All of my pistol magazines are kept loaded -1 at all times. I'm not sure what would make a spring on a.45 ACP mag any different as long as they are resonably new (15 years old or less). If he's still in doubt, keep the magazine loaded minus 1 round. That'll keep mag spring from full tension. I leave all my MAK90 mags loaded, never had a problem with them and they're probably way older than I am. My carry gun mags are fully loaded, still no problems. My dad leaves his half full, he claims in the 70's thats how the Navy taught him to carry a sidearm, half full on an empty chamber, I guess its a personal preference.
This is a discussion on How long can you leave a mag loaded? within the Pistols & Revolvers forums, part of the Pistol & Revolver Forum category; How long can I leave a 15 round mag loaded with only 10 rounds of 9mm before damaging the spring?...
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July 3rd, 2012, 06:21 AM | #1 |
Location: New Jersey | How long can you leave a mag loaded? How long can I leave a 15 round mag loaded with only 10 rounds of 9mm before damaging the spring? |
![Should you load your magazine to full capacity Should you load your magazine to full capacity](/uploads/1/2/3/7/123725471/149387592.jpg)
July 3rd, 2012, 06:27 AM | #2 |
Location: Tampa / St Petersburg | I believe, that if it is just left loaded and the spring is compressed, it doesn't damage the spring hardly at all, it is the loading and reloading over and over that wears out a spring. |
July 3rd, 2012, 06:33 AM | #3 |
/Brownster/Blk Dynamite Location: Salt Lake city, UT | This seems to be a more debated subject then anything. From personal experience my dad had his hi-power 9mm most of the way loaded for about 10 years with out emptying the magazine. We took it shooting and it fed everything perfectly over and over again. I've heard that the only way to wear the spring down is from constant compression and depression more so than it always being in a state of compression. I've also heard too that the only thing you need to be concerned over in long time compressed storage is the ammo casing ovaling so it's suggested from time to time you take the rounds out of the magazine turn them and put then back in. |
July 3rd, 2012, 07:29 AM | #4 |
Location: wayne nj | While I do not recommend the practice I purchased a Berretta 1915/19 about 10 years ago and one magazine was loaded with Remington Peters 32 acp ammo. The box dated back to before ww2 but was ripped so i shot the ammo. The ammo in the magazine for 50? plus years chambered and fired and ejected no problem. still with self defense ammo i use ammo that is less than 5 years old and never leave a magazine loaded longer than 3 months. |
![Magazine Magazine](/uploads/1/2/3/7/123725471/867145731.jpg)
July 3rd, 2012, 07:35 AM | #5 |
Location: SE, Michigan | I can tell you that in the military we left magazines loaded for years 15/20 to be exact, without any issues. When new magazines were rotated into the inventory the old ones were used on the range and for training exercises. Never had a problem with any of them. Well other than the normal wear and trear or from being abused during exercises (droped from a height, ran over by a truck or a tank etc) Other than that no spring issues were ever brought to our attention. (I was an armorer in the USAF/Sec Forces for 15 of my 20 years in the service) Last edited by cwl1862; July 3rd, 2012 at 07:38 AM. |
July 3rd, 2012, 07:48 AM | #6 |
Location: New Jersey | I usually switch two loaded mags to two unloaded about every 3 to 6 months. Just rotate between the 4. |
July 3rd, 2012, 08:20 AM | #7 | |
Location: NC (Wake Co.) |
Many years to many decades in my experience. Springs wear from cycling, not from static loads. Do not overload springs though, and some high capacity magazines are really poorly designed in that when loaded to full capacity, their springs are actually compressed beyond what they should be. The main problem I see with leaving magazines loaded for very long periods is that dirt or rust may get into or form inside - that could mean they bind up when you go to use them. So I actually make a practice of unloading and disassembling all of my firearm's magazines periodically, just to inspect springs, followers (especially steel ones) and mag walls for rust or dirt. After cleaning, I wipe everything down lightly with a silicon cloth and reassemble. Other than that, I just keep mags loaded all the time and to their stated capacity. |
July 3rd, 2012, 08:26 AM | #8 | |
Location: New Jersey |
Yep, leave only 10 in a 15 round mag and they are in a cool dry wall safe (^%$*&....did I just say that ) |
July 3rd, 2012, 10:06 AM | #9 |
Location: Usa | Magazine spring madness: 'creep' to your 'elastic limit' to un-earth the urban legend of 'spring-set' | American Handgunner | Find Articles Quote: To put this one to rest, you have to understand creep. Creep is the slow flow of a non-ferric metal like copper, brass and lead under force. At temperatures outside of a furnace, steel doesn't have any appreciable creep. Under most conditions, steel flexes and then returns to its original shape. When pushed past its elastic limit, steel will bend and not return to its original shape. All designers of well-made magazines make sure the spring never approaches the elastic limit when the magazine is fully loaded. Honest. This means the spring will not weaken when the magazine is fully loaded -- not even over an extended time. Like 50 years. |
July 3rd, 2012, 10:23 AM | #10 |
Location: USA | When I worked armed security we left Glock .40 magazines loaded for years with no issues. |
July 3rd, 2012, 11:10 AM | #11 |
Location: Elmira, OR | Probably forever. |
July 3rd, 2012, 11:33 AM | #12 |
Location: Milwaukee, WI | I was just thinking about this on my way to work this morn! I keep mine a couple of rounds light, just in case, but after reading some of the info on here I'll probably top em off, thanks guys!! |
July 3rd, 2012, 11:44 AM | #13 |
Location: Norcal | This is kind of like asking how long can I park my car before I damage the springs. If the mag springs have been engineered for the specified load then the answer is for as long as you want. If it fails then it is a poorly engineered product. |
July 3rd, 2012, 12:09 PM | #14 |
Location: Oregon | As someone said, this is maybe one of the most discussed topics on any board I go to. I had one guy that said the springs are designed to be compressed and it is better to leave the mag loaded than unloaded. Opinions vary wildly! I try not to leave anymore loaded than I might need in a hurry and I rotate when I think about it. I'm not worried about it, and you can purchase new springs for most mags online, so if I was concerned I would maybe have an extra spring and rotate that too. |
July 3rd, 2012, 12:30 PM | #15 |
Location: Florida | Or, you can go to the range every month or so and shoot. This will rotate your ammo and improve your skill sets. |
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Posted by4 years ago
Archived
I've been wondering about this one for a bit... I tried looking around and I've seen some inconsistent answers. Basically, when I head out to the field I like to have my spare pistol magazines loaded and ready to rock. However, a lot of the time I don't actually end up using any spare pistol magazines. Since I generally play only about once every two weeks, my question is: is it safe to just leave the cO2 cartridge loaded in the pistol mags? If not, what's the safest way to remove them? Thanks /r/airsoft!
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