s kept getting kabooms

[@MrKronikDeception]

The part about PMCSing your carry is so underrated. Clearing the weapon and doing a quick check and wipe down only takes a couple minutes and ensures everything has the best chance at working as advertised when you need it.

[@PBVader]

I test my carry pieces for live fire reliability after a years worth of lint, hair, dead skin cells and sweat. Then clear, clean, oil and repeat every 3 to 6 months. In order to form a baseline time frame for PMS one must evaluate minimum and maximum normal operating parameters. If you tell me you clean your gun every week you're just playing with it AND your PMS will get gundecked at some point.

[@PJ-SC]

@@PBVader I concur. A semi regular scheduled ‘test firing’ and thorough cleaning afterwards will reduce the chances of holding on to a damaged round, ensure the weapon will function properly if called for, provide essential training, and last but certainly not least… is fun and a huge confidence builder.

[@PetuniaIii-pd1ww]

We are anal about cleaning our firearms, we believe a clean gun is by definition more reliable...the carry ammo gets shot out once or twice a year (we're revolver people, but the ammo still gets exposed to the weather)...I cringe listening to folks bragging about never cleaning their firearms...

[@jerome1lm]

You can usually use equipment that is no longer 100 % for training purposes. Just put the older amunition into a seperate magazine and use it on the range where your life doesn't depend on it. EDIT: Obviously use common sense as always in life.

[@uclajd]

Except a squished round may cause excessive pressures and actually risk your life and limb at the range.

[@chipsterb4946]

@@uclajd I think that Peter’s point is to put any cartridge that’s been chambered X times into a training bin. Depending on your gun and ammo X might be 1 or it might be 10, but it should be *before* any risk of significant setback, etc. occurs.

[@Pystro]

@@uclajd Okay, put it in a special box where you can take it to the range - and have hall the time in the world to inspect your rounds for that kind of damage - while your life doesn't depend on it. If loading a round _once_ can cause dangerous levels of damage, something else is wrong with your gun (or your ammo is actually tinfoil wrapped chocolate). In that case you'll be glad that you had a look at each individual round; instead of just shoving that round back into its top spot of the magazine in the late evening, after a long day at work, when you'd much rather be indoors already.

[@benjaminshropshire2900]

@Mark Berenger I think Pysto is *agreeing* with your position; you both seem to be saying the described situation should not happen. I'd go further and say that *if* chambering a round a few dozen times leads to an unsafe (as in boom) situation, something wasn't designed or built correctly. The case shouldn't easily allow a bullet to be compressed enough to significantly increase chamber pressures. A gun should not fail, even with a significant increase in chamber pressure (designed operating pressure should be significantly less than burst pressure). That said, it's fully possible that situation could lead to malfunctions, other reliability issues or changes in accuracy, even with well designed components.

[@TheRealStephenJ]

@Peter Pan, don't listen to the Captain Hooks of the world trying to put you down. You made a good point and people can use common sense to think through what else they might need to do before using the equipment.

[@BaronMorte]

You sir, are a national treasure. Thank you for the vids and your thoroughness in these discussions.

[@chargerse383]

I love Pauls videos. Hes not trying to be fancy. Just pure education on great subjects. Great guy. Thank you Paul.

[@wbflashover]

Great topic Paul. I have carried the same Delta Gold Cup sense '91. I did have troubles with damaging a round and it cost me a grouse while deer hunting. I was young and I was preloading the chamber, dropping the slide, then insert the mag. Two issues with this; a) The extractor is not meant to be forced over the rim of the case. The loaded cartridge rim is meant to slide up and behind the extractor as it is chambering. The preloading method can damage and remove some tension in the extractor. It can also cause major burrs on rim b) The preloading method also causes odd inertia on the cartridge. In my case repeated preloading the chamber and dropping the slide caused the bullet to be seated deeper into the case. This could have been a real problem over time but my misfire was caused from inertia backing the primer out enough that the anvil was not seated deeply and firmly into the primer pocket enough to ignite. I'm just glad it was a grouse and not a serious threat. Love your channel and thanks for great content. I now rotate my carry rounds by dumping them all on the table for range day ammo then reloading the carry ammo when range day is over.

[@61shades55]

@wbflashover that makes sense, thanks for explaining **why** dropping a round in the chamber by hand isn't a good idea.

[@chickenfishhybrid44]

I cannot believe the timing of this. I was literally just wondering about this.

[@-_-_-_-318]

"Likkke Llllilterally! OMG"

[@chickenfishhybrid44]

@@-_-_-_-318 I wasnt just thinking it i was cleaning up and had just picked some up and was inspecting it and thinking about the fact that some of the projectiles seemed to be pushed back into the case and was wondering about an increase in pressure it may cause.

[@PelemusMcSoy]

As I slowly begin to conceal carry more, this video and the comments are helpful information. Thank you, everyone!

[@ericbergfield6451]

Are you carrying with one in the chamber yet? ...Also what are you carrying?

[@PelemusMcSoy]

@@ericbergfield6451 Because I don't have a holster, I carry in my messenger bag. I have a Ruger Wrangler (.22 single action revolver) with no round in the barrel chamber. I know it's not the best carry option, but it's the only handgun I have right now.

[@ericbergfield6451]

@@PelemusMcSoy Any carry is better than no carry, be safe, & try to make it out to your local range once a month to keep proficient, & to meet local firearms enthusiasts!

