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I recently read that auto pistol magazine springs can loose tension is kept fully loaded for extended periods of time. I have my pistol under the bed. Is it better to keep the one in the gun full and the other about half and alternate every few weeks or better to keep them both about 3/4 full all the time?

Thanks

jecsd1 wrote:I recently read that auto pistol magazine springs can loose tension is kept fully loaded for extended periods of time. I have my pistol under the bed. Is it better to keep the one in the gun full and the other about half and alternate every few weeks or better to keep them both about 3/4 full all the time?

Thanks

The action of compression/decompression weaken springs. Springs that are at rest wear at the same rate whether they are compressed or decompressed. That's why you replace the shocks on your car after many years instead of after every two oil changes.

jecsd1 wrote:I recently read that auto pistol magazine springs can loose tension is kept fully loaded for extended periods of time. I have my pistol under the bed. Is it better to keep the one in the gun full and the other about half and alternate every few weeks or better to keep them both about 3/4 full all the time?

Thanks

They are designed to be kept fully loaded. They can be stored that way for literally years.

In fact, by unloading and reloading them every few weeks you're more likely to cause spring fatigue then by leaving them loaded. Its not the act of being compressed that reduces springs ability to "spring", its the act of compression, decompression.

ETA: psijac beat me to it! ha

Excellent info guys! I had no idea. Here I thought I was reducing wear by letting the springs relax every once in a while. I guess it's better to load them up and leave them alone huh?

Thanks Again!

jecsd1 wrote:Excellent info guys! I had no idea. Here I thought I was reducing wear by letting the springs relax every once in a while. I guess it's better to load them up and leave them alone huh?

Thanks Again!

Yep, keepem charged and ready.
The only time my mags are empty is when I fire the last round at the range.
Other than that, they stay loaded and ready for the imminent zombie invasion.

Man! I really do learn something everytime I'm on here!

Thanks again!

I have a couple of mags for my Beretta 92FS that have been fully loaded for 15 years and they still work perfectly. All mags loaded and ready to go here.

Gary

USA1 wrote:

jecsd1 wrote:Excellent info guys! I had no idea. Here I thought I was reducing wear by letting the springs relax every once in a while. I guess it's better to load them up and leave them alone huh?

Thanks Again!

Yep, keepem charged and ready.
The only time my mags are empty is when I fire the last round at the range.
Other than that, they stay loaded and ready for the imminent zombie invasion.

Especially on the zombie part...

I have an addiction to magazines... I just keep buying and filling more...
it's an expensive hobby, but it will pay off on Z-Day...

Anyways, I've had mag sitting loaded for quite some time. Show no sign of problems. As mentioned elsewhere the *only* possible problem would be feed lips on magazines, like AR mags.
All my AR mags are Magpul mags, and they have a snap-on cap that pushes the rounds off the feed lips at top, saving them the strain. The cap pops off with a thumb easily, so it's win-win.

Keep them full. Won't hurt a thing on a quality magazine.