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Posted: 10/23/2019 4:58:48 PM EDT
[#1]
Forever stored. Its the cycling of loading and unloading that would wear out spring, i also only run 27-28 rds in a 30rder and 17-18rds in a 20rder
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Posted: 10/23/2019 4:59:12 PM EDT
[#2]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Forever |
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Posted: 10/23/2019 4:59:30 PM EDT
[#3]
Indefinitely.
Use the clip on cover if you are doing it with pmags though |
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Posted: 10/23/2019 4:59:34 PM EDT
[#4]
FPNI. springs wear out by working, compressing then decompressing. Not by being in a state of compression or decompression.
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Posted: 10/23/2019 5:08:04 PM EDT
[#5]
Ok great!
Thanks for such quick responses. With all the crazy talk lately, figured it was time to start buying as many mags as I can and wanted to know if ok to go ahead and load them up for storage. Thanks again. |
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Posted: 10/23/2019 5:18:58 PM EDT
[#6]
Most of mine are stored loaded. It is the easiest way to store ammo.
They have found military mags that have been loaded for decades that run just fine. |
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Posted: 10/23/2019 5:26:28 PM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Ok great! Thanks for such quick responses. With all the crazy talk lately, figured it was time to start buying as many mags as I can and wanted to know if ok to go ahead and load them up for storage. Thanks again. You're not going to wear them out. If you want to head to the range, toss a couple (or a lot  ) in the bag and go. Going hunting? Grab the PMAGs with the ballistic tips and you're off.
If you need them for "reasons", right away, you have them right there. my 300blk is my HD gun. I cannot imagine having to call a T/O to jack rounds in a mag while bad guy is doing bad things. |
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Posted: 10/23/2019 5:34:58 PM EDT
[#8]
Consider the results of this 5 year test:
 Do magazine springs lose power when loaded for years? |
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Posted: 10/23/2019 5:41:41 PM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryQuoted: There is absolutely no good reason, that I can conceive of at all, to have unloaded mags in your gun room/safe. |
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Posted: 10/23/2019 5:45:45 PM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Not everybody has 12k rds on hand. I'd go broke trying to keep all of mine full. If you've got 100's of mags, load 50 and call it good 
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Posted: 10/23/2019 5:48:38 PM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Well hot damn, theres the first thing I've heard that is a good reason. If you've got 100's of mags, load 50 and call it good
One thing is certain, I'll not be short on mags ever again.
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Posted: 10/23/2019 5:49:16 PM EDT
[#12]
I don't know if the data's in on long-term storage for polymer mags. Springs should still be fine, but humidity and UV exposure may end up being a thing for the polymer-bodied mags... or not.
I store loaded GI aluminum 20s and 30s with confidence. |
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Posted: 10/23/2019 5:50:22 PM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Ban years sucked ass. One thing is certain, I'll not be short on mags ever again. 
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Posted: 10/23/2019 5:52:54 PM EDT
[#14]
A very long time.
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Posted: 10/23/2019 5:55:10 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I don't know if the data's in on long-term storage for polymer mags. Springs should still be fine, but humidity and UV exposure may end up being a thing for the polymer-bodied mags... or not. I store loaded GI aluminum 20s and 30s with confidence. Like you, USGI aluminum, with confidence. |
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Posted: 10/23/2019 6:54:09 PM EDT
[#16]
I recently shot a loaded AK Chinese 40 rd mag. I can say with certainty that the mag was loaded in 1998 last. The ammo was lead core Chinese ammo. It functioned perfectly, as if it were brand new. So that's at least 21 years loaded the entire time, stored in a varying array of conditions and to include three storage units over a period of 6 years in three different climates.
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Posted: 10/23/2019 6:56:32 PM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Use the clip on cover if you are doing it with pmags though |
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Posted: 10/23/2019 7:16:40 PM EDT
[#18]
Is this for all PMAGS? The gen 2 PMAGS don't come with covers.
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Posted: 10/23/2019 7:50:21 PM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Is this for all PMAGS? The gen 2 PMAGS don't come with covers. https://www.magpul.com/products/pmag-impact-dust-cover-ar-m4-gen-m2-moe |
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Posted: 10/23/2019 7:51:10 PM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Is this for all PMAGS? The gen 2 PMAGS don't come with covers. Supplemental Impact/Dust Covers sold separately. 
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Posted: 10/24/2019 3:53:57 AM EDT
[#21]
Me: loading all my mags
My wife: WTF? 
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Posted: 10/24/2019 6:05:31 AM EDT
[#22]
I have a bunch of Gen 1 P Mags that have been loaded for 12 years... Maybe I should see how they run.
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Posted: 10/24/2019 6:07:21 AM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I have a bunch of Gen 1 P Mags that have been loaded for 12 years... Maybe I should see how they run. |
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Posted: 10/24/2019 6:50:35 AM EDT
[#24]
I kept some polymer mags loaded for like seven years, and the sides stretched, causing the rounds to bulge out of their stacks and bind up, meaning the mag couldn't be seated on a closed bolt.
