Keep an eye on your SD ammo

[infidel]

I know it's been said many times here, but here's a visual reminder to keep an eye on your SD ammo. This ammo has done this because I keep my Glock 30 loaded with SD ammo, and take it out when I use practice ammo. The repeated reloading of the same round causes the bullet to seat further in the case than it is supposed to. I think this would case more pressure than intended if fired. (ammo gurus help me out).

Anyways, keep an eye on your ammo if you switch it out for practice a lot.

Remington Golden Saber 230gr +p
These rounds have been loaded and unloaded about 5-10 times each, over time. The one on the far right is ok. I am switching to the hornady in the background to see if I get the same thing.

 

[miguel]

Noob question...do you mean loaded into the chamber or loaded into a mag?

 

[infidel]

Noob question...do you mean loaded into the chamber or loaded into a mag?

Loaded into the chamber, thanks for catching that.

 

[Cwood]

That's why I always shoot the round in the chamber instead of loading it back into the mag.

 

[Scutter01]

Good advice. Here's another thread where it's been discussed, too.

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...an_i_chamber_the_top_round_in_a_semiauto.html

 

[absrio]

I try not to load the same round more than twice before expending it down the barrel. I did do a test load with a 40s&w i loaded and after 10 chamberings it only shortened it .001. I think a lot of the set back comes from ramp angle and profile of the bullet.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

I take the round that was chambered and put it at the bottom of the magazine. I keep track, and once that round is seated on top I shoot that ammo off. So that way I only chamber each round once.

 

[Gabriel]

I need to download my duty magazines and compare setback on the rounds. The rounds have been chambered, downloaded, and rechambered well over 100 times.

 

[IndyMonkey]

I thought those were to used on midget gang bangers.

 

[Aszerigan]

The repeated reloading of the same round causes the bullet to seat further in the case than it is supposed to. I think this would case more pressure than intended if fired. (ammo gurus help me out).

You are correct - when loading ammunition, there is a specific overall length (OAL) that you must follow. The recipe calls for a specific amount of powder enclosed in a specific space (between the bottom of the bullet and the case base) to create a specific pressure - hence correct velocity.

If you're bullets are becoming short seated that far after 5 chamberings, that seems a bit excessive, but it can be very dangerous. Smokeless powder burns faster under compression - the more compression, the faster the burn. When its fully compressed - i.e. the shortest OAL, that can easily cause an explosion. Although this won't always cause a kaboom, it would most likely burst the case.

Could be one of several things - (1) the strength of your recoil spring may be too high, and the pressure on your feed ramp is compressing the bullet into the case. (2) The cases are improperly sized and the bullet is not as snug in the case at it should be. (3) Your chamber is excessively tight, and is causing compression on the rounds.

You may want to inspect your chamber with a new aluminum snap cap to ensure its fully sized, just to look for scratches or scrapes that are out of place. This may happen on the first chambering with some ammo, causing a dangerous situation to arise.

I've done chambering experiments before and never had these results after only 5 insertions. But I HAVE seen this happen with defective ammunition on the first chambering. Might be worth a little inspection.

Good luck.

 

[IndySSD]

Yeah, I watch for this in my Hornaday TAP .40 S&W SD ammo but have yet to experience the bullet seating further back but I try to shoot through my SD carry ammo a couple of times per year just in case.

 

[Mike_Indy]

For what it is worth I have been using Hornady Critical Defense .45 for a while. After 10 or so chamberings I don't see a visual difference. I will measure it to check it for real.

That said I am getting into the habit of expending that first round. I'm just trying to determine a good baseline of when to do it for the rounds I carry.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

This is precisely why I ride the slide forward and make sure the gun is pressed into battery 100% when I reload the carry ammo after a range session.

-J-