Here's my scenario - I carry with one in the pipe, but when I get home I disarm and always remove the bullet and put it back in the clip, which got me wondering if for some reason I should be rotating the ammo in the clip. Not that it won't function, but for some other reason? I have a five year old in the house so I will not leave my weapon ready to shoot while it is unattended (hidden) and I have a 110lb Chesapeake Bay Retriever that will give me plenty of time to load if needed.
Rotate ammo in gun?
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A few questions:
Why don't you just keep it on you and loaded? Home break-in/invasions are possible here as well as needing your weapon on the way home. It will do you very little good unloaded in a safe in the event of an emergency.
When you get ready for bed, it goes into a bed-side safe - still loaded and ready for a home intruder yet not available to a 5 year old.
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What type of pistol?
I have a kel-tec that does not like to eject loaded rounds, they tend to hang between the slide and the ejection port. Puts pressure on the bullet. I really don't like to unload it except via pulling the trigger.
My 1911 however does not seem to mind if I empty it and cycle the ammo. I take it apart once a week to lube/clean becaus it lives under my shirt in a holster. The round that comes out gets set aside. After clean/lube, the mag is reinserted and the top round chambered. Mag ejected and the loose round put on top.
Basiclly, I rotate two rounds until I go to the range and shoot them. I'' shoot one mag a month of SD rounds vs. target stuff. Change mags and get some more SD if needed.
Why don't you just keep it on you and loaded? Home break-in/invasions are possible here as well as needing your weapon on the way home. It will do you very little good unloaded in a safe in the event of an emergency.
When you get ready for bed, it goes into a bed-side safe - still loaded and ready for a home intruder yet not available to a 5 year old.
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What type of pistol?
I have a kel-tec that does not like to eject loaded rounds, they tend to hang between the slide and the ejection port. Puts pressure on the bullet. I really don't like to unload it except via pulling the trigger.
My 1911 however does not seem to mind if I empty it and cycle the ammo. I take it apart once a week to lube/clean becaus it lives under my shirt in a holster. The round that comes out gets set aside. After clean/lube, the mag is reinserted and the top round chambered. Mag ejected and the loose round put on top.
Basiclly, I rotate two rounds until I go to the range and shoot them. I'' shoot one mag a month of SD rounds vs. target stuff. Change mags and get some more SD if needed.
Bullet setback can lead to higher pressures and cause problems. How many times you can load the bullet without setback becoming an issue is debatable. More info can be found here - http://www.handguninfo.com/Archive/www.Pete-357.com/factory.setback.chart.htm or by a Google search.
I do agree with airhead though - keep the weapon on you as much as possible. That keeps it out of little hands and leaves you prepared for sudden encounters such as a home invasion.
I do agree with airhead though - keep the weapon on you as much as possible. That keeps it out of little hands and leaves you prepared for sudden encounters such as a home invasion.
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Here is a link to a previous discussion on this topic. It's always good to revisit threads since the same people won't answer each question. These types of threads may even introduce ideas you have not thought of yet.
Hope this helps. ps - the words are in red because I did a search on the words I knew I used in my original post.
http://floridaconcealedcarry.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=851&highlight=bullet+chamber
Edited to update: My original question was back in December. I had only received my license in November so you can see how far I've come since then. I carry one in the chamber all the time no matter which gun I'm carrying (either the 9mm or the .380). I carry all day long. The kids go to bed. I only do the jammie thing when I'm ready to go to bed. Only then do I put my loaded gun in my dresser drawer and leave it cracked open. I do not have a nightstand so that is not an option. My side of the bed and my dresser is closer to the door so the guns stay in my drawer should there be a reason to access them.
I'm not even sure the kids know the gun gets put to bed each night in my dresser drawer. If they ever need to come in our room during the night they come straight to me anyway and not the dresser drawer. They have also been trained to say my name in the hallway to wake me up so I don't fly out of bed on hearing a noise. Don't touch me and then say my name, that might scare me - just say my name and I'll wake up. We've done it that way long before guns were ever brought into our home.
Hope this helps. ps - the words are in red because I did a search on the words I knew I used in my original post.
http://floridaconcealedcarry.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=851&highlight=bullet+chamber
Edited to update: My original question was back in December. I had only received my license in November so you can see how far I've come since then. I carry one in the chamber all the time no matter which gun I'm carrying (either the 9mm or the .380). I carry all day long. The kids go to bed. I only do the jammie thing when I'm ready to go to bed. Only then do I put my loaded gun in my dresser drawer and leave it cracked open. I do not have a nightstand so that is not an option. My side of the bed and my dresser is closer to the door so the guns stay in my drawer should there be a reason to access them.
