Ammo left in mags..

[03trubluGT]

I was told by a gunsmith that it's a good idea to keep 1 or 2 rounds less than maximum load for each mag (as stated above).

Also, what Jose said holds good advice too. Rotating mags between loaded and unloaded is not a bad idea, assuming you have copious amounts to work with.


David

At work we keep our 30 round AR mags at 28 rounds.

The pistol mags are kept at full + one in the chamber.



But, real men keep their guns fully loaded. Revolvers don't care how long the cylinders are loaded.

[ram57ta]

I keep my carry 9mm S/A loaded...8 in the mag+1 in the chamber..hammer at half cock(double action). My .38 6 shooter is loaded with hollow points under the mattress, 870 has 3 standard hunting rounds in it...but none in chamber.

[GAP]

I say keep them fully loaded. If you need piece of mind, put new springs in your self defense mags every couple years and keep them as practice/plinking back ups.

[likeitfast55]

I say keep them fully loaded. If you need piece of mind, put new springs in your self defense mags every couple years and keep them as practice/plinking back ups.

+1

[Moose242]

At work we keep our 30 round AR mags at 28 rounds.

The pistol mags are kept at full + one in the chamber.



But, real men keep their guns fully loaded. Revolvers don't care how long the cylinders are loaded.

Matt, I like to ask police officers this question;

If you could still carry a wheel gun, would you?

[03trubluGT]

Matt, I like to ask police officers this question;

If you could still carry a wheel gun, would you?

Remember that S&W 686 you shot at the range?

I would strap that back on in a heartbeat. 6 in the gun and 2 speeloaders on my belt and I would be as happy as a lark.

I was issued a S&W Model 65 in the academy, and I carried Federal 158 GN hollowpoints (range issued) until 1994. I never felt undergunned.

Sure, autoloaders carry more rounds, but in FWPD history, nothing even comes close to the 96% one shot kill that the .357 Magnum has. When you shoot something that throws a 18" flame, you feel confident that it will save your ass if need be.

[LANTIRN]

All the mags in the Armory at Air Force bases were fully loaded at all times. Of course, every single time I went to qualify at least half the people at the range would experience failures; I figured it was due to the shitty design of the DI system in the M16 since they got so fucking dirty; could have been the mags as well. I don't know the real cause; I just know I saw a shit ton of failures out of the M16.

That being said, I keep all of my AK mags fully loaded all the time, as well as several of my handgun mags, and my 870 mag. 870 and AK have never given me a problem. Handguns rarely give me a problem; usually dirty gun / mag or bad ammo ends up being the culprit. I am not saying my mag springs aren't getting weaker, but I have NEVER seen one break so I must assume it is a rare thing to have happen. The only reason I do not fully load my XDM mags is it is fucking hard to get the last couple of rounds in so I leave them about 3 shy of full.

Springs on your slide get far more wear than the mags at a much greater force and they rarely break or wear out unless you are shooting thousands of rounds. And when was the last time you had a spring break in the suspension of a car? I am not an engineer but it seems to me that springs are designed to withstand a lot greater abuse than you realize. Just a few thoughts.

[Chili]

Springs weaken from use due to work-hardening, not from being under compression.

If what you say is accurate, the people in here talking about rotating, loading and unloading, etc, are actually hurting what they are trying to help.

I keep my mags fully loaded. Until someone can give me hard and fast justification, I have to assume the magazine will operate as designed. Everything else is just speculation.

[Bassics]

If what you say is accurate, the people in here talking about rotating, loading and unloading, etc, are actually hurting what they are trying to help.

Pretty much, but then again you get the same effect just from regular shooting, which hopefully is going on from time to time.

[Venix]

I think maybe everyone is just over thinking it, or has some cheap ass mags. I have about 4000 rounds through my G26 and I only use 3 mags. I have never had any malfunction. No FTE or FTF or DF or anything. I even regularly drop them pretty hard because I am doing speed reloads during practice.

[ThreeFingerPete]

I think maybe everyone is just over thinking it, or has some cheap ass mags. I have about 4000 rounds through my G26 and I only use 3 mags. I have never had any malfunction. No FTE or FTF or DF or anything. I even regularly drop them pretty hard because I am doing speed reloads during practice.

This is how I feel about it. I don't leave my magazines loaded for years at a time because I shoot the guns.