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Posted: 2/11/2020 12:35:06 PM EDT
 Quick Tip: Is It OK to Store Magazines Loaded? |
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Posted: 2/11/2020 1:01:27 PM EDT
[#1]
The common belief is that a spring looses its mojo by repeat cycles, not from being compressed. I suppose a spring made of shit house material could be an exception to the rule.
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Posted: 2/11/2020 1:17:36 PM EDT
[#2]
When Uzi Galil died, the inventory of his house included disassembled UZI magazines. Apparently, the designer of the UZI was convinced not to leave his magazines loaded. I suspect he knew a thing or two.
RAy |
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Posted: 2/11/2020 1:27:18 PM EDT
[#3]
What’s the point of an empty mag?
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Posted: 2/11/2020 1:29:41 PM EDT
[#4]
Ug...
Even an empty magazine has a compressed spring inside. If compressing a spring made it weak.. your empty mags would all slowly die too. 
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Posted: 2/11/2020 1:40:04 PM EDT
[#5]
hooke's law.
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Posted: 2/11/2020 2:07:09 PM EDT
[#6]
Yes
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Posted: 2/11/2020 2:21:30 PM EDT
[#7]
Military stores loaded magazines for years and years. I think they’ll be alright.
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Posted: 2/11/2020 3:48:28 PM EDT
[#8]
Yes from what I have found.
But I'd cycle them every so often. Personal preference. |
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Posted: 2/11/2020 3:59:21 PM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
When Uzi Galil died, the inventory of his house included disassembled UZI magazines. Apparently, the designer of the UZI was convinced not to leave his magazines loaded. I suspect he knew a thing or two. RAy OP, yes storing magazines loaded is fine. |
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Posted: 2/11/2020 5:38:50 PM EDT
[#10]
If your magazine "spring" was made from 1018 wire intended to hang pictures on the wall, then no, don't leave it loaded; and go buy a decent spring and replace it if at all possible.
A magazine with a spring made from a decent material (chrome/silicon steel etc) properly heat-treated won't have any problems being stored loaded. Most of my magazines are stored empty because I've never bothered to take them out of their packaging. I always buy lots of extra's because magazines can so easily be damaged when dropped etc. and a firearm that takes a magazine is worthless if you don't have a working magazine for that firearm. |
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Posted: 2/11/2020 7:22:48 PM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Ug... Even an empty magazine has a compressed spring inside. If compressing a spring made it weak.. your empty mags would all slowly die too. /media/mediaFiles/sharedAlbum/nopeSkeletor-32.gif |
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Posted: 2/11/2020 8:06:36 PM EDT
[#12]
Do you pull the weight off the springs in your car every time you park it? Do you pull the valve springs off the engine? Springs will hold up fine under compression as long as they are not compressed completely, as in coil bind, at least every spring made out of decent material.....
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Posted: 2/11/2020 11:26:14 PM EDT
[#13]
About a year ago...I came across a USA made TherMold Zytel 30rd mag, buried in the bottom of the safe, fully loaded since the late '80s or early '90s.
I took it to the range, fired all 30rds with zero issue. I loaded it back up, and threw it back into the safe... maybe in another 30yr's I'll try it again. Cheaply made magazine springs would be questionable for me.. so buy quality , well respected magazines. |
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Posted: 2/12/2020 10:06:16 AM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Material set is a thing. The spring "compression" in the mag's rest state (ie. unloaded) is the state the spring should return to under normal cycling use. The spring material will relax if kept compressed for an extended period, material depending. |
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Posted: 2/12/2020 12:48:09 PM EDT
[#15]
I can state for a fact that HK USP *45* mags are notorious for taking a set over time. Not the rest of the HK line, for whatever reason. Maybe its mag dimensions or something. Don't know. The HK forums have several accounts of malfunctions related to mag springs that totally disappeared with new springs.
I have personally experienced this. I bought a USP45 years ago, sold it to my brother who apparently kept it stored away with all 3 mags fully loaded and only shot it occasionally. I bought it back from him and took it to the range. I had malfunction after malfunction, and the slide never once locked back when empty. I replaced all 3 mag springs with Wolff springs, went back to the range the next day, and had exactly 0 issues. No cleaning in between range sessions. I've never had an issue with other mags from other guns, just that one make. I typically leave around 3 mags per gun loaded, then have another 3-5 stored unloaded as spares. |
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Posted: 2/12/2020 2:22:03 PM EDT
[#16]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
The spring was designed to work within a certain range... set was figured into that. An unloaded magazine is housing a compressed spring. A properly made spring is not going to weaken just sitting there compressed within a working range it was designed for. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted: Material set is a thing. The spring "compression" in the mag's rest state (ie. unloaded) is the state the spring should return to under normal cycling use. The spring material will relax if kept compressed for an extended period, material depending. |
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Posted: 4/7/2020 6:03:48 AM EDT
[#17]
An empty mag is... no mag when you need it.
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Posted: 4/9/2020 10:41:12 PM EDT
[#18]
Nope.
