Dropping magazines on hard surfaces?

O

OhioGuy

New member
I've noticed that at shooting classes and league meets at my range, when people practice or encounter an emergency reload, they just let their mags fall to the floor and move on.

It's just a piece of metal with a spring, but I'm wondering if anyone has ever known of magazines being damaged by repeatedly being dropped onto a concrete surface.

My only concern would be that 1 in 1 billion event when I really need that magazine to work, and suddenly something jams because it bounced off the floor one too many times :eek:
 
When someone is trying kill you, the fastest possible reload is advisable. That probably means letting the empty mag hit the floor.

But you are right, I don't like the idea of unduly abusing any equipment.
 
It can eventually damage a magazine; but it usually takes awhile. If you are doing a lot of training then magazines are a consumable item like anything else.
 
There is a thing called a "training scar". If you regularly practice carefully removing you magazine with your off hand, placing it in your pocket or on the bench, and only then going for your reload magazine, you will likely do that same thing when your life depended on getting your weapon ready for a follow up shot as quickly as humanly possible. There have been stories of LEOs doing such things in firefights, like collecting brass and putting it in their pocket because that's the way they always did it during range practice.

In stressful times you fall back on your training, and that training is what your subconscious is recording as you repeat it over and over again whether that was intentional or not. So be very careful about the way you practice. (For example, I never stop to diagnose occasional jams, I expediently clear them and continue shooting).

That said, there are a few things you can do to make sure your magazines won't fail you.

  • You can get bumpers for the bottoms of your magazines so that they are cushioned on impact and not slamming down on the base plates.
  • You can keep a set of mags for training and another set for self defense use (make sure you thoroughly test those though!).
  • You can practice on a softer surface. Bring a mat or foam to lay down on the concrete pad in front of you, stand on grass or dirt if possible, if necessary stand so your gun is over the bench and the mag won't drop as far.
 
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I've done 10 different courses, some multi day. In that time I've dropped magazines on concrete and compacted gravel. I haven't had a magazine fail on me yet. That includes HK USP Compact 9mm magazines, SIG P226 magazines, Glock 19 magazines, AR15 Pmags, and surplus Polish AK mags. I actually haven't seen a magazine by another classmate fail either, at least not by impact (I have seen stuck followers in AK mags with worn out springs or rust on the followers).

All that said I still keep a separate set of magazines for training and one for defense. You have to test both of course but this way if I do somehow run into a failure as a result of a number of drops it won't affect what I use to defend my life with.
 
I have done this many times with my PM. It doesn't seem to hurt them. Much less, almost nothing seems to hurt the PM either.
 
Quality mags -- typically factory mags -- can and will take a lot of abuse and keep on ticking.

The only time I've ever had mags misbehave is when I picked up some really cheap Ramline mags for CZs from CDNN (like $3 each), and they worked for quite a while at the range... but a few, when they dropped (after a good bit of use) disassembled. Not a great loss. (Those were really unusual mags with a coiled spring (like in a clock or watch, riveted to the follower and the rear of the top of the mag tube). No replacing worn springs, etc.

Never had that sort of problem with good quality mags.

As others have said -- worrying about mags should be the least of your worries. Just have some you set aside for carry, if it's really a concern, and use the rest of them for gun games or play at the range.
 
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I've only had one magazine suffer from being dropped even on concrete floors.
The welded on base plate came off, letting the spring, follower and all the rounds go flying.
But it was just that one out of countless mag drops over the years.
It was probably the result of a badly made mag rather than from hitting the ground.
 
In many years of weekly training, and several professionally instructed classes attended, I have only had 2 mags fail ( both cheaper 1911 mags with welded base plates --- and small bumpers ). 90% of my training is done at ranges with concrete floors.... / ...and in my range bag today, I keep 10 mags for training ( Wilson mags in 9mm mostly, with ETM base pads )....and I routinely let them hit the floor 20 or more times in a range session ....and I have never had a Wilson mag fail. Now once in a while a mag will hit the floor just right, to cause a base pad to loosen slightly...but they snap right back into place.

I do keep my carry mags separate...from training mags.

Good base pads are a necessity to protect your mags in my view.
 
Good base pads are a necessity to protect your mags in my view.
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While I can see that being true for 1911 mags or mags with metal baseplates, any factory mag I've ever had with a plastic or rubber baseplate was fine in that regard. I guess I'm essentially agreeing with you, just saying that for many mags that issue will be taken care of.
 
