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Posted: 10/17/2010 6:31:24 PM EDT
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How long can i store my mags (30 rd aluminum w/ green followers) loaded, preferably fully loaded, and expect them to function properly when called upon?
What if i store them with only 20rds in stead of 30 would that make a difference? FWIW the mags are basically new. I've used them all at one point or another but each has had a full mag run through them less than 6 times a piece. |
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How long can i store my mags (30 rd aluminum w/ green followers) loaded, preferably fully loaded, and expect them to function properly when called upon? What if i store them with only 20rds in stead of 30 would that make a difference? FWIW the mags are basically new. I've used them all at one point or another but each has had a full mag run through them less than 6 times a piece. You can keep them loaded for as long as you want, even fully loaded. The springs are unlikely to lose their tension in long term storage. |
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You can keep them loaded for 50 years if you want.
Barring any defects in materials or workmanship, they will still run fine after that. You could probably keep them loaded for 75 years with no problems in fact. YOU might not be around anymore, but the mags will work fine. |
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Any issue with constant upward pressure on aluminum mag feed lips? Not on GI Mags. The P-Mags can have problems when stored without covers. But aluminum GI mags are GTG. Since when? First I've heard of that. Can you provide any supporting references? |
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Any issue with constant upward pressure on aluminum mag feed lips? Not on GI Mags. The P-Mags can have problems when stored without covers. But aluminum GI mags are GTG. This is not known to be an issue. We've had PMAGs fully loaded with no Impact/Dust Covers on since their inception (almost four years now) and have observed no feed lip concerns. We consider use of the cover purely optional. |
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A friend of mine recently lost her father. While going through his stuff they discovered a nice little .25 cal Beretta. He'd had this gun for about 10 years and guess what? The magazine was fully loaded. She wanted to learn how to shoot this gun as it was basically a free gun that was now in her possession. I took her to the range and the gun jammed on the last one or two rounds every time the gun was reloaded. You could easily tell that the spring was shot. The pistol looked like it had never been fired before this day and her father was not a shooter (he had several guns that were in new condition but covered in dust. No family member ever remembered him shooting. It looked like cheap preps).
Anyway....long story short....Keeping this mag fully loaded for years ruined it. Compression cycles had nothing to do with it. I'll keep my mags downloaded a few rounds and know that they'll last. |
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A friend of mine recently lost her father. While going through his stuff they discovered a nice little .25 cal Beretta. He'd had this gun for about 10 years and guess what? The magazine was fully loaded. She wanted to learn how to shoot this gun as it was basically a free gun that was now in her possession. I took her to the range and the gun jammed on the last one or two rounds every time the gun was reloaded. You could easily tell that the spring was shot. The pistol looked like it had never been fired before this day and her father was not a shooter (he had several guns that were in new condition but covered in dust. No family member ever remembered him shooting. It looked like cheap preps). Anyway....long story short....Keeping this mag fully loaded for years ruined it. Compression cycles had nothing to do with it. I'll keep my mags downloaded a few rounds and know that they'll last. I believe this is just an assumption 
...but feel free to keep your mags loaded however you please. They are your guns, not mine. |
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Any issue with constant upward pressure on aluminum mag feed lips? Not on GI Mags. The P-Mags can have problems when stored without covers. But aluminum GI mags are GTG. This is not known to be an issue. We've had PMAGs fully loaded with no Impact/Dust Covers on since their inception (almost four years now) and have observed no feed lip concerns. We consider use of the cover purely optional. I was aware that pmags were deemed good to go without the covers but Im still not sure about the effects on feed lips of fully loaded aluminum mags. Are aluminum feed lips fine for fully loaded long term storage? |
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A friend of mine recently lost her father. While going through his stuff they discovered a nice little .25 cal Beretta. He'd had this gun for about 10 years and guess what? The magazine was fully loaded. She wanted to learn how to shoot this gun as it was basically a free gun that was now in her possession. I took her to the range and the gun jammed on the last one or two rounds every time the gun was reloaded. You could easily tell that the spring was shot. The pistol looked like it had never been fired before this day and her father was not a shooter (he had several guns that were in new condition but covered in dust. No family member ever remembered him shooting. It looked like cheap preps). Anyway....long story short....Keeping this mag fully loaded for years ruined it. Compression cycles had nothing to do with it. I'll keep my mags downloaded a few rounds and know that they'll last. I believe this is just an assumption
...but feel free to keep your mags loaded however you please. They are your guns, not mine. Considering that no one in his immediate family ever remembers him going to the range this looks like a pretty valid assumption. It's hard to ruin a mag with compression cycles when your gun sits in the top of a closet for years. |
