OT: Magazine Springs

[McCandless]

I normally have a pistol, with a round chambered and a loaded magazine, on me or near me. (In the house, I also have a revolver where I can get to it. Just in case, belt and suspenders dontchaknow... Now, I've been reading about magazine spring fatigue. I've never encountered a failure to fire because of that... but it got me to thinking. How often do y'all change out the magazine spring? Do you rotate magazines? I can do that, got several. Set regimen?

 

Thanks,

McC

[Chili Ron]

Howdy,

Ive been told that springs only wear when they move.

You might think they wear when they are stationary but consider how much

do YOU wear out when you are stationary?

Some cheap springs or defective springs wil probably set and stop working.

Good springs should last for decades.

And I know a couple cops who regularly switch mags and load and unload mags

and they think this will insure the mags work when needed. And they probably will

because they are using top quality springs with very long working life.(SIG).

Best

CR

[Attica Jack #23953]

I really do think spring fatigue is an issue. I have shot a magazine of 45 acp. that has been loaded since the end of WWII with no issues. But myself I unload my magazines every month or so or when going on vacation.....makes me feel good, don't know if it helps though.

[macinaw]

I just bought a few Magpul AR-15 magazines; I was told they are designed to be loaded and stored for long periods of time without any negative effect on reliability. I have been told that most modern magazine springs are also safe to keep loaded without any problems..

[Ventura Slim, SASS #35690]

You can buy aftermarket stronger springs for most modern semi-autos. Not sure about what happens if you store them loaded up for long periods of time.

[Lone Dog, SASS #20401]

1911s have been found in dresser drawers that have been there for decades with the mag fully loaded. Taken out and shot just fine. New made springs these days are better than those. There are lots of things in this world to worry about. Mag spring fatigue is not one of them. The oldest spring I own is the one in the roller of the toilet paper holder in the bathroom of this house. We moved in here in 1958 and it was brand new. Still just as strong and works just as good today over half a century later...

[Southpaw Gringo, SASS # 74217]

I took this from the Wolff Springs web page.

 

 

How often should I change magazine spring? Should I unload my magazines, rotate magazines, load with fewer than the maximum rounds?

Magazine springs in semi-auto pistols are one of the most critical springs and are the subject of much debate and concern. Magazines which are kept fully loaded for long periods of time, such as in law enforcement and personal/home defense applications, will generally be subject to more fatigue than the weekend shooter's magazine springs in which the magazines are loaded up only when shooting.

Magazine design and capacity also affect the longevity of the spring. In many older pistol designs, maximum capacity was not the always the goal such as with the 7 round 1911 Colt magazines will last for years fully loaded. There was room for more spring material in these guns which reduces overall stress and increases the usable life of the spring.

More recently higher capacity magazine have become popular. These are designed to hold more rounds with less spring material often in the same space. This puts more stress on the spring and will cause it to fatigue at a faster rate. Unloading these magazines a round or two will help the life of the spring. Rotating fully loaded magazines will also help the problem somewhat but it is not always practical.

In applications where the magazine must be kept loaded at all times, a high quality magazine spring such as Wolff extra power magazine springs, will provide maximum life. Regular replacement of magazine springs will provide the best defense against failure from weak magazine springs. Regular shooting of the pistol is the best way to be sure the springs are still functioning reliably.

[Badlands Bob #61228]

In Law Enforcement, we kept our Glocks for 10 years. They stayed fully loaded all the time. The only reason we traded them after 10 years was because the warranty on the night sites. The magazine springs were just fine. We had the same service life out of S&W 659 back in the dark ages when we carried them.

[Marauder SASS #13056]

As I recall, Driftwood mentioned that springs are more "worn" by cycling than compression. And cycling at near full compression will wear the most.

 

If you have a high capacity mag, reducing my 1 round will make quite a difference, then just keep it loaded. Just to be extra safe, change out the springs or mags every 5 - 10 years. As noted Wolff sells replacement springs and that is cheaper and possibly better than having to buy a new mag.

 

With the 1911, you are probably safe to replace the spring every 10 years or 20 years so.

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

If you have ANY concern at all-Change'em out with Wolff Springs.

OLG

[Utah Bob #35998]

There is no cause for alarm. You're good. :0

[Michigan Slim]

I'm shooting ammo and mags that are 40 years old from my AR. Mags sat loaded for many many years. No issues to report!

[Colonel Lou]

In over 30 years in the military and owning ARs and guns with magazines, never had an issue with spring fatigue. Seen a lot of failure to loads due to bad magazines, but never due to the spring, results were mostly dirty magazines and followers. Now my practice to prevent the failure to load due to spring compression from long term storage of a loaded magazine is to disassemble, clean and stretch the spring a little when out of the magazine. I also oil the spring when reassembling. Since I clean the weapons regularly, the ammunition is also removed from the magazine and maintenance performed on the magazine regularly as the get dirty just laying around. Yeah, the is the military in me...PMCS.