View Full Version : Keeping bullets in a magazine for long periods of time? Good or bad?
Chris60119
11-10-10, 11:45
I've herd it's bad. I've herd it dosen't matter, and I've herd what wears the spring out the quickest. Is the constant loading and unloading of the magazine..I would think having the spring compressed all the time would be the worst.
m1a_scoutguy
11-10-10, 11:48
I've herd it's bad. I've herd it dosen't matter, and I've herd what wears the spring out the quickest. Is the constant loading and unloading of the magazine..I would think having the spring compressed all the time would be the worst.
Load them up & leave em !!! It is the Working of the spring that wears them out. :)
Chris60119
11-10-10, 11:53
Load them up & leave em !!! It is the Working of the spring that wears them out. :)
Awesome!! I'll get a few extra mags and throw some HP's in there and let em sit!!
John_Wayne777
11-10-10, 11:54
It depends on the spring. Some magazines with weak springs (like Wilson 8 round 1911 mags) will take a set if you leave them loaded for extended periods of time.
Leaving a spring compressed for extended periods of time does have some impact on the spring, but cycling the springs a lot will certainly have a noticeable impact on the spring. For most magazines for most duty grade pistols, leaving them loaded won't harm the magazine's reliability.
m1a_scoutguy
11-10-10, 12:07
It depends on the spring. Some magazines with weak springs (like Wilson 8 round 1911 mags) will take a set if you leave them loaded for extended periods of time.
Leaving a spring compressed for extended periods of time does have some impact on the spring, but cycling the springs a lot will certainly have a noticeable impact on the spring. For most magazines for most duty grade pistols, leaving them loaded won't harm the magazine's reliability.
Good point on certian mags !! I would say,,depending on the mags,,,just rotate them after a few months. Shoot them every so often,,reload and put away .:)
Chris60119
11-10-10, 12:14
Good point on certian mags !! I would say,,depending on the mags,,,just rotate them after a few months. Shoot them every so often,,reload and put away .:)
That dosen't sound to hard to do...
glockkid88
11-10-10, 21:00
Its not only the springs that wear out. I know that with glock mags you have to worry about the mag body swelling, especially if you load them to capacity. I download carry mags by at least one and cycle them out each month which is a good time to disassemble my range mags and clean them. Fact is mags are like tires. We all put off buying new until theyre on their last legs. Its tough to buy new mags when that money could go towards cool new shit! Its something that I have struggled with since I started shooting.
JBecker 72
11-10-10, 22:00
Ive left Glock 19 mags loaded for months on end and they still function 100%.
same goes for Pmags.
Magpul says the little cap that comes with Pmags is so you can store them for long periods of time & take the pressure off the feed lips - so you should be GTG
How many of you who leave magazines fully loaded for an extended period would store your carbine with the bolt locked back? I suspect not too many. Same for leaving the hammer cocked.
Why keep your mags loaded unless you need to?
Dave
Boonie Packer
It depends on the spring. Some magazines with weak springs (like Wilson 8 round 1911 mags) will take a set if you leave them loaded for extended periods of time.
Leaving a spring compressed for extended periods of time does have some impact on the spring, but cycling the springs a lot will certainly have a noticeable impact on the spring. For most magazines for most duty grade pistols, leaving them loaded won't harm the magazine's reliability.
This is true.
I have a slim base Night Hawk 1911 magazine that took a set (kind of?...), I always left it loaded in my carry gun, then one day my brother came to me.
He had borrowed it taken it out to shoot etc, but told me the gun would not lock back on an empty mag, sure enough without failure or exception it would not lock back, I unloaded it, put it in the cabinet (where I keep ammo, magazines, whatever,etc), anyway, about a month later I come, thinking "Alright I'll order a new magazine spring" and for kicks I put it in the gun, test it.
It locks back, without failure, every time, I changed nothing, except I let it sit unloaded for about a month, honestly, unacceptable. I don't know what to expect of the magazine anymore.
I was saving for a replacement gun, as that was one of the last straws, but things came up, anyway, I'm going to order a new spring from a different manufacturer.
I'm thinking Wolff Springs have always been reliable for me as recoil/firing pin springs, I'll give them a shot. John_Wayne777 do you recommend anything in particular since you're familiar with weak 1911 mag springs, I assumed you replaced yours as well?
I have mags sitting in my safe that have been loaded for at least two years. They still work fine.
