Magazine storage...

[1BadTitan]

I bought an extra magazine to load with hollow pts for home defense, so the other 2 are for the range. My question is this... Can I leave the magazine fully loaded (13) without the spring wearing out? I wonder if that will stretch the spring and the clip wouldn't work right. Whatcha think?

[danp]

I bought an extra magazine to load with hollow pts for home defense, so the other 2 are for the range. My question is this... Can I leave the magazine fully loaded (13) without the spring wearing out? I wonder if that will stretch the spring and the clip wouldn't work right. Whatcha think?

It will be fine.

[LorDiego01]

The problem comes with loading and unloading a mag numerous times. If its a modern mag, having it loaded versus unloaded makes no difference.

[whoshisface]

Springs don't tend to spontaneously wear out.

If made properly they will work fine X number of times under Y load.

It's not so much the time under load, though that does play a factor.

I wouldn't really rely on a 10 year old loaded mag, but I wouldn't be surprised if it worked like new either.

That being said, if you're going to use one as a self-defence only mag, buy a new one every year or so and take the old one and make it practice mag.

That comes to what between $2-5 a month.

Small change for piece of mind and another loaded mag in your practice bag, if you have a LTCF.

[DPB]

I agree with the above posts, but would like to add one thing. All statements regarding the care and feeding of magazines should be preceded by the statement: "Assuming you have a quality magazine with a quality spring." I believe a lot of the mis-information about mags is comes from experience with bad mags, especially during the 1994-2004 mag ban. There were (are) a lot of mags out there that look like someone stamped them out with a sledge hammer, which have springs which are frequently not of true spring steel. For non-1911s, stick with OEM or Mec-Gar (which, in many cases, are OEM). For 1911s, stick with mags like Wilsons or McCormick Power Mags.

As stated above, repeated compressions/decompressions are what wear out a quality spring, not a continual state of compression. If you are not shooting every week (or more) you are unlikely to wear out good springs.

Having said all of that, you have to treat magazines as what the Army refers to as "durable expendable." Run them as long as they are good. If you need a new spring or follower, replace the offending part. If the feed lips are mangled, or the welds are failing, or there is an un-diagnosed problem, the mag becomes an expedient target.

[Frenchy]

I agree with the above posts, but would like to add one thing. All statements regarding the care and feeding of magazines should be preceded by the statement: "Assuming you have a quality magazine with a quality spring." I believe a lot of the mis-information about mags is comes from experience with bad mags, especially during the 1994-2004 mag ban. There were (are) a lot of mags out there that look like someone stamped them out with a sledge hammer, which have springs which are frequently not of true spring steel.

Actually, I have seen people with "plastic" stack mags complain of sewlling i fyou keep the mags filled in extreme heat. IE: Trunk of a car can easely reach 150 degrees, and if left there filled for a period of time, they can and do swell. As the bullet has no place to go up, and it is under constant pressure to go that way, the only place to go is sideways, and the plastic being softened will allow them to do so causing a swell.

[DPB]

Frenchy,

Plastic mags are another can of worms entirely. Not mags like the current Glock mags, which are really plastic coated steel, but things like AR Thermolds and such. I've seen them swell too, even if just left loaded, no extreme heat necessary. Also, with plastic bodied mags, I've found that the feed lips just do not maintain their shape, either due to heat distortion or metal in the gun or cartridge wearing on the plastic.

The original Glock mags were designed to swell when loaded, so they didn't drop free. The thought being that a soldier is issued a pistol with one magazine, so this feature prevented the magazine from being inadvertently dropped.

I'm not aware of anyone who is making an all plastic handgun mag currently, and I don't know of anyone who choses to use plastic rifle mags if a metal option is available.

[aubie515]

I have never had an issue with leaving a loaded mag for months on end...I do try to rotate the mags every few months to make sure that they all function.

I would advise to visit this site...cannot go wrong with Wolff springs..plus they are local.

http://gunsprings.com/1ndex.html

[dgg9]

Plastic mags are another can of worms entirely. Not mags like the current Glock mags, which are really plastic coated steel, but things like AR Thermolds and such.

Here's one data point: back when I commuted 25 miles to work each day, my "trunk gun" was a G17 with 3 loaded mags (downloaded to 15 rds each, containing Speer GDs), plus holsters and flashlight etc in a satchel.

Every morning I'd toss the satchel in the trunk, where it sat all day until I got home: 100+ degrees all day in the summer, zero degrees sometimes in the winter, with all cycles of humidity.

Every 6 months or so I'd go to the range and shoot out the ammo that had been in the bag. All mags dropped free; none were damaged. Every HP round without exception cycled and fed.

Thus I think the FML Glock mags can take the elements.

[DPB]

I may have been unclear, I was trying to say that the current Glock mags are not subject to the problems associated with other plastic mags.