[@PelemusMcSoy]

@@ericbergfield6451 Thanks Eric! =)

[@Oldmanwithagoldpan]

@@ericbergfield6451 I can't see your first comment. It's been hidden.

[@DaKoler]

10:05 Anecdotal Alex time: Once I chambered a round in an SKS by hand (had no magazine available). I let the bolt go forward on its own and accidentally (or negligently depending on how you see things) sent a freedom seed zooming off into the distance. From what I could gather online, Free floating firing pin+no magazine = ND Thank you for attending my Ted talk

[@jopalolive]

I checked, and this is a real thing! Lined up the one cycled with a few others, noticed the height difference. Threw it away. Thanks Paul !!!

[@RPG-oh1yf]

One Way to tell if the projectile is making contact with the feed ramp or chamber walls on its way into the chamber is to do what we reloaders do; Coat the entire bullet up to the case rim with sharpie marker and then chamber it the way you normally do. Any contact will scrape off the sharpie marker at that location.

[@seanoneil277]

Yep. Shadetree machinist's dykem.

[@blastem]

Great presentation, Paul. One gun in my ECD rotation is a 1911 which, like the one you were showing, has an appetite for chewing up the case with the extractor after multiple chamberings. The solution I came up with is rotation exactly as you described. At the end of the rotation, I have 7 rounds of hollow points to add to the range ammo. (It never hurts to keep in practice for point of impact with your SD rounds anyway.)

[@hotrodray6802]

Have a gunsmith smooth and polish the extractor AND the magazine feed lips.

[@tomt810]

Another great presentation Paul! Keep up the good work :)

[@vincentdivita7800]

I read "another great president" at first glance and he already has my vote before he knew he was campaigning.

[@lancelittleton9802]

Good points Paul! Kinda surprised you didn't touch on how many times ammunition can be loaded/unloaded into the magazines: When you have your mags loaded with defensive ammunition (hollow points) but you dump them out to put range ammo in to shoot at the range, only to load up those magazines again with the same hollow points when you get home. The ammunition will inevitably take on dings and scratches from being loaded/unloaded many times and I've often wondered how many cycles it can take.

[@swiftaudi]

Get another magazine. I never pull my hd ammo unless it’s to rotate the round i chambered multiple times.

[@Exodus2pt0]

I've got some questions about bullet setback, I search KZbin for advice, I find a PH video, I click. We will miss you, Paul, and we will continue to learn from you for a long, long time.

[@newerest1]

Bullet setback is a real thing to worry about, anyone who has dabbled in reloading knows how critical that overall length measurement is

[@richb.4374]

It can cause a dangerous over pressure in the pistol and possibly blow it up. Not good.

[@Cheesemonk3h]

the last time i was at the range i picked up an errant 9mm cartridge, put it in my pocket, and it came out of my pocket about 2mm shorter.

[@RPG-oh1yf]

Anyone who reloads can tell if a bullet has been set back just by looking at it. I can tell the difference in about 4 thousands of an inch in bullet seating depth with my eyes. 😆

[@TheWolfsnack]

I was going to measure my rounds against a new one...but reconsidered as I am not what you would call a professional...... :)

[@ajopasoij9d00]

I have shot setback bullets, no prob lmao. Just don't do it with crazy +P+ stuff.

[@timstone3441]

Hi Paul, this was very informative. I always appreciate your practical approach to the problems. No fluff, no BS, just the facts..

[@JacobEvansAviation]

Great video. I’ve heard this debated for years and what I eventually started doing was rotating my top round to the bottom like you mentioned when I do my monthly inspection and cleaning. That way you can go many months before ever re-using a single round more than once, and if you shoot even at a minimum a few times a year and buy fresh ammo, that should never be an issue.

[@Tomd4850]

I really like how Paul always makes it clear the just about every subject he talks about includes the caveat "it depends". Nearly every question's answer in life should always start with "it depends"! Example: Walter P38. It was open carried for something like 6 or 7 years, unloading it every night and loading it every morning. The feed ramp on the P38 is steep and the round DOES come into contact with the feed ramp a bit. It was carried with 9mm hollow point self-defense ammunition, so the groves in the hollow points would eventually taper the top round inward from so much loading and unloading. Every few months, the top round of the carry mag would be replaced, just to make sure it didn't ever cause problems if it needed to be used in the field. Eventually, the FIRST round of the carry mag was replaced with a 9mm TMJ, with the rest being hollow point self-defense. This was visually more pleasing at first, but eventually you could see the bullet in the round was pushed into the casing by a noticeable amount (enough to feel the edge of the casing with your bare finger). It seems that it mostly depends on the firearm in that particular case. However, fast forward 10 more years and replace the P38 with an FN Five-seveN. In this new case, the necked 5.7 cartridge is NOT typically crimped like common, non-necked pistol rounds. This allows the bullet to be pulled out of the casing when unloading often. This resulted, over just a few cycles of unloading, in a confetti surprise of smokless powder, an empty casing, and a bullet all falling out onto the table... In this other case, it was the ammunition, rather than the firearm that caused a problem.

[@xxdmoneyxx4968]

I’ve been waiting awhile for someone to do this topic since I work armed security. Thank you Mr. Harrell

[@samuel61762]

I personally have experienced a bullet getting partially shoved into its casing after repeated chambering in a 1911. I've never experienced this with any other firearm, but it's always in the back of my mind now, so I occasionally rotate out the chambered round in my carry gun now.

