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One of, if not the most, important things before carrying is magazine testing. Opinions vary on the number of rounds minimum before giving a green light to carry. Some people say I think too much. This morning's thought was the following.

With a high capacity magazine of 19 rounds, that's a full box of carry ammo for one test. Let's say we've run 2 boxes of range ammo through with zero faults. That's 5 cycles. Now, do we need to run 19 rounds of carry ammo through 5 cycles or could we load carry ammo top and bottom with range ammo in the middle?

I thought maybe 2 or 3 carry then range ammo with 2 or 3 carry topping it off. It would seem like if the first and last few are carry ammo that's going to tell if the mag plays nicely with it since it seems like any problems would be either when first using the mag or getting to the last rounds. It would save quite a bit too having 6 carry and 13 range loads per mag.

So, too much thinking or a reasonable testing method?

I vote too much thinking.

AlaskanInTexas wrote:I vote too much thinking.

Make sure it functions with a few round and the mag your carry ammo and go.

maybe a little too much thinking

Do whatever you have to do to feel comfortable the gun will go bang when you want it to. If that means 3 rounds or 300 rounds, it is whatever you are comfortable with and can afford.

IMO, shoot at least a magazine from full to empty. Every few months, pull the gun out and fire off the entire magazine. Buy new ammo to refill.

MechAg94 wrote: Every few months, pull the gun out and fire off the entire magazine. Buy new ammo to refill.

I used to do this with my carry ammo every year. However, a while back I read a piece (can't remember where I found it for the life of me) that suggested instead of wasting your old carry ammo, why not hold onto it. I think we can all agree that carry ammo isn't cheap and (unlike a lot of the plinking stuff) is built with relatively good components meant to last for many many years. Instead of wasting it it on paper, why not collect it and mark it what it is, retired carry ammo. The author's reason for this is the day may come when you need more high quality ammo ( than whats loaded in your mags right now), this way you've got a supply you can dip into. Yes, its good practice to swap out your ammo at a certain interval, but is the stuff you're replacing really bad, or is it just cheap insurance? I know I'd rather rely on used carry ammo if I ever had to over cheap range FMJ. Just a thought.