A friend of mine says having a semi auto for HD is not good because leaving the mag sit with rounds in it will mess up the mag spring over time. I've heard this before and only keep 4 rounds each in 3 mags and try and take them out regularly to give the springs a rest.

 

What do you guys think about that? What's everyone's experience with leaving keeping rounds in mags for extended periods of time?

 

 

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Hogwash. Keeping mags loaded to capacity does nothing to wear out the springs. I have and have seen mags loaded for a couple years to capacity brought out and shot and functioned fine. This is wheel gunners propaganda to try and save the wheel gun from certain demise.

Worse case,magazines can be replaced. Gives you an escuse to buy a new magazine every couple months/year, and piece of mind if needed.

I don't think every LEO empties out his mags every night.

With modern, quality magazines it is not a problem to keep them loaded.  If you have ANY concerns then load with just one less round.  And, if you have a few on hand, keep one loaded for 6  months and then rotate and load the next one.   What wears a magazine out quicker is the constant compressing and decompressing of the springs by loading and unloading of them.  And, for many brands, you can get replacement magazine springs and put some of those away. 

Compression is not what kills springs. Expansion and contraction is. You'll wear out the springs a lot faster shooting and reloading a magazine frequently than loading and leaving on a shelf.

Your friend is wrong and apparently knows nothing about springs and how mechanical devices wear. Ignore his advice.

Your friend is wrong and apparently knows nothing about springs and how mechanical devices wear. Ignore his advice.

Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

As long as the spring is not compressed beyond it's "elastic limit", it can sit compressed for years compressed.   There may be a few magazines designed poorly that have had a problem and maybe this is where that advice comes from.

 

I have two semi-autos that have had magazines loaded almost continuously since the early 90's.  They still feed just fine.

Plus:  magazines are cheap.  Go for it.

 

just keep out of reach of children.

A friend of mine says having a semi auto for HD is not good because leaving the mag sit with rounds in it will mess up the mag spring over time. I've heard this before and only keep 4 rounds each in 3 mags and try and take them out regularly to give the springs a rest.

 

What do you guys think about that? What's everyone's experience with leaving keeping rounds in mags for extended periods of time?

 

 

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Is he trying to tell you to keep a bolt action rifle near your bed? that sounds counter productive. I know he isn't telling you to use and HD shotgun because that has a magazine tube with a spring as well (which i also keep 5 shells in minimum while in my safe at home) . I have one 9mm mag that i keep 14 rnds in at home, because i don't see keeping 4 rounds in the mag as being prepared for an a HD situation if there were multiple intruders. I have had that one mag loaded for 2 months then just switched it out. Sometimes I rotate, not sure what others are doing though.

A friend of mine says having a semi auto for HD is not good because leaving the mag sit with rounds in it will mess up the mag spring over time. I've heard this before and only keep 4 rounds each in 3 mags and try and take them out regularly to give the springs a rest.

 

What do you guys think about that? What's everyone's experience with leaving keeping rounds in mags for extended periods of time?

 

 

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Lies and balderdash.

 

Cycles of compression and relaxation is what wear springs out, not compression over time. As long as you don't bend the spring past it's elastic limits, the springs in a semi auto will be fine. I have AR mags that have been loaded for a few years that are fine. I have also seen 8 M3 "Greasegun" mags that were loaded during Vietnam and forgotten about in a PD armory room fire fine at a class in 2007.

 

Load your mags all the way up and don't worry about it. No need to download, or "relax" the springs to give them a chance to "breathe". In fact downloading and loading them everyday will actually wear them out faster.

Lmao ...glad I posted this. The responses are educational AND comical!

 

Thanks guys!

 

 

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^^^^^^ Yeah.....what they said.

I keep a revolver as a bedside gun however since It's conceivably simpler for the wife and myself in a tense situation to just aim and  pull a trigger than have to deal with racking a slide,disengaging a safety and so on.

Of course conceivably is the operative word......

^^^^^^ Yeah.....what they said.

I keep a revolver as a bedside gun however since It's conceivably simpler for the wife and myself in a tense situation to just aim and  pull a trigger than have to deal with racking a slide,disengaging a safety and so on.

Of course conceivably is the operative word......

 

For the reasons you describe....I say GLOCK!!!

 

One chambered of course!

That's why I use an olde tyme blunderbuss.  No springs.  Plus no need to aim.

I have my glock for hd, and don't chamber a round. It does two things. First, it acts as a safety. And second, I want the intruder to hear me chamber one. I hope when he hears the wife chamber the glock and me chamber the shotgun he shits his pants and hauls ass out of my house with me never firing a shot.