[@gameragodzilla]

The 1911 (and the Hi-Power) has a steeper feed angle than more modern handguns, so the bullet slams into the feed ramp more which’ll cause bullet setback. I usually try to slow load as much as possible when chambering.

[@MorningStarChrist]

Same thing with mine. Unless I'm shooting, I first place a round into the chamber by hand, Slowly close the slide, then give it a little punch to fully engage it. I then activate safety and slap the full mag in. Every so often, when I'm oiling the gun up and polishing off the rust from carrying, I'll cycle my bullets so that the chambered round goes to the bottom of the magazine.

[@samuel61762]

@@gameragodzilla Exactly. And very flat-faced hollowpoints seem to exacerbate the issue. When chambering that pistol now, I also try to let the slide forward more slowly. I also switched to a more rounded hollowpoint.

[@brightly9318]

I have the same thing with my glock 19, now I rotate rounds when I unload and reload.

[@johnburnett5377]

I've had the same problem with every pistol I've ever owned.

[@scottr2597]

Thank you Paul for all the information you bring to us. What entered my mind is, you need to train at the range with your CC pistol. Shoot your older ammo then and put fresh ammo in your pistol after you are done.

[@johnsmith-sp6yl]

but what about my hertenberger buscadero ticoooondas, i don't want to shoot my ticoooondas.

[@klwedj]

I'm a bit of a tinkerer. Bought a 1911, did a lot of work to the internals myself, and wanted to make sure it cycled right. I dry ran ammo through it over and over making sure it all functioned right. I unloaded the mags and put the ammo back in the box and noticed two or three bullets were seated WAY deeper in the casing than the rest. Not a professional by any means but once I noticed that out shooting I threw them out. Thanks Paul for reassuring me I'm not a total idiot and did the right thing. Rest in peace my friend, you are missed.

[@braxtonnelson7422]

It's always a good day when a Paul Harrell video shows up in the feed! And this just goes to show you... Paul answers questions that many of us never really thought of-- until the video, that is! Thanks for posting, Paul.

[@Sman7290]

Another idea would be to only chamber each self defense round once or twice and after that, add it to your target practice ammo. You should be occasionally firing some of your defensive ammo during practice sessions anyways. This keeps the ammo you are carrying fresh and, because it's ammo that you've DQd from your carry rotation, it doesn't hurt as much when shooting that expensive defensive ammo at paper.

[@doriangray2347]

This is an awesome idea. Fixes like every issue and gives you experience of that fancy ammo every so often. Makes so much simple sense.

[@wheeldog5555]

I can't believe Paul did not realize that one. Every time you clear, put that round in a box marked "Training Ammo".

[@Sman7290]

@@wheeldog5555 Depends on the situation. Some guns will impact the primer when chambering. If your gun does, then do not repeatedly chamber that round. Repeated impacts to the primer WILL cause a round to not fire. Those rounds should only be chambered once before being relegated to the "target ammo" box. That's a subject for a completely different video, though.

[@RTek1986]

@@wheeldog5555 I believe Paul discusses the idea during the 'Precious' discussion on his 'Why I Don't Like Hyper Ammo' video but doesn't go into any detail.

[@seanoneil277]

That's exactly what I do. But I'm pretty easygoing on how many times I'll chamber a round before I shove it aside for defensive ammo practice at the range. I just pay attention to how the rounds look after ejection. I suppose that back in time, when firearms were made with looser tolerances and a wee bit more guesswork/trial-and-error, a once-chambered round probably was considered useless after one chambering. I don't think that's true with most ammunition, in most well-maintained firearms, today. Though I haven't owned or fired any lousy firearms, so maybe I'm overstating things.

[@danielchandler15]

Paul just wanted to say I've never seen anyone go over this bit of information or food for thought. Good looking out. I thought about this not too long ago. My 1911 tends to beat them up a bit. So I always just kind of wondered in the back of my head. If I could give your hand a shake I would by God. Only because your videos are a priceless treasure trove of experience that should be shared so the knowledge isn't lost from a valuable member of society in my opinion. You do a good service sir appreciate you.

[@audikid89]

This is a great video I’ve wondered this myself for many years, but never found the time or ammo to test these theories thank you so much Paul!!

[@sheilaf5732]

Thank you for this lesson. I was wondering about this issue and of course you had the answer i needed.

[@jeromethiel4323]

This kind of content is necessary. People need to know how to maintain their firearms. And ammo maintenance is part of it. I remember watching a video series on magazine springs, and if it's detrimental to keep a magazine loaded or not. Turns out the limiting factor of magazine life is more the number of cycles, rather than being unloaded or not. So keeping a magazine loaded VS unloaded doesn't seem to matter. The number of times you load and unload does. This is the kind of information that is vital to gun users and enthusiasts. Keep up the good work!

[@dxbdean]

I’m not a gun owner but I always love watching your uploads Paul. Thoroughly interesting and always packed full of thoughtful analysis.

[@AV84USA]

Why not? Do you live in a location that doesn’t allow you to own a gun, or is it a personal choice? Just curious

[@Mark-uh4zd]

Also curious if it’s a personal choice or a location issue.

[@FearNoSteel]

Well with measure 114 in Oregon you're not going to be a gun owner

[@AV84USA]

@@FearNoSteel he did not say where he was located, although the odds of it being Oregon are fairly slim… What point are you trying to interject? What exactly is measure 114 in Oregon and how does it prevent people from exercising their 2nd Amendment rights? Whatever it is, I assume it has to be carefully crafted so it’s not immediately overturned as unconstitutional.

