Mag Question

[DennisCA]

I have a Ruger P95 9MM that I keep in my night stand, loaded but no round in the chamber. Here's my question:

Both of my mag's all ways have bullets in them, so will it hurt them over a period of time (like ruining the spring)? So far when I go to range and shoot them, I haven't had any issues. The pistol and mag's are about 3-years old.

(And yes I unload the mags prior to transporting them in my vehicle)

I don't have any other mag's for the pistol either.

[IntoForever]

No, keeping the magazine loaded should not hurt it. I have two magazines which have been loaded since I bought them in '93 and they are still a PITA to load. Transporting a loaded mag is not an issue as long as it isn't in the firearm. To avoid hassles when encountering LEO who is uninformed, keep the ammo in a separate container (although not necessary).

If I'm wrong, I know I'll be corrected to check back.

[hermosabeach]

Springs wear out with use. Adding pressure and relieving pressure. Staying under a load should not bother a modern magazine spring. Springs can be damaged by trying to force an extra round into the mag as the spring is over compressed.


I was taught to load all mags down 1 round as it ensure they can be seated and the slide has enough energy to strip the top round and chamber the round. By loading 9, you also don't have the issue of attempting to over load the magazine.



Mags can be left loaded while in transport as long as you follow the other rules on transport.
Most advise they can be loaded in a separate bag from the firearm.
Others follow the grey area and leave a loaded mag in the same bag as the hand gun, just not in the unloaded firearm.


Unloaded is the easiest way to avoid an unwanted discussion.

[Abenaki]

Leaving a mag loaded will not hurt the springs.

What will weaken a spring over time is the constant loading and unloading.
What will kill a spring is over stretching and over compressing it, beyond what it is designed for.

Take care
Abenaki

Also, you can have a loaded mag in with you, when you travel.
Do not!!!! Do not, put the loaded mag in the gun!!!

[CGT80]

Your mags will be fine. I have 30-40 thousand rounds through my XD pistol and I am still on the same 6 mags that I started with. The gun was bought in 2005, so that is 9 years of use. I have two extra mags in my gun bag just in case one gets damaged when competing. I leave the mags loaded all the time. I keep the gun and mags ready, but the chamber empty. I used to empty the mags when not at the range, but there is really no reason to do that.

I do have a 9mm conversion barrel and my 40 mags could hold 15 rounds in 9. I make sure they are only at 10, just in case I get stopped and end up with a cop that wants to make life hard. Luckily I have only been pulled over once in 16 years of driving. Since I use this gun for HD, even though I have others ready to go, I make sure to put the 40 cal barrel back in it and have a few mags loaded up. 9mm is not 100% reliable due to the extractor of that gun, so I will not use it for HD.

Your pistol has to be in a locked container to transport it in California (I don't know if federal law is the same.). A cable lock is no good, unless it is used to lock the case. As long as the mags are not IN the gun and the chamber is empty, your pistol is unloaded, in California. It doesn't mean a cop could miss interpret the law. In some states it seems that you can't have the loaded mags in the same case as the gun. An empty mag in the gun, should still be considered unloaded (I don't know what Cali laws actually says about this), but I won't chance it. At competitions we have cold ranges and we carry with no mag and hammer down. It is easy to use that condition all the time. I often store my semi autos with the slide locked back so it is easy to tell it is not loaded. We do the same for long guns at the range. If a gun has a mag in it, it makes think there is a strong possibility it is loaded. I still treat a gun without a mag as loaded as the chamber could have a round in it. Some ranges make you use chamber flags so it is easy to see that it is unloaded, but never assume it is 100%. I'm sure someone could figure out how to screw up and stick a chamber flag to their gun while one is in the pipe.

You're GTG!