I normally keep my EDC loaded and chambered all the time. The only time I unload it is when I clean it, go to the range, or leave home for an extended period of time such as when I go back on the ship.

I always re-chamber the same round, but I always check it before doing so. This time after returning home from sea and inspecting my chamber round, I found that it had pretty noticeable setback. So I cycled the round out and essentially put it aside. (Pic below)

So my question is, what can I do with this round? Is it safe to shoot at the range in that condition, or should I decommission it altogether?

Also, is my practice of clambering the same round each time a recommended one? I do it because it helps me keep track of which ones might have setback or dings. What do you guys do?

I also carry a .357SIG and have seen that issue. I’d shoot it and replace it regularly with a fresh one. That’s not enough setback to cause anything.

quote:

Is it safe to shoot at the range in that condition,

Maybe, maybe not as pressure will be greater in the case. I generally pull the bullet, dump the powder in the trash, & fire the primed case. One could also spray WD40 into the case & hope to deactivate the primer & trash it. Never try to deprime an unfired primed case.

That is a lot of set back. Set back will increase pressure. If you reload you can fix the round. Put the round in a bullet puller tap 1 or 2 times. Reseat and recrimp. If you do not reload than dispose of the round.

Setback can really kick up the pressure - Anush is right - I'd pull the bullet and fire the primed case. The only thing I would add - if you use an inertial bullet puller - protect your face and head when you pull the bullet. I had to pull nine .380 rounds recently - I tapped the puller on the other side of our de-humidifier in the basement just to be safe. And, feel free to laugh, I had safety glasses and ear muffs on when I did it. I've never had a round detonate - but it would be ugly if it did...

quote:

Originally posted by GeoJelly:
Setback can really kick up the pressure - Anush is right - I'd pull the bullet and fire the primed case. The only thing I would add - if you use an inertial bullet puller - protect your face and head when you pull the bullet. I had to pull nine .380 rounds recently - I tapped the puller on the other side of our de-humidifier in the basement just to be safe. And, feel free to laugh, I had safety glasses and ear muffs on when I did it. I've never had a round detonate - but it would be ugly if it did...

If you are using an inertia powered bullet puller, always use the collet supplied with the system.
They can be a pain and some people use a shell holder.
Do NOT do this.

When it is fitted correctly into the puller, the supplied collet grabs the bullet by the rim, and leaves lots of room around the primer pocket.
There is little chance of accidental firing of the primer even if it is seated high.
A shell holder holds the case by the rim as well, BUT it severely reduces the free space around the primer pocket.
When it is placed in the puller it is possible for the primer to shift enough to get the primer underneath the lip of the shell holder.

I tend to rechamber the same round but I seldom do so because I infrequently unload my defensive ammunition. When I do rechamber I ride the slide to ease the cartridge into the chamber. This may not be possible if your gun is finicky but I’ve never had a problem when loading administratively in this fashion.

quote:

Originally posted by sakata8242:
When I do rechamber I ride the slide to ease the cartridge into the chamber. This may not be possible if your gun is finicky but I’ve never had a problem when loading administratively in this fashion.

This is what I do. But I still try to keep rechamberings to a minimum, always checking for setback. If I've already been through 4 or 5 rechamberings, and there's no perceptible setback, I'll set it aside for range use and replace it with a fresh round. I've yet to encounter a round with any perceptible setback with this method.

If I had a cartridge with as much setback as in your picture, I would rather err on the safe side and not fire it than risk a serious overpressure situation that could result in damage or injury.

I've shot rounds with more setback than that without issue. I'm not saying you should, but I have. I used to have some photos of the bullets, but it's a lot to look through.

Maybe not that much to look through




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FWIW... you can't deactivate primers that way, not for good. Once they dry out they'll be live again. Maybe not as good as a new one, but they will go off.

Well...with all of those newly 'created' primed cases freed of their former bullets and powder, you're now ready for your own series of drop testing.

I don't shoot cartridges with any amount of setback which in my case is typically 40S&W, namely 124gr HST. I put them into a plastic can until I have a bit of a collection, then give them to a buddy who reloads. He loves those HSTs bullets.

I have to admit I've fired a round that looks like that and I knew it. I don't reload so can someone chime in how much actual space there is when loaded correctly?

I generally keep any rounds I notice with set back and I do shoot them, but my carry load is standard pressure 9mm....unless the setback is enormous the pressure change won't matter

In .357 sig? Maybe...

I also cycle the round in the chamber of my carry gun every week regardless....just a habit

I keep the used ones aside and use them to function check new guns with the carry ammo...or if I get a whole box, just go shoot them through the various carry guns to confirm function

I've never had one fail yet

If it's set back, especially in .40 or .357 sig, don't shoot it.

Setback is serious. It doesn't take much setback to cause a pressure rise.

I don't rechamber the same round. I thumb several rounds out of the magazine, bury the previously chambered one after checking for setback, and let a new round get chambered.

