How long can rounds be in the mag before the spring will no longer expand correctly?
Since I do not go to the range very often I would still like to keep the rounds in the mag just in case I may need to use the rifle in the middle of the night.
I did a search and did not find an answer.
I apologize if I missed it.

I have wondered the same thing. Looking forward to a good answer, as I'm sure we'll get some.

It is the repetitive use of the spring that decreases it's lifespan. Storing the mags full is not a problem.

About 5 years ago I read about someone finding a 1911 his dad brought back from WW II. The gun was put away loaded in 1945 and found around 1990 or so. Was taken to the range and every thing worked just as it should. I would never leave a stored gun loaded but is interesting to find one working after that long.

I see this asked often in the pistol forums and the above seems to be the most common answer.

Yeah, that is what I picked up too. That being said....

My "rainy day" mags for all my guns are stored empty in a moisture free environment.

My home defense and carry mags are always full, except when I empty them the fun way.

My range mags may or may not be loaded, depending on if I was lazy after getting home from shooting.

I retired in '97 and have kept the mags to my service Glock M23 loaded and it still works perfectly.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

I have mags that have been loaded for close to 20 years, except for the few minutes between shooting and reloading occasionally. It does not hurt either the springs or the magazines.

FWIW, I have 68 magazines and all are loaded all the time.

The last time this subject came up, people came to blows around here.

I've got popcorn and chips and dip.

You always have the snacks! Cheese, popcorn, oreos. Making me hungry.

I've found the same thing is true with my pens. I keep the ink cartridges in them and they click out and back in just fine after many years of ownership ...

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

i'm sure it would weaken the spring in a scientific standpoint. enough to compromise performace or be noticeable...no.

Over compression or stretching the springs is what kills them the fastest. Leaving them compressed with rounds on them doesn't do anything adverse to them. I will bet you anything that the feed lips on the 15/22 will give out on every single mag ever produced before the spring goes bad from either general use or having it loaded for too long... Now if you leave it out in the lawn for six months and it gets rusty, that's another issue...

If you want to keep your mind at ease, load them to 24 to take some of the load off the spring, you will save ammo and never notice the missing round...

I believe differently from the masses. My father-in-law kept the two magazines for his Walther PP .32 a.c.p. loaded for nearly twenty years. Neither would work, the springs were collapsed. The PP was a Interarms import rebuilt "NDS" marked former police pistol. I ordered springs for the magazines from Wolff, and the gun works fine. The two original mag springs have been sitting in a dresser drawer since August, 2007 and have not returned to 2/3 of their correct length.

I keep the mags for my carry pistols loaded for one month, then swap them out.

One of the few Walther pistols I have owned that works reliably. IIRC, this was about $235.00 back when Interarms sold them.

My father told me that in Vietnam, the Marine Corps brass told them not to keep their mags fully loaded for that very reason. They were worried about the springs getting weak.

Needless to say, my fathers and the rest of his platoon's, were always fully loaded.

regardless of the need to keep a mag loaded... A deputy around here went in on a warrant team that ended in a gun fight, he was the first in line going down the hall and when it came to blows his second round failed to feed, his MP 15 failed due to a mag that was stored in his trunk for and extended period of time filled with dust and dirt and the rounds slide to the front of the mag ( reason you tap you mags ). In your safe or under your pillow and the salt shaker and toothbrush as some of you around here do (: probably not a big deal, but where they have repeat dirt and grim contact probably better recycle rounds though it occasionally to make sure they are clean and stacked correctly.

Yet I'm still waiting on my cookie.




Oh, I keep my mags loaded except when they get emptied at the range.

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Molon Labe!

That was my first thought as well.

My grandfathers CZ-52 worked flawlessly after he passed away, and his mags had been stored loaded for roughly 25 years.

You may get one or two failures, and most probably with older magazines. But modern magazines will NOT degrade if stored compressed. There may be other issues like debris, rust and magazine body damage, but the spring will not lose it's springyness if you store it loaded.