Its not only the springs that wear out. I know that with glock mags you have to worry about the mag body swelling, especially if you load them to capacity. I download carry mags by at least one and cycle them out each month which is a good time to disassemble my range mags and clean them. Fact is mags are like tires. We all put off buying new until theyre on their last legs. Its tough to buy new mags when that money could go towards cool new shit! Its something that I have struggled with since I started shooting.
I've fired high quality mags that have been loaded for over 20 years and had no issues.
Every year we have guys on my job who only shoot the minimum twice a year training events prove that mags loaded for six months at a time are not an issue.
Rotating mags is BS, they either work or they don't. If they work then fine, if they are not working they need new springs or some hammer therapy.
As has been said, don't get emotionally attached to your magazines.
How many of you who leave magazines fully loaded for an extended period would store your carbine with the bolt locked back? I suspect not too many. Same for leaving the hammer cocked.
Why keep your mags loaded unless you need to?
Dave
Boonie Packer
I fail to see how either would be practical. A slight bump can send your bolt forward and I see no reason to store a gun with a cocked hammer.
... How many people dry fire their Glocks, M&Ps, etc to relax the striker springs?
I don't keep a ton of loaded mags (4-6 x 4 maybe). But I don't worry about the ones being kept loaded for long periods of time. The only mags I rotate are ones which are holding ammo that's seen alot of temp changes and/or humidity. I shoot them off, Inspect the mag, and load up some fresh carry ammo.
I've left mags loaded for 2-3 years that functioned just fine... While wearing out many others in that time period which were seeing actual use (being cycled).
Robb Jensen
11-11-10, 07:10
I found one of my old Gen 1 Glock 17 mags loaded with 17 rounds of 147gr Fed Hydra-Shok at my dads house in 2008. It had been loaded for 21 years. Shot it at my next range day. All 17 round fed and fired. No problems to report.
Edited to add: It's not the constant compression of a spring which wears it out it's the cycling of the spring which makes is wear out.
In the mid 1980's I fired some 1911 mags that if you went by the date stamp on the ammo had probably been loaded since WWII. They ran fine.
John_Wayne777
11-11-10, 10:33
I'm thinking Wolff Springs have always been reliable for me as recoil/firing pin springs, I'll give them a shot. John_Wayne777 do you recommend anything in particular since you're familiar with weak 1911 mag springs, I assumed you replaced yours as well?
The strategy I adopted was to swap magazine springs every six months. I kept 5 loaded 8 round Wilson 1911 mags and I installed new springs twice a year just to ensure that the mags would function as they were expected to.
Wilson's newer generation of magazines are supposed to be considerably better than the older ones in this regard...you might want to check them out. The "Nighthawk" magazine you have is probably just a rebranded mec-gar magazine, and those suck.
The strategy I adopted was to swap magazine springs every six months. I kept 5 loaded 8 round Wilson 1911 mags and I installed new springs twice a year just to ensure that the mags would function as they were expected to.
Wilson's newer generation of magazines are supposed to be considerably better than the older ones in this regard...you might want to check them out. The "Nighthawk" magazine you have is probably just a rebranded mec-gar magazine, and those suck.
http://www.nighthawkcustom.com/detail.aspx?ID=162
I certainly hope I didn't pay $30+ for a rebranded Mec-gar magazine.
http://www.nighthawkcustom.com/detail.aspx?ID=162
I certainly hope I didn't pay $30+ for a rebranded Mec-gar magazine.
Even if you did, Mec-gar is an OEM of mags for firearm manufacturers. One being Sig. Mec-gar isn't like other aftermarket manufacturers.
How many of you who leave magazines fully loaded for an extended period would store your carbine with the bolt locked back? I suspect not too many. Same for leaving the hammer cocked.
Why keep your mags loaded unless you need to?
Dave
Boonie Packer
Hmmm...gotta offer a dissenting opinion. I actually tend to leave the carbine bolt-open; that way if I ever pick it for any dry fire drills I can immediately tell it's empty. And when I take it to the range, they like to see them empty and locked back when not actually being shot, so again, one less step. Take it out of the case and I'm good to go, and the RO's are happy (at this point they tend to not even bother with me other than to say hi and pass pleasantries).
When the .45 goes into the gunvault, the last thing I do before shutting the door is to pull the hammer back. It's a DASA, and I really really hope I never ever need to but should I awake in the middle of the night to glass breaking, that first shot won't have the heavier trigger pull. Now, mind you, IMMEDIATELY upon coming out of the gun vault it gets manually decocked.
Other thing to look at- say someone DOESN'T keep the bolt back on a carbine or the hammer back on a sidearm. It takes a LOT less time to perform either of those actions than it does to load a magazine.
