Do you keep your extra range mags loaded???

[TrailWolf]

I carry a loaded spare mag for my Glock 26 whenever I carry my CCW and I keep another fully loaded mag in my glove box.

I have about 15 other mags for my G26 and G30 that I take with me to the range. Sometimes I keep them all loaded up and just sitting in my range bag, sometimes they remain empty until I go to the range.

Wondering if its smart to keep them all ready to go just in case there is an emergency, zombies of course, and I need to grab my **** and go.

Do you usually keep your spare range mags loaded all the time OR do you usually just load em up at/in preparation for the range?

Just curious.

 

[SG1]

Pistol mags I keep loaded in a safe. I keep a rifle mag loaded in a safe also, but the rest of my mags are unloaded until I get to the range.

I don't know if it matters, but I'm really not worried about it. The most expensive mag I'd need to replace would be for a 1911 and then price would vary by taste. I use them enough to know if they cease to function, and I think that's the key if you're asking from a maintenance perspective.

 

[esheato]

Depends on the use of the gun. Defensive in nature, then loaded. Target guns are not.

 

[Telekinesis]

For my defensive guns, I usually have a few extras loaded. And that goes beyond my ccw. I usually keep at least 3 or so mags loaded for my defensive rifles.

Apart from that, if I'm expecting a big day at the range, I may load my extra mags, but I usually don't.

 

[EBShooting]

I keep a few loaded with defense ammo in the house. But for going to the range, in CA, they consider the gun loaded if the magazine has ammo in it, even if it isnt in the gun.

 

[fatcat4620]

I do not keep collectable guns loaded but all gop to guns stay loaded with all mags that go with it loaded.

 

[Ghost Tracker]

A couple of years ago a gun-mag (the paper thing, not the "clip" thing, maybe American Handgunner?) featured a fact-or-fiction article about pistol magazine spring tension being potentially weakened by extended periods of compression (being loaded). Their (less than purely scientific) conclusion was than modern metallurgy allowed mag springs that were NOT adversely effected by extended periods of compression. So, my in-service defensive ammo mags.. stay loaded. But not "every mag" like the poll-question asks.

 

[rockrogue]

A couple of years ago a gun-mag (the paper thing, not the "clip" thing, maybe American Handgunner?) featured a fact-or-fiction article about pistol magazine spring tension being potentially weakened by extended periods of compression (being loaded). Their (less than purely scientific) conclusion was than modern metallurgy allowed mag springs that were NOT adversely effected by extended periods of compression. So, my in-service defensive ammo mags.. stay loaded. But not "every mag" like the poll-question asks.

THANK you for quoting a source (mostly). It is nice to know that I shouldn't worry too much about keeping a plethora of glock mags loaded for the zombies/aliens/gun confiscation team.






that last one was a joke ; )

 

[para38super]

I keep a few loaded with defense ammo in the house. But for going to the range, in CA, they consider the gun loaded if the magazine has ammo in it, even if it isnt in the gun.

You should read the law more carefully, please. Go to Calguns.net and you will get a lot wiser about CA laws. A loaded magazine in CA is not against the law, many people do it.

 

[mgmorden]

No, I don't leave them loaded around the house. I like to know what ammo I'm shooting, and random loaded mags are hard to keep track of whats in them. I keep one mag loaded in my home defense gun. If I need to 'grab and go' then I can grab both the mags and ammo and load them up later.

When at the range I load them up as I need them. If I'm at an outdoor range, the ones I frequent require that the whole range go cold to change targets. I usually am done shooting a target long before that time, so I'll stop and reload all my mags.

At an indoor range, the pulley that puts the target out induces a bounce when I run the target out that takes a while to settle down. I use that time to reload.

 

[Ghost Tracker]

THANK you for quoting a source (mostly)

The more I sweep the cobwebs from my antique brain, the more I'm thinking I got the publication correct. Might have been one of John Conner's monthly columns about some 1911 mil-spec mags discovered still-loaded after 30 or so years. Come on, somebody help me recall!

 

[rcmodel]

I shouldn't worry too much about keeping a plethora of Glock mags loaded

There are mags, and there are mags.

A 7-round 1911 mag can be left fully loaded indefinitely without harm.
I have twice bought mags from estate sales from WWI, fully loaded with 1917 ammo, and they still worked perfectly.

But John Browning was more concerned with over-compressing his mag springs then he was making them hold an extra round or two.

Glock mag? Not so much.
Gaston was more concerned with getting 17 rounds in the mag then he was with mag spring life.

Fully loaded Glock mag springs will take a set & go goofy after a couple three years.

Download them two rounds and they will last forever.
Or until you wear them out from cycling them shooting

This was duly noted in several issues of the Glock Annual in a long-term on-going 186,000 round 13 year test by Chuck Taylor.
He stated he went through mag springs at 5,000, and 11,000 rounds.
Then he started downloading by 2, and his 3rd. set of mag springs continued working throughout the test.

rc

 

[Ghost Tracker]

Thanks rc, as cheap as factory GLOCK mag springs are (even "expensive" Wolff aftermarkets), I think it's pretty cost-effective insurance. But down-loading a couple of rounds sure seems wise as well.

 

[USAF_Vet]

I keep my spare mags loaded in my ammo storage box.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Nope I don't leave my 'range mags' loaded.