[@nesssixteen6106]

@@AV84USA Measure 114 requires permit to purchase, restricts magazine size to 10 rounds, and the permit itself requires an extensive background check including fingerprints and a mental wellness check. I think the other dude is kinda exaggerating to some degree, but the cost of the permit fees and the 10 round magazine restriction are a bit silly.

[@BikeThrottleOfficial]

Can tell he’s an expert by the way he doesn’t flag his hand over the end of the barrel even without looking

[@lornenoland8098]

Primer damage. A story circulated among LE trainers, I haven’t personally verified it but it seems plausible, of an LEO that got into a shooting and his first two rounds were duds. When the rounds were recovered and inspected at forensics, it was found the chemicals in the primers had been knocked loose. He had been chambering the same two cartridges over and over.

[@brucejohnsonmusic2]

Thanks Paul. Great video! I have the same primer question. I rechamber the top one or top 2 rounds weekly at the range, but I don't let the slide slam closed trying to avoid all the issues mentioned. I ride the slide home and double check that it's in battery. Seems to me that this is no worse than a press check as far as in battery is concerned. Thoughts on the primer degradation?

[@permanenceaesthetic6545]

@@brucejohnsonmusic2 Same.

[@daver4510]

Great Information Paul! Many Thank's We are living in the dispensation of Paul matter of fact. Stay Vigilant & Use that diserment people.

[@gleneverett9728]

And as always that was ever so professionally enlightening

[@lindafoxwood78]

Great video Paul. My ammo never goes 6 months long in my pistols. I mean, pulling the magazine and putting the bullets back on top. All of my 9mm magazines are for the same 4 pistols; ie, Taurus G2C/PT1111 et al. I train and practice every month at about 200 rounds a year now. Love your channel.🚩

[@Drago2600]

Great topic. I have (after a long time) noticed the top round that I would recycle after chambering and then unloading my cc that the projectile recessed into the casing, noticeably enough to make me curious to compare lengths of the rounds lower in the magazine. Also, extractor wear on the rim and/or brass casing from feeding. I usually just inspect after some time, and discard said round and use that ammo in the magazine as range ammo.

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

Good practice, bullet setback can cause excessive pressure if bad enough.

[@markh8183]

Another type of chambering damage, and the only type I have personally experienced, is the bullet being pulled from the casing by the inertial energy of the slide going forward. This happened to me in a first generation S&W M&P 9mm full size and a Speer Gold Dot 115gr +P+ round that had been chambered probably 15-20 times. With that particular load, there is not much engagement between the bullet and the casing when the bullet is seated. This created a perfect recipe for the pistol to act as a bullet puller and inch the bullet a little further out of the casing each time the slide slammed forward. Not realizing the bullet came out of the casing after the final time I chambered that round, I carried the pistol in that condition for several days. The next time I unloaded it the casing extracted and ejected, but the bullet remained in the chamber. I was left with a mess of powder in the frame of the pistol and the realization that I had been carrying a dead man’s gun.

[@mrdark9916]

Funny you said that, because the exact same thing happened to me with my m&p 2.0, and 124 grain +p Gold Dots

[@daylightrider6078]

Love the video. Thank you. I'm here to talk about what I do. Its not a recommendation for anyone. But I lock the slide back, I set the cartridge in the barrel, and hit the slide release. Then insert my magazine. Switch safety on. Holster. This is specifically to prevent projectile recession. I choose to do this, so when I clean my gun, the only damage that happens to the cartridge is marring from the extractor on the rim of the casing. Now granted, that's damage, but its not catastrophic. I simply make sure that when I re-insert my cartridge into the barrel, that the old marring is opposite the space where the extractor will now hold on too. This lets me get multiple cleaning and reloads a year without the critical damage of projectile recession, and what damage is done is in a controlled area. Its not getting put into my magazine, where there is a CHANCE that that cartridge loads in the same extractor damage and have a failure to extract. And when it has 4 marring marks from being reloaded, that's when ill fire that round at the range the next time I am there. I am minimizing the damage to the cartridge, making sure my odds of malfunctioning are lowest, and conserve ammunition. As Paul pointed out, this MAY damage your extractor, so if you dont know much about firearms, or its a firearm thats difficult to replace the extractor I would probably NOT do this. But if you are experienced, its not big deal to replace one. To be honest Paul is the first ive heard mention that is may damage the extractor. All my other sources say it won't. Because what your doing is almost identical to what happens when you cycle a round. I mean identical . The closest I HAVE heard of damage to the extractor was when people did this: Lock slide back, insert cartridge, and GENTLY push the slide forward, maybe with a slap at the very end to get the extractor over the rim of the casing, trying to prevent damage to the extractor. But this is what CAUSES the damage. Going slow. The extractor is Designed to move fast, and flex fast. When you rack the slide too slow, THAT causes the damage. Sincerely, someone correct me if I am wrong. But I personally feel like I have a good system.

[@kickstand11117]

OMG THANK YOU SIR!!!!!🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 Been wondering about this for 30 years!!

[@tombrown4683]

Very good presentation, as usual. I recommend firing your self defense ammo every so often. Keeping a magazine full of Ticondas unfired for years is bad MOJO. At least every few practice sessions run your carry ammo. Good to re-check for point of aim & reliability. Keep the serious business stuff relatively fresh !

