Posted: 1/27/2008 6:12:46 PM EDT
| How long can magazines be stored loaded without doing damage to the springs? In particular AR-15, Glock and FN PS90 mags. Do most of you keep your mags loaded or unloaded with the ammo next them for BOB situations? |
| Mags won't do much for you with no ammo in them. I keep them loaded if they are in a place that I will need to use them. +1 for being able to keep them loaded indefinitely (with Al mags anyway). I recall reading an article by Jeff Cooper in which he stated that he left some 1911 mags loaded for some ridiculously long period of time. After a few decades they functioned just as well as they would have way back when. |
That's what I thought. I just wanted to make sure. Thanks for the help. |
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Loaded. Always. Don't believe the myths about springs "taking a set" or "down-loading" them a round or two. Un-necessary and actually does more harm than good. and the loading them down a few rounds just makes the mags seat easierr when inserting to a weapon with a round in the chamber. Just give it a bit of a smack. If my mag holds 30, I want 30 in there. Not 29. not 28. not 27. Springs wear by being cycled. So repeated compression decompression to "cycle" your mags actually makes the spring wear out faster than just leaving them loaded. Also provides oportunities to damage them in other ways. (i.e. feed lips getting bent) |
Another reason I love AK's. They have that crude "tractor" design, you have positive leverage when you put the mag in. Full mags seat just fine. Plus, you can use the mag as a field expedient sledgehammer! 
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The design of the 10/22 mag is what contributed to the failure. It had nothing to do with the spring. As was said, the AR mag won't be harmed. The feed lips on a quality mag will be just fine. |
| i leave my USGI 30 rounders loaded and reload after i've depleted one. i've never had a problem. but i'm about to purchase a bunch and maybe you would like to look into magpull "P-mags" arfcom industry partner larue tactical(among others), also sell them, they even come designed with provisions for being left fully loaded and stored in mind... |
Hey, I have a similar experience with my G21 mags. They were purchased in 95. They were keep in the police evidence room for 3 years fully loaded. When I got them back the spings were weak. It would function 100% but it wouldn't lock the slide back 100% of the time. Don't store your Glock mags loaded for extended period of time. I'm not sure about newer mags. |
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This comes up every now and then. Usually some engineer chimes in to explain (using alot of engineer talk) that it's not an issue. According to the mechanical engineers, it's the cycling (loading and unloading) that wears out the springs. To be honest, I was very surprised at my "test" results. I have had AR magazines loaded with 28 rds each, for the last 18 months (I only download to 28 rds to assist seating with a closed bolt). These are for my BOB and my chest rig. I went down yesterday and measured the lips with a caliper. I had some unloaded mags from the same manufacture/batch to compare. No difference between the ones I had loaded and the ones I left unloaded. I don't load all of my magazines, only due to the amount of magazines I have. I have Glock 17 and 19 magazines that I keep loaded without issues. No experience with the FN PS90's, so can't comment. I had Smith & Wesson 5946 9mm magazines that stayed loaded, unless I was changing out the duty ammo for practice ammo and shooting the gun, for about 10 years. Never had a mag spring replaced. This was on an issued duty gun. Have since transitioned to the M&P. These mags seem even more robust. |
| This is my third time to the desert. Most of the magazines here have been here since 2001, and are always loaded with 30, and have been for years. At most we do a mag dump via burst so we can put clean rounds in, but they go right back to a loaded state. I have NEVER had a mag failure or issues with weak springs. I leave all of mine at home loaded as well. |