FULL MAG OR EMPTY MAG

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  • SWAT153

    Plinker
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Apr 23, 2010
    35
    6
    I have a few AR magazines that are topped off and I keep them loaded at all times. A buddy told me that over time the springs will weaken and cause a malfunction. Is this true? I will probably rotated some of the mags just to help prevent that if it's a fact.
     

    VUPDblue

    Silencers Have NEVER Been Illegal !
    Rating - 100%
    25   0   1
    Mar 20, 2008
    12,885
    83
    Franklin Township
    Constant state, be that loaded or unloaded, is not what degrades a spring. What degrades a spring is going between those states over and over, ie: loading and unloading all the time.
     

    SpydieSig

    Marksman
    Rating - 100%
    3   0   0
    Nov 26, 2019
    180
    18
    Lafayette
    Kept mags loaded for years. Emptied em all a few months ago. The springs felt brand new. These were pmags. I would have no concerns keeping my mags stored loaded.
     

    Cameramonkey

    www.thechosen.tv
    Staff member
    Moderator
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    35   0   0
    May 12, 2013
    31,688
    77
    Camby area
    There are some cases. I left a Mossberg 500 topped off for over 10 years as a HD gun. Emptied it to add an accessory and it wouldnt fully eject the last round onto the elevator. Spring had "sprung" and wouldnt fully decompress to the point the follower cap would rattle around because it didnt push it all the way to the end of the tube anymore. I tried repeatedly but it would no longer reliably eject the last round.

    I bought a new spring but took forever replacing it because I never could get the tube off the gun. Eventually after leaving it empty (a couple years) it did finally start working properly.
     

    ccha8778

    Plinker
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Oct 23, 2019
    56
    6
    The Region
    I keep about 390 rds (13 mags) fully loaded and ready to go. I keep 1 in my rifle, 3 on my plate carrier and the rest in my go bag. I also have 10+ unopened Pmags that I'm saving for a rainy day or for trade. I like to buy my .556 ammo through PSA, they often will give a decent price for 1000rds with 10 Pmags.
     

    Methane Herder

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Jan 17, 2013
    601
    63
    Pitchfork Union
    To paraphrase Major General William H. Rupertus (USMC, Retired.......

    This is my rifles magazine. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
    My magazine is my rifles friend. It is my rifles life. I must master the task of loading it as I must master my life.
    My magazine, without rounds, is useless. Without my magazine, my rifle is useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will...


    Now that I have the snark out of my system; IF the contractor who made the springs for the contactor making the magazines did their job (proper steel alloy, annealing, bending, heat treating, etc.) there should not be a problem.

    Not a lot of "ifs" just one biggish one.


    MH
     

    LarryC

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Jun 18, 2012
    2,418
    63
    Frankfort
    Any properly designed Magazine spring will NEVER take a "set" when left loaded. There were WW 45ACP colt mags found that had been fully loaded for over 25 years - when tested they functioned perfectly. Springs are only degraded by compressing and releasing them. They do have a limited life cycle although usually you will never see a spring fail in use as the cycle life often is in the thousands or ten thousands of cycles.
    As a retired Engineer I can state with impudently that anyone that believes the mag springs will be degraded by leaving them fully loaded is totally mistaken. Leave them all loaded!
     

    Whip_McCord

    Expert
    Rating - 100%
    2   0   0
    May 14, 2010
    762
    63
    NWI
    I have a few AR magazines that are topped off and I keep them loaded at all times. A buddy told me that over time the springs will weaken and cause a malfunction. Is this true? I will probably rotated some of the mags just to help prevent that if it's a fact.

    I have the same question about my revolvers' cylinders.
     

    Tanfodude

    Master
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Jul 25, 2012
    3,886
    83
    4 Seasons
    I have a few AR magazines that are topped off and I keep them loaded at all times. A buddy told me that over time the springs will weaken and cause a malfunction. Is this true? I will probably rotated some of the mags just to help prevent that if it's a fact.

    Tell your buddy to keep up with the times.
     

    Trapper Jim

    Master
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    22   0   0
    Dec 18, 2012
    2,676
    77
    Arcadia
    I have a few AR magazines that are topped off and I keep them loaded at all times. A buddy told me that over time the springs will weaken and cause a malfunction. Is this true? I will probably rotated some of the mags just to help prevent that if it's a fact.


    Can't speak for foreign substandard crap but I have had loaded Colt Model O magazines, Smith and Wesson Model 41 magazines, and various lever guns with magazine tubes fully loaded and still working for over 40 years now. My Real Bushmasters and Windhams and CCMC mags have all been stored loaded for ever. However I use all these guns several times a year so they are always getting a workout but then stuffed up and put away again. My S&W revolvers are all as sprung without one breakage and have hundreds of thousands of rounds through them. MY Real Colt SAA (Tuned Action by Jim Alaimo a lifetime ago) are still functional with no spring problems. My Remington 870 and 11/87's have run the test of time as well. I have had springs break (mostly small parts) on my Italian Black Powder Copies however. I have a 1903 Hopkins & Allen Rabbit Ear Wells Fargo Coach Gun that indeed broke a Hammer Spring but it was always kept with the Hammer at rest. I do replace my SA Recoil springs because of shrinkage but have never had one break. If you let the fear of your equipment breaking cause you to not carry as intended, you need better stuff and shoot it often.
     
    Last edited:

    therewolf

    Plinker
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Nov 9, 2013
    53
    8
    United States
    Depends on the quality of the springs. Some mag springs, like Para Ordnance, for instance, are total crap. Most good manufacturers have decent springs. Some don't, and I'd be very suspicious of any springs by a company I haven't used, yet. That said, mostly good mag springs can take quite a beating.
     

    Hohn

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Jul 5, 2012
    4,444
    63
    USA
    Constant state, be that loaded or unloaded, is not what degrades a spring. What degrades a spring is going between those states over and over, ie: loading and unloading all the time.

    this x1000. Stupid internet lore that springs fatigue just sitting there.
     

    Tombs

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Jan 13, 2011
    12,022
    113
    Martinsville
    I have a few AR magazines that are topped off and I keep them loaded at all times. A buddy told me that over time the springs will weaken and cause a malfunction. Is this true? I will probably rotated some of the mags just to help prevent that if it's a fact.

    Your buddy is wrong.

    Repeatedly loading and unloading magazines is what wears them out. Mags left loaded since ww2 are still fine today.
     
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