How long can you store loaded magazines before the springs start to weaken to the point they might fail? Also, how often do you replace these springs? I have a couple of Ruger Mini's and a Bushmaster AR-15. Thanks for your help!
How Long Should I Store Loaded Mags?
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Tim the student
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Store them till you shoot them.
To replace the spring, just take the mag apart and put a new one in.
There is a tab on the bottom of the mag. Slide that out - use a bullet tip if you need to. Once that is out, the spring and the follower slide out as well. It takes some practice to do easily, but there isn't much to it.
This shows it pretty well.
To replace the spring, just take the mag apart and put a new one in.
There is a tab on the bottom of the mag. Slide that out - use a bullet tip if you need to. Once that is out, the spring and the follower slide out as well. It takes some practice to do easily, but there isn't much to it.
This shows it pretty well.
Art Eatman
Moderator In Memoriam
My father gave me a bunch of bring-back pistols from WW II. They'd been in storage with loaded mags for around 45 or 50 years. They all functioned perfectly.
In any decent spring steel, high temperatures from rapid cycling over a long period of time is what reduces the performance. Think of automobile valve springs: Being parked for years in a museum doesn't hurt a thing. But racers must regularly replace valve springs.
In any decent spring steel, high temperatures from rapid cycling over a long period of time is what reduces the performance. Think of automobile valve springs: Being parked for years in a museum doesn't hurt a thing. But racers must regularly replace valve springs.
Thanks for your help! When I purchased the Mini 30 it came with about 7 loaded mags and not sure how old they were when I bought the gun. I know that by now they have been sitting in an ammo can loaded for about 9 years. I plan on rotating the ammo this weekend at the range. Thanks again.
Waywatcher
Member
Until you shoot them.
It's like a car's suspension, it doesn't wear out sitting in the driveway, it wears out going up and down.
It's like a car's suspension, it doesn't wear out sitting in the driveway, it wears out going up and down.
Maverick223
Member
^That's the right answer.
BTW, I don't put my truck up on blocks to prevent damage to my suspension either.
arizona98tj
Member
On blocks or on tires, it is not likely your suspension would be 100% compressed. If it is, you need a higher spring rate.BTW, I don't put my truck up on blocks to prevent damage to my suspension either.
And I agree....shooting them is a great way to relieve that spring pressure.
Maverick223
Member
I'm not going to shoot my truck you sadistic ba$....
...wait, we are still talking about the truck, right? 
no problem storing loaded mags indefinitely, as many here have pointed out, springs do not fail in this way (they fail from metal fatigue due to many, many cycles of use).
Storing un-loaded mags however is not a good idea, it suggests a deficiency of ammo that should be rectified as soon as finances permit
Storing un-loaded mags however is not a good idea, it suggests a deficiency of ammo that should be rectified as soon as finances permit
Z-Michigan
Member
How long you got?
As stated, springs don't fail from being compressed. With aluminum mags, some plastic mags, or wimpy thin steel mags, the feed lips may fail. With better steel mags this isn't an issue in your lifetime.
As stated, springs don't fail from being compressed. With aluminum mags, some plastic mags, or wimpy thin steel mags, the feed lips may fail. With better steel mags this isn't an issue in your lifetime.
HOW you store the loaded magazines is probably more important than being loaded. Sticking them in a cardboard box and throwing it in the corner of a damp basement, not so much.
I bought a 1000 rounds of 9mm PMC when I got a Glock 19C, and it was a bit unsettling when I opened the boxes recently and found corrosion on the cases. It's really easy to forget how old this stuff gets. My bad.
Low temps and no humidity is important, along with materials that don't harbor moisture or transmit it - like cardboard. Ammo cans do have a purpose.
I bought a 1000 rounds of 9mm PMC when I got a Glock 19C, and it was a bit unsettling when I opened the boxes recently and found corrosion on the cases. It's really easy to forget how old this stuff gets. My bad.
Low temps and no humidity is important, along with materials that don't harbor moisture or transmit it - like cardboard. Ammo cans do have a purpose.
I understand the argument that fatigue failure is dependent on the number of cycles. If the magazine is not used, there will be no fatigue. But when a spring is kept at high stress, is there not the possibility of some sort of creep deterioration?
I'm not mentioning corrosion but limiting myself to the issue of performance versus sustained stress level.
Are springs in magazines designed such that the stress level is below that where any creep damage would be expected?
I'm not mentioning corrosion but limiting myself to the issue of performance versus sustained stress level.
Are springs in magazines designed such that the stress level is below that where any creep damage would be expected?
Maverick223
Member
Creep only occurs when the strain is greater than the yielding point (but below the point of failure; typically due to brittle fracture). Most springs, at least those that were properly designed, undergo less strain than is required for such deformation, unless used improperly. I am certain (very, very, certain) that poor designs for magazines exist, but the ones for well accepted military use are not amongst them (this includes the arguably marginal design of the AR-15 magazine). OTOH, if the magazine was subjected to undue heat (such as placed in a boiler room or the like) or conditions where it might corrode (high humidity environment) it may be subject to deformation, but that is due to poor storage not improper loading practices.
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