Storing Loaded Ar Mags.....?

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SILENTSOUL308

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Hello all,

Does anyone know if there are negative effects on storing a loaded ar-15 mag for a long period of time, say 1yr or longer? I know already to load 2 less than full to reduce stress on the spring, but are there any other concerns?

Thanks in Advance,
:D
 
I do think that storing for a year or longer will put a serious dent the springs tension. You can always dissassemble the mag and stretch the spring to get some more tension out of it later. I ve had a few mags sit loaded for months that Ive had to do that to. My Glock 21 that sits in my nitestand stays loaded, and I have to stretch the spring every few months as well.
 
I am not a gunsmith, so I look for information from gunsmiths. Patrick Sweeney wrote an article for one of the editions of "The Book of the AR-15" saying that loaded mags will not take a set. He mentions that loaded magazines would come into his shop that had been loaded for decades and still functioned just fine.

He also says that stretching springs out is a mistake, and that once you do it you will have to keep doing it and will never have reliable magazine again. If you need new springs, go buy them.

So now you have both points of view.

Isn't the Internet great!
 
No, leaving an AR mag loaded indefinitely, especially one down-loaded by two rounds, will not hurt it in the least.

I have several 20-round M-16 mags that have been continuously loaded with 19 rounds since I "acquired" them during the Vietnam war. (38 years)
I have 30 round AR-15 mags that have been loaded with 28 rounds since I bought my first AR-15 in 1972. (36 years)
They all still work perfectly.

During the same time frame, I have worn out several range mags that were shot a lot.

What wears out mag springs, or any spring for that matter, is not compression, but cycling.
Shooting, or loading / unloading to let it "rest" does more to wear out a mag spring then just leaving it loaded forever.

BTW: NEVER stretch a spring to try and make it strong again!
It won't make it stronger, it will make it weaker very shortly after it is cycled a few times.
Stretching is the death nell for a spring.

If it is truly worn out and weak from cycling, you need to replace it.

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rcmodel
 
I do agree with you guys, stretching is bad for the springs and should never be done. I shouldnt have said that. On the contrary, i have had a few mag springs collapse from storage, and I do stretch them out to get them to function. But that is when I usually do go shopping from replacement springs. I usually realize when I need to stretchwhile Im out shooting milk jugs, It will get me throught the day. But i do replace them soon after.

"My Glock 21 that sits in my nitestand stays loaded, and I have to stretch the spring every few months as well."

Should have said "replace".
 
Posted by bkjeffrey:
i have had a few mag springs collapse from storage
Click to expand...
I find that hard to believe, since properly designed springs will not fatigue under a static load.

If you could have published what manufacturer used such a poor grade of material for a spring that it failed due to static loading, you would have put them out of business. Static loading is not a mode of failure for proper designed springs. It's not a matter of opinion.
 
I would bet that they failed at a point where the spring metal was crimped/damaged, and/or rusted. That is the only way I could see it happen.

A spring within its proper design compression range, should suffer no fatique.
 
Glock mag springs, and many other hi-cap style mags will weaken or lose strength over time, because by design, they are over-compressed when fully loaded.

I guess one or two more rounds was more important then long spring life!

I down-load my Glock mags by one round and the springs last indefinitely. When fully loaded, they last 4 - 5 years at most before weakening noticeably.

Well designed magazines, such as the 7-round 1911, or the GI M-16 mags will not, because they are designed so as not to over-compress the spring when fully loaded.

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rcmodel
 
I have several 20-round M-16 mags that have been continuously loaded with 19 rounds since I "acquired" them during the Vietnam war. (38 years)
I have 30 round AR-15 mags that have been loaded with 28 rounds since I bought my first AR-15 in 1972. (36 years)
They all still work perfectly.
Click to expand...

if they've been continually loaded, how do you know they still work perfectly?:scrutiny:

:neener:
 
if they've been continually loaded, how do you know they still work perfectly?
Click to expand...
Because I go out and shoot up the old ammo every few years and reload them with new ammo.
I guess "continuously" was too strong a word, if taken literally.

The rest of the time, they lay in the gun-safe next to the CAR-15, because I am 100% sure they will work if I really need them too!

The range mags are kept separate in the range bags because they get used & the springs wear out.

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rcmodel
 
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