[@xVictorDavidx]

Greetings Paul, I share my experience as a Puerto Rican police officer, a few years ago I was assigned an S&W 4006 and I began to have the habit of opening the slide and putting an ammunition in the chamber and releasing the slide and then inserting the full magazine. I did this for a few months before being sent to the range for training and realizing that with this I damaged the extractor and my gun only fired once or twice before having an extraction failure. When I took it to the gunsmith, he told me that possibly the fact of releasing the slide instead of driving it smoothly could have caused damage to the extractor. We now have Sig Sauers P320 9mm and I prefer to load "normally".

[@damoclesecoe7184]

I was very curious why Paul said not to drop a round in the chamber and was disappointed when he didn't elaborate. Than you for sharing!

[@donewithmodernlife]

@@damoclesecoe7184 same. I’ve done this for years with my carry ammo & never had any extractor issues. I carry all Glocks for what it’s worth. Luckily I don’t unload my carry guns very often, basically only when I’m training with them about once a week. And when I’m on the range I load them “normally.”

[@ShanLiB]

I've always done it this way too, and was disappointed Paul didn't elaborate. I only have one difference and that is, once I drop a round into the chamber I don't let the slide freefall, I support it as it moves forward and then press it until the extractor clicks over the rim. I've never seen a problem from doing that, Maybe I've just been lucky. Barretta, Colt, Ruger, and S&W are the pistols used.

[@xVictorDavidx]

@@ShanLiB For what it's worth, when the gunsmith and I looked at the ammunition I regularly used for loading, it did have several fairly pronounced marks on the rim.

[@ShanLiB]

@@xVictorDavidx Yes, I can understand that happening when the slide is allowed to slam forward. That's why I don't do it. Also, as a reloader, I'm very careful about inspecting all aspects of the case before using it again.

[@leroyatleroys]

Though I already rotate my ammunition for equal wear as well as unload my carry gun as little as possible, I am glad that you are addressing a subject that many people are probably not aware of. Thanks for always giving solid info.

[@BlueJayWaters]

Impeccable timing for this video. Without going into detail, I am one of those who has to not only unload, but immediately lock up or move my carry gun into my car when my wife or I come home from work. My carry is a revolver so I'm less concerned about this issue, but I did notice one of my rounds was looking a little more weathered than the rest of my carry ammo. Obviously I just need to put away that ammo in a better place than just my night stand, but it was on my mind, and suddenly Paul releases a video on it.

[@MidnightMaker]

This is an excellent question that I hadn't thought about... Thanks for addressing this issue...

[@RPG-oh1yf]

Best way to rotate out your carry ammo is to shoot those top 2 rounds every so often, one of the main reasons to have a backyard pistol range. Also a great way to keep your EDC fully tested for functionality with the ammo that's been sitting in it for weeks or months.

[@Fred-mv8fx]

I accumulate those into their own specially labeled box and use those for range practice. Never had an issue with them, but it seems like a decent idea

[@mytech6779]

Kind of what I was thinking starting when he told the crusty revolver story. "Do they never practice?"

[@chrisjones6002]

Sadly for most of us a range on our own property isn't possible but hopefully one day I'll have one.

[@timbaker266]

Great comment

[@sinisterthoughts2896]

@@mytech6779 obviously not. The point was the person never takes anytime with their weapon or skill.

[@secretsquirrel6308]

A firearms instructor purported that the cartridge he used as Paul showed at beginning of video featured the bullet being incrementally pressed down into the casing. The OAL had significantly decreased.

[@mrPauljacob]

I always think about this actually... Because I unload and load my pistols a lot. I just compare it to the other rounds and so far no damage of any kind. But I still rotate the rounds in the mag. Great video.

[@brightly9318]

I have had rounds that I continue to load it, the projectile has been pushed into the casing further.

[@FishFind3000]

Depending on the manufacture some will have extra sealant or a nicer crimp/ ribbing on the bullet to grab better.

[@mrPauljacob]

@@brightly9318 which could cause overpressure and kaboom

[@brightly9318]

@@mrPauljacob right

[@liberty9348]

5:00. And this is why I love my Beretta 92A1. I can chamber and re-chamber a cartridge a BUNCH of times and it shows nearly no wear. In my S & W MP 9 2.0 CORE ported (I know, what a long name), it just chews everything up I feed into it. The extractor on the MP 9 seems really aggressive and sharp as well, so it chews up the case. I usually chamber them about 10 times OR if I feel something/somewhere sharp/protruding/etc. on the cartridge when I seat it back in the mag. I just throw the cartridges in a box that is "field ammo/target ammo" and don't carry it anymore. It's a small price to pay to ensure... as much as one can... reliability when it's needed most. Great video and information as always =]

[@YaxisX]

A very excellent instruction Paul Harrell. The subject needed address and you did a complete and detailed explanation.

[@davidwashingtoncontendingf1862]

Paul Harrell is the greatest!! He answers questions no other channels ( that I know of) will take on! Thank you Mr Harrell for sharing your education and knowledge!!!

[@jackbauer9077]

100% agree with you. I try not to chamber the round too many times and also try to shoot ammo every so often and keep fresh hollow points in my carry guns.

[@captureoutdoormedia]

Wish that you would do a part two to this: expound and explore whether that damage from chambering a round multiple times affects the accuracy of that specific bullet compared to the non chambered rounds.

