Loaded Magazines
- Thread starter aacx22
- Start date
OMG not this again.
Suggest you go to Wolff Gunsprings website and read their guide on springs. Wilson Combat also has one. Good quality springs won't suffer from staying compressed but cheap ones will lose their temper if left that way. So how do you know which kind you have? You don't unless you replaced them yourself.
Double stack mag springs that are crammed into a wad in the bottom of the mag will have a shorter life than a single stack mag spring that is only partially compressed under its design limit. If you need to use a loading device to get the last 3 or 4 rounds into the mag then the spring is getting stressed much more than a single stack 1911 magazine. Bottom line - if the gun absolutely positively has to work every time then leaving the spring fully compressed over long periods of time is not such a great idea.
For every story I have heard about a WW I mag left loaded for 80 years and still works I have seen a dozen where the spring lost tension from being left compressed and wouldn't reliably feed the last 2 or 3 rounds. (and in WWI no manufacturer was buying springs from China). Install a new quality spring and 100% feed function is restored. Don't cheap out on springs, they are probably the one of the most important parts on a semiauto pistol.
Suggest you go to Wolff Gunsprings website and read their guide on springs. Wilson Combat also has one. Good quality springs won't suffer from staying compressed but cheap ones will lose their temper if left that way. So how do you know which kind you have? You don't unless you replaced them yourself.
Double stack mag springs that are crammed into a wad in the bottom of the mag will have a shorter life than a single stack mag spring that is only partially compressed under its design limit. If you need to use a loading device to get the last 3 or 4 rounds into the mag then the spring is getting stressed much more than a single stack 1911 magazine. Bottom line - if the gun absolutely positively has to work every time then leaving the spring fully compressed over long periods of time is not such a great idea.
For every story I have heard about a WW I mag left loaded for 80 years and still works I have seen a dozen where the spring lost tension from being left compressed and wouldn't reliably feed the last 2 or 3 rounds. (and in WWI no manufacturer was buying springs from China). Install a new quality spring and 100% feed function is restored. Don't cheap out on springs, they are probably the one of the most important parts on a semiauto pistol.
beachbum17
New member
My buddy owns a firearm company their sprin manufacture explained it's the loading and unloading that wears them out and not long term storage.
All modern firearms should be fine long term. Double stacks I recommend 95% capacity or get hard to load into the gun. I usually do 1-3 less than max and they seem to be just fine
All modern firearms should be fine long term. Double stacks I recommend 95% capacity or get hard to load into the gun. I usually do 1-3 less than max and they seem to be just fine
If the damn magazine capacity is 17 rounds then put 17 rounds in the damn thing. If it won't hold 17 rounds then replace it. There is a published capacity limit for a reason. You are stupid if you don't load your gun to capacity for self-defense.
Followed by idiotic advice not to load magazines to capacity...
Followed by idiotic advice not to load magazines to capacity...
Load to capacity +1
I top my carry off with 5 rounds and one in the chamber. Both magazines stay loaded indefinitely. Unless I'm at the range, then one gets stripped of its hollow points and loaded with ball ammo. My magazine springs have yet to fatigue or give me grief.
aacx22
Tested Selected Initiated
Intended to thank your post for advice, but the thank link didn't appear. Anyone else see that intermittently? I live in California so my max is 10 for anything I own. I can understand why people would load one or two less... that was my first thought before hearing from people who know better how sturdy magazines are really. I have a lot of family in TX, so its possible I may move there in the next few years... if that happens, my 10 rd mags will be upgraded.
I'm not against the practice, I just don't think it's worth the hassel for 1 more round.
You reduce the risk of improperly loading a round when the situation may arise and your adrenaline is peaked.
If it all comes down to one round I picked the wrong gun to begin with
Rocketgeezer
New member
I know there must be mags that the springs crap out on, but in 50+ years I have never seen one weaken enough for the gun not to function, my Dad had a handful of old 1911 mags from Korea, still loaded to compacity, in a old duffle up in my granddads attic, this was maybe 10 years ago, I wiped one off popped in my full size Springer and I had 7 Bangs, just like it was loaded yesterday, and on they were not made in china, maybe used there, LOL, there has been a loaded G-26 mag in my wifes car consol for 4 or 5 years, I,m going to get it and see if it works..........what the hell, not only did it work all the dust, crap, stuff that is in a cars consol was covering the mag and most of that garbage got fired with the rds, I have a dozen or so 1911 mags and half of them are from that bunch of dads old stuff, in the cabinet, that stay loaded for months, with no issues
Nightmare45
NRA LIFE MEMBER
My springs will decompress as the bullets exit the barrel.