I've only had one magazine suffer from being dropped even on concrete floors.
The welded on base plate came off, letting the spring, follower and all the rounds go flying.
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I've also had that happen to a USGI 1911 mag. Thats kind of a weak point on those mags. Probably the reason bumpers were invented.

Also had a CZ75 mag spontaneously disassemble on impact, but with no permanent harm. The metal base plate on that one probably just wasn't on all the way to begin with. I never had another problem with it.

I can't think of any other problems I've had with dropped mags.
 
My only concern would be that 1 in 1 billion event when I really need that magazine to work, and suddenly something jams because it bounced off the floor one too many times
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Absolutely...as a case in point, if you bend the feed lips on a 1911 magazine, you've bought yourself some trouble feeding...take care of your magazines...Rod
 
I would like to see testing done, particularly with 1911 magazines, at different heights, at different impact angles and points, qnd with different types of floorplates

I have one wilson with a Plastic floor plate, it is a newer 7rd mag with plastic follower and extended tube with plastic floorplate, i wonder if this design would hold up against impact better than what i prefer, which is 7rd GI style welded floorplate magazines.
 
My Sig 226's....came with factory Sig mags...and only the flat metal base plates on the mags...no bumpers. ( I don't shoot the Sig 226's that much ...I'm a 1911 guy ) ...but I picked up some rubber mag bumpers for the Sig 226's and those have held up well also.

Several of my buddies shoot 1911's in our weekly tactical drills and friendly competitions ( Springfield, Kimber, Les Baer and Ed Brown ) ....and they have all converted to Wilson mags after their factory supplied mags were failing when dropped on concrete after a few months ( and most of those supplied mags as I recall had welded base plates on them...)...some of the guys are using Wilson mags with their smaller standard plastic bumpers, some use the wilson mags with the aluminum bumpers, and I prefer the enlarged ETM base plates....and they have all held up for at least 2 years.

I like the durability of the Wilson mags....and I prefer the ETM base pads - bumpers...because I have large hands and they just seem to fit in my hands and work better for me on Speed Reloads.

as a note ( Les Baer used to ship his guns with MetalForm mags...and those were the ones with welded base plates that fractured..sending springs, etc all over the place when they failed )....I don't have any idea who was manufacturing or supplying mags for Springfield, Kimber or Ed Brown ...

followup note...discussing this with my buddy at range yesterday, he reminded me that one of the reasons ( besides protecting the mag from damage as we drop them on concrete floors ) is we like good bumpers on our mags on a "speed reload" drill ...where we drop a spent mag, and we slap that new mag into the gun very firmly ....and the "bumper" helps us have enough "meat" on the mag to get that done consistently. He prefers the older style metal bumpers on his wilson mags ( his hands are smaller than mine) ...and I like the ETM bigger bumpers because it give me a larger surface that I like...the size of the ETM bumper base plate helps me get a firm grip on the mag coming out of the mag pouch - the smaller ones, slip areound too much in my hands..
 
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in the Navy we were instructed during reloads to let the mags fall on the ground. I never saw any dents or signs of damage on them. the handguns themselves were a different story.
 
"It's just a piece of metal with a spring, but I'm wondering if anyone has ever known of magazines being damaged by repeatedly being dropped onto a concrete surface."

Yes.

I dropped one (not out of the gun, but out of my hand) some years ago at the NRA range and bent the feed lips.

Wouldn't feed worth crap until I went after it with a pair of needle nose pliers.
 
In my experience dropping mags on concrete or asphalt results in spread mag lips and broken welds. I had a Mag Pac come apart one time as well. At our indoor league we'd place a carpet remnant out in front of the shooter to help prevent damage to dropped mags.

Ultimately, mags are consumable. Once you settle on a brand and type- buy a few extra.
 
I have carry magazines, seldom if ever dropped.
Practice and match magazines dropped as required for hasty reloads.

I recall two mags with spot welded floorplates failing. One when dropped, the other waiting in the range bag. The manufacturer replaced them.

I had two magazines of soft metal that would splay their lips if dropped with a couple rounds left in an IPSC speed load. I ironed them out and reused them for non critical applications such as practice and low level matches.

I have had detachable floorplates come off when dropped. They nearly always go back on... if you can find the follower, spring, floorplate, and retainer in the weeds.

Some designs are subject to spitting their contents out the top when dropped. You can usually cram the guts back in and return them to duty.
 
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