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Any way to minimize bullet setback?
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:51 am
by surferdaddy
I carry a G27 and am always topped off when I carry. I do however have small children and always unchamber at night when I lock up my pistol in my safe. Problem is, I have to throw away a few rounds every few months when they start looking like these three rounds above. I'm not sure if these set back rounds would be an issue in my Glock but I figure...why take a chance.
Is there any way to minimize this situation without using crimped ammunition? I love HST and don't want to change. Have any of you tried easing your slide forward to chamber as opposed to using your slide stops? I'm wondering if it would make a difference regarding setback? My Glock will suck up a round when it is eased forward and goes into battery no problem.
Have you all experimented with techniques to combat this potential issue or am I making a big deal out of nothing?
Thanks for your input,
Surfer
Re: Any way to minimize bullet setback?
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 12:07 pm
by android
If you're putting it in your safe, why are you unloading it?
You have a higher probability of an accidental discharge loading and unloading it everyday rather than just putting it in the safe.
IMO, a carry gun should be loaded and not monkeyed with other than a chamber check in the morning.
Re: Any way to minimize bullet setback?
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 12:17 pm
by WildBill
android wrote:If you're putting it in your safe, why are you unloading it?
You have a higher probability of an accidental discharge loading and unloading it everyday rather than just putting it in the safe.
IMO, a carry gun should be loaded and not monkeyed with other than a chamber check in the morning.
Good point!

Re: Any way to minimize bullet setback?
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 12:50 pm
by txcharvel
I top off my LC9S as well and simply put in the safe whenever I'm not carrying. I keep it chambered with the safety on.
Every couple of weeks, if I take it apart to lube it or maybe clean it, I eject the round that was chambered, empty my mag, and put that round in first. That way I always have a fairly fresh round in the chamber to avoid this very issue.
Plus, I'm told that the Hornady Critical Defense rounds are made to minimize setback issues. I've used other defense rounds but try to stick to the Hornady Critical Defense for this reason.
Re: Any way to minimize bullet setback?
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 1:43 pm
by mcscanner
I agree with the other comments. Holster to safe and back to holster, no unloading/loading for me. I must admit your rounds get beat up pretty good. Looks like a good reason to spend more time on the range cycling your carry ammo before it looks that bad.
Mike
Re: Any way to minimize bullet setback?
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 2:26 pm
by DocV
If you have $180 bucks sitting around, you might try a Corbin Cannelure tool.
http://www.corbins.com/hct-1.htm
Re: Any way to minimize bullet setback?
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 2:41 pm
by The Annoyed Man
That's a cool tool, but I would be a little hesitant to use it on commercial ammo, and here's my 2 reasons: 1) not having any control over how deeply the bullet is seated, I can't know for certain
where the cannelure should be applied to the case; and 2) not knowing for certain how hot the round is loaded, how much cannelure depth will it take to increase pressure to an unsafe level?
If I were loading my own, it would be different because I would have control over the parameters. Nothing wrong with Glocks......they're certainly as reliable as any other gun.....but they
also have been known to go kaboom. So......
Re: Any way to minimize bullet setback?
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 2:49 pm
by mr1337
When I disarm, my holster typically comes out with my gun. I carry in an all-kydex holster with a soft belt loop in the appendix position. I unsnap the belt loop and grab the whole gun & holster. I don't need to drop the mag and eject the round in the chamber. When I'm ready to arm back up, I slip the holster into my waistband and snap the belt loop.
I typically only drop the mag and empty the chamber when I am doing draw/trigger drills. I don't really see much bullet setback with my carry ammo, Hornady Critical Defense. The bullet does have some crimping, I'm assuming to mitigate setback.
Moral of the story, don't cycle rounds and you don't have to worry about setback. If it's practical, either leave it in the holster when you put it in the safe, or get another holster (or trigger cover like a MIC holster) to put it in while it's in the safe.
Re: Any way to minimize bullet setback?
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 3:43 pm
by WildBill
The Annoyed Man wrote:
That's a cool tool, but I would be a little hesitant to use it on commercial ammo, and here's my 2 reasons: 1) not having any control over how deeply the bullet is seated, I can't know for certain
where the cannelure should be applied to the case; and 2) not knowing for certain how hot the round is loaded, how much cannelure depth will it take to increase pressure to an unsafe level?
