[Armanius]

Hello everyone! I recently got my first pistol, a Glock 19 Gen 4. Loving it!

I have some Federal HST LE ammo for self-defense purposes in one of the three mags that came with the gun. Can I just leave the ammo in the mag indefinitely? Would it have any detrimental effect on the mags, like maybe on the springs? Any detrimental effect on the ammo? Should I be taking the ammo out from time to time and maybe rotating amongst the three mags?

Thanks for the helps folks. I'm just a noob when it comes to firearms.

[tonyparson]

You can leave mag loaded for ever. Won't hurt the mag at all.

[boose88]

A previous post addressed the same question and a few members said that their mags would not feed 100% of the time after thousands of rounds and having them sit for months on end.

I personally rotate the mags cause I carry but Its not necessary and is EXTREMELY rare to find any mag that will do that.

conclusion- I could hurt the mag but chances that it will be fine are 99%

[Armanius]

Thanks for the quick response Tony. One more noob question, does ammo "expire" or go bad, assuming that the ammo is just sitting inside the house (as opposed to the in the middle of a rain forest)?

Thank you.

[Armanius]

Originally Posted by boose88

A previous post addressed the same question and a few members said that their mags would not feed 100% of the time after thousands of rounds and having them sit for months on end.

I personally rotate the mags cause I carry but Its not necessary and is EXTREMELY rare to find any mag that will do that.

conclusion- I could hurt the mag but chances that it will be fine are 99%

Thank you!

[skyboss_4evr]

As long as your ammo is stored in ideal conditions, you'll go bad long before it does.

[tonyparson]

As long as its stored in a dry place your ammo will last a long time. People are still using old surplus ammo that is older then I'm am.

[tonyparson]

On the mags, 7 months ago I found a G19 mag that I had lost in 1993 that was loaded. I put it in my G19 and it functioned like a new one. To this day it still has never gave me the first problem and it gets used all the time.

[Bren]

Originally Posted by Armanius

Hello everyone! I recently got my first pistol, a Glock 19 Gen 4. Loving it!

I have some Federal HST LE ammo for self-defense purposes in one of the three mags that came with the gun. Can I just leave the ammo in the mag indefinitely? Would it have any detrimental effect on the mags, like maybe on the springs? Any detrimental effect on the ammo? Should I be taking the ammo out from time to time and maybe rotating amongst the three mags?

Thanks for the helps folks. I'm just a noob when it comes to firearms.

I don't know about "indefinitely" but I've left it the magazines loaded and a round chambered for 8-9 years before, without a problem. I may have unloaded and reloaded the chambered round a few times in that time, but that's all.

[Glockdude1]

Originally Posted by tonyparson

You can leave mag loaded for ever. Won't hurt the mag at all.

Originally Posted by skyboss_4evr

As long as your ammo is stored in ideal conditions, you'll go bad long before it does.

Originally Posted by tonyparson

As long as its stored in a dry place your ammo will last a long time. People are still using old surplus ammo that is older then I'm am.

Originally Posted by tonyparson

On the mags, 7 months ago I found a G19 mag that I had lost in 1993 that was loaded. I put it in my G19 and it functioned like a new one. To this day it still has never gave me the first problem and it gets used all the time.

[kelsitone]

http://glocktalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=431877

[janice6]

My Father passed away and I received his 1911. It had been under his pillow for at least 10 years I know of. How many more I can't guess.

(Side note: He was a DS in Cook County during Prohibition and always had a loaded pistol around him after that. He didn't carry. He told me no stories of his duty.)

Since he had the same chambered round all that time, when I got it I had to use a dowel and press the round out back through the chamber. The brass had corroded in the chamber in that time.

The magazine seemed fine.

At least re-oil the gun and cycle a new round through it once in a while.

[PAGunner]

There are stories of 1911's from WW2 found 50 years later loaded +1 that functioned perfectly when fired. With nickel plated brass corrosion really isn't an issue. I keep my handguns loaded and all I use for defensive rounds is HST, should be a non issue.

Btw, USE is what wears magazine springs not keeping them loaded.

[Armanius]

Thank you for the quick responses everyone. They are VERY much appreciated! This is a great forum!

[mglindo]

Originally Posted by skyboss_4evr

As long as your ammo is stored in ideal conditions, you'll go bad long before it does.

[Bruce M]

I had a P226 magazine that was loaded with HydraShoks sometimes toward the end of the Hurricane Andrew recovery phase that I finally tried a year or two ago. The magazine and ammunition was fine. That said I would try to shoot ammunition I carry every year or two just to be cautious. I have a vague concern about ammuntion carried in a gun deteriorating from either lubricant or moisture. And I try to not cycle rounds into and out of the chamber too much to try to avoid the bullet being set further into the case than it should as that may cause pressure to rise.

[SJ 40]

I do but then again that's just me. SJ 40

[jim goose]

My experience is different. I had two 10 rd mags for my g19 for the past 10 yrs. One was kept fully loaded at all times, I switched every yr or so. Those mags were probably only used 10 times or so at the range, so they were not cycled too much. Now the last round in both mags ftf's.

If you load a new mag and leave it there for 10 yrs maybe its fine, but any kind of cycling and you're better of replacing springs every 5 yrs or so.

[seed]

Originally Posted by jim goose

My experience is different. I had two 10 rd mags for my g19 for the past 10 yrs. One was kept fully loaded at all times, I switched every yr or so. Those mags were probably only used 10 times or so at the range, so they were not cycled too much. Now the last round in both mags ftf's.

If you load a new mag and leave it there for 10 yrs maybe its fine, but any kind of cycling and you're better of replacing springs every 5 yrs or so.

The neutered 10 round Glock mags were always kind of twitchy for me. Their design is the problem in my opinion. Standard capacity mags work much better and only require an occasional spring change upon much use. Going to the extra power springs seems to help on occasion when I go to stronger recoil springs and they may last longer as well.

[barth]

Originally Posted by Armanius

Hello everyone! I recently got my first pistol, a Glock 19 Gen 4. Loving it!

I have some Federal HST LE ammo for self-defense purposes in one of the three mags that came with the gun. Can I just leave the ammo in the mag indefinitely? Would it have any detrimental effect on the mags, like maybe on the springs? Any detrimental effect on the ammo? Should I be taking the ammo out from time to time and maybe rotating amongst the three mags?

Thanks for the helps folks. I'm just a noob when it comes to firearms.

The act of repeated compression/decompression is what causes metal fatigue.
Keeping the mag loaded has no ill effect.
The real issue is the ammo itself.
The real enemy of ammo is moisture.

Make sure you prove your gun, magazines and chosen SD ammo are reliable.
And that where you store them is safe and dry.