[ContractSoldier]

The purpose of this thread is to see what everyone's view's are on the different schools of thought when it comes to wear on the magazine spring when leaving magazines loaded for self defense.

On one side, there are those who state that leaving the magazine fully loaded all of the time, wears the spring out faster and the magazines should be empty and rotated from mag to mag.

On the other side are those who state that the consistent loading and unloading of magazines will, overtime, wear the magazine spring worse then if you would just leave them always loaded, there for they should be kept loaded at all times.

Then there's the middle of the road side, that state that you can keep the magazines always loaded, just keep two rounds out of the magazine (13 rounds in a 15 round magazine) to be easier on the spring.

I personally keep one 15 round magazine loaded with 13 rounds, loaded at all times for my Beretta M9. So what do you think and what do you do?

[countrygun]

I'll just make it as simple as I can.

I have shot magazines that I loaded new and stored for years after moving and they worked fine. I have shot magazines that have deen stored for probably decades and as long as there was no rust they worked fine.

I have worn out mag springs in less than 2 years using them as range mags.

That tells me something.

[Glockdude1]

Originally Posted by countrygun

I'll just make it as simple as I can.

I have shot magazines that I loaded new and stored for years after moving and they worked fine. I have shot magazines that have deen stored for probably decades and as long as there was no rust they worked fine.

I have worn out mag springs in less than 2 years using them as range mags.

That tells me something.

[NeverMore1701]

There's not really any debate on how springs work.

[M&P15T]

Originally Posted by NeverMore1701

There's not really any debate on how springs work.

Or wear out.

No debate what-so-ever.

Repeated cycling through their compression range is what wears them out.

To believe anything else is igonorant.

[AK_Stick]

Leaving a magazine loaded, even for extended periods of time, shouldn't adversely effect the magazine.


That said, M9 mags, seem to be POS and require continual/often cleaning/maintenance.


I've had glock and H&K pistol mags loaded for years with no issues. I would never try that with my M-9. I clean its mags once a week, and verify function.

[NeverMore1701]

Originally Posted by AK_Stick

Leaving a magazine loaded, even for extended periods of time, shouldn't adversely effect the magazine.


That said, M9 mags, seem to be POS and require continual/often cleaning/maintenance.


I've had glock and H&K pistol mags loaded for years with no issues. I would never try that with my M-9. I clean its mags once a week, and verify function.

What brands? My factory and Mec-Gars have been 100% for up to 2 years.

[12131]

Originally Posted by NeverMore1701

What brands? My factory and Mec-Gars have been 100% for up to 2 years.

He's probably talking about the Check Mate mags.
Mec-Gar mags are the best. Until someone makes aftermarket mags that can sing for me, I'm sticking with Mec-Gar.

[M&P15T]

Originally Posted by AK_Stick

That said, M9 mags, seem to be POS and require continual/often cleaning/maintenance.


I've had glock and H&K pistol mags loaded for years with no issues. I would never try that with my M-9. I clean its mags once a week, and verify function.

M9 mags would not be any different than any other mags. It's just that mags in the Military are far more heavily used, so they wear out much faster.

Cleaning mags (loading and unloading them repeatedly) is only increasing the wear on the springs. You're doing more harm than good.

[NEOH212]

Originally Posted by M&P15T

M9 mags would not be any different than any other mags. It's just that mags in the Military are far more heavily used, so they wear out much faster.

Cleaning mags (loading and unloading them repeatedly) is only increasing the wear on the springs. You're doing more harm than good.

+1 on that!

[AK_Stick]

Originally Posted by M&P15T

M9 mags would not be any different than any other mags. It's just that mags in the Military are far more heavily used, so they wear out much faster.

Cleaning mags (loading and unloading them repeatedly) is only increasing the wear on the springs. You're doing more harm than good.

Cleaning M-9 mags regularly, is the only way to ensure that you'll have a fire able sidearm when you need it.


I've had that issue with Mec-Gar, Beretta and Checkmate, and although the Checkmate's were the worst, and the new "sand modified" Beretta's the best, it has something to do with the design of the M-9 magazine, because every one of the magazines I own, and have carried on deployment have exhibited that behavior at one time or another.

[M&P15T]

Originally Posted by AK_Stick

Cleaning M-9 mags regularly, is the only way to ensure that you'll have a fire able sidearm when you need it.


I've had that issue with Mec-Gar, Beretta and Checkmate, and although the Checkmate's were the worst, and the new "sand modified" Beretta's the best, it has something to do with the design of the M-9 magazine, because every one of the magazines I own, and have carried on deployment have exhibited that behavior at one time or another.

Are you talking about sidearms you carried while deployed to the Middle East?

[AK_Stick]

Originally Posted by M&P15T

Are you talking about sidearms you carried while deployed to the Middle East?

Some of my experience comes from the Middle East, some of it from carrying in Haiti, and some from Kosovo

I have some new 90-2 mags that have performed much better but I rexeived them late in my last deployment and only used them for about 6 wks

[larson1122]

Originally Posted by NeverMore1701

There's not really any debate on how springs work.

Exactly. Load em up and don't worry about it.