Can anybody explain the physics of the two claims (first being that compression/decompression wears the spring and second being long-term compression wears the spring)? I just figure that would be better than what is essentially recirculated hearsay... and I'm also just genuinely interested 
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Can anybody explain the physics of the two claims (first being that compression/decompression wears the spring and second being long-term compression wears the spring)? I just figure that would be better than what is essentially recirculated hearsay... and I'm also just genuinely interested This article may cover it American Handgunner . |
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Can anybody explain the physics of the two claims (first being that compression/decompression wears the spring and second being long-term compression wears the spring)? I just figure that would be better than what is essentially recirculated hearsay... and I'm also just genuinely interested It's a matter of mechanics of materials. Mag springs are made of steel, which is a material that unless stressed beyond it's yield point, will return to it's original molecular state after being unstressed. Mags, and guns in general, are not designed so that parts, including metal springs, are yielded through normal operation. Think about all the other types of springs used in all types of guns, some are always under compression and others tension, just from sitting in their unloaded, uncocked state, and most of them last the lifetime of the gun without ever having to be replaced. |
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Quoted: Not really, since there is no indication of that magazine working properly in the first place, or the gun for that matter. In order to establish that the mag spring went bad over time without cycling, it must first be established that the magazine was functional in the beginning, along with the pistol. Without that information, your assumption is not valid, nor reasonable to assume. Quoted: Quoted: A friend of mine recently lost her father. While going through his stuff they discovered a nice little .25 cal Beretta. He'd had this gun for about 10 years and guess what? The magazine was fully loaded. She wanted to learn how to shoot this gun as it was basically a free gun that was now in her possession. I took her to the range and the gun jammed on the last one or two rounds every time the gun was reloaded. You could easily tell that the spring was shot. The pistol looked like it had never been fired before this day and her father was not a shooter (he had several guns that were in new condition but covered in dust. No family member ever remembered him shooting. It looked like cheap preps). Anyway....long story short....Keeping this mag fully loaded for years ruined it. Compression cycles had nothing to do with it. I'll keep my mags downloaded a few rounds and know that they'll last. I believe this is just an assumption ...but feel free to keep your mags loaded however you please. They are your guns, not mine. Considering that no one in his immediate family ever remembers him going to the range this looks like a pretty valid assumption. It's hard to ruin a mag with compression cycles when your gun sits in the top of a closet for years. |
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A friend of mine recently lost her father. While going through his stuff they discovered a nice little .25 cal Beretta. He'd had this gun for about 10 years and guess what? The magazine was fully loaded. She wanted to learn how to shoot this gun as it was basically a free gun that was now in her possession. I took her to the range and the gun jammed on the last one or two rounds every time the gun was reloaded. You could easily tell that the spring was shot. The pistol looked like it had never been fired before this day and her father was not a shooter (he had several guns that were in new condition but covered in dust. No family member ever remembered him shooting. It looked like cheap preps). Anyway....long story short....Keeping this mag fully loaded for years ruined it. Compression cycles had nothing to do with it. I'll keep my mags downloaded a few rounds and know that they'll last. I believe this is just an assumption
...but feel free to keep your mags loaded however you please. They are your guns, not mine. Considering that no one in his immediate family ever remembers him going to the range this looks like a pretty valid assumption. It's hard to ruin a mag with compression cycles when your gun sits in the top of a closet for years. unless the mag was faulty to begin with. ive bought brand new crap mags before, that did exactly what you describe to my 92fs. |
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A friend of mine recently lost her father. While going through his stuff they discovered a nice little .25 cal Beretta. He'd had this gun for about 10 years and guess what? The magazine was fully loaded. She wanted to learn how to shoot this gun as it was basically a free gun that was now in her possession. I took her to the range and the gun jammed on the last one or two rounds every time the gun was reloaded. You could easily tell that the spring was shot. The pistol looked like it had never been fired before this day and her father was not a shooter (he had several guns that were in new condition but covered in dust. No family member ever remembered him shooting. It looked like cheap preps). Anyway....long story short....Keeping this mag fully loaded for years ruined it. Compression cycles had nothing to do with it. I'll keep my mags downloaded a few rounds and know that they'll last. I believe this is just an assumption
...but feel free to keep your mags loaded however you please. They are your guns, not mine. Considering that no one in his immediate family ever remembers him going to the range this looks like a pretty valid assumption. It's hard to ruin a mag with compression cycles when your gun sits in the top of a closet for years. unless the mag was faulty to begin with. ive bought brand new crap mags before, that did exactly what you describe to my 92fs. This. Without any knowledge regarding the functionality of the mag or gun prior to long term storage, it is not reasonable to assume that leaving the mag loaded caused the reliability issues. |
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