# About magazines....



## Thanatos (Oct 9, 2009)

I briefly heard in passing that its not good to keep one particular magazine loaded 24/7 or the spring will wear out and may cause problems with feeding. Is there any truth to that, or I guess I should say have any of you ever had that problem? 

I have three mags for my G23. I have one loaded at all times, round in the chamber ready to go obviously. Now, when I go to the range, I use all three mags, so they are all being regularly used. What I don't do is make sure that I rotate out which mag I'm keeping loaded all the time.

Any thoughts on this? Would it make a difference to make sure I rotate them out, and if so how often?


----------



## kg333 (May 19, 2008)

Why does this particular question never die...it always comes back like, I dunno, it's spring-loaded or something.

Anyways, answer is that leaving your spring in its current state, be that compressed or uncompressed, will have no wear effect on it. The cycling action is what wears your spring out. Those who load and unload a magazine every night to keep the spring from wearing out are doing exactly the wrong thing.

That said, if you leave a magazine lying around for an extended period of time, it'll likely get dirt, dust, and other crud in it, which _will_ cause feeding problems.

In your particular situation, as long as the magazine you're leaving loaded is getting used (and hopefully also cleaned) regularly, you should be fine. If any of the more experienced members or those with Glocks can confirm or correct that, please do.

KG


----------



## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

kg333 said:


> Why does this particular question never die...it always comes back like, I dunno, it's spring-loaded or something.
> 
> Anyways, answer is that leaving your spring in its current state, be that compressed or uncompressed, will have no wear effect on it. The cycling action is what wears your spring out. Those who load and unload a magazine every night to keep the spring from wearing out are doing exactly the wrong thing.
> 
> ...


Looks like kg333 covered it well; that's how I understand the issue, anyway.

I have some original Glock 17 magazines that are 18-20 years old and still perking right along. I wouldn't choose them over the most current versions for defensive uses, as I think some useful enhancements have been made over the years, but they seem to still be working as well as they ever did.


----------



## unpecador (May 9, 2008)

Thanatos said:


> I briefly heard in passing that its not good to keep one particular magazine loaded 24/7 or the spring will wear out and may cause problems with feeding. Is there any truth to that, or I guess I should say have any of you ever had that problem?


I've never had that problem.


----------



## wheelgunnerfla (Oct 21, 2009)

You should at least take the rounds out once in a while to give the spring a break.


----------



## kg333 (May 19, 2008)

wheelgunnerfla said:


> You should at least take the rounds out once in a while to give the spring a break.


I was going to ask if you read any of the above comments, but considering you posted 51 times since yesterday, I find that unlikely. :watching:

KG


----------



## DevilsJohnson (Oct 21, 2007)

I have mags here that have been left loaded for months. Maybe longer. They are boxed so dirt isn't an issue and they all work well. I've done that for years and it's never been an issue. It's like kg said. The action a spring goes through (compressing and decompressing) wears a spring much faster than leaving one sit compressed.

If leaving them loaded was a problem then I'd have a lot of mags needing springs. :smt083


----------