If I were loading my own, it would be different because I would have control over the parameters. Nothing wrong with Glocks......they're certainly as reliable as any other gun.....but they
also have been known to go kaboom. So......

The OP stated that he like to use HST so I wouldn't mess with it.
Re: Any way to minimize bullet setback?
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 3:47 pm
by surferdaddy
I agree with what has been said about not unloading your pistol, the more you monkey with a firearm the more opportunities there are to have an "unintended incident." I am safety paranoid. I know it likely sounds strange but most of my firearms are trigger locked AND placed in a locked safe. I have always had a fear that my wife or myself may one day go into the safe and fail to properly secure it.
I am likely opening myself up for a debate in level of training or the like, however, my fear of an unauthorized person obtaining one of my firearms is borderline phobic. Some time ago my father in law shot himself in the hand after having a senior moment and I feel that in some ways it affected me more than him. I am not intimidated by firearms but I have what perhaps is an obsessive respect for their abilities. My fears are of that momentary lapse of judgement and I'm not sure if this is something I'll ever get over.
Please don't feel that I'm implying that others are less safe in the ways they handle their firearms, this is im MY head and it is the only way I feel comfortable.
I come home, I unload my pistol, I lock it, and secure it in my safe. I triple check door locks. I do other weird things that most would see as strange.
And yet, when I have my pistol securely holstered on my side I feel completely safe, maybe because I feel completely in control of it, not really sure.
Re: Any way to minimize bullet setback?
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 3:50 pm
by surferdaddy
Cool tool. I suppose I could always use something like critical defense as my top off round and leave the rest of the mag HST.
Re: Any way to minimize bullet setback?
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 4:15 pm
by treadlightly
Maybe twice in the past month I've dry-fired my carry gun, and I've cleaned it a time or two.
I haven't chambered the same round every time but I found one that was a little short. Maybe half a tenth of an inch, but noticeable.
The Kahr PM9 manual warns against hand releasing the slide, and the only fail-to-feed I've seen is when hand chambering a round.
However, I see there's an alternative. If I drop the slide with the slide release, it feeds - never seen a fail, anyway. If I hand-release the slide, it will sometimes fail.
But I see that I can ease the slide forward and it successfully feeds and appears to be pretty gentle on the round.
Another myth/revelation I found out there on that Internet thing is that slamming the round can damage the primer. Makes my knees a little weak, thinking about that, but Ma always said I was the delicate one.
Re: Any way to minimize bullet setback?
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 4:46 pm
by mr1337
surferdaddy wrote:Cool tool. I suppose I could always use something like critical defense as my top off round and leave the rest of the mag HST.
Why would you carry two types of defensive ammo in the same gun? I'd argue that you need to train with your carry ammo to ensure it cycles correctly every time and you know what you're going to get as far as recoil impulse goes. Changing the ammo between one shot and the next doesn't give you a very stable platform to train on.
treadlightly wrote:The Kahr PM9 manual warns against hand releasing the slide, and the only fail-to-feed I've seen is when hand chambering a round.
However, I see there's an alternative. If I drop the slide with the slide release, it feeds - never seen a fail, anyway. If I hand-release the slide, it will sometimes fail.
But I see that I can ease the slide forward and it successfully feeds and appears to be pretty gentle on the round.
Releasing the slide is largely dependent on manufacturer and model. Kahr is the only one that I know of that recommends you use the slide lock/release lever to chamber a round. Most others suggest pulling the slide back and letting go. Personally, I train to power stroke the slide, as it uses gross muscle movement and it's probably easier to do under stress. I don't get much purchase to release the slide on my Glock or M&P Shield using the slide lock lever.
Re: Any way to minimize bullet setback?
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 8:14 pm
by WinoVeritas
My carry weapon is the first gun I shoot on range with the SD ammo it carries - I want to know it works same as last. In short I shoot at minimum of one mag of my SD ammo and keep it fresh. I carry condition 1 and seldom manually cycle unless changing carry to another gun. No daily children to worry about, but when kids or stupid adults around the carry gun is on my hip and the HD bedside is in safe.
When I do cycle a live round the muzzle is sticking in my homemade bullet trap.
Re: Any way to minimize bullet setback?
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:06 pm
by surferdaddy
My bullet trap is my tempurpedic, probably not nearly as effective as yours.