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Keeping magazines loaded / pre-loading


michael_aos

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I've always read loading and unloading magazines is the cause of spring-wear.

But I recently read to never keep "competition" magazines loaded overnight. In fact some people load right before a stage and immediately unload afterward.

I've also noticed a lot of guys doing this at matches.

Is this really necessary? I always load my magazines the night before a match and I haven't noticed any problems.

Then again, I'm brand-new...

Mike

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The longer the sring in the mag is compressed, the shorter the life of the spring. I don't go so far as to load right before I shoot a stage, but I don't load any mags before I get to the range on the day I am going to shoot. Other than the mag in my "Home Defense" gun, I try to never leave a mag loaded for any longer than is really needed.

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I generally dump the rounds out of my competition mags right after the match if for safety more than any other reason.

I think I remember Beven stating that what wears out mag springs is cycling more than extended periods of compression.

My personal experience and that of others I respect leads me to buy into that theory. I've had mags that have stayed loaded for years and years (my Glock mags) and they still feed just fine. That really leads me to believe that compression cycles is indeed the true wear factor with springs.

What probably *is* hard on high-zoot mags is extended pressure on the feed lips. That may be reason enough to keep your expensive, competition mags empty between shooting sessions.

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The longer the sring in the mag is compressed, the shorter the life of the spring. I don't go so far as to load right before I shoot a stage, but I don't load any mags before I get to the range on the day I am going to shoot. Other than the mag in my "Home Defense" gun, I try to never leave a mag loaded for any longer than is really needed.

Where you get your info? I've been informed the opposite is true by several spring manufacturers, it's the cyclic loading that wears them out is their answer when I asked ISMI, Grams, and Wolfe.

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The longer the sring in the mag is compressed, the shorter the life of the spring. I don't go so far as to load right before I shoot a stage, but I don't load any mags before I get to the range on the day I am going to shoot. Other than the mag in my "Home Defense" gun, I try to never leave a mag loaded for any longer than is really needed.

Where you get your info? I've been informed the opposite is true by several spring manufacturers, it's the cyclic loading that wears them out is their answer when I asked ISMI, Grams, and Wolfe.

I guess I am just thinking of a loaded mag VS. an unloaded one. I agree that the load and unload cycle wears them down, but given the choice between leaving a mag completely topped off, or completely unloaded, are you saying there is no difference to the spring?

Also, I think EricW makes a good point about the wear on the feedlips. I hadn't thought of that one, but I always unload the mags.

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Another thing to consider is stupid state laws. For example in New Jersey a loaded magazine in your range bag next to your unloaded handgun is considered a loaded gun. This being a no carry concealed, open, in your car, drive straight home kinda state, leaving a loaded mag in you bag to and from range is a really bad idea as it would be a felony.

Vlad

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cut and pasted from TeamGE on Aug. 14, 2003.

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...opic=7445&st=15

Beven,

I'm using GE followers, springs and pads on STI mags. I remove the pads after ever match and leave them that way until the next match or practice session. I've been using these same springs for 2 years now without failure.

My question is: is this overkill or a good idea?

thanks,

9x

9x23,

Springs wear out from cycling the spring (loading and unloading the spring), not from storing them with tension. Loading the mag, then unloading the mag between stages (as some shooter do), is putting more cycles on the spring, without even shooting them. Storing the mags unassembled doesn't hurt, but it is just more work to do and I think it is over kill.

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The only time keeping a mag loaded is going to make the springs weak is if the spring is overloaded/compressed too far, or it's poorly heat treated or has some other defect.

I leave my single stack magazines loaded all the time and they're also the mags that get used the most. I have probably half a dozen Para mags fully loaded all the time too (three on my person) with no problems.

The only problems I've had were in some Wilson 8-rd mags that I got cheap from Sportman's Guide. All of them had crappy springs... I left the loaded ONE NIGHT and the next day they were no longer strong enough to function, and they were about an inch and a half shorter than when they were "new" the day before.

The original springs in my Para mags from 1994 were also crap, but I've had the same Wolff replacements in them since then. The one that is always in the gun has been loaded since ... probably 1996 or 97. It still works great when I shoot through my carry ammo. Same spring!

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Check out Trippresearch.com they have some good info about the # of coils in a spring and how this effects there life.I've found the seven rnd 45 don't seem to care if you leave them loaded forever they still work fine.

I'm going to leave one of my ten rnd mags loaded and see if matters.

On a similar note good mag springs are cheap and easily had through Brownells.com ckeck em out! B)

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And when they appear to be "worn out" DO NOT throw them away! Here is another option from a fellow IPSC shooter & BE rofum member (Iron9 I think):

-go to "www.strictlyipsc.com"

-a shooting website will come up that is at 1st in Swedish; just click on the Brittish flag to read in English.

-click on "Miscelaneous"

-click on "re-tempering magazine springs" (in your kitchen oven at home for free/no cost)

Your re-tempered mag springs should be good as new; the old Bevin Gramms springs I treated last week are just like new. Put another way, what will you do with your oldsprings? Throw them out, right? If you are going to buy new ones anyway, you have nothing to loose by trying re-tempering - at least for use in your practice mags (now that the AWB is dead & we can all afford 10 practice mags, 10 match mags, etc).

Douglas

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Guest Larry Cazes

I have heard all of the theories about cyclic stress being the dominant mode for spring wear. The fact is, though, That if I leave my 140mm mags with wolff or grams springs fully loaded for a couple of days or so, they do take a set and I end up losing spring tension overall in the bargain. I have accidentally proven this to myself more than once in the last year or so.

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I unload my mags after shooting a stage and reload them for the next for reasons that matter more to me than spring set/wear/whatever.

First, I want to know exactly how many rounds I have in my mags, and not all of them have witness holes. Nothing so sure as unloading the mag and counting in the rounds.

Second, the range I shoot at is dusty (and occasionally wet). A mag that hits the ground, and the ammo in it, gets gritty or muddy and can jam the next time it's used. Even if not disassembled, I can run a rag covered brush down the mag to clean it, pushing on the follower. I can't do that loaded up. Ejecting dirty rounds lets me clean those too.

Third, I want to be sure the rounds are in right, and that they are my rounds. At a match just yesterday a new shooter handed me back my .40 cal mag, helpfully loaded up with 9mm rounds that he found lying next to it in the dirt. Many a time I've found the top round reversed in an ejected mag which hit the ground base down, and trampolined the rounds down and then back up, but tumbled. I even, at one major match, had a mag given back to me by a competitor in the same division with a reversed round (my own) several down in the tube.

Fourth, it's part of my routine. Unloading, cleaning and partially reloading my mags after a stage lets me wind down. Topping off my mags just before shooting gets me back in the mood.

Springs aren't too dear - if one starts to go, I just replace it.

FWIW

;)

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