KBK

I have two mags from my Grandpa's 1911 that probably hadn't seen a round in 25 years, both were nearly useless. Springs are made better now, and as well we have no idea how they were treated back in the day. A lot of people thought they would work better if they stretched them out a little, which does them in.

Devil's Advocate here.,this question was addressed in an NRA magazine not too long ago. The NRA's position is to change out monthly a loaded magazine.
I can see both sides on this issue depending on the age of the magazines in question.

Could have just been badly made springs

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

I would say about a week or two.. any longer means its been too long and I need to get my butt back over to the range.

If only we could merge this thread with a new one about how the .22LR is the ultimate Delta Force / SEAL / Green Beret / Space Marines assault round that is 100x better than 5.56...
We could divide by 0 and cause a quantum singularity of nonsense that would destroy the entire universe, or at least cause our insurance rates to increase by 7%.

Man! Those "Wedding Cake Oreos" out now are the BEST!!!

JLK

From personal experience, no such thing as too long!

This is all agood and well, but remember, magazines are disposable items.

They may currently be stupidly expensive disposable items but they will wear out. Springs will wear, feed lips will splay, followers will get damaged, walls will be crushed.

Look after them, but keep track of them and repair/replace them as needed.

They will most likely only need replacing if they are actually USED though.

KBK

Hell yeah, u bring those and i'll bring the beer. Me and you can sit back and watch everyone draw blood while we continue counting the ammo and pmags we've stocked up on all these years.

Fatigue Stress:
All springs have finite fatigue limits, the limit depending fatigue stress and the degree of fluctuating loads. The four most common fatigue stress conditions include constant deflection, constant load, unidirectional stress and reversed stress. A spring inside a valve assembly is an example of a constant deflection where the spring is cycled through a specified deflection range. An example of a constant load spring is the use of vibration springs under a dead weight where the load applied to the spring does not change during operation but the deflection will. A unidirectional stress is one where the stress is always applied in the same direction such as used in the return spring of an actuator. A reversed stress is applied first in one direction then in the opposite direction such as used in a regulator valve. The three stages to a fatigue failure include crack initiation, crack propagation and finally fracture of the spring material.

Static springs can be used in constant deflection or constant load applications. A constant deflection spring is cycled through a specified deflection range, the loads on the spring causing some set or relaxation which in turn lowers the applied stress. The spring may relax with time and reduce the applied load. Under constant load conditions, the load applied to the spring does not change during operation. Constant load springs may set or creep, but the applied stress is constant. The constant stress may result in fatigue lives shorter than those found in constant deflection applications.

A corrosive environment may accelerate the time to fatigue failure, corrosion reducing the load-carrying capability of a spring and its life. The precise quantitative effect of a corrosive environment on spring performance is difficult to predict. Springs are almost always in contact with other metal parts. If a spring is to be subjected to a corrosive environment, the use of inert materials provides the best defense against corrosion. Protective coatings can also be applied. In special situations, shot peening can be used to prevent stress corrosion and cathodic protection systems can be used to prevent general corrosion. The spring material is normally more noble (chemically resistant to corrosion) than the structural components in contact with it because the lesser noble alloy will be attacked by the electrolyte. The effects of corrosion on spring reliability must be based on experience data considering the extent of a corrosive environment.


Surging (resonant frequency response) can occur in high-speed cyclic applications if axial operating frequencies approach the axial natural frequency of the helical-coil spring. If the material and geometry of the axially reciprocating spring are such that its axial natural frequency is close to the operating frequency, a traveling displacement wave front is propagated and reflected along the spring with about the same frequency as the exciting force. This condition results in local compressions and rarefactions producing high stresses and/or erratic forces locally, with consequent loss of control of the spring-loaded object. Surging of a valve spring, for example may allow the valve to open erratically when it should be closed or vice versa.


