Spring Wear

[D53]

So while loading some mags today for my bedside drawer, I started wondering how long do most of you keep your mags loaded for? This might be a pretty newb type question, but I have never had ammo in a magazine longer then 2 weeks. Usually I will load my home self defense rounds in my mags while at home, but then unload my mags before I leave for the range, since I use ball at the range. Then when I get home I reload the HSD rounds again.

Will the springs in the magazines wear do to being under tension for a long period of time? (longer than two weeks) Or could you get away with loading a magazine and leaving it loaded for months with out worry that the spring may cause a feeding issue?

Also pretty much the same question for semi-auto pistols, can you damage or prematurely wear the recoil spring if you leave the slide locked to the rear? I am not one for this, but I figured I would ask since I was always curious about it. Thanks in advance.

[steven_m64]

Its the act of being compressed and decompressed that wears a spring.

so keeping it stored loaded or unloaded will have no effect on its lifespan.

tons of people keep mags loaded for ages and take them to the range and use them without any problems.

But one thing that some may overlook is if your magazine has feed lips the pressure of the spring and the ammo may wear or bend them with a good bit of time when stored loaded witch is why the magpull pmags come with those covers witch will prevent feed lip wear.

[D53]

ahh thank you, especially for that last part about bending the feed lips. I honestly didn't even think about that.

[steven_m64]

bent feed lips are not that big of a problem since you can bend them back carefully.

i think its more of a problem with cheaper aluminum mags and not steel ones.

[Beelzy]

Factory mags are the only ones that I know that will still work after keeping
them loaded for extended periods.

I have kept two loaded for over 20yrs. and they still feed perfectly.

[JDay]

You can leave them loaded for years and they will still work just fine, unless the springs rust.

[elsolo]

The only way to know for sure is to test them by using them.
This is more abusive to their lifespan than compresed storage.
Use your defensive mage at the range, replace springs yearly.

[Dan_K]

Good info. But I can definitely tell a difference between the tension of my mag spring that is 10+ years old and one that is only a year old.

[Some Guy]

Not to thread jack but does this same rule apply for springs in rotary mags such as 10/22?

[grammaton76]

I have clearly not been on Calguns enough lately. I thought you were talking about pro-gun apparel suited for springtime...

[jben]

I had the same thought as grammaton...Something tacticool for April.

As far as mag springs go, you already got your answer. Leave them loaded. No concerns.

[ajl2121]

My HK usp mags on my .45 won't initiate the slide stop to lock back after the last round due to the springs being too loose.

[Black Majik]

My HK usp mags on my .45 won't initiate the slide stop to lock back after the last round due to the springs being too loose.

HKs are notorious for weak magazine springs. The best fix are Wolff's 10% springs.

http://www.gunsprings.com/SemiAuto/HecklerKochNF.html#USP

[Jonathan Doe]

I was told that with the modern day technology, the springs in the magazines are good for long time. You can keep it loaded for over a year without a problem. I would rotate the magazine anyways. And, I load 28 rounds in a 30 round AR mags as I learned in the Marine Corps.