Does it harm the buffer spring to leave my ARs with bolt locked back?  

For short periods I don't think it would hurt it however for long term storage I would not keep it locked back.

i say no....why would it?

static compression of the spring should not wear it out any faster than constant, consistant compression while in use

The thread about it being ok to leave mags loaded for many years made me think that leaving the bolt back might solve the problem my girlfriend has been having loading mags into the weapon.  She always forgets to tap the bottom and the mags never click in all the way.   She clicks the hammer on an empty chamber,  just before the mag falls out on her toe....  doh!!

Quoted: The thread about it being ok to leave mags loaded for many years made me think that leaving the bolt back might solve the problem my girlfriend has been having loading mags into the weapon.  She always forgets to tap the bottom and the mags never click in all the way.   She clicks the hammer on an empty chamber,  just before the mag falls out on her toe....  doh!!

That is actually the way to load the weapon, by the manual...   doh!!

Quoted: The thread about it being ok to leave mags loaded for many years made me think that leaving the bolt back might solve the problem my girlfriend has been having loading mags into the weapon.  She always forgets to tap the bottom and the mags never click in all the way.   She clicks the hammer on an empty chamber,  just before the mag falls out on her toe....  doh!!

i would NOT store a loaded mag inside an AR w/ the bolt locked back--its eaisily jarred and easily slams the bolt down, loading your AR inadvertinly

load it normally and slap the mag to lock it in--you will just have to teach em to do it all the time

Brownells has this gizmo that make the Rifle a "Complete Safe Weapon" in Marine Corps Speak. It blocks the chamber but allows the magazine to be fully seated. Yank back on the charging handle and it is ejected allowing the rifle to be fired. I doubt a 3 year old could do it though.

This should solve the G/F magazine problem.

Quoted: The thread about it being ok to leave mags loaded for many years made me think that leaving the bolt back might solve the problem my girlfriend has been having loading mags into the weapon.  She always forgets to tap the bottom and the mags never click in all the way.   She clicks the hammer on an empty chamber,  just before the mag falls out on her toe....  doh!!

Do you keep the mags loaded to thirty?  Maybe she could lock in a mag w/ 25?
Does she actually have a problem w/ cycling the charging handle?

Leaving a spring in a nearly compressed condition does not wear it out any faster than leaving it nearly uncompressed.  What wears a spring out is compression cycles.

That auto-ejecting chamber block is quite posibly the coolest thing i have seen all week.  
Yeah, I keep them loaded with 30.
Most of my mags are new.  So the springs are fairly tight compared to my older ones.

I will usually keep my 12ga cocked and locked (for quiet operation) and the AR I keep in my truck, will have a full mag inserted with the bolt closed on an empty chamber.

But the two remaining ARs that I keep in the closet, I want to keep locked back, with the mags on the top shelf.  That way she can insert a mag and hit the release.  Does that sound like a good plan?

Oh, and she dosent have a problem with the charging handle, the problem is positively locking a mag in the magwell, with the bolt closed.  Its easy with the bolt back, but the way I keep them closed, means you REALLY have to push the mag in.  Compressing down the spring on the already full magazine is the hard part.

Generally one wants to keep the breach open if possible during storage.  The idea is that a closed breach os more suseptable to coleting moisture.  How much difference it makes is probably not that much, but every little bit eh?

Strangely, my GF has the exact same problem with my AR's. I think it comes from a "tender touch" and an unwillingness to be ham-fisted with my expensive weapons/components. Watching a brand new black teflon D&H magazine drop to the pavement after striking my gf's foot is an interesting experience. Do you console your gf or magazine? Its a tough position to be in....
With the exception of shooting a .22 in girl scouts, my gf has never been around weapons, and we spend most of our time learning firearms safety, so I'd rather her scuff all of my magazines/guns that have poor muzzle discipline.

Think of gun springs like a Slinkey....A Slinkey doesn't wear out sitting compressed on a shelf, but rather when you stretch it out and compress it repeatidly. This is true of magazine/buffer springs too. Far more wear/tear is caused by people loading/unloading magazines rather than just leaving them be. I had a Bushmaster LEO A2 on layaway for three months and to my suprise, the weapon was stored with the bolt locked open. This gun has had thousands of rounds through it with the original buffer. No problems whatsover. I personally would adivise against storing your AR with the bolt locked back ontop of a loaded magazine. Its to easy for something to hit the bolt catch and accidently chamber a round. Slam fires do happen!

Instead of an AR type weapon, I am trying to find a Remington 870 youth 20 gauge to convert into a HD for my gf. The 20 has plenty of stopping power without the recoil/weight of a 12 gauge. For someone who doesn't know much about weapons, a 870 is much more 'idiot proof". Not to say my GF is an idiot, just blonde.....

There's a great article that talks about the magazine spring myth below.  I know this is regarding the magazine spring and not the buffer but I think they're very similar:


Magazine spring madness: 'creep' to your 'elastic limit' to un-earth the urban legend of 'spring-set'

The shooting sports are full of some of the most knowledgeable and capable people you'll meet anywhere. I've been impressed consistently with the abilities of those I meet at the range to diagnose and fix a gun problem with as little as some spray lube and a cotton swab. However, sometimes a myth will creep into the folklore.

The magazine spring myth has been around for many years and is growing in popularity. It goes something like this: "You should unload your magazines when they're not in use or the spring will weaken causing failures to feed." This has gone as far as shooting competitors actually unloading their magazines between stages to extend the life of their springs. A variant of this myth is: "You should never load a magazine to capacity and should always leave it one round short." What if you need that round some day?

Click below for the entire article:


www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BTT/is_163_27/ai_99130369#continue

Todd

Your springs will wear out faster from use than leaving them compressed for years at a time.  


On unloading between stages in a match. We do that to clean the magazine as sand/dirt can wreck havoc on feeding issues and to make sure we have full clean mags at the beep.

Thats a great read.  I've been telling my dad (USMC, Vietnam vet + 8th&I Washington) that its ok to top his mags off to full cap.  He always leaves -2 or 3.  Always told me "You dont want to wear out the springs".  However, I never had anything to back it up with.  Other than my own personal experience (which is less than his).

All of my mags have Magpul loops on the bottom, which do a little to soften the impact of the fall.  But a fully loaded mag still falls hard, no matter what you have on the end.  I was more concerned with her thinking she is ready to go, and then finding out the hard way.

I recently bought her a 9mm LEO Colt carbine.  The mags for it are 32, and I load 30 in them (to keep in sync with the real guns).  With -2 rounds, the loading problem has lessened, but I think I'm going to keep the bolts back from now on anyways.  Thanks for all the helpful replies.

Buffer springs aren't that expensive to where it really matters are they?  Trial and error

Quoted: Instead of an AR type weapon, I am trying to find a Remington 870 youth 20 gauge to convert into a HD for my gf. The 20 has plenty of stopping power without the recoil/weight of a 12 gauge. For someone who doesn't know much about weapons, a 870 is much more 'idiot proof". Not to say my GF is an idiot, just blonde.....

A Mossberg 500 may be better choice.  The tang mounted safety is a lot less confusing than the cross trigger guard safety that the Remington uses.  

Also remember that a 12 guage has less recoil than a 20 gauge, when firing an equivelent weight of projectiles at the same velocity.  This is because the shorter shot stack can be accelerated with less pressure in the 12.

Got my daughter a 20 ga H&R when she was a young hunter; damn thing kicked; I did her no favors with that.  Realize a pump is heavier, but a shotgun may not be your solution.  Liking recoil is an aquired taste.

Micro, how about some old style GI 20 round mags?  They are easier to seat b/c you can give a straight push?
Moon