How long is too long to keep rounds in mag.

[Got Trance]

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.

 

[drequeen]

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

 

[Illwell]

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.

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

 

[grover99]

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.

 

[Taylor339]

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

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

 

[Illwell]

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.

 

[Old cop]

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

 

[Majorlk]

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.

 

[DelFuego]

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.

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

 

[Majorlk]

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

I've got popcorn and chips and dip.

 

[BlueZero]

I've got popcorn and chips and dip.

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

 

[Col. Plink]

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

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 ...

 

[erick1987]

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

 

[Buckskinner]

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...

 

[ColbyBruce]

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.

 

[looseman]

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.

 

[515DSM]

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.

 

[Dezfan]

I've got popcorn and chips and dip.

Yet I'm still waiting on my cookie.




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

 

[eschoendorff]

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...

That was my first thought as well.

 

[Kayback]

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