Concealed Carry - Ammo damage causing malfunction

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Spokanesteve
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Concealed Carry - Ammo damage causing malfunction

Post by Spokanesteve » Tue Sep 13, 2016 8:01 pm

Hello all:

I carry 5 days a week to and from work and then I need to stow the weapon in a safe at my workplace.

As a safety habit I have tried to be disciplined about checking the status of every firearm that I ever pick up. In the case of my carry handgun I release the magazine, pull the slide and visually inspect the chamber to ensure it's clear.

doing this 2X a day has been putting wear on the top round in the magazine and I recently had a malfunction (jam) when I went to fire that round.

Needless to say this makes me nervous about having a top-first round that may not be in a functional condition.

Do you guys have any advice?

Thanks much, Steve.

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Re: Concealed Carry - Ammo damage causing malfunction

Post by Airon » Tue Sep 13, 2016 8:19 pm

Are you not carrying chambered? Start getting comfortable with the idea if not. Leave it chambered and leave it alone. Once in awhile, shoot it, clean it and fill it with fresh ammo. If you clear the one out of the chamber more than a couple times without shooting it, set it aside for the range because of the potential for bullet creep.

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Re: Concealed Carry - Ammo damage causing malfunction

Post by bladebum » Tue Sep 13, 2016 8:32 pm

Out with the old and in with the new at regular intervals. Shoot the old at the range. No need to risk your life with old, unreliable ammo. :)
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Re: Concealed Carry - Ammo damage causing malfunction

Post by scrappy » Wed Sep 14, 2016 1:35 am

Spokanesteve wrote:Hello all:

I carry 5 days a week to and from work and then I need to stow the weapon in a safe at my workplace.

As a safety habit I have tried to be disciplined about checking the status of every firearm that I ever pick up. In the case of my carry handgun I release the magazine, pull the slide and visually inspect the chamber to ensure it's clear.

doing this 2X a day has been putting wear on the top round in the magazine and I recently had a malfunction (jam) when I went to fire that round.

Needless to say this makes me nervous about having a top-first round that may not be in a functional condition.

Do you guys have any advice?

Thanks much, Steve.
The habit you are in, with regard to your daily carry weapon, is utterly pointless, and in fact is dangerous. Every time the weapon is handled increases the likelihood of something undesirable occurring. A weapon left untouched will NEVER go off, but one that is improperly handled only once can.

You placed it in its place of rest that night. No one touched it, therefore you KNOW that the next morning it is in the same material condition. Why check what you already know? Then you take your unchanged weapon and store it at work. When you get off work you KNOW it's STILL unchanged, so why check it yet again? It is utterly pointless.
Only if you know or have reason to believe that someone else has handled your firearm should you have any need to check it. You KNOW what's there and all you need do is place it back in the holster and carry on with your day. I doubt I have checked my carry piece more than once in the last month and that was just to clean dust and lint from it.

Relax. Your obsession with checking it will cause trouble for you one day when you least expect it.
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Re: Concealed Carry - Ammo damage causing malfunction

Post by Dizzle2269 » Wed Sep 14, 2016 1:57 am

Airon wrote:Are you not carrying chambered? Start getting comfortable with the idea if not. Leave it chambered and leave it alone. Once in awhile, shoot it, clean it and fill it with fresh ammo. If you clear the one out of the chamber more than a couple times without shooting it, set it aside for the range because of the potential for bullet creep.
This!

I would only add that if it is necessary to take a round out of the chamber (which should be seldom, cleaning etc.) that the rounds should be cycled through the magazine. Once each round has been chambered a couple times, set aside for range use as Airon pointed out.
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Re: Concealed Carry - Ammo damage causing malfunction

Post by roger » Wed Sep 14, 2016 6:40 am

I carry 100% of the time when legal. What I have always done is to carry full mag one round in the chamber. When putting my firearm into the safe I remove it while still holstered from my belt and into the safe it goes. That way the trigger is always covered by the holster and I know that it is hot. All others in the safe are unloaded and not in a holster. Then when I get to the range (once a month or so) I always shoot the first 3 or 4 rounds of my carry ammo. Empty remaining mag by hand, fill it up with target ammo, then before leaving replacing it with carry ammo.

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Re: Concealed Carry - Ammo damage causing malfunction

Post by Badger » Wed Sep 14, 2016 9:13 am

Read Scrappy's advice again and reconsider your routine.

Suppose your carry gun was a revolver - would you completely unload the cylinder every time you holstered or un holstered?

Nope - probably not.

If you consider your gun as always being loaded there will be no problems.

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Re: Concealed Carry - Ammo damage causing malfunction

Post by Nievo » Wed Sep 14, 2016 10:55 am

Same as some of the others here mentioned, always carry one in the chamber and my weapon rarely leaves the holster. Entire thing comes off at night or when I get home and goes in the closet or on the fridge. Nobody ever touches it except for me so I know exactly the condition it's in.

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