empty or full magazine storage??

[RickyJames]

I'm not sure this is the right forum but here goes. do you store you magazines both rimfire and centerfire, rifle and pistol mags loaded or unloaded? I am talking about long term storage here possibly years. I am thinking about stocking up on mags for all my guns and storing them fully loaded. of course I would eventually use all of them for plinking or practice and then reload them. does storing them fully loaded have any ill effects on the mag springs? thank you.

[techmike]

Now that question is sure to generate opinions. I have always heard that mag springs will take a "set", and if left loaded for long periods of time will cause issues. And you reminded me of something I started years ago, when I first purchased my Colt M4 .22 rifle - I fully loaded one of my 30 round mags in the spring of 2010, and it is still sitting in the safe four years later. As soon as it warms up outside, I will take it to the range for a test drive.

Personally, I leave my mags loaded for carry guns and home defense weapons. I have not seen any issues at all. Just my two cents, your mileage may vary.

TM

[asmurff]

I keep 2 magazines for my carry pistols loaded all the time, and have never had a problem with them, the back-up mags usually stay loaded for about a year at a time, before I shoot it from the mag and replace the ammo. I keep my 25rd 10/22 mags loaded all the time because I'm likely to grab it and go to the range on the spur of the moment, those never stay loaded for longer than a month and have never had a problem.

[Microgunner]

I do not believe constant compression damages magazine springs but rather cycling (compressing and relieving) mag springs is what fatigues them.

That said, l keep several defensive firearm magazines constantly loaded but rimfire magazines are usually stored empty.

[BulletCushion]

+1 here for compression cycles doing the damage to springs. Storing your magazines loaded shouldn't be a problem. I can't imagine any performance problems unless there are dramatic temp variations while loaded in storage.

[Dusty44]

I have always kept just a few rounds in a defensive mag.  Less pressure on the springs.  Typically 5 rounds but in bigger capacity mags up to 15 rounds.  5 rounds is still a big part of capacity for an M1911 in any of the calibers (45 ACP;  38 Super;  9 MM) but does not squeeze the spring all the way down. 

In my 10-22 I had mags in 20 and 30 round sizes.  I had most of them for years,  several after-market brands.  About the time I did the modifications discussed in this forum I bought a Ruger 30-round mag.  When I took the 10-22 to the range for shooting,  none of the aftermarket mags worked very well.  They would jam or not feed properly with an apparent correlation to how many rounds had been kept in them.  I tossed them into a junk parts box and only have kept the Ruger mag in service.

[techmike]

Went to the range today, nice weather for the first time in years, well months anyways.... The 30 round mag for my Colt M4/.22lr rifle which has been fully loaded in the safe for 4 years functioned just fine. I did have one fail-to-fire, but that was the ammo.

[Longitude Zero]

In my CCW and home defense weapons I rotate mags every 60 days.