I'm sure this has been brought up a million times, but I'm new here so I was wondering.......is it safe to leave magazines, particularly 30 rounder's, fully loaded as long as they are stored properly and in a stable temperature / humidity controlled environment? I've heard you cannot weaken the spring, and I've also heard you can. If you can leave them loaded, is there a time limit before the magazine might not function properly?
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Leaving magazines loaded or unloaded?
- Thread starter Scott357
- Start date
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Springs wear out from use not from being in one position. You should be fine storing them loaded for a long time.
A good read on this topic . . .
A word about magazine springs | Police & Law Enforcement Discussions and Forums - PoliceLink
A word about magazine springs | Police & Law Enforcement Discussions and Forums - PoliceLink
This.
Anyone saying it wears down springs is an old school thinker of gun shop talk before the internet. As they say, the spring compressing and uncompressing wears it down, not one position or another. People have found WWII 1911 mags fully loaded and buried, and they cycled just fine.
One Shot One Kill
Sharpshooter
I leave mine loaded. If they get worn from this, It'll probably be because they're so darned old and by that time probably need replacing. That's a big "if" though, doubt that will ever happen.
Yeah, but by that point, the bullets have wilted from lack of use. Don't risk using older ammo. Send it to me for proper disposal.
in625shooter
Master
- Mar 21, 2008
- 2,136
- 48
Leave them loaded with no worries.
I try to leave mine loaded...but it never seems to last. 
I have a S&W 915 that I rarely ever shoot. Left the two mags that came with it in the safe and loaded for a couple years....
Decided to bring it with me and shoot it one day when I took some other guns to my property. About halfway thru the mag, the spring quit pushing cartridges up. Both mags were like that. So in at least these mags, the springs compressed and stopped working. Maybe they were junk springs, who knows? They're the only mags I have ever had this problem with, and I keep quite a few different varieties loaded up.
Decided to bring it with me and shoot it one day when I took some other guns to my property. About halfway thru the mag, the spring quit pushing cartridges up. Both mags were like that. So in at least these mags, the springs compressed and stopped working. Maybe they were junk springs, who knows? They're the only mags I have ever had this problem with, and I keep quite a few different varieties loaded up.
Not all springs are created equal.
I have a Mossberg 500 that sat as a bedside gun fully loaded for 10 years. Took it to the range to shoot clays and it wouldnt always eject the last round fully onto the elevator for feeding.
Eventually a year or so of sitting empty more or less corrected the issue but still. You SHOULD be OK my experience notwithstanding.
I have a Mossberg 500 that sat as a bedside gun fully loaded for 10 years. Took it to the range to shoot clays and it wouldnt always eject the last round fully onto the elevator for feeding.
Eventually a year or so of sitting empty more or less corrected the issue but still. You SHOULD be OK my experience notwithstanding.
Had the same thing happen with a Belgium made Browning High-power that was stored loaded for 20+ years. Not mine, but was there when it happened, new springs and it's fine. To those saying leaving mags loaded has no effect, I call shenanigans.
Kirk Freeman
Grandmaster
Are you leaving them on a rack or are you carrying them about? If you are carrying them about, year after year, the movement of the vehicle (pothholes, railroad tracks, turns, etc.) and the weight of the 28 rounds could cause problems.
If you are just loading them up and leaving them on the shelf, you are cool.
When discussing loaded mags, there are more than just the compression/uncompression of the spring at issue.
As mentioned before: not all springs are created equal.
Also to consider are the stresses the loaded mag is exerting, in 3 axis, upon the mag itself. Most notably of this would be from "side to side" and "up and down". These stresses can, will, and do affect the body of the magazine, the follower, and the feed lips.
Then you get into: not all magazines are created equal.
SOME polymers can resist the expansive forces and rebound and be fine. Some metal magazines can resist the forces and rebound and be fine. Some cannot.
Some magazines - you can experience slight problems with the spring, feed lips, and mag body to the point that the mag will be inoperable - where it may have been able to chug along with just ONE of the issues.
My own personal philosophy is to download rifle mags by at least 2 if I don't have the feed lip covers. And high-cap handgun mags I'll usually stop at 15rds (mine are all 17 rds).
That said, most all newly/recently manufactured magazines of good reputation will probably be OK to leave filled to capacity for a long long time without issues.
As mentioned before: not all springs are created equal.
Also to consider are the stresses the loaded mag is exerting, in 3 axis, upon the mag itself. Most notably of this would be from "side to side" and "up and down". These stresses can, will, and do affect the body of the magazine, the follower, and the feed lips.
Then you get into: not all magazines are created equal.
SOME polymers can resist the expansive forces and rebound and be fine. Some metal magazines can resist the forces and rebound and be fine. Some cannot.
Some magazines - you can experience slight problems with the spring, feed lips, and mag body to the point that the mag will be inoperable - where it may have been able to chug along with just ONE of the issues.
My own personal philosophy is to download rifle mags by at least 2 if I don't have the feed lip covers. And high-cap handgun mags I'll usually stop at 15rds (mine are all 17 rds).
That said, most all newly/recently manufactured magazines of good reputation will probably be OK to leave filled to capacity for a long long time without issues.
