Loaded magazines

D

DAKODAKID

New member
Is it bad to keep ammo loaded in mags????
I have a gun safe with 10 mags loaded and 10 mags unloaded.
Will keeping the mags loaded shorten the life of the springs???
I have heard different stories saying it won't hurt them(examples of 1911 mags being loaded since WW2 that still
worked fine) to it will shorten the life of the springs.
There is alot of knowledgeable people on this board that
should be able to answer this once and for all..
I don't want to grab a loaded mag to find out it won't work because the springs have fatigued!!!!
Thanks..
 
I have had friends that have kept their magazines fully loaded for extended periods of time. Some have had spring failures while others haven't. I have also heard both sides of the story as well. Some say it's ok and some don't. Personally, I opted to keep my magazines a little more than 60% of capacity. Both my HK USP 40c and my Glock 23 have only 7 rounds in the magazine while they are kept at home.....fully capacity while on duty...hoping that will prevent from any spring damage.

Semper Fi-
JJC
 
For any particular semi-auto my practice is to keep some mags loaded and some unloaded, rotating them every so often (two, three weeks). Those that are loaded I will typically load to less than full capacity, keeping, e.g., eight rounds in a 10-round magazine. Sometimes I will keep a primary house self-defense weapon with a fully loaded magazine, but I'm not sure ten rounds produces any more security than eight. I wouldn't trust anecdotal information about ancient springs too heavily; a 1911 with a mag that's been loaded for fifty years may work, yes--but do you want to bet your life on that? I don't.
 
Personally, I wouldn't keep any mag loaded for more than two months. If I don't have enough mags for a particular gun that I can rotate them, I will rotate my guns. The only ones that I keep loaded always are my revolvers and break open action pistols. Better safe than sorry!
 
I have a short-gripped Colt ( detonics-length )which has been loaded except for BRIEF periods during shootingsince I got it in 1982 both little 6-rounders are still COMPLETELY dependable. I will not hesitate to stake my life on them! I guess it comes down to who made the springs. I have a number of m-1 carbine mags, but I only store them half-filled.
crankshaft
paranoia is Your minds way of reminding You that You are not as popular as You think ( wish) you are/(were).
 
I was first told the following by a Phd in physics who is a full professor at the university. He spent his first ten years after finishing his education working in industry as a spring specialist. What he told me was later supported by a Engineering Physicst who designs missles and optical systems for the military.

Both say that what wears out springs is use, i.e. compression and relaxation. Having a magzine loaded or unloaded makes no real difference. It's using it that wears it out.

During my law enforcement career I had three magazines that I kept fully loaded (one in the gun and two spares). I used my others for practice. I still do the same thing now that I'm retired and recommend this to my students.
 
A loaded magazine is better than an empty one if you need it. I do keep 14+1 loaded in the 92FS instead of 15+1 since 15+1 (or 15+0) compresses the spring beyond full capacity and the Beretta manual says 14+1 is better on the spring. Keep in mind that springs cost $5 each and will probably outlast $500 in ammo.
These are good:
http://www.gunsprings.com
 
I recently asked the same question on the hkpro forum. Got lots of different answers. The main thing I got is you know when you need new springs when after the last shell the slide won't lock back. I got some wolf replacements for my hi-caps and they work fine.
 
Thanks for all your replys'.
I guess it is kind of like the thermos...
You can keep hot liquid or cold liquid in it...
but,
How does it know to keep it hot or cold???
I think the constant compression and decompression
of the springs would tend to make the spring wear
faster..
The modern metallography of spring design would
probably prove this.
1/2 of my mags in the safe are 3/4 loaded and the rest
are NIB.
I have separate mags for target shooting....
BTW,
all the mags are from HK pistols if that makes a difference.
 
Dave T,

Good post. To add a little of my own investigation...buddy of mine is a mechanical engineer with a background in materials. I posed this question to him and even supplied him with a mag spring to fiddle with. His response was similar to your guy's. He said leaving it compressed or uncompressed shouldn't make much of a difference unlessthere is a material flaw in the spring or it has been poorly designed for the application. He said that the elastic forces exerted on the spring during constant loading and unloading can shorten the life of a flawed spring. He felt a the service life of a well-designed, materially sound spring shouldn't change with reasonable use.

Sub
 
Think of it this way:

Which cars springs are going to wear first?

A) Prototype A - sits in the manufacturer's museum for 20 years after being produced.

-or

B) Prototype B - identical, but is taken out and driven 260,000 miles over all sorts of terrain over 20 years, compressing and decompressing the springs countless times.

This is the function of a "true spring" which is what the quality firearms come supplied with.
 
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