[xmountain]

I have a stupid question. Does keeping your magazine loaded at all times degrade the quality of the magazine in any way or degrade the quality of the spring? I once heard someone recommend keeping magazines unloaded. I just want to know the reasoning behind it.

[Justin]

Some people believe that keeping a magazine loaded results in the spring being weakened at an accelerated rate.

Others believe that it's the action of loading/unloading the magazine that causes springs to become weak.

I've replaced a few magazine springs here and there, but that has been in magazines I've owned for several years that have been used on a regular basis.

And even then, the magazines were functioning fine. I just replaced the springs because I had a feeling that there might be issues.

[Marcus L.]

With Vietnam era magazines, yes. Most soldiers would only load up their 20rd M16 magazines with 15rds to keep them strong and reliable. With modern magazines and springs, not so much of an issue. A good rule of thumb is the more you use it, the more it wears out. So, you can always buy more magazines than you think you'd need and cycle them according to range sessions. It's a good way to spread out the magazine wear.

[DRYHUMOR]

I once had a Beretta 380 at mom's house for defense. It had been loaded for 12 years, no issues.

[rcmodel]

Most soldiers would only load up their 20rd M16 magazines with 15rds to keep them strong and reliable.18rds, and it was done just to insure there weren't 21 stuffed in a 20 round mag, which would lock up a gun. Not to protect the spring.

Load the mag & strip two out was the way it was done when I did it. That left either 18 or 19, and you knew the mag would go in the gun & feed the top round. NOT to protect the spring.

I personally have 6 or 7 Vietnam era 20 round mags that have been constantly loaded with 19 rounds since 1970, when I stole them.

They still all work perfectly every time I shoot the ammo & reload them.

Staying compressed will not hurt most mag springs. Exceptions exist with Glock and some other high-cap mags that give more space up to the ammo then the compressed spring.

Colt 1911 & Browning HP mags can be kept fully loaded forever and still be fine.

Cycling the springs from using them is what wears them out.

rcmodel

[Marcus L.]

My mistake rcmodel. I'm not old enough for Nam and I was basing it on second-hand word of mouth. Thank you for your service.

[xmountain]

thanks guys

[possum]

does storing a magazine loaded degrade the quality?
no.
btw welcome to thr. change springs in mags when needed and you will be good to go.

[Confederate]

Not a problem if your magazine is not loaded to full capacity. If you have a Ruger Mark II, for example, load it with 8-9 shots. Just not loading it to full capacity should give you plenty of wiggle room with modern magazines. If you're using an old Colt 1911, I'd swap magazines every few months. I had a friend who, as a child, was saved when one round went off in a 1911 that had been loaded for several years. The first round fired, but the second jammed. He had the gun pointed at his younger brother.

I wouldn't count on modern magazines weakening, however.

Finally, if you're using a cheap magazine, you can't count on it anyway, much less if it's been loaded for awhile.

[Jst1mr]

((and this relates to rifle magazines (esp. AR's))) that some lesser quality mags wiil suffer from distortion of the magazine lips due to the spring pressure of the top round against them when fully loaded - causing feed issues. I have not had that happen personally....have also heard of the brass cases of top rounds in magazines fully loaded to be subject to distortion (becoming 'oval' or getting imprinted from the lips)...can't vouch for that either... others?

[Fleetwood_Captain]

I remember reading a similar post to this.

This one guy posted about a WWII era 1911 he bought off of a widow that came with two loaded magazines. The widow claimed that he loaded the magazines and never used them. Supposedly, they had been stored loaded for fifty years. When he checked to see if the mags were still good, he found that they didn't fail until the 6th round.

Realistically, it's use that will wreck a spring, not compression. Steel support beams in houses and high rises are under great pressure and will outlast the usefullness of the structure itself. But think about what happens when you bend a spoon one too many times. Ever notice how magazines get easier to load the more that you shoot them?

Personally, I wouldn't worry about a defensive mag loaded in storage. If it's stored in a cool, dry place, you should be fine. Storing a round or two under capacity will do wonders to alleviate tension as well. Worst case scenario, a wilson combat 1911 spring and follower kit will run you 8 bucks.

