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Hadn't really thought about it.
Recently was unpacking my kit and found 2 Enfield mags still topped out that I had forgotten about. Also have several HK 91 20 rounders that have been loaded for months. Same with a SD9 VE. I am not lazy, it's just I had already tossed the boxes.
Thanks
I was always taught that mags should be left un loaded as to have a mag fully charged has the spring under max tension there for affecting its I guess spring quality or rebound I leave all my mags un loaded.
I leave those that aren't squirreled away for self defense unloaded. Spring tension can be affected over time.
Apparently it's the loading and unloading of a spring that kills it. Leaving a new mag loaded doesn't seem to affect it. One man had a mag that his dad brought home from WW2, a 1911A1 mag, that had been loaded since the war and worked fine. It had been loaded for 60 years.
That being said, my first trip overseas, we rotated our mags regularly. The guys that left them could later take the first two out and pour the rest out.
I leave my mags empty unless about to use them.
I recently tried some mags in my M1 carbine that had been sitting in the safe for 10 or more years. 13 out of 15 in the mag did not fire. Other rounds that were in boxes all fired. Surprised me, but something deteriorates.
B
Quote:
Originally Posted by browningautorifle
So that implies spring quality is a variable & is unknown, thus all bets are off. ;)
This is one of the questions that comes up on a regular basis, but never gets resolved.
Quality varies even with the same type of firearm magazine, depending on manufacturer and if it was a wartime expedient.
Interesting regarding the 60 year old 1911A1 magazine, I have seen others were the base plates just detach and drop the rounds everywhere!
As browningautorifle posted, it is the constant loading and unloading that wears out springs, this has been often asked and answered on the handgun forums I belong to. I spent 33+ years as a LEO and we kept out magazines loaded 24/7/365 unless we were qualifying, changing out ammo to a newly approved type or doing maintenance. You can keep AR mags topped off the same. As for 60+ year old loaded mags that is an anomaly and shouldn't be used as proof. Much of it depends on where the magazines are stored, if they have collected dust or been exposed to changes in the environment (i.e. humidity control) they can be the cause for failure or ammunition deterioration, that is why you should use periodic maintenance.
Wearing out of springs is caused by loading/unloading.
Leaving them under tension can cause them to take a new 'set' and make them not rebound back easily (thereby effecting reliability). Many factors in play such as the type of spring, length of time compressed, quality of materials, etc. which will all have a effect on it.
I've got to agree with you there...on both. I leave mine unloaded. Besides, the law in Canada implies that...if one were found loaded by the wrong authority, it could go uphill for you.Quote:
Originally Posted by Merle
I kind of split the difference on home defense mags. Twenty in a thirty rounder. Perhaps it helps. Perhaps not.
"...13 out of 15 in the mag did not fire..." That's not caused by the mag. Cartridges that don't go bang have most likely been stored where extremes of temperatures and/or humidity cause the powder to deteriorate.
Mag springs (nor any other spring) do not lose temper from being compressed. Nor does repeated use of a mag cause the spring to wear out. Flat springs can get work hardened at the bends that way, but the spring doesn't lose temper.
There's no law about storing mags loaded either. You cannot store or transport a loaded mag in its firearm though.
OK then...it's just the way it reads, I wouldn't trust a donkey walloper not to seize them and not charge me...Quote:
Originally Posted by Sunray
On a drift but here's a story that made the rounds years ago about a person being charged with unlawful wounding,
Story has it a perp broke into a house armed with a baseball bat the owner armed himself with a knife and duly stabbed the intruder only to be charged in the courts.
The premise for the charge (Hold onto your seat) that the knife was a more advanced weapon than the baseball bat well I know which one had the greatest reach, having a knife means you have to get up close and personal.
I for the same reason as Jim have no loaded mags, for that matter our laws on home defense are weak and not in the home owners favour, I have a motto that anyone breaking into your house uninvited has forfeited all rites whatsoever and gets their just deserts with whatever I can reach first of stashed implements around the house they have ill intent and I have to protect my wife & son.
When my WWII armourer friend was alive we often spoke about the spate of home invasions occurring he said to me 'If you have a gun in your hands you shoot them first and straight afterwards the second shot you put through the roof. When your questioned by the powers that be you say that you had fired a warning shot." "What you do not say is which one went first".......