I'm not even sure the kids know the gun gets put to bed each night in my dresser drawer. If they ever need to come in our room during the night they come straight to me anyway and not the dresser drawer. They have also been trained to say my name in the hallway to wake me up so I don't fly out of bed on hearing a noise. Don't touch me and then say my name, that might scare me - just say my name and I'll wake up. We've done it that way long before guns were ever brought into our home.
I'm glad I asked - I wasn't aware of bullet setback - but a quick google search took care of that. I don't have a safe, so I won't leave my weapon unattended with a round chambered. I can still get to it in the unlikely event of an invasion, but high up on the bookshelf it can not be seen or reached by my son...yet. A safe is in the cards, but being unemployed right now doesn't make it feasible. Also, the gun is a S&W Sigma .40.
hmmm..
I was told somewhere that it is good to rotate the rounds every couple-a weeks. My impression was that leaving the mag spring compressed for forever is not good for the spring.
I thought of rotating the rounds as kinda "excercising the spring".
Is this wrong?
I was told somewhere that it is good to rotate the rounds every couple-a weeks. My impression was that leaving the mag spring compressed for forever is not good for the spring.
I thought of rotating the rounds as kinda "excercising the spring".
Is this wrong?
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ESPECIALLY with a .40, you need to be concerned with setback. It's a high-pressure round to start with...even a little setback can be dangerous.
If you're constantly loading/unloading, try this:
Box of carry ammo in the drawer. Load weapon. End of day, unload weapon, place ejected round in back of box. Next day, fresh round from box into magazine, load weapon...repeat. When you've repeated this process with all of your SD ammo (each round loaded once), tape the box and go buy more...start over...shoot the once loaded rounds at the range.
Now you know why I don't load/unload all that often with my .40s
Yes, it's wrong. Keeping mags loaded does not significantly wear the spring. 'Exercising' the spring as you do DOES wear the spring. Load them and leave them alone.
RCR has a good suggestion if you unload the chamber everyday. The problem with setback is that you never know how many loading/unloading cycles it will take to achieve a problem.
As to "hiding" your firearm and ammo from small children, it just doesn't work. Children are curious and resourceful. They can find anything in the house. Firearms have to be locked up. The link to a previous thread posted by MamaBear gives you some idea of what types of lock boxes are available. Actually, almost any locking box will suffice. There are several available in major stores that have electronic keypads as well as key type locks. They are not proof against burglars, but they work well against inquisitive little hands.
As to "hiding" your firearm and ammo from small children, it just doesn't work. Children are curious and resourceful. They can find anything in the house. Firearms have to be locked up. The link to a previous thread posted by MamaBear gives you some idea of what types of lock boxes are available. Actually, almost any locking box will suffice. There are several available in major stores that have electronic keypads as well as key type locks. They are not proof against burglars, but they work well against inquisitive little hands.
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Thank you for adding this, Mac45. I did not clarify for the new people here that my kids will be 13 and 15 this year, not exactly curious toddlers. We are extremely careful with our guns when at home. Either it is on my person or in my drawer after I go to bed and I know they are already in bed.
They have attended a gun safety class with us and absolutely know the dangers of guns when treated without respect. We already removed the curiosity factor by letting them handle the guns when we bought them. Any time they were curious about them I dropped what I was doing and let them touch them and ask any question they wanted. After about a week or so it was history and they just don't care any more. There is no curiosity therefore no snooping. They know the rules. We do not take any chances with them.
Thanks for mentioning this.
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Wal-Marx sells a small lock box with the round key lock for around $20 (over in sporting goods near the gun cleaning supplies). This would be much more piece of mind than a 'hidden' gun.
Florida law requires that you keep your weapons secured from small children. Top draw of the dresser does not qualify.
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Good luck on the job hunt.
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I'm single & have no kids. I pretty much leave my AR & carry gun in my bedroom hidden but accessible. I only lock up my guns when I'm not home, or if people come over.
I do agree a gun should be locked when there are kids around. At least use a gun lock & leave it in your dresser.
If you have that big dog, I'm sure you have the few sec's to unlock the lock & insert a mag if you need to use it.
I keep my hang guns chambered & leave them that way unless I shoot or clean them. I also have a nice stockpile of loaded handgun mags with HP's ready. As well as AR & AK mags at the ready.
I do agree a gun should be locked when there are kids around. At least use a gun lock & leave it in your dresser.
If you have that big dog, I'm sure you have the few sec's to unlock the lock & insert a mag if you need to use it.
I keep my hang guns chambered & leave them that way unless I shoot or clean them. I also have a nice stockpile of loaded handgun mags with HP's ready. As well as AR & AK mags at the ready.
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