Spring Fatigue

You're playing it safe, to be sure. And downloading can't hurt. And may actually help with some mags.

Note, however, that rotating mags (or mag springs) doesn't prolong the life of the springs -- it just spreads the work done over a longer period of time and a greater number of springs.

(Springs don't heal with non-use. In theory, using one spring until it weakens, then another spring until it weakens, then another, will give you the same service life as rotating the springs over that same extended period, with one being used and two in reserve, etc. In the second case, however, they'll all begin to weaken at about the same time...)
 
Note, however, that rotating mags (or mag springs) doesn't prolong the life of the springs
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Sure it does, and here's how they are prolonged.
it just spreads the work done over a longer period of time and a greater number of springs.
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The more magazines you have that you can rotate in, the longer they should last or be prolonged. I say should, because there is always a chance of a weak spring now and again.

Spring won't heal with non use but, they are not wearing at a high rate either.
 
Springs won't heal with non use but, they are not wearing at a high rate either.
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You haven't prolonged the spring's working life or increased the amount of work it can do -- you've just chosen not to use it. That spring is doing less work for a given period of time, so while it's not wearing at a high rate, it's also NOT WORKING AT ALL. You've just postponed the inevitable.

And, more importantly, it now takes MORE springs to do the same amount of work in that same given period of time.

Good approach: buy three mags and never put the third mag nto the rotation? That third mag will never wear out!
 
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The point you are missing is that if you have an extra mag that you leave your defensive loads in. That spring is not being unloaded and reloaded to change out rounds each time you go to the range. For some it's a bigger deal as they my go several times a week.

I view it as a total system and not as individual magazines.
 
And, if you go do the reading that I've mentioned -- there are some good technical sources cited -- you'll find that loading and unloading mags is NOT as burdensome on the springs as some suggest.

Leaving some mags loaded, depending on the mag (whether it's a really hi-cap mag) CAN do more damage to the springs than cycling them.

JohnKSa has also cited some test results addressing this point. That's found in some of the earlier links.
 
Yep, I keep the loaded mags under loaded (except the for the CC) and rotate them out so it's not just one maxed out magazine for years at a time.
 
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