mag question

**steelerfan** · July 6th, 2011, 04:45 PM

Ok,I have a S&W M&P .40 with a 15 capacity mag & my question is this...
Does it hurt the mag in any way if I leave it loaded with the full 15 rounds in it for long periods of time. I usually keep it in my nightstand drawer but out of the gun so it's ready to go if & when needed

**CHEMICAL** · July 6th, 2011, 04:50 PM

Originally Posted by steelerfan

Ok,I have a S&W M&P .40 with a 15 capacity mag & my question is this...
Does it hurt the mag in any way if I leave it loaded with the full 15 rounds in it for long periods of time. I usually keep it in my nightstand drawer but out of the gun so it's ready to go if & when needed

There are guys here that will tell you no. I have personally experienced springs getting compressed from being left loaded, and failing to feed properly, so I say yes. But do what you think is best. Springs are made and designed to go up and down or back and forth, not to stay compressed for long periods of time. For what it's worth I rotate my mags every month or two.

**steelerfan** · July 6th, 2011, 05:04 PM

Yeah,that's exactly what I was worried about, thanks

**FLICK** · July 6th, 2011, 05:10 PM

You'll get a thousand ppl telling you different things. So expect a bunch of YMMV. Shoot the loaded mags up first on each range trip (if you feel comfy shooting up your SD/HD ammo). Mags springs are, relatively speaking, cheap. Replace at an interval you prefer (yearly?). I have three mags for my current carry gun of choice (hey, it's an M&P, wowzers!), and I rotate them weekly or so. The top round, which has probably been chambered 2 or 3 times, goes in a baggy and gets shot at the range to prevent any ill effects from bullet set back or pocket lint peening or gremlin boogers or sticky finger fouling.

**pahuntnfool** · July 6th, 2011, 05:15 PM

I have a M&P 40 I keep 3 mags loaded with my self defense ammo and 3 for range use. I have had it for 4 months and have rotated the mags 2 times. I have heard pros and cons I figured doesn't hurt to just switch them out every so often.

**IronButt** · July 6th, 2011, 07:03 PM

If you take it out & shoot it, you don't have to worry about it.

Sorry. Just being a smartass.

**steelerfan** · July 6th, 2011, 07:52 PM

True,however I use target ammo at the range & save the SD stuff for SD

**harold63** · July 6th, 2011, 08:00 PM

I have military surplus mags for my AR that are old and they stay loaded year round. I maybe check them once a year and they all work fine. Personally, I have never seen a mag spring fail in all of my years of shooting. If you are more comfortable rotating them, then do it, what is it going to hurt? I have one mag for an Astra A 80 that is years old and it stays loaded (all 15 9mm) year round and it feeds every round when I might shoot the thing twice a year. This is a what makes you feel more comfortable thing. If your mag spring fails, they are cheap. I hate to disagree, but they are designed to be compressed for long periods. How many police officers have the same mag springs in their Sig P226's or their Glocks that they have practiced with and duty carried for years? A lot.

**ah0873** · July 6th, 2011, 09:44 PM

Originally Posted by FLICK

You'll get a thousand ppl telling you different things. So expect a bunch of YMMV. Shoot the loaded mags up first on each range trip (if you feel comfy shooting up your SD/HD ammo). Mags springs are, relatively speaking, cheap. Replace at an interval you prefer (yearly?). I have three mags for my current carry gun of choice (hey, it's an M&P, wowzers!), and I rotate them weekly or so. The top round, which has probably been chambered 2 or 3 times, goes in a baggy and gets shot at the range to prevent any ill effects from bullet set back or pocket lint peening or gremlin boogers or sticky finger fouling.

What he said. And, I'd rather spend a couple of bucks every so often replacing springs than having a gun on my nightstand unloaded... Just make sure you shoot regularly enough with the magazines so you know when to swap them out - a loaded gun on a nightstand that fails isn't the greatest thing either

I personally have 3-4 magazines for each gun I own. I've gotten in the habit or switching up mags (meaning unloading one and loading another one) to have by my nightstand every time I go into my safe to re-charge my dehumidifier...

**CHEMICAL** · July 6th, 2011, 09:56 PM

Here is just one actual experiment...please note, it's just one. But still, I see a lot of speculation from people but no one actually trying this:

http://www.ballistics101.com/mag_spring_experiment.php

As I have said before I have personally experienced a failure due to a mag spring getting compressed. It was only within the last round or two out of the magazine, but to me, any failure is fatal.