Can leaving a shotgun loaded weaken the mag spring?
- Thread starter '75Scout
- Start date
psycho nut
New member
spring
It hasn't affected me at all, I have the tube full constantly and have no problems
It hasn't affected me at all, I have the tube full constantly and have no problems
Yes, leaving the gun loaded will weaken the spring. But frequent loading and unloading will also. It's one of those things that comes along with general use.
On the bright side, it takes a lot of wear before the mag spring in your average pump shotgun craps out. LOTS of wear.
You should have no problems from that particular part while leaving your gun loaded, but there are a few other reasons to function check every few months or so. Just to make sure there is no rust, or crud inside it. That kind of stuff tends to accumulate faster in an uncased gun. Once again it takes a LOT to prevent function, but its an easy thing to do, and it adds an extra sense of security to the whole operation.
Shoot safe
BigFunWMU
On the bright side, it takes a lot of wear before the mag spring in your average pump shotgun craps out. LOTS of wear.
You should have no problems from that particular part while leaving your gun loaded, but there are a few other reasons to function check every few months or so. Just to make sure there is no rust, or crud inside it. That kind of stuff tends to accumulate faster in an uncased gun. Once again it takes a LOT to prevent function, but its an easy thing to do, and it adds an extra sense of security to the whole operation.
Shoot safe
BigFunWMU
Dfariswheel
New member
The big danger with leaving shotgun magazines loaded long term isn't the spring.
The danger is shotshell compression.
The constant pressure causes the plastic cases to compress and develop bulges between the case head and the shot column.
These bulges can cause stoppages.
The fix, is to shoot up the old ammo.
Taking the shells out of the magazine and "resting them" won't work.
The bulges don't go away, and as soon as they're put in a magazine again, the bulging continues where it stopped.
Another aid to reduce compression is to buy Premium brand American made shells.
The plastic seems to stand up better than cheap ammo or foreign made ammo.
The danger is shotshell compression.
The constant pressure causes the plastic cases to compress and develop bulges between the case head and the shot column.
These bulges can cause stoppages.
The fix, is to shoot up the old ammo.
Taking the shells out of the magazine and "resting them" won't work.
The bulges don't go away, and as soon as they're put in a magazine again, the bulging continues where it stopped.
Another aid to reduce compression is to buy Premium brand American made shells.
The plastic seems to stand up better than cheap ammo or foreign made ammo.
Death from Afar
New member
Dfariswheel is dead right. Particularly with extension magazines, the higher tension spring can "mash" a shotshell, and you will have problems when you need the gun in a hurry. I may get flamed for this, but this is another reason not to have the gun loaded at all times. If you do, you MUST cycle the ammo regularly.