Do you keep your mags loaded?

[Titanium_Frost]

I have a well worn and used Colt model 1903 Hammerless made in 1922. Original everything, works flawlessly. Was stored loaded for over 20 years, I shot that ammo out of it just to test it and it never missed a beat.

Store every mag you have loaded.

 

[Titanium Man]

I've had 30 rounders loaded for seemingly forever, and all I do before I shoot them is a little tappy tap tap on the picnic table or wood bench where I'm shooting. I think some people do this to loosen the ammo, I do it for luck.

 

[et_aruba]

All my self defense weapons are always loaded and ready. As many have stated, it's the loading/unloading which will fatigue the metal spring.

 

[lrahm]

All of my carry and home defense mags are loaded to capacity all of the time. My range mags are all loaded with five rounds of FMJ as that is the groups I usually shoot. About every three or four months I empty all of the JHP in my carry/defense mags in the,"natural way", at the range. It does no harm whatsoever to leave mags fully loaded. The mag springs wear out from repeated cycling ie; compression and extension cycles not from being compressed. (much like bending a coat hanger wire back and forth until it breaks).

PS: I also rotate my magazines between carry and range mags so that I know that they all function properly whether loaded to capacity or with a partial load. I have all of the mags numbered so that I know the sequence of rotation.

I'm jealous...

 

[BroodXI]

hate to say it, but the mags in my 1911 have been loaded for years between shoots, and have never had any issues... that being said, i really need to knock the dust off of it soon.

 

[Judson951]

I always have mine loaded and ready.

 

[762Mike]

Yes.

 

[mdale]

I keep my go to gun's mag loaded and the rest unloaded to save on the springs.

 

[Fordtough25]

Keep them loaded it won't hurt anything!

 

[LockStocksAndBarrel]

I keep my go to gun's mag loaded and the rest unloaded to save on the springs.

Save Our Springs

 

[hANNAbONE]

Springs can and do change over time. Cycling them -- especially beyond their design limits -- is what makes the most difference. Storing a spring in a relaxed position will affect it the least.

I store my pistol mags "ready to go" with one less round than they will hold. The last round is hard to get in there, and it was shown in one of the torture tests I read that the magazine springs lasted somewhat longer when doing this. (But this was after like 8k to 10k rounds had been run through them.) YMMV. As already mentioned it's easy to replace them.

...what Kludge said --- 1 thing to add, I would hate to have an unloaded mag on the off chance I'd need it in a hurry. Jus' Sayin'

 

[BigBlock502]

I'm glad this question was asked. I have half of my mags loaded and the other half unloaded just due to the idea of wear on the mag springs. When I get home tonight I'm loading them all up! I love when I have a good reason to pull out all my toys!

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

A further note:

Depending on the magazine construction, leaving them fully loaded for long periods of time CAN cause issues with the mag body...

The rounds in a magazine exert pressure on all sides of the mag; the majority of which are the "sides" of said magazine. A fully loaded polymer-only mag can, over time, swell outwards under the pressure of the rounds on the inside.

If the feed lips are unreinforced polymer, these, too, can deform under the upward pressure.

Of course, this may or may not affect feeding...

My recommendation for 100% polymer mags (aside from the spring) is to download by a few rounds to help alleviate the stresses on the mag body and the feed lips.

-J-

 

[usermax2000]

I always keep them loaded there not much good unloaded and it don't hurt them....

 

[Yukon622]

After reading this I shall load the rest of my mags..... Thanks for clarifiying this issue!!!

 

[armedindy]

theyre glock and ak mags...slap your friend in the face

 

[Regionnus Rattis]

So.. are there any downfalls to always having the mags loaded? I had a friend of mine mention that it wears the springs? Is this true? I have three mags for the AK and the Glock always loaded, ready to go. I think it is kind of silly to keep a mag loaded, kind of like a door with no knob if you ask me.

Can't think of any downfalls to keeping loaded mags. What's the point in having them if you don't have anything in them? It would be like keeping rechargeable batteries in your drawer that are not charged.

 

[indyk]

me and ak mags

I keep a quick grab of 5 loaded all the time.
+ a separate "emergency/ house mag" that's loaded all the time, with fancy yellow electrical tape wraped around it

so far I have noticed absolutely no difference in function with my regular mag vs my mags that are stored. At least within 5 years plus the time they were used in other parts of the world.


I enjoyed reading the response about spring fatigue from CountryBoy
and also agree that I wont notice any spring wear in these mags, in my lifetime.

The only mag Ive ever had a spring problems with were the Arsenal/Bulgarian C10's in plum, never used nor taken apart the spring was weak..???

 

[JKEdge]

I keep mine loaded at all times with the -1 capacity. I don't have a buttload of mags like all of you, only 3...but I keep 2 of them loaded at all times. 1 in the pistol and one on for a backup.

 

[CountryBoy19]

A further note:

Depending on the magazine construction, leaving them fully loaded for long periods of time CAN cause issues with the mag body...

The rounds in a magazine exert pressure on all sides of the mag; the majority of which are the "sides" of said magazine. A fully loaded polymer-only mag can, over time, swell outwards under the pressure of the rounds on the inside.

If the feed lips are unreinforced polymer, these, too, can deform under the upward pressure.

Of course, this may or may not affect feeding...

My recommendation for 100% polymer mags (aside from the spring) is to download by a few rounds to help alleviate the stresses on the mag body and the feed lips.

-J-

Just to add to this, I've had several Pmag loaded since shortly after Pmags first came out... they were my "go-to gun mags" and I haven't touched them except to occasionally fire off a few rounds (once a year or so) to make sure they're still functioning. That is without the feed-lip protectors/mag covers on them.

So while it is true that polymers to creep much more and much faster than metals, newer technology in composites has helped to minimize creep.

Still not a bad thing to keep in mind though, especially with cheaper polymer magazines and other polymer items.