A couple of questions from a newbie


Desert Dude

New member
Hello. I'm new to USA Carry and Concealed Carry, but not to guns.

I have a Mil Spec 45 auto and a Glock 30. I plan to carry the Glock in a IWB holster. The Colt 45 auto will be in my vehicle. So, my questions are......

With the magazine fed weapons should I rotate mags from full to empty? How long is it safe to carry a mag full before spring damage happens?

With the Colt 45 auto I currently carry with one in the chamber and the hammer on 1/2 cock. Is there a better (safer) way to carry this weapon?

Since the Glock is an internal hammer double action I just keep one in the chamber. This seems safe as far as everything I have read.

Thanks in advance.

Desert Dude
 

Hello. I'm new to USA Carry and Concealed Carry, but not to guns.

I have a Mil Spec 45 auto and a Glock 30. I plan to carry the Glock in a IWB holster. The Colt 45 auto will be in my vehicle. So, my questions are......

With the magazine fed weapons should I rotate mags from full to empty? How long is it safe to carry a mag full before spring damage happens?

With the Colt 45 auto I currently carry with one in the chamber and the hammer on 1/2 cock. Is there a better (safer) way to carry this weapon?

Since the Glock is an internal hammer double action I just keep one in the chamber. This seems safe as far as everything I have read.

Thanks in advance.

Desert Dude


Mr. Desert Dude,

I carry a Taurus PT1911 IWB, one in the chamber, cocked with safty on. Safe, reliable. As one of my experiences that I talked about (see post in CC Discusion, subheading "Renting a car next to a methadone clinic), you need to be ready in an instant if you are confronted in a personal defense situation. You might not have time to pull the hammer back before you need to use it. As for your other questions, I dont know... but I'd love to hear the answer to them myself!!! :pleasantry:

Welcome Mr. Desert Dude!

v/r
Rachkir
 
With the magazine fed weapons should I rotate mags from full to empty? How long is it safe to carry a mag full before spring damage happens?

I don't know the answer to that. Something that I've heard is that it's not a good idea to keep a magazine at full capacity. Having one less round in it puts less strain on the spring, therefore extending the life of it. I don't know how true that is, but it seems logical.

I clean my gun about once a week, mainly because I try to shoot that often. When I do, I completely unload both carry mags to wipe them down, too. Also, when I wanted to get faster at loading, I would load and unload mags over and over again while I was watching television. It got on my wife's nerves after a while, so that practice doesn't happen as often as it used to.

Look at it this way - if you practice a lot and shoot a lot, you'll never have to worry about it!!
 
I have an old CZ 52 that was made in 1953 in Czechoslovakia that I once left a mag overloaded for over a year just to test this. 52 mags hold seven, but can be stuffed with one more smashing the spring down in the bottom and the mag wont lock in the well. It fired just fine, so I would imagine modern springs would be pretty reliable but most people will say not to do that and thats OK too. It is a good idea to practice as often as possible and I can shoot everyday living in a vey rural area in AR, but the facts are everyone can't. Ruger used to use the strength and longevity of their springs in ads way back in the eighties. I would bet that if you deloaded one round (as in one in the chamber) you would never have any trouble. Unload it completely whenever you clean your weapon and it will probably outlast the rest of the moving parts.
 
Hello. I'm new to USA Carry and Concealed Carry, but not to guns.

I have a Mil Spec 45 auto and a Glock 30. I plan to carry the Glock in a IWB holster. The Colt 45 auto will be in my vehicle. So, my questions are......

With the magazine fed weapons should I rotate mags from full to empty? How long is it safe to carry a mag full before spring damage happens?

With the Colt 45 auto I currently carry with one in the chamber and the hammer on 1/2 cock. Is there a better (safer) way to carry this weapon?

Since the Glock is an internal hammer double action I just keep one in the chamber. This seems safe as far as everything I have read.

Thanks in advance.

Desert Dude

Always one in the chamber... Better to be ready...

As far as the mag springs, That's a question for the manufacturer. I rotate one full when I store it, just in case I need it quickly. I also have a pair of speed loaders ready for the revolver if need be in case I decide to unload both mags and give the springs a rest.

IWB Holster CroosBreed SuperTuck. Really comfortable and hides well...

Welcome to the site...
 
I would not worry about spring fatigue unless you are shooting that pistol constantly. I have heard that it is the constant compression and decompression that causes spring wear. If it bothers you that much, I would replace the springs every year or so, even it just for peace of mind.
 
The Glock mags should be ok if left fully loaded. Constantly loading and unloading them will do more damage than storing them fully loaded. I have several magazines for my Glocks, which I rotate on my trips to the range. I would recommend marking the magazines so you can tell them apart. It will help diagnose any possible failure to feed malfunctions with your magazine fed firearms.



gf
 
I would not worry about spring fatigue unless you are shooting that pistol constantly. I have heard that it is the constant compression and decompression that causes spring wear. If it bothers you that much, I would replace the springs every year or so, even it just for peace of mind.