Even if you did, Mec-gar is an OEM of mags for firearm manufacturers. One being Sig. Mec-gar isn't like other aftermarket manufacturers.
Well I hope a manufacturer of $2k+ 1911's cares enough about their reputation that if they do have them made by Mec-gar they're at least held to high standards and Q.C.
But anyway, enough of a hi-jack.
Springs don't take a set. Unless they're sucky, then they take a set.
So let's present another question, what kind of spring material is the best for not taking sets?
ETA: As a side note, I pulled out the Night Hawk magazine's spring, and it had two additional coils than other 1911 magazines springs I had, and it was about .5'' longer.
I can only think it was a poor choice for spring wire.
Its not only the springs that wear out. I know that with glock mags you have to worry about the mag body swelling, especially if you load them to capacity.
i have never heard of this. Maybe the old glock mags that weren't fully metal lined? The new ones (from like 1990 on) have a steel liner.
I have heard that loading to capacity every time shortens the life of the spring to a mere 10,000 rounds. Given that mag springs cost 4 dollars, not something i'd really worry about.
I download my spare carry mag to 14 (g19 mag) just for easier seating on a closed slide.
How many of you who leave magazines fully loaded for an extended period would store your carbine with the bolt locked back? I suspect not too many. Same for leaving the hammer cocked.
Why keep your mags loaded unless you need to?
Dave
Boonie Packer
I think this question is more important because of the mags that you need to keep loaded. It would certainly be a bad day when you need your AR-15, but the mag malfunctions because the spring is worn out or the feed lips got bent, or god forbid, you actually have to load a magazine.
Love your stuff by the way :)
John_Wayne777
11-11-10, 14:18
http://www.nighthawkcustom.com/detail.aspx?ID=162
I certainly hope I didn't pay $30+ for a rebranded Mec-gar magazine.
Those appear to be a newer magazine...perhaps even manufactured in house. At one point the NH magazine was as pictured here:
http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww164/JustDanD/Guns/Talon5_1_xl.jpg
That's a mec-gar with a NH logo on it. Sub-optimal.
Not knocking you at all. But, your dissenting opinion really makes no sense in the real world. Who care if the weapon is empty? Not to mention by taking a short cut and not properly checking and clearing the weapon you run the risk of an accident (such as a round still in the chamber) I have been to many ranges and many allow you to clear and lock the weapon right on the firing line.
Have you actually practiced immediately decocking the weapon upon removing it from the safe after you have been asleep?
Hmmm...gotta offer a dissenting opinion. I actually tend to leave the carbine bolt-open; that way if I ever pick it for any dry fire drills I can immediately tell it's empty. And when I take it to the range, they like to see them empty and locked back when not actually being shot, so again, one less step. Take it out of the case and I'm good to go, and the RO's are happy (at this point they tend to not even bother with me other than to say hi and pass pleasantries).
When the .45 goes into the gunvault, the last thing I do before shutting the door is to pull the hammer back. It's a DASA, and I really really hope I never ever need to but should I awake in the middle of the night to glass breaking, that first shot won't have the heavier trigger pull. Now, mind you, IMMEDIATELY upon coming out of the gun vault it gets manually decocked.
Other thing to look at- say someone DOESN'T keep the bolt back on a carbine or the hammer back on a sidearm. It takes a LOT less time to perform either of those actions than it does to load a magazine.
glockkid88
11-11-10, 16:12
I think that the real question here should be "how many mags do I need loaded at any given time?" I only shoot glock pistols so I dont really worry about wearing out mags but that is no reason to let good ammo sit in a mag that I dont need loaded. I keep a loaded mag in the gun I use for personal defense and cc and a spare. I keep one rifle mag loaded and the rest of my ammo is properly stored to keep moisture and heat away. With the price of premium ammo these days a half box of pistol ammo costs as much as one glock mag. Why keep it out and in the elements?
It all depends on personal preference. In the area where I live there is virtually no humidity or moisture and the mags that I have had preloaded and then taken out to shoot have functioned 100%.
If you live under a bridge and are exposing them to the elements that may be an issue. All of my loaded mags are either in the safe or the closet.
So I am failing to see the logic here.
I think that the real question here should be "how many mags do I need loaded at any given time?" I only shoot glock pistols so I dont really worry about wearing out mags but that is no reason to let good ammo sit in a mag that I dont need loaded. I keep a loaded mag in the gun I use for personal defense and cc and a spare. I keep one rifle mag loaded and the rest of my ammo is properly stored to keep moisture and heat away. With the price of premium ammo these days a half box of pistol ammo costs as much as one glock mag. Why keep it out and in the elements?
