Magazine question
01-07-2005, 10:49 AM
#12
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Gypsum KS USA
Posts: 1,289
RE: Magazine question
It really depends on a lot of things: Magazine capacity, quality, age, and design all play a major role in the life of a magazine. It's unlikely that it SIGNIFICANTLY decreases the life span of a magazine, i.e. it holds up for 50yrs instead of 55yrs would even be a stretch.
I'm guessing this thread is primarily refering to coil spring type detachable magazines for a pistol or semiauto rifle, or maybe a high capacity shotgun. You won't "wear out" a coil spring by keeping it compressed, you'll reform it. If you wear out a spring, they break, not just lose strength.
It's very possible to wear out an "accordion spring" like that found in box magazines in some bolt action guns with low (5rnds usually) capacity magazines by leaving them loaded long term. This happened to my father, he used to keep a bolt action .410 in his truck, he claimed he broke the mag spring 3 times in 15yrs, and it broke on me after he gave it to me. I also called Ruger about leaving my M77 loaded for the entire season when I was in high school, and they said besides the safety issues, they'd not recommend it because of the prolonged stress on the magazine spring.
Older magazines (like 20yrs old or so) are likely to have lower quality spring steel than that available today and are more prone to breakage, however, the extended use they've already seen is likely more responsible for early failure.
High capacity shotgun magazine springs are more likely to wear out than typical detachable magazine springs as well, since the amount of travel and compression is higher in them. Not to mention these are usually lighter springs to begin with.
However, if your gun is new or you could have bought it new (i.e. it isn't OLDER than you), you'll likely not see it fail in your lifetime because of leaving it loaded.
I'm guessing this thread is primarily refering to coil spring type detachable magazines for a pistol or semiauto rifle, or maybe a high capacity shotgun. You won't "wear out" a coil spring by keeping it compressed, you'll reform it. If you wear out a spring, they break, not just lose strength.
It's very possible to wear out an "accordion spring" like that found in box magazines in some bolt action guns with low (5rnds usually) capacity magazines by leaving them loaded long term. This happened to my father, he used to keep a bolt action .410 in his truck, he claimed he broke the mag spring 3 times in 15yrs, and it broke on me after he gave it to me. I also called Ruger about leaving my M77 loaded for the entire season when I was in high school, and they said besides the safety issues, they'd not recommend it because of the prolonged stress on the magazine spring.
Older magazines (like 20yrs old or so) are likely to have lower quality spring steel than that available today and are more prone to breakage, however, the extended use they've already seen is likely more responsible for early failure.
High capacity shotgun magazine springs are more likely to wear out than typical detachable magazine springs as well, since the amount of travel and compression is higher in them. Not to mention these are usually lighter springs to begin with.
However, if your gun is new or you could have bought it new (i.e. it isn't OLDER than you), you'll likely not see it fail in your lifetime because of leaving it loaded.