Have not had that happen with any other mags, including GI mags. My Glock mags don't have that problem either. Just polymer AR mags. For that reason I no longer buy polymer mags. All GI for me. |
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Posted: 10/24/2019 10:25:07 AM EDT
[#25]
My dissenting opinion is that long term storage "might" weaken the spring in some cases.
Personal experience: Gen 1 Glock 17 OEM NDF mags. The pistol was bought new in late '85. It and the three magazines it came with have less than 2000 rounds through them. My father has kept the pistol for the past 10 years or so as a glove box gun or nightstand gun, fully loaded magazine the entire time. I know he has taken the pistol to the range only a few times. Essentially a low use, long-term-loaded situation for the loaded magazine. A year ago, I took the pistol to the range for old time's sake. The first mag was to rotate out the 10 year old carry ammo. The slide failed to lock back after the last round. Reloaded the mag and same thing. Every time, multiple ammunition brands and load types, same malfunction. The other two mags, that have never been left fully loaded, worked perfectly. I believe in this case, the magazine spring was weakened enough that it could not lift the follower up fast enough to lock the slide open on the last shot. Other than that, the mag fed perfectly. This experience has not prevented me from keeping loaded magazines, but I am aware that the possibility exists for deteriorated performance from long term storage of a loaded magazine. |
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Posted: 10/24/2019 2:17:04 PM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
My dissenting opinion is that long term storage "might" weaken the spring in some cases. Personal experience: Gen 1 Glock 17 OEM NDF mags. The pistol was bought new in late '85. It and the three magazines it came with have less than 2000 rounds through them. My father has kept the pistol for the past 10 years or so as a glove box gun or nightstand gun, fully loaded magazine the entire time. I know he has taken the pistol to the range only a few times. Essentially a low use, long-term-loaded situation for the loaded magazine. A year ago, I took the pistol to the range for old time's sake. The first mag was to rotate out the 10 year old carry ammo. The slide failed to lock back after the last round. Reloaded the mag and same thing. Every time, multiple ammunition brands and load types, same malfunction. The other two mags, that have never been left fully loaded, worked perfectly. I believe in this case, the magazine spring was weakened enough that it could not lift the follower up fast enough to lock the slide open on the last shot. Other than that, the mag fed perfectly. This experience has not prevented me from keeping loaded magazines, but I am aware that the possibility exists for deteriorated performance from long term storage of a loaded magazine. |
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Posted: 10/24/2019 3:17:40 PM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Ban years sucked ass. One thing is certain, I'll not be short on mags ever again. |
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Posted: 10/24/2019 3:25:10 PM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
How often did he unload the gun? Just taking the mag out and reseating it is pretty much the same amount of wear and tear on the spring as running a whole mag full. Maybe worse actually. When the spring is at full compression like that, constantly seating it will give it a memory quicker than anything. I've seen people who are constantly removing the mag and doing a press check, then reseating the mag. Like every morning they wake up and make sure elves didn't unload it in the middle of the night. |
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Posted: 11/9/2019 5:20:27 PM EDT
[#29]
Just a few comments... buy quality mags. No proof, but I can't say I would rely on a KCI / Promag to "keep" as well as a USGI / quality type mag.
And I have a USA made TherMold 30rd mag that has been fully loaded for well over 25yrs +... I recently "re-discovered" it, Lol Took it out fired the 30rds without fail...reloaded it and threw it back into the bottom of the safe. I will report back in another 25 years... Lol |
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Posted: 11/10/2019 7:13:31 PM EDT
[#30]
Is there any evidence/proof that PMAGs are damaged over time from being left loaded without the covers?
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Posted: 11/10/2019 9:17:46 PM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Is there any evidence/proof that PMAGs are damaged over time from being left loaded without the covers?  Attached File |
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Posted: 11/10/2019 11:06:24 PM EDT
[#32]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Is there any evidence/proof that PMAGs are damaged over time from being left loaded without the covers? 
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Posted: 11/11/2019 4:28:56 AM EDT
[#33]
Just to reinforce what has already been posted, springs wear out and lose force through repeated cycles of compression and decompression, not through extended lengths of time being left in a compressed state. So the spring will literally never wear out.