Would you like me to tell you what I do? (This is another one of those really contentious topics!) I replace all my new 1911 and Glock magazine springs with Wolff gun springs. I leave a new magazine fully loaded for 3 or 4 days in order to allow the new spring to take it's initial set. (Yes, new magazine springs DO take a set.) I never load an EDC semiautomatic pistol to full capacity + 1. This is because I've done a lot of shooting during my life; and, yes, I have, on occasion, had a +1 loaded pistol jam up on me. For EDC I won't do it, period.
I always carry a semi-auto downloaded by 1 round. I'm very good with a pistol; and never, at anytime in my life, have I needed more than two shots before, 'sinking' the first round. (Generally, I'm able to empty the contents of an entire magazine into an 8 inch circle all the way out to 16 yards; and I'm talking about working the gun just as fast as the slide will cycle.) As far as I'm concerned, anyone who either loads to full magazine capacity, or +1 capacity is no better than an amateur with a gun, and lacks the life experience to know better. A healthy partially tensioned magazine spring ALWAYS works better than a fully tensioned one.
Furthermore, whenever a magazine is stuffed full, the angle of the top round can (and usually does) change; and it's more difficult for the slide's pick-up rail to grab the top round. +1 loading will, only, exacerbate the mechanical tendency for this to happen. I've also had magazine (and other) springs wear out; but, then again, I've had a number of 20,000 + fired round years. One of the first signs of a worn out magazine spring are failures-to-feed on the last 3 or 4 rounds. Stovepipes might, also, increase as the spring weakens. Why? Because the next round up is feeding at an odd angle; and jerking around with the follower won't correct the problem.
This said: Everybody's welcome to do whatever he wants. As long as it's not MY MAGAZINE I really don't care. :wink:
I always carry a semi-auto downloaded by 1 round. I'm very good with a pistol; and never, at anytime in my life, have I needed more than two shots before, 'sinking' the first round. (Generally, I'm able to empty the contents of an entire magazine into an 8 inch circle all the way out to 16 yards; and I'm talking about working the gun just as fast as the slide will cycle.) As far as I'm concerned, anyone who either loads to full magazine capacity, or +1 capacity is no better than an amateur with a gun, and lacks the life experience to know better. A healthy partially tensioned magazine spring ALWAYS works better than a fully tensioned one.
Furthermore, whenever a magazine is stuffed full, the angle of the top round can (and usually does) change; and it's more difficult for the slide's pick-up rail to grab the top round. +1 loading will, only, exacerbate the mechanical tendency for this to happen. I've also had magazine (and other) springs wear out; but, then again, I've had a number of 20,000 + fired round years. One of the first signs of a worn out magazine spring are failures-to-feed on the last 3 or 4 rounds. Stovepipes might, also, increase as the spring weakens. Why? Because the next round up is feeding at an odd angle; and jerking around with the follower won't correct the problem.
This said: Everybody's welcome to do whatever he wants. As long as it's not MY MAGAZINE I really don't care. :wink:
S&W645
NRA Life Member
The mags don't change once loaded but they do change from loading and unloading. What is the life cycle? That depends on a number of factors. It is a fact that all metals fatigue. But it is from cycling and not sitting stationary. Cycling can take many forms and the aircraft industry has had to learn that the hard way at times. One of the best movies on the subject was No Highway in the Sky. While the plane was fictional, the fatigue problem is real. Examples of it have shown up in DeHaviland Comet 1s, and Boeing 737s. A simple thing such as temps can change the life cycle period.
Nightmare45
NRA LIFE MEMBER
Posted this before but found magazine in my dads foot locker from WWII 45, have weapon also, took it to range it went bang like it was out of the box, issued in 42.
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