 

[bigfatdave]

I don't bother to UNLOAD a range mag if it is still loaded and I'm done shooting.
About a third of the magazines in storage are probably loaded ... sometimes I load mags before going shooting, sometimes I have magazines in a grab-and-go bag just in case I feel like hitting the range.

Don't overthink it

 

[imsobored]

My range doesnt Allow loaded firearms or magazines until your on the line

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy using tapatalk

 

[beatledog7]

My range doesnt Allow loaded firearms or magazines until your on the line

Bummer. You have to use range time loading mags.

 

[316SS]

But John Browning was more concerned with over-compressing his mag springs then he was making them hold an extra round or two.

Glock mag? Not so much.
Gaston was more concerned with getting 17 rounds in the mag then he was with mag spring life.

Fully loaded Glock mag springs will take a set & go goofy after a couple three years.

Download them two rounds and they will last forever.

I have to say this strikes me as malarkey, based on my (admittedly limited) understanding of metal springs. Firstly, I would need objective evidence that JMB got it "right" and Gaston Glock got it "wrong" with regard to magazine spring design criteria, simply due to the mythology surrounding those gun designers. Secondly, If you stress a spring into the plastic region it will be permanently deformed, but if you do not, storing it compressed will not change its characteristics, or cause it to "take a set." Springs which are not stressed beyond the elastic region are worn out by cycling, regardless of whether they are stored compressed or relaxed. I think. I've been wrong before.

 

[Dr.Rob]

I do load up before I go, because as someone pointed out, wasting range or competition time loading.. maybe not so good.

 

[Drail]

The important point to consider here is were your springs made of actual quality spring steel and properly tempered and stress relieved or were they bought from the lowest bidder. If you're running a high cap double stack mag there is a very good chance that when fully loaded the spring is at or past its design limit. People want high capacity (for whatever reason) and the manufacturers are going to market to that desire. The manufacturer couldn't care less if the springs are being overcompressed and left that way for long periods of time. Mag springs are not warranted for performance or service life. You really need to consider that possibility and do whatever you can to keep it from happening. Either down load the mag or empty it out when you put away for a while. On a competition or range gun having a mag stop feeding the last few rounds is not the end of the world. On a CCW gun it could very well be. With single stack mags this is rarely a problem. In the early part of the 20th century nobody was trying to build high capacity magazines and the people who made the springs used quality materials. No one was buying springs from China or some 3rd world country to keep their profit margin up. So when you read stories about someone finding a single stack mag that has been loaded for many years and still functioning perfectly it's likely true but there is a reason why. They used quality materials and methods. Everything used to be made that way. Those days are long gone. On modern high cap mags it is not uncommon for springs to have a short life whether they were left compressed or not. Don't assume that all springs will behave the same. There's good ones and there's cheap junky ones. Some are designed to work well with in their design limits for compressibility and will give long service life and some are right at the edge of being overstressed (or past it). If you want to believe that your mags can remain fully loaded and never fail that's your choice. If you're wrong you will be the first one to find out. I have seen plenty of them fail in competition.

 

[Drail]

316SS, I am bewildered by your statement regarding "the mythology of John Browning". Every single weapon he designed has been well documented and for 75 years or more and undergone extensive testing and many were adopted and used successfully in several wars by our military. Comparing John Browning to Gaston Glock is totally absurd. Browning was a highly gifted mechanical genius whose designs have withstood a hundred years. Glock is a marketing genius and has very little experience with firearms. Personally I'll stake my life of Browning's designs every time.

 

[316SS]

316SS, I am bewildered by your statement regarding "the mythology of John Browning". Every single weapon he designed has been well documented and for 75 years or more and undergone extensive testing and many were adopted and used successfully in several wars by our military. Comparing John Browning to Gaston Glock is totally absurd. Browning was a highly gifted mechanical genius whose designs have withstood a hundred years. Glock is a marketing genius and has very little experience with firearms. Personally I'll stake my life of Browning's designs every time.

Drail, I think you misunderstand me. I think John Browning was a truly gifted and inspired gun designer, and I didn't compare him to Gaston Glock. However, I think many elevate him to God status, and refuse to believe he could ever have made a mistake. And some of those same people vilify Glock, but he has produced a popular and generally well-regarded line of guns. This is what I mean by mythology.

I don't want this thread to become about 1911 vs. Glock on my account, but I object to the notion that spring steel will behave differently in a magazine stamped "Glock" than in a 1911 magazine, all else being equal. All else may not be equal, but I stated my assumptions in my previous post.

To put it in less controversial terms: I believe that, regardless of the gun, any spring that is not strained to the point of elastic deformation will not be harmed by being stored compressed, and will be worn out by cycling (loading, shooting/unloading, and loading again).

 

[rcmodel]

any spring that is not strained to the point of elastic deformation will not be harmed by being stored compressed,

I totally agree with you.
But the 7-round 1911 mag isn't, and the 17-round Glock mag is.

If it wasn't, you wouldn't have such a hell of a time getting the 17th round in a new Glock mag. But if you leave it loaded with 16 for a few weeks then #17 goes in just fine.

That indicates elastic deformation to me.

rc

 

[ATLDave]

I have a couple of mags that are very hard to load to capacity unless you let them sit mostly loaded for a while. Sometimes I will leave those a couple short of a full load, then top them off just before shooting.