Posted: 4/11/2008 8:31:51 PM EDT
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Hi... I was trying to search if this question has been asked or not. But I couldn't find anything. I was wondering if it was good to store ammo in magazine for a long period of time. Will you wear down the string? |
You will wear down the Spring(not string) but it does take some time. I have some mags that ALWAYS have round in them, but I tend to swtich them out on a weekly basis if I remember to. And then after they have been fully loaded for a while I will take the mag apart and streach the Spring to make sure I have no feed problems. but here again it does take a decent amount of time. Hope that answers your question! Cheers, Phil 
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I personally do not believe that line of reasoning. I feel it is the actual loading and un-loading that wears the spring out. Just wanted to say that I have a had a ruger p-89 loaded and usued excessivelly since 1998. The mag is always loaded. |
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I keep 3 magazines for my EDC loaded all the time.I'll rotate them out with other mags when I cycle my carry ammo which could be 3 to 6 months.My BUG mags(only have 2) stay loaded always and get shot about once a month and reloaded.I've had 20 AR mags fully loaded for years.I'll grab 2 or 3 when I head to the range and they always work.They're reloaded and stored again.Never have a problem.My 870 also stays loaded, -1,always. I wonder if this is a newbie thing.I remember when I first really got into guns and got my CCW I would unload my mags every night.  I too was concerned about my mag springs wearing out.And in worrying about them I was probably doing the worst thing for them.Seems I've found other things to worry about.When my mag springs stop working they'll be replaced.I've had one Glock 17 mag that I've shot the shit out of that has had to be replaced.I say load them and leave them loaded. |
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Keeping your magazines loaded does not induce wear on the magazine springs. Cycling rounds in and out of magazines does induce wear on the magazine springs. Constant compression does not induce wear on springs. Compression/decompression cycles induce wear on springs. |
This is completely false. Leaving mags loaded does them absolutely no harm, and you should never "stretch" your mag springs, or any spring for that matter. If you're having problems with a spring that has seen many cycles and has become weak, you need to spend a few cents to replace it. Your life may depend on that inexpensive spring one day. |
+1 OVERcompression or bending back/tweeking will also wear the springs |
I have a P85 and I've always kept the 2 mags that came with it loaded for probaly 17 years now. Never had a problem with either mag. I would say the cosntant loading and unloading is what would wear them down. |
I would never have believed this had I not seen it with my own eyes, felt the tension (percieved) and of course tested the mag.. Case in point. My dad last year handed down to me a Coonan .357 mag with three magazines he bought over 13 years ago. (yippee, yippee..  long story, but let's stay on topic) Anyway when I took it out of the foam case (box was included separately) I immediately found a fully charged magazine 7 rounds, and thankfully an empty chamber. The other two mags had never seen a round. I asked him how long this mag had been loaded and inserted in the gun, and he said a "week or two after I bought it".. OMG I thought, 13 years,  that spring must be wasted.. As I pushed the cartridges out of the mag one after another, I noticed how tight they felt under the spring pressure. it appeared no worse for the wear.. Took it to the range a week or so later, and had no problems with the mag at all. It was still as difficult to load with tight pressure as I assume it was 13 plus years ago.. So I agree that a 'high quality' mag spring under constant compression does not lose it's tension or rated strength. Thank goodness as these Coonan pistols are OOP and I don't think magazine springs are readily or available at all.. No prob I guess at this point.I do believe however a low quality or poorly made (aftermarket mags) spring (we know the brands) would not react the same way. Opposite of my positive experience above was I've purchased/used cheap 9mm mags (Beretta for the most part) and after a few outings they had shoretened and lost tension, causing all types of malfunctions, including not holding the slide open on the last round, if they even got that far. Buy quality, get performance.. "peace of mind" |