I am sure it has been discussed, but how long do you keep your magazines loaded, before cycling them?

Magazines can be stored loaded for a long time. Having springs compressed won't weaken them. It's the act of compressing and decompressing over and over that weakens them.

While a police officer with both 1911A1 (.45) and Beretta M9 (9mm) we only cycled our magazines and duty ammo every 5 or 6 months. We would practice with ball ammo in spare magazines. Never had an issue in 12 years.

Keep them loaded forever, it won't do anything to them. Springs loose springiness (sp?) by being cycled not by being compressed.

 

 

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Is this from the point of view of the mag or the ammo? As others have mentioned the mag can be kept loaded. Not sure if the ammo should be cycled or not.

thanks guys...

Is this from the point of view of the mag or the ammo? As others have mentioned the mag can be kept loaded. Not sure if the ammo should be cycled or not.

 

Ammo should be fine unless you rechamber the same round. In extreme circumstances you can get some nasty setback.

 

Ammo should be fine unless you rechamber the same round. In extreme circumstances you can get some nasty setback.

 

What's setback?

Look at the bullet - brass interface. If you drop the slide on the same round hundreds of times it could compress there (bullet goes further into the casing)

bullet is pushed further into the casing leading to over pressure.

I have heard on other boards about a mags feed lips being deformed by keeping it loaded (pmags specifically). I have asked the folks on here on the same subject and noone here has ever seen any problems. Make of it what you will.

I cycle my revolver ammo every 9 months.

Look at the bullet - brass interface. If you drop the slide on the same round hundreds of times it could compress there (bullet goes further into the casing)

 

This...doesnt even really take hundreds of times..most Semi-auto cartridges headspace on the case mouth, so they arent crimped in all that tightly.

You know when I read the title I thought to myself "is this a new law they are going to pass"? Nice to see it's a maintenance issue

I keep my mags empty. That way when the government thugs come to take them they don't get my bullets, too.

What wears out springs on cars? The weight on them or the bounce? The bounce!

Admittedly it's only one example...but i have seen a Reising magazine that had been loaded for over 30 years function just fine without any FTF..with later 1930's headstamped ammo