I've had the same duty ammo in my magazines (9mm Speer - Gold Dot) for about a year now. I've only used a few rounds to put down some deer. Should I buy new ammo and change out the old? What ammo would you suggest?

Once a year is recommended to change out.  You carry in all kinds of weather conditions.  It will probably be good longer than that but why bet your life on it?

I was at the range burning thru old duty ammo.  It was for some reason not used up in a qual.  Anyhow I had round that had delayed ignition.  It was odd a little pop followed bang a weak bang.  Kind of like a flintlock.  Had another one that failed to fire, there was a good indent on the primer so it was the round not the gun.  Like I said why bet you life on old ammo.

Speer Gold Dot is a good round.  I prefer the lighter bullets for 9mm, like 115 gr.  My reason is to make up for lack of mass with velocity.  In the big 4 calibers and duty sized pistols I prefer the heavier bullets.  Corbon seems to have a pretty good track record too.

Same. Your range guys should be on top of that.

Scurge says ...

jlu492 says ...

Same. Your range guys should be on top of that.

Yeah they should but amazingily enough there are some agencies that make officers/deputies bring their own ammo to work

I realize that every department is different, but geez, that's really backwards a**. It seems like a basic officer safety issue that could land a department in hot water.

jlu492 says ...

Scurge says ...

jlu492 says ...

Same. Your range guys should be on top of that.

Yeah they should but amazingily enough there are some agencies that make officers/deputies bring their own ammo to work

I realize that every department is different, but geez, that's really backwards a**. It seems like a basic officer safety issue that could land a department in hot water.

Not to mention the liability how can they really control what is carried.  If they have a a specific type then the agency would have to arrange for its supply (I would think so anyway).  If an officer or deputy can't find or afford the specific type then its the agency's butt in a sling.  If there is no specific brand etc then its the agencies butt if it over pentrates and kills Suzy Q playing with her barbie. Or if the ammo fails to fire because its was old and the officer could not find appropriate ammo.  They brought ineffective because it was the least expensive again agency's butt.  I could go on.  In short its avoidable liability.

One thing to be aware of is if you are loading and unloading your service weapon often that you do not continue to use the same bullet in the chamber over and over.  Over time it will seat down  which has proven to cause problems.  With that said the rest of your ammo changed out once a year should prevent any issues. 

rak3761 says ...

 

The chance of modern pistol ammunition from of reputable manufacture failing due to exposure to moisture is very low. We replace duty ammo annually at our department and use the current issue for the range. I personal have ammo that has been properly stored for years and have no problems. Current issue Federal Hydroshock  in 40 cal.

There is a huge difference between storing and carrying it in a magazine in a combination of rain, snow, when its really cold, when its friggin hot. 

Our agency requires us to provide our own duty ammo. It has to be approved by the chief though and they do supply range ammo when we do our annual qualifications. We are a small department and money is tight.