Now the feed lips may be a different story, depending on what magazine you're talking about. Constant pressure against any material will very slowly start to cause deformation. The question is whether the amount of deformation will be enough to cause reliability problems for the amount of time you leave them loaded. If you leave them loaded for ten years, will the lips the deformed enough to cause issues, or even enough to be measurable with a micrometer at all? For metal lips, maybe. For polymer stuff like Pmags, probably not. For mags with metal feed lips, if you leave them loaded and alone for ten to fifteen years, they might be measurably bent, but will still work. For polymer mags, almost certainly not. Pmags won't even need the dust covers (which not only keep debris out, but displace the pressure from the spring off the feed lips and onto the body of the magazine, sort of like how those hip belts on hiking backpacks displace pressure off your shoulders and onto your hips). Maybe if you plan to vacuum seal these things and bury them away for your great grandchildren to dig up when they need to fight off the robot alien invasion, it could be worth buying the dust covers for Gen M3 Pmags, but otherwise they'll be fine. |
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Posted: 11/11/2019 4:38:10 AM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
My dissenting opinion is that long term storage "might" weaken the spring in some cases. |
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Posted: 11/11/2019 6:29:06 AM EDT
[#35]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Forever stored. Its the cycling of loading and unloading that would wear out spring, i also only run 27-28 rds in a 30rder and 17-18rds in a 20rder |
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Posted: 11/11/2019 11:47:27 AM EDT
[#36]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I suppose it's possible that rust and other corrosive effects could degrade the strength of a spring over extreme lengths of time. But barring any sort of chemical decay of the molecular structure of the spring material, time left in a state of compression is not a variable in spring wear. Wearing out from repeated loading cycles and taking a set from long term storage are two different issues. Clearly, in my example, a magazine from a quality manufacturer with low cycles and long term storage at full load experienced exactly what you say is not possible. Perhaps years of the loaded magazine being kept in the glove box through hot Texas summers caused "chemical decay of the molecular structure of the spring material". |
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Posted: 11/11/2019 4:06:29 PM EDT
[#37]
Quote HistoryQuoted: These 24 M2 PMags have been loaded since 2013 without covers and none have cracked lips. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/340387/79F92F6D-8A86-4864-A61D-DFC3DA8831F3_jpeg-1156666.JPG |
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Posted: 11/11/2019 4:45:12 PM EDT
[#38]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
What type of shelving unit is that? Brand? Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted: These 24 M2 PMags have been loaded since 2013 without covers and none have cracked lips. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/340387/79F92F6D-8A86-4864-A61D-DFC3DA8831F3_jpeg-1156666.JPG |
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Posted: 12/16/2019 12:01:34 AM EDT
[#39]
Quote HistoryLooks like a sweet setup.
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Posted: 12/16/2019 4:29:22 AM EDT
[#40]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Indefinitely. Use the clip on cover if you are doing it with pmags though By the way, the Impact/Dust Covers just help keep foreign material out of mags and increase the survivability of fully loaded mags and the ammo within when subjected to extreme impact or shock, such as when a resupply is air-dropped. It’s a common misconception that the dust covers prevent feed lip “creep” when stored fully loaded. However, this is untrue. PMAGs do not warp when left fully loaded for long periods, so this is actually not a consideration of the Impact/Dust Cover’s design The covers depressing the rounds was a byproduct of the design, not a feature of it. As plenty of others have indirectly pointed out, it is not necessary to use the covers. |
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Posted: 12/16/2019 5:56:50 AM EDT
[#41]
Quote HistoryQuoted: This is one of those things that gets repeated so often everyone thinks it's true even though no one can actually point to any supporting evidence. By the way, the Impact/Dust Covers just help keep foreign material out of mags and increase the survivability of fully loaded mags and the ammo within when subjected to extreme impact or shock, such as when a resupply is air-dropped. It’s a common misconception that the dust covers prevent feed lip “creep” when stored fully loaded. However, this is untrue. PMAGs do not warp when left fully loaded for long periods, so this is actually not a consideration of the Impact/Dust Cover’s design The covers depressing the rounds was a byproduct of the design, not a feature of it. As plenty of others have indirectly pointed out, it is not necessary to use the covers. |
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Posted: 12/26/2019 1:40:59 AM EDT
[#42]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Just to reinforce what has already been posted, springs wear out and lose force through repeated cycles of compression and decompression, not through extended lengths of time being left in a compressed state. So the spring will literally never wear out. But yeah, leaving it compressed as designed will NEVER be the thing that wears out a spring. Anyone that brings up an anecdote about how their uncle's friend's cousin's next door neighbor had a magazine that didn't work if you stored it longer than 4 hours without removing one round from the magazine, well, they're not accounting for other factors, because that's just not what wears out a spring. |
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Posted: 12/29/2019 5:14:10 AM EDT
[#43]
I have a Browning High Power I bought in 1990. It has been loaded since day one. I take it out once a year and shoot off the rounds in the mag then load it back up and take it back home to sit in my tool box loaded for the next year.
It cycles perfect. 3 years ago I took it out for a range day and ran over 350 rnds through it and not one malfunction. If you are getting cheap ass made mags from the far east I would never do this to them. Hell they don't work brand new. |
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Posted: 1/5/2020 6:06:59 PM EDT
[#44]
All mags loaded all the time( EXCEPT FOR COBRAY M11/9 plastic mags which WILL split at the top rear seam if left under loaded condition for long periods( months).
I fired some AR and AK mags that I loaded in 1999 and they all functioned perfectly. There are few things I despise more than loading magazines while on the range shooting so every mag I buy is inspected for dents or defects/cleanliness and loaded immediately upon opening the package and put into ammo cans. I've not had any issues with any of them. |
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