[@rdrrr]

Surface-level scratches to a shell casing shouldn't affect performance. If the _projectile_ is damaged or the case is dented or corroded, you should throw it out. So basically, what Paul already said. I don't think individually testing a bunch of rechambered cartridges would teach us anything we haven't already learned from _this_ presentation.

[@daylightrider6078]

When bullet recession happens, its unsafe to shoot them. The projectile can over pack the powder. Making a bigger boom than manufacturers recommend specifications. Do you want Paul to damage his firearms? Or blow a pistol up in his hand? When recession happens its best just to throw them away. I keep 1 just for showing friends when they ask about this. At least, thats what my research has shown me. I'm ready to be corrected if anyone knows more. Lol

[@dirtfarmer7472]

@@daylightrider6078 I like your idea, especially that you might not be correct. You don’t know everything & that’s alright with you. I think that I might like to know you.

[@daylightrider6078]

@@dirtfarmer7472 gotta be open to the possibility im wrong lol. Thank you.

[@bushman979]

Any words of wisdom coming from you is a valuable lesson thanks again for a great video

[@wod5203]

Thanks for pinning the answer to the question I was going to ask! You're a mind reader... or just forward thinking enough to appear so. I honestly never even considered the extractor while I was running scenarios in my head how that wouldn't be a reasonable solution to the issue of discussion.

[@PBVader]

Valid safety video. From my own experience the micro guns may suffer this more due to the blivet phenomenon. Lc9s rechambered one Hdy critical defense about 10 times over 3 years, the cannelure had almost disappeared into the case. This will most certainly raise pressure. It will be used at the range in the full size.

[@jegr3398]

I have seen bullet setback by rechambering Hornady Critical duty 9mm.

[@nathanlambshead4778]

Great video. Thanks again Paul. Years ago (late 90s) all I ever carried was a 1911 Officers model. I still have the gun. Sentimental value. And it still shoots good. But I did happen to notice one day, when I cleared my chamber, that the bullet was pushed in about half way. I was using Winchester Silvertip at that time. From then on I marked the shell I was chambering with a black marker, and after the second loading I put that round back in the box for range practice. Maybe was was being excessive, but when it comes to defensive carry, I take no chances. These days I carry a CZ 75 Compact in winter, and a Ruger LACP Custom in my pocket in summer. I don't suppose you know how those two do in general, when chambering? Anyway, I still keep to my cautious ways either way.

[@DrJosefNemecek]

Another option: Go to the range from time to time, and shoot the rounds you're cycling in and out of the chamber. Like this, you have fresh rounds in your magazine on a regular base. And you can check the effect of "damaged" rounds.

[@stevenseagal4664]

Paul you are awesome. your mere presence just commands respect.

[@TomFoolery0077]

Paul. You are such a blessing to the gun community. I have the utmost respect for you sir.

[@Mark-uh4zd]

This intro never gets old. Love the shot with the checkered jacket. But hey, “you be the judge.”

[@David35445]

Great video, as a hunter I have often wondered if this would be the case with rifle ammo .In Canada it is illegal to have a loaded firearm in a vehicle so I often rechamber the same round multiple times. The only time I noticed some marring was with my 30-30 lever gun. But I will make it a habit now to rotate the rounds. Thanks for the info.

[@matthewbeaver5026]

It would depend on the rifle. Many bolts dont have any type of ramp. So the projectile never touches anything on the way in. An ar with feedramps is a diff story.

[@sheldoniusRex]

Check for bullet setback. That is the major issue. Even a torn shell casing is basically incapable of destroying your gun when you shoot, unless it somehow prevents your gun from locking up. The chamber is the only thing containing the pressure of firing anyway, and the brass is only there to get everything into the chamber and provide a gas seal at the rim/base of the cartridge. If the brass is gouged or roughed up it doesn't result in the gun itself being too weak to contain the pressures of firing. Bullet setback, however, drastically increases the chamber pressure of the gun, which can result in a KB.

[@paulscountry456]

I get setback on many 357 sig rounds after one chambering, glocks are notorious for it with that feed ramp angle, barrels are proof tested well beyond the pressure a compressed charge could produce, Buffalo Bore even mentions glocks as causing setback on their site.

[@JohnNumber5]

I too have setback issues with my glock 31,32, and 33 in 357sig.

[@paulscountry456]

@@JohnNumber5 The 92 is the least likely to setback, with the 357 Sig it is quite likely many of the rounds are getting compressed as they are fed especially in Glock.

[@michaelnesmith7069]

People who carry guns should be practicing regularly with them. If you go to the range once a month or so, just shoot the ammo you have loaded. After practice, clean the gun and load fresh ammo. Great video!

[@monsterchief117]

That sounds like a good idea generally, but some, myself included, have specific self defense ammo. That would be expensive to just use it up at the range often. This is not to say to never use your SD ammo at the range, you should buy at least a spare box just to see how it performs, etc etc.

[@uclajd]

@@monsterchief117 Also, some ranges don't allow hollowpoints due to ricochet risk.

[@lukegpb177]

Phenomenal presentation Paul. Your good advice lives on eternally

[@ericw3229]

Another video I saw also suggested rotating your ammo. I respect and trust that source and Paul's as well. Thanks for covering it

[@althill7407]

My p365 has pushed a bunch of rounds into the case, luckily I can feel when that happens. I stopped unloading my gun every time I took it off a couple years ago, so it doesn't happen nearly as often now, and I cycle my ammo as Paul suggested.