Spring Relaxation:
Springs of all types are expected to operate over long periods of time without significant changes in dimension, displacement, or spring rates, often under fluctuating loads. If a spring is deflected under full load and the stresses induced exceed the yield strength of the material, the resulting permanent deformation may prevent the spring from providing the required force or to deliver stored energy for subsequent operations. Most springs are subject to some amount of relaxation during their life span even under benign conditions. The amount of spring relaxation is a function of the spring material and the amount of time the spring is exposed to the higher stresses and/or temperatures.


Static springs can be used in constant deflection or constant load applications. A constant deflection spring is cycled through a specified deflection range, the loads on the spring causing some set or relaxation which in turn lowers the applied stress. The spring may relax with time and reduce the applied load. Elevated temperatures can cause thermal relaxation, excess changes in spring dimension or reduced load supporting capability. Under constant load conditions, the load applied to the spring does not change during operation. Constant load springs may set or creep, but the applied stress is constant. The constant stress may result in fatigue lives shorter than those found in constant deflection applications.

In many applications, compression and extension springs are subjected to elevated temperatures at high stresses which can result in relaxation or loss of load. This condition is often referred to as "set". After the operating conditions are determined, set can be predicted and allowances made in the spring design. When no set is allowed in the application, the spring manufacturer may be able to preset the spring at temperatures and stresses higher than those to be encountered in the operating environment.

A highly stressed spring will set the first several times it is pressed. Relaxation is a function of a fairly high stress (but usually lower then that required to cause set) over a period of time. Creep in the spring may lead to unacceptable dimensional changes even under static loading (set). A spring held at a certain stress will actually relax more in a given time than a spring cycled between that stress and a lower stress because it spends more time at the higher stress. The amount of spring relaxation over a certain period of time is estimated by first determining the operating temperature, the maximum amount of stress the spring sees and how long the spring will be exposed to the maximum stress and the elevated temperature over its lifetime.


Miscellaneous Failure Modes:
Most extension spring failures occur in the area of the spring end. Extension springs are designed to become longer under load and their maximum length must be controlled for long life. Their turns are normally touching in the unloaded position and they have a hook, eye or some other means of attachment. For maximum reliability, the spring wire must be smooth with a gradual flow into the end without tool marks, sharp corners or other stress risers. The spring ends should be made as an integral part of the coil winding operation and the bend radius should be at least one and one-half times the wire diameter. Other failure mechanisms and causes may be identified for a specific application to assure that all considerations of reliability are included in the prediction.

Cited: Mechanical-Spring-Failure-Modes

Good info' but even after wading through this several times I still do not see a solid reason to keep a magazine loaded or not to keep one loaded. I have seen this issue discussed many times on many different web sites or forums and there is never a clear, concise answer. Like many I keep my personal defense weapons loaded at all times but guns that I consider sport guns like my SW MP15-22 I wait and load before I take it out to shoot it. Since it would never be one of my "go to" guns I see no reason to keep the mags loaded.

There is no right or wrong - do whatever makes you happy. I prefer to treat all magazines the same. I even have 500 rounds of 7.62 / .308 in clips for my M1, and it only gets shot a couple of times a year.

C5 Vette Guy,

There is no answer that's the thing.. If the materials used in construction are shoddy (like some old guns) the springs may "sack" after being collapsed for a period of time. With GOOD Metallurgy a spring will never fail from just being in it's collapsed state, because it's designed to do that, and the only thing that "should" cause failure is Heat (cycling).

Who knows?
Too many varables!
Nobody can aswer this. My experience says a lot longer than most people think.
Guy22

I don't know much, but I would worry more about corrosion than spring stress. A good friend was given a 1911 mag, loaded with 7 rounds, which was brought back from World War One along with a 1911 which disappeared in transit. He was given this mag, in the 1960's, I believe, by the widow of the fellow who brought it back. Before long, he stuck the mag in his own 1911 and fired all seven rounds. No problems.