About your self-defense carry ammo...

About Your Self‑Defense Carry Ammo: Why Reliability Matters More Than You Think

Hollow Points, Heat, Sweat & Squibs: What Every CCW Holder Must Know

When you choose to carry a firearm for self‑defense, you’re making a commitment—to your safety, to the people you love, and to the responsibility of carrying a tool that could save your life. But even the best gun, holster, and training can fail you if the ammunition you rely on has degraded, been mishandled, or simply hasn’t been rotated in years.

At Cajun Arms in West Chester, PA, we consistently remind our students that your defensive ammunition must be treated like life‑support equipment—because that’s exactly what it is.

This blog was inspired by an eye‑opening story from one of our students, and it highlights the reality that many carriers never consider.

A Real Student Story: When Carry Ammo Gets Old

“I bought new carry ammo last week, so I went to the range to shoot the Winchester Rangers that have been in my Glock 19 for the past 2.5 years. One of the rounds felt like a squib—so light it shocked me. I broke the gun down expecting to find a bullet stuck in the barrel. Luckily there wasn’t, but it made me realize how dangerous old carry ammo can be.”

This student carries daily—in the appendix position—while running, hiking, biking, playing with his kids, and sweating. That constant moisture, temperature change, movement, and friction had taken a toll on his defensive ammo.

He ended with a valuable takeaway:

“I’ll be refreshing my carry ammo at least once a year going forward.”

Good call. Here’s why.

How Ammo Degrades — And Why It Matters

Moisture, Temperature, and Sweat: Your Ammo’s Worst Enemies

Where and how you carry your firearm directly affects the condition of your defensive ammunition.

Factors that can degrade ammo faster:

• Sweat soaking through clothing into mags and cartridges

• Heat from body contact, vehicle storage, or environment

• Humidity that causes corrosion around the case rim

• Dirt, lint, powder, or debris entering the magazine

• Repeated unloading/reloading causing bullet setback

A single squib load during a defensive shooting can be deadly.
A bullet lodged halfway down your barrel during a fight? Catastrophic.

This is why annual carry‑ammo rotation is the minimum—not the goal.

Training Magazines vs. Defensive Magazines

Why “Mixing” Ammo Can Create Problems

A big mistake many new CCW holders make is using the same magazines for defensive carry AND training.

Every time you load and unload hollow points:

• You risk bullet setback

• The cartridge can compress

• The case rim may deform

• Dirt and debris can enter the magazine

Our strong recommendation:

Have dedicated, marked training mags and dedicated defensive mags.

Training Mags:

• Use your older or aftermarket magazines

• Mark them with paint pen or Sharpie (“T1,” “T2,” etc.)

• Drop them, beat them up, run them hard

Defensive Mags:

• Use quality factory mags

• Load with your chosen hollow points

• DO NOT unload/reload them except during rotation

• Inspect them regularly for lint, sweat, debris, and rust

This system protects your reliability—and your life.

Shoot Your Carry Ammo (Yes—Your Expensive Hollow Points)

Many gun owners cringe at the idea of shooting their premium defensive rounds because they’re expensive. But think about it:

Is your life worth more than $31 per year?

If your carry gun malfunctions because you refused to shoot and rotate old rounds, the cost becomes much higher than a box of hollow points.

Why you MUST shoot your carry ammo occasionally:

• Ensures magazine reliability

• Ensures your gun cycles hollow points properly

• Gives you real recoil experience

• Refreshes every round you trust your life to

Pro tip:
When rotating carry ammo, also rotate:

• The chambered round

• The top 3–4 rounds in each mag
  These rounds take the most abuse.

Train for the Reality of Malfunctions

Tap-Rack Doesn’t Fix Everything

During training, if you get a soft “pffft” instead of a bang—or a click instead of recoil—treat it like a real squib.

Stop.
Assess.
Think.
Move off the X.
Then safely clear the gun.

This builds correct neurological pathways under stress—exactly what we train at Cajun Arms during our Defensive Carry series.

Mindset, Maintenance & Preparedness

Carrying a firearm is more than strapping on a holster.
It requires:

• A maintenance routine

• A testing schedule

• A willingness to shoot your carry ammo

• Realistic training under stress

• A mindset of responsibility

Cajun Arms is here not just to train you to shoot—but to teach you to think, maintain, and prepare like someone who may need to defend a life.

Call to Action: Train, Test, and Carry Smarter

You don’t know whether your ammo will work until you test it.
Don’t wait until your life depends on it.

👉 Book a Defensive Carry class with Cajun Arms
👉 Contact us for gear or ammo questions
👉 Visit our store in West Chester, PA for expert guidance

---