[@Bl4ckD0g]

Strange. My p365xl has yet to do it to me. I do cycle the ammo every so often though, so maybe that's my saving grace.

[@dd_ranchtexas4501]

Al Thill: And the very _best_ way to cycle it is to use it for your regular practice session......UNLESS the projectile was set back! And, of course, depending on the Type and Severity of damage.

[@SerenGetter]

The standard P365 seems to push in the rounds into the case (unless you manually drop the round into the chamber) but all of the XL slides I've seen don't have the same issue.

[@TheRealMrBlackCat]

On a gun that is causing bullet setback, it is likely more wise to drop one in and let the extractor pop over the rim. I d'burr and polish the back of extractors on guns where I chamber pre-load. If you aren't comfortable doing this, any gunsmith can do it easily and safely. Preload is like dry firing... critical not to do on certain firearms, and irrelevant on others. Know your firearm is best here.

[@uclajd]

This may be ammo-specific. It happened to me with my p365 and Doubletap ammo. Different ammo has different crimps. Best for EDC ammo to have tight crimps. Harder to do tight crimping with taper crimps used on auto rounds vs roll crimps used for revolver cartridges. Cannelures FTW.

[@KiithnarasAshaa]

9:30 one of my favorite comic series, Schlock Mercenary, created a list of pithy, mostly-humorous aphorisms, The Seventy Maxims Of Maximally-Effective Mercenaries. Your line of discussion about ammunition costs reminded me of Maxim 46: "Don't try to save money by conserving ammunition."

[@itstiny.]

Hey Paul, I was at my local sporting goods store today and found a box of Federal 147 grain FMJ Flat Point 9mm ammunition for a little bit cheaper than my usual Winchester White Box Jacketed Hollow Point ammunition that I carry, I considered for a moment if flat point bullets would be more effective for anti-personnel use than round nose bullets. Do you know of any difference in effectiveness between 9mm FMJ round nose and flat point ammunition? If not then I think seeing a meat target demonstration of the two side by side would be interesting. Thanks for the video and your time.

[@tinopacino9400]

Thanks Paul! You are My Favorite Gun Nerd! And I say that with Great Respect Brother!

[@douglasmaccullagh7865]

Thank you, Paul!

[@stevenwilkinson8373]

This video was much needed! I will replace my carry ammo with range ammo when it's a "fun day" at the range so yes, It can get loaded and reloaded a few times. That being said, I rotate the rounds fairly often. Now the rant and I'm going to be very specific about it. I stopped carrying Hornady Critical Defence in 45acp because that particular round in that particular caliber has a very, very big issue with bullet setback! In as little as 3 unload/load cycles I have seen the bullet be pushed back into the case almost completely I have owned HCD in 9mm and .40SW which DID NOT show this issue at all. Only the 45acp (my personal experience) According to Hornady "Our ammunition is designed to be chambered once and fired, chambering a round more than once is not reccomended by Hornady" WHATTHEF**K?????!!!!!!!! THis is what i was told by the Hornady CSR when I filed a defective claim and they inspected the ammo. Granted they sent a return shipping label for the box of ammo (out of the 20 rounds 12 had significant setback) and they did send a replacement box of ammo at no charge It sits in my ammo storage unopened That experience with that company has put me off all of their products

[@postingwhateveriwant]

I too have had setback issues with Critical Defense, but with Hornady's 9mm offering. I no longer purchase, nor recommend it. It's Speer Gold Dot, Federal HST, or Super Vel SCHP for me now.

[@BlueRidgeCritter]

I'm surprised he didn't mention more about the dangers of some of these issues, particularly bullet setback. He talked about it, and how to tell, how it happens, etc., but really other than talking about cost and how it shouldn't be a factor, he didn't mention the dangers or what it can do. A lot of kabooms can be traced back to increased pressures from it. And it's more prevalent than people realize - I have a whole box of self defense ammo that has gotten "tagged out" over the years. Most, I find that rechambering about 4 times is the max. Cor-Bon, only about twice. If the ammo isn't well crimped, and you carry an autoloader, you MUST be observant. But yeah...good video, but I feel like it really needed more.

[@EmeryJude]

I agree. Kinda was expecting a demo of firing some setback rounds.

[@Skinnymoose]

You " feel" like it needed more....ok Safety Sally

[@beargillium2369]

Wut. That sounds extremely implausible that it would somehow increase pressure to a dangerous level. Please cite a source on physics of that, or at least an example of anything like that happening. By "a lot of Kabooms" and what else you say it sounds like you're suggesting specifically overpressure, did you mean to say out of battery?

[@miketyson8933]

Lol hahahahahaha you make me laugh

[@billy56081]

@@beargillium2369 As the bullet is pushed deeper into the case the free space, ie volume decreases. With less volume pressure increases. In reloading minimum overall length is very important for this reason.

[@MR.G-417]

I found it to be good practice to switch out my carry ammo once a year.

[@chrisjones6002]

That's what most police departments do too, it makes sense.

[@stuartjohnson5686]

@@chrisjones6002 I know its fiction but in and episode Adam-12 Office Jim Reed changed his ammo after 6 months. Of course that was also 1968 and his hand gun was a revolver.

[@LTVoyager]

I hope you are shooting it out more than once a year! I generally shoot my current mag of carry ammo at the start of each practice session and then shoot practice ammo and then load fresh carry ammo until the next practice session. Sure, a little more expensive, but ensures fresh carry ammo and that the carry ammo functions reliably in the firearm.

