Carry/Defensive use mag questions...

[Big A]

Hello everyone...:)

I'm wondering how often you rotate out your carry and defensive use magazines. So how often should I swap out a mag to let another carry the load (<--I made a funny :D)? Every six weeks? Six months? Once a year? Is this something I even need to worry about? Same question for AR mags too.

Also I carry 124gr Speer Gold Dots in my Glocks. Should I switch to the heavier 147gr ammo?

Thanks in advance to all that reply...:cool:

[Psalms144.1]

Big A - I don't have a set time period for magazine rotation. Instead, every time I clean/maintain my pistol(s) I do an inspection and spring test on all that pistols' magazines. If there's ANY question about feed lip damage or if there's signs of excessive wear or damage on the body or baseplate - the magazine gets tossed into the "range only" box. If the spring feels "wrong" or "soft," or if I start getting malfunctions from a pistol that's otherwise been reliable, the spring gets replaced.

For my Glocks, since magazines USED TO BE cheap and plentiful, I would just buy 1/3 of my magazine count every year, and put the oldest magazines in the "range only" box. Not so much since last year...

Please remember, springs don't lose their "power" from staying compressed, they lose power from cycling (compressing and expanding). So, the more often you cycle ammunition through the magazine, the quicker the magazine spring will wear out.

WRT ammunition choice, that's strictly up to you. The Speer 124+P Gold Dots are a solid, top notch performer in the 9mm, but some people find the heavier 147 gr loadings are more accurate and a little "softer" shooting than the +P stuff. I can't think of a reason to switch if your pistol is reliable and accurate with your current load.

Regards,

Kevin

[rickmy]

I like to keep 2 or 3 mags cherry for my carry gun. I function check them with the gun but wouldn't spend an afternoon practicing reloads dropping them on concrete.

As for the ammo, I think the difference between the two Gold Dot grain weights is negligible. I have to carry Gold Dot due to work policy, and it's a good round, but I would give a look at Hornady Critical Duty. I recently attended a Gel shoot comparing Gold Dot and Hornady. Hornady consistently performed better through all mediums. The Gold Dot showed a tendency to not expand through sheet metal and had a few other expansion problems through other mediums.

[Voodoo_Man]

I have the same glock 19 and g17 mags loaded and carried for three years, at least. No issues.

[Hogsgunwild]

Depends on the magazine. For instance, the M&P line is a good example of a manufacturer that tends to get the most rounds in the smallest space. To me that is not such a great thing.
I prefer how H&K and Walther seems to design their mags with realistic long term magazine durability factored in at the expense of size. S&W seems to have had bean-counters saying "get as many rounds in a given space as possible because typical consumers will go for the higher cap every time". My M&P compact 45 is a perfect example. You hurt your hand attempting to insert an eight round mag if the slide is closed on this compact and I feel like S&W scammed me in order to get the sale. Extremely difficult to insert and; forget a one handed manipulation altogether if the slide is closed.
I will not carry this gun specifically due to this deficiency. It could bite you in more than one scenario during a gunfight.

Eight round 1911 magazines? The mag was originally designed for seven rounds and although the eight rounders are more reliable than ever, they still take up extra space and I suspect that they still need to have their springs changed more often than a seven rounder of equal quality (like back when I carried them, although I preferred quality seven rounders back then, not so much now).

[walkin' trails]

I have enough magazines that I try to rotate them every six months, but also try to replace them with new every few years. I also keep older mags for training use only. With Glocks, I've found that installing Wolff springs enhances reliabilityand extends magazine life. As far as your ammo goes, the 124 grain Gold Dots have a good reputation for reliable performance so I don't know that you'd be gaining anything. On the other hand, if you feel more confident with 147s, they seem to perform better with newer bullet designs so you probably wouldn't be at a major disadvantage.

[davidjinks]

For my EDC:

Every week: wipe down and brush lint off (External)

Every 90 days: standard PM external/internal, add lube when needed depending on carry conditions (hot, humid, cold, wet, etc.)

Every 6 months: carry mags and ammo gets cycled at the range. Full cleaning of the gun and mags. Replace carry mags with new mags.

Personally I don't think you need to rotate magazines. However, I have the spare mags so I figured it can't hurt doing that.



Hello everyone...:)

I'm wondering how often you rotate out your carry and defensive use magazines. So how often should I swap out a mag to let another carry the load (<--I made a funny :D)? Every six weeks? Six months? Once a year? Is this something I even need to worry about? Same question for AR mags too.

Also I carry 124gr Speer Gold Dots in my Glocks. Should I switch to the heavier 147gr ammo?

Thanks in advance to all that reply...:cool:

[WC 2-3]

I don't. While deployed I rotate M4 mags but that is just so I can go clean them not because of any other reason.