AR mags full or empty?

[Snakelover]

Airsoft guns work by compressing a spring. At some fields they have a FPS maximum for safety reasons. A common technique used to reduce an airsoft gun's FPS so that it is within the field limit is to leave the spring in the compressed position. They measure the FPS before and after intentionally weakening the spring by prolonged compression. This is done very carefully so as not to weaken the spring more than is necessary to achieve the limit.

The above is just an example that prolonged compression of a spring does weaken it. That's just a fact of physics. The question is whether the resulting weakening is a significant enough factor to the expected life of the magazine to warrant leaving it unloaded. I would say no, since that's the purpose of the magazine in the first place.

[Bily Lovec]

springs wear out by using them, not by leaving them compressed for an extended period of time.

[TMC50]

Who cares If you ruin a mag, I have 2 AR's loaded within 5 feet of my bed, what goods a ruined mag gonna do ya if your dead? I know its not likely but im not going to be the one to make the statistic.

X2
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[glen]

keep the mag about 5 short and rotate it every other month or so. let the spring rest. I do it in all my duty guns and that is how the instructors did it 17 years ago and still teching it today. Never had a magazine problem so Ill keep doing it.

[cjkozik]

what good is a empty magazine?????

[Dave]

When I got in country we were handed a box of probably 100 loaded mags from the previous unit that they had loaded when they got there a year prior. We just took those mags to the range and shot them up as part of zeroing and just having fun. We didn't have a single magazine related misfire from those mags.

Now while I was there I had two sets of mags and similar to Swampdonkey would unload and swap out mags every couple of weeks.

Now the M9 mags for the Beretta were a different story. They were ruined and after about second or third round couldn't push the rounds up any more. We went through Beretta mags on a regular basis.

[SJ Drifter]

being in the SOF community we always have extra mags that we rotate ammo through. every couple of weeks i'll unload them all and get fresh mags loaded up. this helps to keep the spring from having a "memory" so to speak (lets the spring rest). additionally i never top a mag all the way off. 28 rounds max because it helps prevent jamming. i hope you understand it but if you have any questions just ask.

This.

[Rotag]

I would rather buy new mags than worry about it.

[Buckrider]

I keep 20 rounds in my 30 round mags ready for.....

I have heard both good and bad for the springs so I will pick a middle ground

This is what I do...I have also heard both good and bad rumors about fully compressed springs so I figure 10 in a 20 or 20 in a 30 should be ok

[Mike D]

springs wear out by using them, not by leaving them compressed for an extended period of time.

This.


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[rferg84]

I don't think it matters but I keep 20 rounds in my 30 round mags, that's just habit though.

[6.8mmSPC]

Mags are cheap and IMHO should be considered consumables. Load them and use them and replace the springs when they wear out.

I have to replace the springs in my 1911's, ARs, and Glock's when they wear out so mags are the same thing.

[Loneaggie]

When I got in country we were handed a box of probably 100 loaded mags from the previous unit that they had loaded when they got there a year prior. We just took those mags to the range and shot them up as part of zeroing and just having fun. We didn't have a single magazine related misfire from those mags.

Now while I was there I had two sets of mags and similar to Swampdonkey would unload and swap out mags every couple of weeks.

Now the M9 mags for the Beretta were a different story. They were ruined and after about second or third round couldn't push the rounds up any more. We went through Beretta mags on a regular basis.

Just curious do you know what brand of mags you were issued for the M9? I know aftermarket mags were issued at one point and had dismal performance.

[CtownWidowMaker]

depends on what mags you got, the military mags springs will hold up but the mags that come with AR tend to get weak springs staying loaded

[hwy84]

When you say "let a spring rest" do you take the spring out of the mag, because the mag spring is still compressed even in a empty mag. Or is this OK?

What 6.8 said is 100 correct, if you start having feeding issues replace the spring. I bought a ton of USGI mags, some of these where in sad shape, put new Magpul follower in them and have not had a lick of trouble.