Leaving magazines loaded.

[Bird]

I've heard differing opinions about whether or not it's bad.

Thoughts?

[DoubleTap]

I work in the coil handling industry. We design equipment that uncoils and straightens those giant coils of steel and aluminum you see tooling down the highway all the time. Steel will not develop a memory (i.e. lose its springiness) unless it's bent beyond its yield point, which should never happen in a properly designed magazine. Loaded or unloaded makes no difference. What will destroy a magazine spring (in no particular order) is heat (like a fire), rust, and repetitive cycling between a loaded and unloaded condition – in other words, normal use. Leaving them loaded doesn't hurt a thing. In fact, guys will inadvertently do more damage to their magazines by periodically unloading them, on the mistaken notion that by rotating their magazines, they're somehow giving the springs a 'rest'. It simply doesn't work like that.

Don't worry about leaving them loaded. Just be aware that they will wear out with actual use, and they should be considered expendable. And if ever get to the point where you're contemplating stretching a spring to make it 'springy' again, don't waste your time. Just pitch it and get another one.

[GA400]

Double Tap - thanks for that great info, I have often wondered about the "memory" of steel. Do you have any thoughts on whether magazines should be lubricated? Some folks claim that lubricating helps the spring travel up and down in the magazine, while others claim that it only makes the magazines more likely attract and retain dirt and grit.

Thanks
Rich

[DoubleTap]

I tend to agree with the second school of thought. Go easy on the oil and wipe it off when you're done. All the more so if gun/magazine is to be concealed carried, as oil is a lint magnet. Careful leaving fingerprints on those springs too. Skin oil/sweat is a surprising corrosive mixture!

[Bird]

Yeah. Thanks, Double Tap!! Good info indeed. And thank you, GA400, for inquiring about mag lube.

Feeling much more settled now. I just wish mags for this pistol were more common. I'd snag a few.

[1sgret]

Bird,

What really hurts storing a magazine with a full load is not with the spring, but the feed lips of the mag. The M-16 mag was originally designed as an aluminum throw away mag. The original intent was to have the mags loaded at the factory and shipped out that way. They found out that the aluminum mags feed lips were deforming while under constant pressure. As a cure, the US Military decide that 18 rounds in a 20 round mag would help cure the problem. This is where the myth about storing a mag with a full load is bad came from. The Soviet mags have lips of steel (like their women) and do not suffer from this problem. I think the P-64 mag would be ok to store with a full load.

What I do is cycle my loaded mags about every six months just on general principals.

John

[GA400]

DoubleTap,

Thanks for the reply

Rich