I have my glock for hd, and don't chamber a round. It does two things. First, it acts as a safety. And second, I want the intruder to hear me chamber one. I hope when he hears the wife chamber the glock and me chamber the shotgun he shits his pants and hauls ass out of my house with me never firing a shot.

 

Diverting from the original thread....

 

Empty chamber is not a good policy... Why? You are creating a situation that has a greater possibility of malfunction.

 

Secondly, That bad guy running off when he hears the slide rack is BS.  This machine was not designed to scare people.  Use it for it's intended purpose.

I have my glock for hd, and don't chamber a round. It does two things. First, it acts as a safety. And second, I want the intruder to hear me chamber one. I hope when he hears the wife chamber the glock and me chamber the shotgun he shits his pants and hauls ass out of my house with me never firing a shot.

That's the movie/Hollywood bullshit. Don't do that. Don't count on the sound of you making your guns ready causing a bad guy to "shit his pants and haul ass". Don't count on them to do anything - the only variable you can control is what you do. Have a plan in place that puts you and your family in a position of advantage in the event of a burglary/home intruder situation. The bad guys should have no clue you are aware of them in your home until you have eyes on them and are aimed in.

I have my glock for hd, and don't chamber a round. It does two things. First, it acts as a safety. And second, I want the intruder to hear me chamber one. I hope when he hears the wife chamber the glock and me chamber the shotgun he shits his pants and hauls ass out of my house with me never firing a shot.

 

why give the bad guy an advantage?  i can understand if you felt uncomfortable with the skills required to grab a glock under stress and not pull the trigger, but then i would assume that a glock isnt the correct gun for that persons situation. Why add unnecessary (potentially costly) steps with no added benefit?  

Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

That is the Vlad I know and like.

For the reasons you describe....I say GLOCK!!!

 

One chambered of course!

I agree and a G19 is on my short list but right now the Wife is more comfortable with a revolver than my CZ or Colt. so with that in mind it's the wheel gun close at hand.

Your friend would benefit from formal firearms training. If he wants to take one of my classes pm me for contact info. I'm in south jersey.

For the reasons you describe....I say GLOCK!!!

 

One chambered of course!

You beat me to the punch.  That is why my HD of choice is my Glock G22 with 15+1 rounds of .40 cal.  I guess you could use two or three revolvers instead

Hogwash. Keeping mags loaded to capacity does nothing to wear out the springs. I have and have seen mags loaded for a couple years to capacity brought out and shot and functioned fine. This is wheel gunners propaganda to try and save the wheel gun from certain demise.

 

Not every Wheelie Man makes the claim, for I certainly DON'T and I have owned a Wheelgun since '77.  Just setting the record straight, not a pissing contest, lol!

Now that the spring question is answered-

 

Long guns for home defense.

Some people say shotgun, others AR. Either choice is far, far better than a handgun.

That's the movie/Hollywood bs. Don't do that. Don't count on the sound of you making your guns ready causing a bad guy to "shit his pants and haul ass". Don't count on them to do anything - the only variable you can control is what you do. Have a plan in place that puts you and your family in a position of advantage in the event of a burglary/home intruder situation. The bad guys should have no clue you are aware of them in your home until you have eyes on them and are aimed in.

^^^^ This..

 

i thought that way at first as well..  now i keep a shell in the chamber of my shotgun with just the push safety on and same with my CZ in the nightstand..  (cocked and locked)

A friend of mine says having a semi auto for HD is not good because leaving the mag sit with rounds in it will mess up the mag spring over time. I've heard this before and only keep 4 rounds each in 3 mags and try and take them out regularly to give the springs a rest.

 

What do you guys think about that? What's everyone's experience with leaving keeping rounds in mags for extended periods of time?

 

 

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This is nuthin' more than evidence of firearms adolescence, lack of proper training, and the urgent need to join a private club and get involved shooting a league that uses hand guns.  Preferably a club that has USPSA or IDPA, as Osmosis will correct your "condition" and allow you to call "BS!" to any of your friends that are still "infected with the virus".  

 

PLENTY of forum threads already exist on this very "springy" subject.

Not every Wheelie Man makes the claim, for I certainly DON'T and I have owned a Wheelgun since '77. Just setting the record straight, not a pissing contest, lol!

For HD, my back up guns are all revolvers.

I would never make that claim about mag springs, nor even question someone relying on semis (if their rifle/shotgun is out of the fight).

I trust the mechanics of quality bottom feeders just fine, but prefer revolvers as a hedge against operator error under stress.

Cycles of compression and relaxation is what wear springs out, .

This. Personally I don't fill my magazines to capacity, usually 1 or 2 less depending on the gun and how well the magazine will sit in the gun when loaded.