[easyrider6042004@yahoo.ca]

Cycling the springs from using them is what wears them out.

Correct. You can keep a magazine spring compressed 100 years (ok, so I'm stretching it) and it will not get "tired". Only other way to "tire out" a spring, aside from cycling it, is if one exceeds the elastic limit of the wire material, which is not going to happen in a well-designed, properly manufactured magazine spring.

These days, I always load to the maximum in my speedloaders, six for six. No springs to worry about.

[jjohnson]

First, yes, 18 rounds for M16. Some of us ARE that old. :scrutiny: In fact, some of us were around when slingshots were invented.

I digress, though. The answer depends largely on the quality of the spring and its use. This is one reason Wolff Springs www.gunsprings.com sells nothing but springs. Older or lower quality springs wear out or lose their 'springiness' over use and over long periods of compression. New mags with high quality springs may outlive you, while Great Grandpa's M1911 original issue mag spring may need replaced. I have mags that are older than I am that sit for a year at a time packed, and I do notice some degradation over the years. Same goes for some of the Glock and S&W springs that are decades old now :what:

I replace mine when I feel 'em starting to get weak, but a mag with a good spring will give you many years of service, even if you leave it loaded. I actually shoot those loaded mags now and then, just to keep the ammo fresh and check to make sure they're working the way I expect 'em to.

[glockman19]

I keep my guns loaded. Never had a problem with loaded mags.

[OcelotZ3]

I inherited some 20-round AR mags from my father which had been fully loaded for >30 years, and they still work just fine without problem.

[oneounceload]

Springs weaken from usage, not just being compressed - look at shotgun leaf springs - it is the constant usage that breaks them......if it bothers you enough, get several magazines and rotate them; otherwise, do not worry about it

[makarovnik]

No. But I try to have at least two mags for every gun and keep one loaded for a week or two then rotate and give a quick cleaning on my carry or home protection gun each time.

[TimboKhan]

I found a loaded mag for my Ruger P90 a few months back that I had totally forgot about, and it had probably been loaded for 5 or 6 years. Took it out and it worked just fine.

I think the question has essentially been answered though. Springs in compression don't "wear out", it springs that are actually used that wear out.

[fastbolt]

Just from this forum ...

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=383706&highlight=magazine+springs
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=360919&highlight=magazine+springs
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=340213&highlight=magazine+springs

Some links within links, too.

[Ops Officer]

Weak springs in the Vietnam era M-16 mags? Yeah, I can speak to that. The Army concluded at one point from the myriad of failures it experienced with the M-16 that failures to feed might be related to weak springs. SOP was a max of 18 rounds in a 20-round mag. Overloaded mags would guarantee failure. I was lucky. I had only two failures during firefights. Both failures were my fault. One was a bent cartridge I missed when I loaded the mag. The other was junk in the receiver group that probably occurred when I forded a very muddy stream and neglected to clear and check my weapon.

I'll join others here who state compression won't weaken the spring, but flexing from use will eventually fatigue the spring. This subject pops up occasionally on the SIG Forum and receives pretty much this same answer.

[LongRider]

Nope

[Friendly, Don't Fire!]

I concur.

No. I did some research on this and learned people have stored full magazines for decades without a problem.

[TEDDY]

I was given 2 1911 mags loaded,the mags are heat treated and white on top with ring on bottom.the ammo is 1918.I have used them and they work fine.I retired them because of what they are.I have cheap $6.99 mags for 1911 work fine.my Ortaga 25 has original mag.[1920?]same with my savage 1915 and colt 32 acp 1926:uhoh::rolleyes:

[chriske]

In in my experience I can leave the cylinders of my S&W revolvers fully loaded for as long as I like. I just unload them before packing off to the range.

Joking aside, as for magazines :

Just to find that out empirically, I left magazines fully loaded for one month at a time in several of my pistols (9mm, .380 ACP, .32 ACP, .45 ACP)
(Didnt try it with my Ruger MK II in .22 LR)

Only 1 problem with a (super-cheap, should have known) anonymous 1911 magazine, which I retired to "way-back-in-the-"spare-parts"-drawer" status.