Totally agree with that. As for the carry method of the Colt .45, chambered round, fully cocked and locked. I have a pancake holster for mine with a thumb break retention strap that fits between the hammer and the back of the slide. Makes for just one more measure of safety.
 
Long term plastic deformation (creep) is not an issue with steel at room temperature. Cyclic loading (fatigue), on the other hand, can cause damage after many cycles (thousands or more), even if the load is under the elastic limit of the material. What this means in non-engineer-speak is that you can leave your mags loaded as long as you want. You'll do more damage to your springs in the long term by constantly loading and unloading them. Even so, it will probably take years to cause noticeable fatigue.
 
OK, here's another question - how long should you go before replacing the ammo? I remember reading in American Rifleman years ago that the powder granuals in the cartridges can break down over time from jostling around, especially if the firearm is kept in a glove box or center console. Apparently as the powder breaks down into smaller particles it could develop dangerous pressure levels. I know this from my black powder shooting days - that smaller grain powders burn at a faster rate, generating higher pressure. So does this breakdown really happen and, if so, how long should one carry the same ammo before replacing it? And should it be fired or disposed of in some other manner?
 
OK, here's another question - how long should you go before replacing the ammo? I remember reading in American Rifleman years ago that the powder granuals in the cartridges can break down over time from jostling around, especially if the firearm is kept in a glove box or center console. Apparently as the powder breaks down into smaller particles it could develop dangerous pressure levels. I know this from my black powder shooting days - that smaller grain powders burn at a faster rate, generating higher pressure. So does this breakdown really happen and, if so, how long should one carry the same ammo before replacing it? And should it be fired or disposed of in some other manner?

Really good question.

That one I think I'm going to send along to the ammo manufacturers and I'll post the results when I get a response. I'll send to Federal, Hornady, and Remington and see if they concur.
 
From the tech folks at Federal regarding the ammo question.

Q: I have a general question regarding ammunition and how long it is good
for. I have heard that if ammunition is carried (on a person or in a vehicle)
for a long period of time it is possible for the grains of powder charge
to break down or apart into smaller pieces. The smaller pieces can burn
more rapidly and increase pressure. Is this information accurate? I can
see how it could be possible. Please advise.

A: Store reloading components and ammunition in a cool, dry place,
protected from direct exposure to sunlight. If stored properly there is
a 10-year shelf life on loaded ammunition

Not exactly what I was hoping for...

Yet to hear from the others so will post when I do..

Peace...
 
From the tech folks at Remington regarding the ammo question.

Q: I have a general question regarding ammunition and how long it is good
for. I have heard that if ammunition is carried (on a person or in a vehicle)
for a long period of time it is possible for the grains of powder charge
to break down or apart into smaller pieces. The smaller pieces can burn
more rapidly and increase pressure. Is this information accurate? I can
see how it could be possible. Please advise.

A: Yes,
this is a real concern, however if stored correctly and not abused with heavy vibration for extended periods of time, and not exposed to high variations of temperature or humidity you generally have a shelf life of about 10 years before this will become a major concern.

Ah ha, They took the time to read the entire question... So there you have it...:yes4:
 
On another note. I was given a box of old Remington police issue 38 specials from back in the late 60's to early 70's. I knew the guys uncle was a cop and he said they were department issue at that time. They had been stored in a clean dry basement in the original box and had never been wet. I took them to the range to see what would happen. I used my model 65 357 Mag.
49 went BANG and 1 was a dud. I hit it twice with the hammer and no go. needless to say I waited 2 minutes to unload that one...
 
On another note. I was given a box of old Remington police issue 38 specials from back in the late 60's to early 70's. I knew the guys uncle was a cop and he said they were department issue at that time. They had been stored in a clean dry basement in the original box and had never been wet. I took them to the range to see what would happen. I used my model 65 357 Mag.
49 went BANG and 1 was a dud. I hit it twice with the hammer and no go. needless to say I waited 2 minutes to unload that one...

You'll be surprisd how long ammo can last. With proper care and storage, it can be rather long. I recently shot up 2 ammo cans worth of WWII .45 ACP cartridges without a problem. I have .22 LR cartridges from the same time period. I'm planning on shooting up the .22 in the next month or so. Being that it's a rim fired cartridge, I wouldn't be surprised if there are at least a couple of misfires.



gf
 
Being that it's a rim fired cartridge, I wouldn't be surprised if there are at least a couple of misfires.

gf

I don't think I have ever shot a brick of .22 without at lease 3 or 4 misfires and that is new ammo.
 
I don't think I have ever shot a brick of .22 without at lease 3 or 4 misfires and that is new ammo.

I primarily shoot CCI Mini-Mag ammo. Most rounds we fired in a class before a misfire was approx. 2,000 rounds. Turned the cartridge 1/4 turn, reloaded, and it went bang.

OTOH, I've shot bricks of CCI Blazer ammo and got an average of 1 misfire per 500 rounds. These misfires are "duds" as we turn the cartridge 1/4 turn twice and it still won't go bang. After pulling the bullet and examining the case, we notice that there is either very little or no priming compound in the crimp area.

Seems like the cost of the ammo is directly related to the number of duds in the batch.



gf
 

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