Cycling mags...

[inSight-NEO]

Im sure this has been covered before (did a search and found nothing of real value), but I was wanting to: a) introduce my method and leave it open to suggestions/criticism and b) see what method(s) others were using.

To be as brief as I can, I tend to use my XD-45 ACP for HD (excluding, for now, the 12 ga. shotgun I sometimes use) which has a 13 round mag capacity. Below is my current method regarding the maintenance/use of HD ammo as contained within several magazines over a period of time:

I use 4 mags for HD; 2 designated with the number "1," and 2 designated with the number "2." The mags are downloaded to 10 rounds each.

Month 1: mag 1A loaded with JHP, mag 1B loaded with FMJ (due to cost)
Month 2: swap first and last rounds within each mag
Month 3: swap current first and last rounds with rounds 2 and 9 (for instance)
Month 4: swap current first and last rounds with rounds 3 and 8 (for instance)
Month 5: Fire off ammo and begin a new cycle, but implementing mags 2A and 2B

First off, I was wondering if this was an effective routine or even necessary. Can mags and ammo, if sufficiently downloaded and cared for, tolerate such a cycle and still remain reliable?

In addition, I have considered making a cycle last for 6 months, firing these rounds off at the beginning of month 7 and continuing on with mags 2A and 2B...etc. This would cut my HD ammo consumption by 1/3 (unless my math is off). Reason being, the JHP ammo I use for HD has become quite scarce and I would like to conserve as much of it as possible.

I would prefer to go no more than 2 months between each cycle, but again, the ammo I use is just too hard to find (and expensive). So the longer I can stretch this out (being sure to cycle the ammo itself), the better.

So, any thoughts? What system do you guys use for your HD weapon/ammo in regards to mag storage/cycles? If you dont believe cycling ammo and/or mags is necessary, Id be interested in knowing why. Thanks.

 

[Oro]

For home defense, I let my mags sit loaded for six months or a year at a time. Then I will fire them off at the range or plink in the woods with them. Or not. In 20 years I have not had a commercially loaded, sealed round fail to go "bang" or cycle effectively after six months to three years of sitting in a magazine. This is with 1911s and Colt OEM magazines. I have had one bullet set-back issue with a commercially loaded HP .45 +p from cycling it by hand multiple times. So this to me is more of a concern than sitting idle.

I know there are people who advocate cycling ammo and mags, but I have seen no actual data that shows springs and ammo go bad from sitting from a year to 10 in a climate controlled indoor environment, or that springs wear out from compression vs. the work-hardening of use. I have had no one provide a convincing case based on observable, repeatable facts that a monthly cycling drill does any good for a home self defense gun. I have some scientific training so I am a hard sell on any subject that you cannot show me repeatable tests to prove a claim.

Ammo, mags, or guns that are carried outdoors regularly, stored in humid conditions, or get wet periodically get a much more rigorous treatment and I have seen reloaded ammunition fail in those conditions because of improper storage for long periods. For reloaded ammunition stored indoors in climate controlled conditions, I have, just last month, fired ammo I reloaded 15 years ago with 0 ftf's or fte's.

I believe switching to your plan of cycling every six months is plenty adequate.

 

[Ken Rainey]

inSight-NEO, if the pistol is only going to be used for home defense, you should just load the mags and leave them alone. If it were mine, I'd load them with 11 rds and have one in the pipe for an even 12 rds on tap before a reload would be necessary - that would leave the mags down loaded by two rds which should be plenty to insure a very long (if not infinite) spring life unless they are defective...of course, only using 10 rds should work just as well - your comfort level should decide.

It would be a much better plan (IMO) to designate two mags for "duty" use and the other two for practice. After making sure that your "duty" mags function with your chosen loads, clean and load them and then only use them for "duty" use and possibly when you choose to shoot up your present "duty" loads to put fresh ammo in their place - which (IMO) would be at least 5 years depending on circumstances. Just keep an eye on the chamber round for set back and if found, put that round to the side for use on the range only. Use the other two mags for all of your practicing and if desired, for the third and fourth mags to use for backing up the "duty" mags in a drastic situation ... that way, if and/or when a mag fails, it "should" only be on the range with one of the practice mags ... and, if you keep up with their use, it'll give you a grand idea of just what the other mags should take before needing replacement springs or whatever, if ever ... depending on their use.

 

[earlthegoat2]

From that complicated mess above I would wager that someone needs a revolver.

KISS

 

[inSight-NEO]

From that complicated mess above I would wager that someone needs a revolver.

Heh..dont think I havent thought about it. But, since I feel more comfortable with .45 ACP for HD vs. a revolver loaded with either .357 Magnum "full house" loads or .38 Special +P loads, I will just have to suffer the bane of using a mag equipped weapon.

 

[DaBull]

This topic does come up once a month either here or on The Firing Line and eventually a spring manufacturer, springs seller, metallurgist, mechanical engineer, or materials engineer explains that all that loading and unloading is what is wearing your springs...not the constant load.

 

[rcmodel]

Yep there are two threads running on it right now:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=453040

rc

 

[psyopspec]

If they're 13 round magazines, why not put 13 rounds in them? Springfield designed and built their product, they would know better than anyone how many that magazine can hold and still function effectively.

Granted they're yours to do as you please, but I've never understood why anyone would want to download a perfectly good, modern production magazine from a reliable manufacturer. Like putting 12 gallons of gas into a tank that can hold 15 to somehow save on the "wear" of the vehicle.

I change out defensive ammo roughly every six months, but I have gone as long as a year when I was a poor college student. Never had more of a system than that, never had any problems with any rounds or mags that have stayed loaded.

 

[gwnorth]

Month 1: mag 1A loaded with JHP, mag 1B loaded with FMJ (due to cost)
Month 2: swap first and last rounds within each mag
Month 3: swap current first and last rounds with rounds 2 and 9 (for instance)
Month 4: swap current first and last rounds with rounds 3 and 8 (for instance)
Month 5: Fire off ammo and begin a new cycle, but implementing mags 2A and 2B

Wow, that actually made my head hurt

About the only thing I ever worry about is keeping an eye out for bullet set back if I chamber a round more then three or four times (has happened occasionally in my PT1911, but not in my other pistols). And I keep my mags loaded to full capacity whenever not being shot. I've heard stories of folks finding old magazines (WWII relics from attics and basements of family who have passed and so forth) that apparently have sat, fully loaded for decades, and then cycled just fine when finally shot. Think about it, you don't set your car up on blocks every night to relieve the load on the suspension springs, yet those springs last for years under constant load.

Life has enough inherent complications without inventing unnecessary new ones.

 

[burningsquirrels]

no loaded ammo lasts more than a week with me... lol.

personal defense ammo, well, i shoot reloads, so ya. they still don't last long at all. i defend myself with the same firearms i shoot for sport with. so they go bang thousands upon thousands of times a year. :shrug:

 

[CDW4ME]

How about just load them and check spring tension once or twice a year. If the spring has noticeably less tension than a new one or has taken a visible 2'' set then replace the spring (about $7).

 

[inSight-NEO]

This topic does come up once a month either here or on The Firing Line and eventually a spring manufacturer, springs seller, metallurgist, mechanical engineer, or materials engineer explains that all that loading and unloading is what is wearing your springs...not the constant load.

I do understand that cycling/recycling does more "damage" vs. static loading.

Also, I did several searches on this topic; hence my personal rule, if 2 to 3 differently worded/phrased searches do not result in information I deem useful, I start a new thread and ask the question(s) myself.

Its better to ask questions (even repetitive ones) rather than to live on mere assumptions, eh?