Moms Demand Action demand even more action when they find out you have a loaded magazine, unattended, with no safety activated. Somewhere a fatwa against freedom is being drawn up... for the children. |
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Posted: 4/9/2020 11:02:47 PM EDT
[#19]
Just about every spring in each one of your firearms is currently compressed. Are you concerned about them?
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Posted: 4/10/2020 12:36:53 AM EDT
[#20]
I have shot NUMEROUS Browning Hi-Power mags that we left loaded for 20 years with zero issues. Same with the 1911.
I wouldn't worry about it as long as it's a well made gun or magazine. |
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Posted: 4/10/2020 12:47:35 AM EDT
[#21]
Yes.
Next question. |
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Posted: 4/10/2020 2:03:33 PM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Yes. Next question. Yes, but is the rate of loss statistically significant, at what rate, and over what period of time? When would the gradual loss lead to a failure to feed? Without knowing this information, the answer has no practical significance, and we are all merely speculating. If the magazine still functions after say being stored loaded for 40 years, reliably feeding even if it has lost half of its compression strength, or some other measurable percentage, the data may be interesting but has no practical relevance except for vintage or relic firearms. |
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Posted: 4/10/2020 7:11:03 PM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryQuoted: When Uzi Galil died, the inventory of his house included disassembled UZI magazines. Apparently, the designer of the UZI was convinced not to leave his magazines loaded. I suspect he knew a thing or two. RAy So..........how many assembled magazines were in his house?  Apparently, a conclusion was reached with very little information. Oddly, no military disassembled their UZI mags while storing them. |
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Posted: 4/10/2020 7:22:38 PM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryQuoted: So..........how many assembled magazines were in his house? Apparently, a conclusion was reached with very little information. Oddly, no military disassembled their UZI mags while storing them. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: When Uzi Galil died, the inventory of his house included disassembled UZI magazines. Apparently, the designer of the UZI was convinced not to leave his magazines loaded. I suspect he knew a thing or two. RAy So..........how many assembled magazines were in his house? Apparently, a conclusion was reached with very little information. Oddly, no military disassembled their UZI mags while storing them. You’re saying that an internet anecdote is less relevant than the basic theories of metal deformation? Getouttaherewiththatshit |
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Posted: 4/10/2020 7:53:30 PM EDT
[#25]
I just finished a life test on a product I helped design. It includes a spring that gets compressed and uncompressed 10 million times.
It worked and still had zero "set" after those 10 million operations. My guess is that the few hundred or thousands of times a magazine spring get used will not be an issue. |
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Posted: 4/10/2020 7:59:02 PM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I just finished a life test on a product I helped design. It includes a spring that gets compressed and uncompressed 10 million times. It worked and still had zero "set" after those 10 million operations. My guess is that the few hundred or thousands of times a magazine spring get used will not be an issue. Even a hundred loadings. That's 3,000 rounds, costing at least a thousand dollars. A magazine is a 9 dollar part. Just buy a mag with every case of ammo, and you'll be fine. |
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Posted: 4/10/2020 8:20:00 PM EDT
[#27]
I still have a Colt Commander Lightweight .45 that I bought new in 1970. It has 2 mags that have been loaded since new. They both function perfectly and are just as hard to get the last rounds in them as ever. So, if a 50 year test isn't long enough for the forum, then I hope I live another 10 years so I can reply to this same question that will inevitably come up at that time.
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Posted: 4/11/2020 9:58:42 AM EDT
[#28]
I’ve never heard of a mag spring failing from long term storage loaded.
Yes, a spring will take a set, but that’s far from the failing point. As mentioned above, if you’re worried about compression over time, unloaded mags have springs under compression too. My belief is springs fail under cycling, not constant compression. If this is the kind of thing that keeps you up at night, go buy a bag of replacement springs and leave them in a drawer uncompressed for the day your springs fail. If I grabbed a magazine that had been loaded 20 years ago I’d be more concerned about the condition of the ammo itself before the condition of the spring. |
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Posted: 4/11/2020 10:20:04 AM EDT
[#29]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Do you pull the weight off the springs in your car every time you park it? Do you pull the valve springs off the engine? Springs will hold up fine under compression as long as they are not compressed completely, as in coil bind, at least every spring made out of decent material..... Haven't you heard, Texas is turning BLUE... Yes, every time I return from any drive, The Democrats have decreed that I have to break out the floor jacks and raise my truck to put stands under the frame to allow the suspension springs to return to their full extended position. As part of their new "SUV Safety" (to prevent "Vehicle Violence"), the local safe storage requirements are to remove the wheels off the vehicle so if unsupervised children find them they can not drive them to commit crimes...  It makes it damn inconvenient to run to the corner store, but "If it Saves One Life"...  BIGGER_HAMMER 
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Posted: 4/11/2020 12:46:06 PM EDT
[#30]
I had some loaded Glock and 20rds AR mags I forgot about when I move out of my parents' home over 20 yrs ago. I found them along with 3 AK mags my dad had loaded and stashed away maybe over 30 yrs ago.
Took them to the range and they all worked fine. Reloaded and shot them multiple times and no issues. Loaded them with new ammo and put them back where I found them. 20 years from now my kids will find them and I am sure they will work fine. Use to worry about this stuff, but now it doesn't concern me. |
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