Iraqgunz- I DO look down through the magwell and into the chamber through the dustcover (I did say I could "immediately tell", I promise I'm not a walking ND waiting to happen!)
When at home, I then pick up a mag with snapcaps (verifying that it IS snapcaps in it!), insert it, and close the bolt.
At the range, it comes out of the case, I do the same visual, then it goes onto the table pointed downrange and the case gets stowed out of the way. Wasn't trying to imply they wouldn't let someone open and lock a rifle at the range; I was responding to spdldr's comment about storing a carbine with the bolt locked back. I often do, and was under the impression this didn't have any deleterious effects (although I am open to logical arguments to the contrary!).
He also commented on storing with the hammer back; I have lately taken to doing so only when it's in the gunvault. Now, as to decocking immediately upon waking up, not sure I am with you on that. If I JUST woke up, it would probably be because something woke me, in which case my (possibly flawed?) logic is I WANT it cocked. Again, I may be off here, and would be interested in your comments on that.
Six Feet Under
11-12-10, 17:39
I leave my two Glock mags I carry (G19 in the gun, G17 in my pocket) loaded all the time, if I go shooting I dump the rounds in a box and wipe them off when I reload the mags until they all look old, then I'll cycle them through.
glockkid88
11-12-10, 20:22
I live in MI and there isnt a ton of humidity but I still dont leave a bunch of loaded mags just because it seems pointless. If I was to get into a fight in my house, two g17 mags should do the job and it just so happens that they are on my belt when at home, unless im in my pjs and then they sit in the top of the closet. Either way I see no need for 10 glock mags and 5 ar mags loaded and ready for a possible home invasion. Of course I live in MI and not Baghdad.
I don't live in Baghdad either. I don't understand why it's so hard to understand that it's a preference thing. If you don't want a hundred loaded mags in your closet or safe, that's cool. I like it.
I live in MI and there isnt a ton of humidity but I still dont leave a bunch of loaded mags just because it seems pointless. If I was to get into a fight in my house, two g17 mags should do the job and it just so happens that they are on my belt when at home, unless im in my pjs and then they sit in the top of the closet. Either way I see no need for 10 glock mags and 5 ar mags loaded and ready for a possible home invasion. Of course I live in MI and not Baghdad.
varoadking
11-13-10, 06:19
The "Nighthawk" magazine you have is probably just a rebranded mec-gar magazine, and those suck.
That's a mec-gar with a NH logo on it. Sub-optimal.
I'm guessing you mean ACT / Novak...
Mec-Gar magazines never experienced the splitting feed lips that the ACT / Novak magazines did...
I've never heard a bad word spoken about Mec-Gar magazines until your posts...
I live in MI and there isnt a ton of humidity but I still dont leave a bunch of loaded mags just because it seems pointless. If I was to get into a fight in my house, two g17 mags should do the job and it just so happens that they are on my belt when at home, unless im in my pjs and then they sit in the top of the closet. Either way I see no need for 10 glock mags and 5 ar mags loaded and ready for a possible home invasion. Of course I live in MI and not Baghdad.
So on page one it's about the mags...
Once that gets shot down (more or less) it's because "I'm not the crazy guy who thinks he's in Bagdad."
Nice. :rolleyes:
I'd take the opposite approach and say "why not?"
If you're going to shoot/use them anyway and its not hard on the springs, there's absolutely no reason not to have them loaded in advance.
RogerinTPA
11-13-10, 15:06
No issues for me. I have had AR mags, both Magpul and USGI, fully loaded for over three years in a SAW ammo box. I test fired a few of each and all functioned as designed. There are plenty of other anecdotal examples, especially from WWII and Korea. My grand father and a neighbor, both WWII Vets had 1911s stored loaded since WWII, probably never fired since. The ammo boxes that was stored with them, were dated from the 40's and 50's. When I cleaned and test fired them a few years ago, the weapon, ammo and mags, worked as advertised.
How many of you who leave magazines fully loaded for an extended period would store your carbine with the bolt locked back? I suspect not too many. Same for leaving the hammer cocked.
Why keep your mags loaded unless you need to?
Dave
Boonie Packer
Are you going to ask the person breaking in your house to let you load a magazine because you have spring phobia? Not trying to sound like a jerk, but really, if you own a semi and use it for protection, then keep a loaded mag (or two). I can attest to other posts on this thread that mags kept loaded for years still work fine. Don't worry about mags too much, too cheap and easy to replace instead of trying to keep them new and not having one loaded if you need it.
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