[marmac]

I have a Ruger P345 and is my first automatic. I bought it in December and love it! Since I am a newbie with autos, I have a question.

It came with 2 magazines and, since then, I've purchased 3 more. Before I go to the range, I will take it the night before and load all of them with rounds so I don't use too much time when I get to the range (he gives you an hour for $10). I had someone at the range see that my mags were all loaded and he asked me when I had loaded them and when I had done it. I told him the night before, that would place it about 12 hours before, and he told me that I should never leave a magazine fully loaded up for more than a day because that would wear the spring out very quickly and would lead to a jam. He advised to put no more than a couple of rounds in a mag to leave in each one for readiness.

Okay, what do you guys suggest and have you ever had a problem with jamups or misload because of premature wear and fatigue due to the compression of the spring?

Thanks.

MarMac

 

[BrassMonkey]

I probably have 100 or so loaded magazines at any given time. Some of them may be loaded for a year or more before being fired with no malfunctions. I have heard of a case where a 1911 magazine from WWII was found loaded and functioned perfectly after being loaded for over 60 years. Storing mags loaded is IMO not harmful to their function in any way. What wears the springs out is the act of loading and unloading them. Keep em loaded as long as you want, and you will be just fine. The only time leaving mags loaded for long periods of time can cause problems is with certian drum mags.

 

[Declaration Day]

I have about 50 M1911 mags loaded at all times. Some of them stay loaded for months before being shot, and I've never experienced any spring problems.

 

[dvonmatt]

Good for you, but with my ser. 70 mags i do have to work on the springs every four months...
David von Matt,
www.miamigunclasses.com

 

[GUNGIRL]

same here..I keep my 1911 mags(NOT CLIPS ) loaded and never had a problem...do the same with my rifles also

 

[a_laidback_biker]

i never had any trouble leaving my clips loaded

 

[Shooter]

I have about 50 M1911 mags loaded at all times. Some of them stay loaded for months before being shot, and I've never experienced any spring problems.

Do you keep them stored in any special way?

 

[Declaration Day]

They are stacked in a dry ammo box.

 

[Doc]

I have three 1911 magazines that I kept in my desk loaded for about 12 years.
1 in the gun. One was Colt, the others were no name that I picked up at the gun show.

I took the gun out to the range after I retired. Fired all rounds without a problem. Still using all three mags with the original springs.



Okay, what do you guys suggest and have you ever had a problem with jamups or misload because of premature wear and fatigue due to the compression of the spring?

Thanks.

MarMac[/QUOTE]

 

[opaww]

I keep all my 1911a1 mags loaded all the time, never have a problem, I have owned quite a few Auto's and never had a problem with keeping mags. loaded. Mostly this comes from old wivestails, but does have some fact to it where older mags and weapons that were made in mass production for wars come into play.

 

[RONSERESURPLUS]

Advice on Magazine storage?

Hello all?


RON L Here = SERESURPLUS

I am an addent fan of Both the 1911A1, Commader and the Browning HI Power, Carried my own 45 or 9MM into a lot of hostile area's! Other than a dent here, a drop there, have never had any magazine fail, and that was Including compbat! All my 1911A1 and BROWNING HI POWER mags were loaded to the max, I would down load to clean them and lube a bit (If not in desert Environment) and load them back up to max! As for the Guy in the Gun store, I'm sure he's just trying to Help you and make sure you have no issies with your new gun, but you really don't need to worry!




RON

 

[john1911]

Good for you, but with my ser. 70 mags i do have to work on the springs every four months...
David von Matt,
www.miamigunclasses.com

Might want to buy some better mags.

 

[Cliff47]

Also a good idea to give the back of the loaded mag a sharp rap against something hard and unyeiling (shop counter works great) to seat the base of the bullets against the back of the mag. Helps to avoid feeding problems.
That, and a periodic cleaning and inspection of the magazine spring will keep you in running order.

 

[Don Lu]

No problem in leaving mags loaded. Like stated before, the problem is with constant compression and decompression. I hate when the commandos at the range assume you know nothing just b/c they haven't seen you before and then start saying the most ignorant things as if they are Yoda and you are young Luke. Im honest eneough to say I dont know everything, but I will keep my mouth shut about stuff I know nothing about. ok, that was a personal rant from me, but Im sure someone feels where Im coming from

 

[robocop10mm]

Mags

There is alot of mis information floating around on magazines. It all comes down to the quality of the spring. Older cheap mags had springs that would "Take a set" that is to say loose some tension. Newer springs are made from advanced space age steel alloys that will not take a set or at least take a minimal set.

Look at Wolf gunsprings (www.gunsprings.com) for their silicone steel springs. I leave all my mags loaded all the time and none give me any trouble.

 

[FALPhil]

There is alot of mis information floating around on magazines. It all comes down to the quality of the spring. Older cheap mags had springs that would "Take a set" that is to say loose some tension. Newer springs are made from advanced space age steel alloys that will not take a set or at least take a minimal set.

You got that right! But just because a spring takes a set does not mean that it will necessarily cause problems. When my dad died, I found three 1911 mags that were USGI and appeared to have been loaded in 1953 (this was in 1980). I am still using those mags today. The springs are not as strong as they were when new, and you can feel it. They are quite weak compared to my Chip McCormick mags. But I have never had the first problem with them. YMMV.

 

[Etho]

It's not the constant compression of the spring that wears it out it's the constant compression and decompression that wears it out.

Load them and leave them loaded until needed. I shot a 1911 mag my dad loaded probably near 20 years ago and it functioned just fine.

 

[billt]

Etho is correct. What wears out a spring is compression and decompression cycles, not sitting in a compressed state. Some years back the late Jeff Cooper did a story about a friend of his who found an old 1911 in his grandfathers trunk up in an attic. The gun had been there for over 40 years. It was loaded with a full magazine. They took the gun to the range and every round fired, and the action cycled every time. Another good example are the springs in your car. It can sit in a garage for years and the springs will remain as good as new. But after thousands of miles, carrying loads on rough roads, the springs will lose tension. Bill T.