You can help reduce setback by reducing forward slide velocity as it returns to battery

Which brand ammunition was that?

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
I normally keep my EDC loaded and chambered all the time. The only time I unload it is when I clean it, go to the range, or leave home for an extended period of time such as when I go back on the ship.

I always re-chamber the same round . . .

In addition to bullet setback, you also risk ruining the primer, and causing a misfire at the worst possible time.

http://agiletactical.com/carry...ammo-too-many-times/

THE FOLLOWING TRAINING ADVISORY WAS FORWARDED FROM GWINETT COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT – LAWRENCEVILLE, GA

In September of this year a GCPD officer was involved in a situation which quickly became a use of deadly force incident. When the officer made the decision to use deadly force, the chambered round in his duty pistol did not fire. Fortunately, the officer used good tactics, remembered his training and cleared the malfunction, successfully ending the encounter.

The misfired round, which had a full firing pin strike, was collected and was later sent to the manufacturer for analysis. Their analysis showed the following: “…the cause of the misfire was determined to be from the primer mix being knocked out of the primer when the round was cycled through the firearm multiple times”. We also sent an additional 2,000 rounds of the Winchester 9mm duty ammunition to the manufacturer. All 2,000 rounds were successfully fired.

In discussions with the officer, we discovered that since he has small children at home, he unloads his duty weapon daily. His routine is to eject the chambered round to store the weapon. Prior to returning to duty he chambers the top round in his primary magazine, then takes the previously ejected round and puts in back in the magazine. Those two rounds were repeatedly cycled and had been since duty ammunition was issued in February or March of 2011, resulting in as many as 100 chambering and extracting cycles. This caused an internal failure of the primer, not discernible by external inspection.

This advisory is to inform all sworn personnel that repeated cycling of duty rounds is to be avoided. As a reminder, when loading the weapon, load from the magazine and do not drop the round directly into the chamber. If an officer’s only method of safe home storage is to unload the weapon, the Firearms Training Unit suggests that you unload an entire magazine and rotate those rounds. In addition, you should also rotate through all 3 duty magazines, so that all 52 duty rounds are cycled, not just a few rounds. A more practical method of home storage is probably to use a trigger lock or a locked storage box.

FURTHER GUIDANCE:
The primer compound separation is a risk of repeatedly chambering the same round. The more common issue is bullet setback, which increases the chamber pressures often resulting in more negative effects.

RECOMMENDATION:
In addition to following the guidance provided above of constantly rotating duty ammunition that is removed during the unloading/reloading of the weapon, training ammunition utilized during firearm sustainment and weapon manipulation drills, should also be discarded if it has been inserted into the chamber more than twice. This practice lessens the likelihood of a failure to fire or more catastrophic results.

Hornady Reloading manual-357 sig- for 124 gr bullets is max COL 1.14"

also might depend on where measurement is taken-might be on peak of hp petal or slight valley.

It’s been demonstrated that bullet setback can increase chamber pressures, but what hasn’t been demonstrated to my knowledge is that those increases actually cause problems in modern guns.

I have seen many photos of setback bullets in cartridges removed fresh from factory boxes. It’s also obvious to me that the vast majority of shooters, including law enforcement officers, have no understanding of what “increased chamber pressure” means, much less do they know that bullet setback can cause it. I once found a 45 ACP cartridge that had been chambered so many times by the officer that the bullet jacket had actually separated from the core at the nose. The bullet wasn’t set back into the case, but if it had been, I know that the officer would have never noticed.

There also seems to be an assumption that setback is more dangerous in 357 SIG and 40 S&W than other calibers, but my question is Why? I suppose I might also be suspicious of the 357 because it can be loaded to higher pressures to begin with, but the max 40 pressure is the same as the standard pressure (not +P) 9mm Luger. Why are so many people terrified of the 40 S&W cartridge, but not 9mm—especially +P?

But to return to my point, with as common as bullet setback is, not only from improper bullet seating at the factory but from repeated chambering of the same round, why don’t we hear of guns blowing up right and left like it was Independence Day? We learn of the catastrophic failures from other causes—overloaded rounds, out of battery discharges, etc.—but I’ve never seen a report of a gun that was blown up and then accompanied by photos of a box of ammo with half a dozen setback bullets. I shoot a lot of 40 S&W ammunition, including the kind that has sometimes been implicated in having setback bullets, but despite the fact that I don’t inspect every round when training, I’ve never experienced any overpressure problems or indicators.

I tell my students to reject any round they’re suspicious of, and so I’m certainly not going to tell anyone else to just say, “Oh, I’m sure it will be all right,” if they’re not happy with one. If, however, bullet setback turns any cartridge into a bomb waiting to explode, I’d sure like to see the evidence.

Inquiring minds want to know.

And as for deactivating primers, throw the case and primer in boiling water for a time and that should dissolve the priming compound. (Do not, of course, use a cooking pot for the purpose; most primers contain lead.)

Same rule as cleaning the refrigerator.

"When in doubt, throw it out."