Duty Ammo Life Expectancy?

[Curly Bill]

How often should one swap out their duty ammo? I assume the ammo in your duty gun and on your duty belt has a shorter life due to it being exposed to the outside world, elements, and temperature changes. In the past my department has swapped it out every couple years. Also, how long can properly stored duty ammo be reliable enough to trust you life with? I’m sure this topic has been covered elsewhere so posting a link will be just as helpful.

[stormz5192]

Once a year during semi annual qualifications. At least that's what they tell us.

[08duramax]

my buddy's department switches it out every year. they get to shoot all of their issued ammo and then get issued new ammo.

[POSr]

We shoot our duty ammo at our qual yearly and replace it with new ammo until the next year.

[Monkeybomb]

Ours is replaced annually. I'm thinking that is more for making us feel good than actual need. There are instabces of bullets being forced down into the case from repeated loading and unloading and causing problems. I have never seen it though.

[cpd169]

My current agency has us shoot old duty ammo every other year during qualification. I've got some old JHP ammo from the 80's that I would trust every bit as much as brand new ammo. It has been sealed in water tight ammunition cans with moisture absorber bags.

[TEX_DEPUTY]

Ours is changed every six months. Yup, all 24 rounds.
You wanna practice? Go to Walmart and buy your own ammo, my department doesn't supply practice ammo.

[Surf]

At every quarterly qualification. Sometimes sooner. No ammo / budget issues.

[towncop]

Yearly here.

[KenW.]

I was issued ammo in 1990, and fired it for the 2007 fall qualification...

[Nessmuk]

Ours is annually.

I have the guys shoot their last year's issue at the session where I am issuing the new duty ammo, then they get their new load.

[DARE_SUPPORTER]

my dept qualifies twice a year, so we shoot what we carry each time and get new ammo two times a year. Normally March or April and then again Oct-Nov

[LASD6833]

Yearly. They dont let us shoot it, though. It gets turned in.

[SCV-Sop]

Yearly. They dont let us shoot it, though. It gets turned in.

I would start marking them. I bet they are simply playing round robin with the ammo, and that what was yours is now someone else's.

[LASD6833]

I would start marking them. I bet they are simply playing round robin with the ammo, and that what was yours is now someone else's.

Yeah, no kidding! Kinda like marking the bottom of a "fresh" oyster shell.....