[@curmudgeonextraordinaire1884]

When I was on the job, we shot off our carry ammo at our biannual qualifications.

[@Geekofarm]

@@LTVoyager Yup, there's a very good case for not using ammo that you can't afford to practice with. I think Paul covered this a couple of times at least.

[@davidsaidvelazquezbaez1402]

I literal love watch and listening your well spoken presentation. I could listen to then over and over again.

[@aries144]

Paul, thanks for your work. I agree completely on not dropping in a round and sending the slide home. It's very rough on the extractor. There is a method that works on some pistols with exposed extractors where you can relieve the tension on the extractor by pressing on its rear, drop the round in the chamber, ease the slide home, release the extractor, then ensure the extractor has good purchase with a press check. I've used this for years on Walthers and CZ-75s with minimal wear to cartridges and have not yet had a case fail to extract on firing.

[@jameskeenan6827]

Is there a video or something that shows this? I'm still having trouble figuring out how it damages the extractor to load one manually but doesn't damage it when it picks up a round out of the magazine. Probably just my thick skull not being able to figure it out.

[@charlesletterman6245]

Paul, I've recently subscribed to your channel and thoroughly love watching and listening to all your various topics. The wide variety of Information and the way only you can expound on these different subjects is very satisfying. Glad your not one of those that just rambles on and on about a whole lot of useless nothingness. Keep doing what you do, love it.

[@nickt6980]

If you rotate your ammo every few chambers, by the time you chamber them all you might as well use that mag for some practice at the range. I usually chamber the same round a few times and shoot it at the range and put a fresh one in. Leave the rest alone unless they're a few years old.

[@Neomalthusiano]

I'm with you, except that for concealed carry, a few years old might be way too much. I know a police officer who carry concealed and when he decided to "test" the integrity of a wall was being erected in his gun range, he discovered that his ammo didn't go bang. Then he pulled again and nothing happened. He pulled the slide, the round pulled out and as he pulled the trigger, nothing again. Only on the third round, the pistol fired. People keep saying "that's why I prefer a revolver" but thing is ammo goes bad way faster when the gun is kept inside the waistband. The funny part is that he already owns a gun store, so he should know better.

[@nickt6980]

@@Neomalthusiano I guess it all depends on how you store it. I don't conceal carry so my ammo just sits inside.

[@dragonballjiujitsu]

I learned about this about 20 years ago. I've done a round rotation ever since. Most semi-autos seem to be good with 3-4 chamberings before doing enough damage to be concerned about.

[@N0B0DY_SP3C14L]

Thank you for making this. Informative, as always and bullshit free.

[@Pyrus335]

This man makes and publishes videos answering questions I can barely finish thinking of! Damn!

[@ffjsb]

Something that came to my mind is that when you clean your conceal carry gun (which I would think should be at LEAST once a week), you should be cleaning your mag. So rotate your top round to the bottom, and put a small line on it with a fine point Sharpie pen. Once every round has been marked, use those rounds as target ammo. You could even do two or three marks if you don't get to practice that often. Oh yeah, if you're worried about the bullet being forced back into the shell, you can always measure it with a caliper to see if it's in spec. You can easily look up that info on the interwebs...

[@TheDiameter]

That’s beyond excessive unless you carry that thing in a coal mine or granary. In fact I’ll go as far as to guarantee you you’re adding far more additional wear and increasing your probability of malfunctions long term by cleaning so frequently. If all your edc is getting exposed to is your sweat and rubbing against you or your holster, and being left in glove boxes occasionally, like 99.9% are, you shouldn’t need to clean more than every 500 rounds or 4 months, whichever comes first. There is such thing as cleaning too much and it’s why a lot of military issue firearms show so much wear.

[@aleks138]

Cleaning once a week? Must be a 1911 thing Probably what the boomers do when their daughter brings a date home

[@TheDiameter]

@@aleks138 this is about perfect lol

[@ffjsb]

@@TheDiameter You CLEARLY don't know what you're talking about. First off, sweat is water and salts... Tell me you're not so stupid that you don't realize how much those two things can cause corrosion. You can't possibly have any experience with guns with a response that ignorant. Military weapons are also exposed to VERY harsh environments, which NECESSITATES frequent cleaning. You don't need to put a bore brush through every time you clean Einstein...

[@readtherealanthonyfaucibyr6444]

@@aleks138 Boomers are in their 70s and their daughters are in their 40s

[@habber8101]

You can do a variation of putting the round in the chamber on a locked slide to save the rounds from a lot of damage. My example works on a P226. You put the round in the chamber, ride the slide forward, then tilt the gun back and slowly pull the slide back. Once the round is low enough to clear the extractor, and is still held from falling out by the bolt face, you can ride the slide forward and the round should chamber very smoothly. This saves not only your extractor from wear, but there is no spring tension from the magazine, not sharp feed lips and no slide slamming the round into battery. The rim of the cartridge is also saved as opposed to letting the slide go home on a loaded chamber.

[@hotrodray6802]

10 thumbs UP 👍😎

[@ethankaryadi37]

“Please bear with gunfire you may hear in the background.” Words I wished make a comeback ended up doing so. Also, Paul, could you do a video on the AK-74 and the 5.45 round? Thanks.

[@buckleymordecai9605]

Your delivery and word/sentence structure cracks me up...love it.

[@Alaska610ish]

Excellent video from Dr. Paul! Thanks