Loaded magazines?

[Tom Bowers]

I have seen this issue addressed for AR's and M14 clones, but not for carbines.
Does keeping carbine magazines fully loaded for extended periods of time have any
negative effects on the springs?
I had an interesting thought and loaded up all my mags and then wondered is that a good thing for the long term.
Any opinions will be appreciated.

Information

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[imarangemaster]

When I carried a GI M1 Carbine for an LE trunk gun (a majority of my 20 year career), I kept my Carbine 30 round SEY, AYP, and J mags (and GI 15 rounders in the stock pouch) fully loaded for months and years at a time with no ill effects. I would use that ammo to qualify with it bi-annually (sometimes only annually), thus occasionally releasing tension. I still keep them fully loaded in the Carbine on the shelf in the closet for 2 legged goblins.

If you get GI mags, and get new GI springs (US Armory.com has them cheap) or the Wolfe replacement springs, you should have no problems. ALL aftermarket magazine springs (even Schearer and Triple K) are not as stout as GI or Wolfe. Even the new Korean made mags (which seem to be good) don't have as heavy of a spring as GI do. I have one well made non-GI aftermarket 30 that was still so-so until I put a new GI spring in it. Now it is 100%.

I read somewhere that it is the continual cycling of the spring is what degrades it. One of the biggest factors in aftermarket 30s FTF is lousy springs. I picked one up at a gun show cheap that had a stretched 15 rounder spring in it.

[Tired Retired]

Tom, my experience over time is that QUALITY magazine springs do not go bad when left fully loaded (sure that statement will start a debate - usually does). There are many personal statements by people who have picked up mags that were loaded for years (decades?) and fired them with no problems. I have worked with a cop (or two) that loaded their mags once a year (after they shot "last year's" duty ammo at the annual range qualification) and never had a problem with the mag not feeding at the range. ("What do ya mean all cops ain't gun nuts??" - don't go there)

As an experiment, I bought a New Korean 30 rd mag last year and fully loaded it for a time test. It has been in the back of my safe since last October. I had originally only planned a 6-month test, but I haven't had time to run to the range to shoot it. It is starting its 10th month - so I may just let it sit for a full year at this point. When I pushed down on the top bullet the other day, the spring didn't feel weak... But I plan on letting everyone know after I fire it.

On the topic of long-term ammo storage, I actually do not know why someone would want to store their entire stock of ammo in magazines instead of the original shipping box. The original packaging seems more than adequate to protect the ammo, you can keep your mags properly preserved and your ammo away from the oil, and you should have time to pull out extra ammo and load it as situations start to develop. While I am one to support home defense readiness, I don't think I need a couple thousand rounds in magazines ready to go if a burglar breaks in. I am sure I can hit him at least once with two or three magazines worth of bullets.

Just load what you use/carry/need and properly store the rest in ammo cans with silica packs.

[imarangemaster]

+1! I store all my ammo in ammo cans. Water and air tight, and stack neatly in the safe. I keep a loaded GI 30 in the weapon and 2 loaded 15s in the stock pouch. I grab it and have 60 rounds on the weapon. When I was a deputy, I sometimes had two 30s taped together in the weapon so I had 90 when I snatched and grabbed. That was a might cumbersome, though, so I reverted to a single 30 and 2-15s.

[phil441]

There was a rather long thread on one of the forums a while back wherein several engineers and metallurgists listed references for all to read.. All agreed that it was the compression/decompression cycles that weakened the springs. Long term compressed or long term decompressed yielded the same longevity results. It was the loading and unloading that caused the wear.

[Tom Bowers]

I appreciate all the replies and they seem to follow the answers to the same question on AR's and M-14's.
I am not going to put all of my 30 cal in mags, I just filled the 10 or so I have.
I decided that my bugout weapon will be a carbine. It's light, effective and I could carry a lot of ammo, so I loaded up my mags.


'

[JimF4M1s (Deceased)]

+1! I store all my ammo in ammo cans. Water and air tight, and stack neatly in the safe. I keep a loaded GI 30 in the weapon and 2 loaded 15s in the stock pouch. I grab it and have 60 rounds on the weapon. When I was a deputy, I sometimes had two 30s taped together in the weapon so I had 90 when I snatched and grabbed. That was a might cumbersome, though, so I reverted to a single 30 and 2-15s.

imarangemaster,

My question is how much ammo do you keep on hand, or how many safes do you have? I have two and I don't have room in either for the ammo. They are full of guns, knives, coins, and personal papers.

Maybe I keep too much ammo. I probably keep too large of quanities of 45 acp, 357, 44 mag, 30 carbine, 30-06. Then at least 2 boxes for all my other calibers. I keep it all in ammo cans also water and air tight stacked neatly, in a locked cabinet, but it takes up a lot of room. I'm sure I am not the only one with this issue.

Jim

[imarangemaster]

Well I have a large safe, but less than 10 guns (three of them pistols) due to financial reasons. I have about 500 rounds 44 mag for the Model 29 and 500 for the 1911A1, 2 or 3 thousand 22s for the 10-22, about 1,000 9mm for my Glock 19, and about 1200 carbine for my CMP Inland. I traded 1500 rounds of 7.62x39 for 1,000 5.56 to be waiting for when I can afford to build an AR on the S&W M&P15 lower I have. The IO AK that went with the ammo is for sale to defray moving costs. In short, I have a large safe, but not a lot of guns! Not too long ago, I had three times that number of guns, but, oh well, that's life.

[Tired Retired]

Its not the ammo on hand that is a storage issue - its the gun powder for reloading. While relative "small" quantities of ammo may be ok for locking in a safe (get back to that in a second), large quantities of gunpowder and primers should not. I try to keep my powder in their original containers and packed in wooden boxes, no more than 8 pounds to a box. Locking that up inside a safe is like making a very large pipe bomb (or worse). If sometime happens in the safe and it catches (house fire burns through, golden rod goes crazy, chemical reaction between solvents on weapons, etc), it will surely harm the first responders plus your next door neighbors. Having it loosely packed in wooden boxes will ensure that it will BURN, not explode.

As far as ammo, I also limit the amount of ammo inside a locked safe for the same reason. While there is less powder in a individual case, having several thousand rounds in a closed, locked container is bad ju-ju. The NEW (Net Explosive Weight) of a .45 cal round is about .0010 units. Thats nothing to worry about itself. However, a thousand rounds on .45 acp becomes a NEW of 1.00 units or equal to a one pound stick of TNT. Its the sealed safe that gives it the explosive power. I just keep a "few" ready service (on the go, or for the unexpected drop-in home invader) magazines in the safe.

Guess the moral of my sermon is this - store it properly and SAFELY. Locking a large volume of ammo or even a small volume of gun powder in a metal safe leaves you sleeping in a bedroom next to a bomb. Pleasant dreams....

[INLAND44]

My bugout weapon is a carbine too, but not an M1 Carbine.