Rotating magazines, discovered problem with empty

[ThePeaceMaker707]

I was wondering if somebody could help me with the problem I am having. I have 3 handgun mags and for HD purposes I store 2 of them with 7 rounds each (so as not to overcompress the spring for extended periods) and leave the 3rd empty. When I went to rotate them this time, I discovered a problem with the empty mag. I will try my best to describe what is happening.
I noticed when I began loading the mag it did not 'feel' right. It wasn't smooth how it normally is, it felt like there was some unusual resistance. When I load past about 4 rounds, the spring stars having issues de-compressing. The round on top does not get pushed all the way to the top of the magazine because the spring remains depressed on its own. Here's a picture (worth a thousand words) to show what I'm talking about.



All I could think to do was disassemble and reassemble, but that didn't help at all. There don't appear to be any dents or anything, but perhaps I could get some advice on what to look for. The mag worked fine last time I loaded it a few months ago, and has just been sitting in my gun case ever since. I haven't stomped on it or ran it over with any trucks since then, so what the hell?!

Any idea on what is happening, why, and how to fix it? I hate to spend $40 on a new mag, unless I'm buying an ADDITIONAL mag!

[Munk]

Perhaps you wore your springs out with your regular rotations. Springs wear out from compression and releasing. You'd be better off leaving them in a clean state with 10 rounds loaded. There would be no spring wear at all if you do this, and they'd be good to go since they're clean.

As far as diagnostics, see if the follower is hanging up anywhere as it slides along the mag body. Then check your springs to see if you loaded them backwards or upside-down. If there's no hang-up, and you put it together right, then i'd think the springs are dead.

[baz152]

Disassemble the mag and make sure there is nothing inside of it causing the spring or the follower to hang up on the interior wall of the mag body. Clean the inside of the magazine (You can use a little of whatever you use to clean the barrel of your firearm, just make sure to pass a towel through the mag body to completely clean everything out of it). Inspect the spring, follower and floor plate and make sure they are clean and not damaged. The spring could be shot but based on what you are saying it sound like something is binding the spring inside of the mag.

Lastly remember that magazines are consumable items and when they go bad they are meant to be thrown out; do not take a chance with a magazine that you are counting on for HD.

[tonelar]

What capacity are these? What make and model of magazine too?
You need springs most likely.

[ThePeaceMaker707]

I am using the factory Bersa 10-round mags for my Bersa Thunder 9mm UC. Two of them came with the gun (2.5 yrs ago) and I bought one later (9 months ago), and I don't know which one is the one having problems. I have never had any problems with the gun itself after a couple thousand rounds, it is an excellent firearm IMO. Solid, accurate, and feels perfect in my hands.
Anyway, I have isolated the problem to the magazine body itself, although I cannot see with the naked eye any difference between one that works and one that doesn't. Just cleaned them all. The spring, follower, and floorplate from the bad mag all work fine in the body of the good mag.

[tonelar]

With a couple thousand rounds fired, maybe its time to retire your mags to range use. Get a couple fresh ones for defensive purposes and KEEP them loaded. Use the remaining good ones for range duty with the bad one's spring follower etc as spare parts.

Can you tell of the inside of the bad one is rusty?

[ThePeaceMaker707]

Negative on the rust, cosmetically the mag looks like its in great condition. Functionality on the other hand...

I think you're right though, that seems like solid advice. Now that the mag has had problems, I don't know if I could trust it again. I'll just bite the bullet and spring for a replacement, and replace the other ones sometime soon as well.

[Sam]

There's no need to download your magazine's capacity. The spring loses life when it compresses and depresses, not when it's under constant pressure.

[Munk]

There's no need to download your magazine's capacity. The spring loses life when it compresses and depresses, not when it's under constant pressure.

In fact, under-loading your mag makes you wear them out faster. In 50 rounds, the guy who loads them up to their "full" 10rds, will have compressed his spring 5 times. The guy who under-loads to 5 rounds will have compressed his spring 10 times in that same span.

Under-loading your mags is counterproductive if you want to increase their life. The only reason I'd do it, is if I didn't have an UpLula magloader, and my thumbs were sore.