This why you should change carry ammo every few months. I have been carrying my Sig P239 in 357 Sig for the last week or so and decided it was time to shoot up the carry ammo which as been in the pistol for at least a year. This is the first shot of the one in the chamber and it was a dud primer. So i fired all the others in the mag with no problems. I guess you should change carry ammo more often than every year. Hornady 124 gr XTP Factory.
Not sure if Hornady seals them or not. I try not to over lube my pistols . I have so many carry pistol it hard to keep up with how long they have been loaded with the same ammo. This could have been just a bad primer from the factory and nothing else.
If it was good out of the box, it should be good a year from then. Unless you somehow contaminated the primer with lube (which I believe is actually more of a myth than reality) my guess is it was a dud the day you opened the box. The good ones would still fire just fine a couple of decades later.
The round in question was examined by the manufacturer, who discovered that the primer mix had been knocked out of the primer when the round was cycled through the firearm multiple times. Two cases of the same ammunition (presumably from the same lot) were tested and functioned normally.
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Federal, Remington and Winchester all recommend that cartridges should not be chambered more than twice before being discarded. Bullet setback can cause pressure spikes and primers can go dead.
When reloading a magazine with carry ammo and chambering the first round, I always control the slide with my left hand to slow down the return to battery. Not too slow, because I want the rim of the cartridge to interact normally with the extractor.
I've measured my top round after reloading a couple of times (9mm) and found no setbacks. I'm thinking that the reduced acceleration/deceleration is easier on the primer compound, too.
Still, buying a new box of carry ammo once a year is no hardship.
The round in question was examined by the manufacturer, who discovered that the primer mix had been knocked out of the primer when the round was cycled through the firearm multiple times. Two cases of the same ammunition (presumably from the same lot) were tested and functioned normally.
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Federal, Remington and Winchester all recommend that cartridges should not be chambered more than twice before being discarded. Bullet setback can cause pressure spikes and primers can go dead.
When reloading a magazine with carry ammo and chambering the first round, I always control the slide with my left hand to slow down the return to battery. Not too slow, because I want the rim of the cartridge to interact normally with the extractor.
I've measured my top round after reloading a couple of times (9mm) and found no setbacks. I'm thinking that the reduced acceleration/deceleration is easier on the primer compound, too.
Still, buying a new box of carry ammo once a year is no hardship.
I purchased a case of this ammo when i acquired it.
If it was good out of the box, it should be good a year from then. Unless you somehow contaminated the primer with lube (which I believe is actually more of a myth than reality) my guess is it was a dud the day you opened the box. The good ones would still fire just fine a couple of decades later.
Doctor friend has a Glock 26. As he can't bring it into the hospital it sat in the car for hours on end at over 100* heat in the summer and -20* in the winter. The ammo was in the gun for a year and when he went to fire it off to change out THE WHOLE MAG was cooked. Now he changes out every 4 months.
As to factory rounds being duds, when I worked for Dallas PD the range collected bad factory carry rounds and had a large box of them...so it happens..too often.
I usually shoot and replace my carry ammo at least twice a year. In all Calibers, I've gone to strictly Speer ammo, for my CCW ammo. It seems to be the most reliable factory ammo, IMO.
Many years ago, I started carrying a "budget" .38 Special in my truck, after a sort of scary incident that found me without a gun - and wishing really bad I had one. Didn't have much opportunity to shoot it regularly, no idea long long that ammo had been in the gun - and under the seat of the truck - when I finally got around to it. Had a misfire or two, but what really concerned me was a couple of shots where I actually watched the bullet as it slowly made its smokey way to the target. Didn't get a "squib", but seemed damn close! Mine and my wife's .38's still see less firing time than my other handguns, but nowadays they are test fired fairly often, and carry FRESH, quality ammo - mine is a Charter Arms Bulldog, and has two speed-loaders close by at all times. I would not pick it up first over one of my 1911's. but I originally bought that .38 for protection - it needs to be ready and capable to protect, and I understand that now. It can't do it's job if I don't do mine!
This why you should change carry ammo every few months. I have been carrying my Sig P239 in 357 Sig for the last week or so and decided it was time to shoot up the carry ammo which as been in the pistol for at least a year. This is the first shot of the one in the chamber and it was a dud primer. So i fired all the others in the mag with no problems. I guess you should change carry ammo more often than every year. Hornady 124 gr XTP Factory.
Same thing happened to me last summer. Got up to the place in NC and couldn't wait to do some shooting. Picked up some groceries, unpacked and started dinner. Walked out back and set up a target. Took aim, and .. click.
Just like your experience, bea. First round out of the magazine. Good hard primer strike dead center.
Had never had that happen with a factory SD round before. Guess you just never know.
BTW- it was Winchester Ranger .45 ACP +P 230 gr SXT RA45TP.
Why would exposing a round to 100 degree heat cause it to fail to fire? Why would a round in a chamber be more likely to fail than a round in a factory box?
I carried a Kel-Tec P3AT 380 for years without firing it.
My friend shot and antelope buck and we walked up on it without his rifle. I handed him my 380 and it did not shoot. I opened it up and it was full of pocket lint. I blew out the fuzz and handed it back. He is 6'4" 270 pounds and he complained my handloads recoiled too hard. But it killed the buck instantly. 90 gr Gold Dot and Power Pistol at the threshold of a case bulge.
I made a video, but it does not show the gun failing to fire
Dang, I must be the luckiest sob ever. I typically load up 5ish thousand rounds of whatever I'm loading for and sometimes that lasts a couple months, sometimes several years. I'm currently pounding out old 44 rem mags that are nearly 20 years old and I can't tell it.
I'll be going to the range tommorrow and I will take my 9mm and try some rounds.They have been in the magazines for at least 8 years. I only carry it at certain times when I am not carrying my Smith .357. Bet they all go bang. I usualy shoot reloads/cast in the 9 for practice and carry the HP's
If it was good out of the box, it should be good a year from then. Unless you somehow contaminated the primer with lube (which I believe is actually more of a myth than reality) my guess is it was a dud the day you opened the box. The good ones would still fire just fine a couple of decades later.
Fully loaded guns are regularly discovered that have been that way for decades, and typically they function just fine. Lube contamination, however, can certainly shorten the life of a live round. Typically, it's the one in the chamber of an auto that becomes a dud from this process. I've had it happen once or twice after not changing carry ammo for more than a year. One time it fired, but weakly, such as not to cycle the action. The rest in the mag were fine. Come to think, it's high time I fired my carry ammo and replaced it.
I worked at Federal Cartridge and found out that the way they kill primers is to soak them in oil. I would not keep a round chambered in a gun dripping with oil. You do whatever you want.
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