[Pineywoodsrooter]

Curious about the possible effect of leaving magazines loaded for extended periods with max rounds in the 10-round and 25-round magazines. Any effect on mag springs, if there are any, by possibly weakening them or other possible negative issues. Would like to keep mag loaded and at the ready. Thanks

 

[Bill West]

It should not be a problem with modern springs. Some people like to rotate mags every so often, better safe than sorry. I don't.

 

[bwinters]

I always changed loaded mags every 4 weeks.

 

[susieqz]

my bedside p85 had nothing chambered but a near full mag.
after 10 years the mag was fine. i hated that gun n only shot it every 7-8 years.

 

[HappilyAddicted]

Springs wear from being compressed over and over (loading, reloading, etc.). Keeping mags loaded and stored will not wear out your springs. My glock mags have been loaded so many times in the past 10 years and I've never had a single issue.

 

[ditto1958]

I have been keeping my 10 rounders loaded for several years now. They all are still 100% reliable.

 

[ChooseWisely]

My biggest problem, IS keeping them loaded.
I burn thru a brick at the range, easily.
It doesn't get used near as much as the newer ones, but I have an original 1964 10/22 purchased new.
They might look a little beat, but those mags still functions correctly.

 

[Pineywoodsrooter]

I appreciate all the feedback. Feeling more confident!

 

[Neon Horse]

Load 'em and keep 'em!

 

[MeagerHair]

+1 on the jut trying to keep them loaded.

I always leave two BX25's and a pair of 10 rounders loaded in my bag with my Sr22 rifle. Have never had an issue.

How they test springs is pretty cool. They figure out minimum force to operate mag. Then you build a spring that is ~120% of that. You measure the load then compress it and put it in an oven. Compressed and heat over time say 1,000 hours. Then you measure again and look for a load loss of say 6% that gives you the maximum expected load loss if you leave it compressed for the life of the spring. Then of course they do cycle checks for fatigue.

 

[kanewtervalve]

I recently worked on my friends CZ 75, he had a mag loaded since the late 80s, the cartridges literally dropped out of the mag once the first round was pushed out, extreme example but spring compression can happen.

 

[j102]

I have several magazines for range use.
I use designated magazines for home defense/self defense. I keep those loaded for years without a single issue.

 

[laidlerj]

If you're concerned about magazine springs taking a "set" from being constantly compressed, replace them with chrome silicon springs. Chrome silicon (CS) springs have been shown to lose less than 5% of their tension per year while compressed fully.


Jim

 

[DDelambre]

My buddy inherited his grandfather's service M1911, dated 1913. It had been sitting in a bedside drawer for some unknown years. Umpteen years to be exact! Anyway, we unloaded the old 1960s ammo, a few rounds marked 1943, and proceeded to head to the range. The gun ran flawlessly. I think we only put about 100 rounds through it, and it hasn't seen anymore since that day about ten years ago.
Since then, he's moved and gave me the old ammo and told me to "dispose" of it. All of them went BANG!