OP, here's a thread from a few days ago that might be of interest. As you could imagine people will never be able to agree on this subject.
http://www.glocktalk.com/forums/show....php?t=1445436

[NEOH212]

Using them wears the spring and to a lesser extent, everything else.

Leaving them loaded doesn't hurt anything. I've left mags loaded for years and never had one issue when I used them after.

If your worried about it, leave one less round in your mags or rotate them on a regular basis. I don't see any need to do that though.

[12131]

Originally Posted by NEOH212

Using them wears the spring and to a lesser extent, everything else.

Leaving them loaded doesn't hurt anything. I've left mags loaded for years and never had one issue when I used them after.

If your worried about it, leave one less round in your mags or rotate them on a regular basis. I don't see any need to do that though.

Edited for you.

[NEOH212]

Originally Posted by 12131

Edited for you.

Did you by chance read the part you edited out where I said I wouldn't bother with that?

Apparently not.

It helps to read the post completely BEFORE posting a response.

Your welcome.

[NEOH212]

Not to mention that you completely missed the point.

(Why am I not surprised....)

[12131]

Originally Posted by NEOH212

Did you by chance read the part you edited out where I said I wouldn't bother with that?

Apparently not.

It helps to read the post completely BEFORE posting a response.

Your welcome.

If your worried about it, leave one less round in your mags or rotate them on a regular basis. I don't see any need to do that though.
OK, since you're so smart, here's English lesson of the day. Striking out part of your last paragraph and leaving the last sentence intact, as above, makes any sense to you?
Since it's already established that leaving the mag fully loaded for years does not affect its function, what's the point of being "worried about it"? Hence, I struck out your entire last paragraph.

That concludes the lesson for the day. You 're welcome, sir/ma'am . Get yourself some sense of humor, will you?

Btw, I leave my mags fully loaded for years, too. Never had a problem.

[quichedem]

Just like any other internet myth, science usually debunks it for those willing to take the time to try to believe the science. Unfortunately, most folks don't want to trust the science behind the debunking. Take Mr. Zackwatt, for instance. He's presented a very standard stress-strain curve for the very material most magazine springs are made of. As long as the spring operates within the elastic range shown in the curve between the origin and point A (which a descent engineer will make sure of by designing the rest of the magazine properly), the spring will not "weaken." The main things that will weaken a spring are: Operation beyond the elastic limit into plastic deformation (i.e.: loading more rounds into the magazine than the manufacturer says to), vibrations that cause a natural frequency (I can't even think of a scenario where a human can cause this to happen to a magazine spring), or if the spring is annealed (this would change the curve that Zackwatt provided, and I wouldn't trust any part of any gun that has been through that kind of heat treatment anyway.
So, until Ginger and The Walrus on Mythbusters go through the trouble to disprove this one, I guess we're stuck with the masses that espouse the same old "leave a round out, etc." Aah, the interwebz!

[NEOH212]

Originally Posted by 12131

If your worried about it, leave one less round in your mags or rotate them on a regular basis. I don't see any need to do that though.
OK, since you're so smart, here's English lesson of the day. Striking out part of your last paragraph and leaving the last sentence intact, as above, makes any sense to you?
Since it's already established that leaving the mag fully loaded for years does not affect its function, what's the point of being "worried about it"? Hence, I struck out your entire last paragraph.

That concludes the lesson for the day. You 're welcome, sir/ma'am . Get yourself some sense of humor, will you?

Btw, I leave my mags fully loaded for years, too. Never had a problem.

It's too bad that there isn't a go pound salt smilie since writing what I really want to would cost me an infraction.

[tuica]

However - Mas Ayoob claims he empties and rotates carry mags when changing to/from standard/daylight saving time. So...Cheers.

Originally Posted by NEOH212

Using them wears the spring and to a lesser extent, everything else.

Leaving them loaded doesn't hurt anything. I've left mags loaded for years and never had one issue when I used them after.

If your worried about it, leave one less round in your mags or rotate them on a regular basis. I don't see any need to do that though.

[X-Centric]

Originally Posted by tuica

However - Mas Ayoob claims he empties and rotates carry mags when changing to/from standard/daylight saving time. So...Cheers.

There you go. Good enough for me. And think about it, springs are made to expand and contract. Under constant tension for long periods they have to weaken eventually. Take a vehcle that's put away for long term storage. The normall thing to do is to put it up on blocks so the springs won't wear our prematurely and the body is dragging the ground. I rotate the magazines for my G-19, SR9C and Mini-14 every month.
To each his own.
Opinions are like elbows, most people have two!

[Bruce M]

My limited experience suggests that if a magazine is used regularly it will give ample warning that the spring is getting weaker.

[samuse]

I would never even load a mag to it's full capacity. At least download by two or three rounds.

I also never leave my magazines loaded for any longer than possible. Like when I'm at a match, I unload all of my magazines between stages and only load the magazines I'm going to use when I'm on deck.

If I'm just at the range practicing, I only load two rounds in a magazine at a time, but I only shoot one round. This keeps the tension on the spring at a minimum and prevents follower wear.

As soon as I get done shooting I fully disassemble all of my magazines, clean them with q-tips and store the springs completely relaxed.