Magazine Springs

[APFSDS]

My late dad had a Woodman that he kept loaded, for who knows how long.

Spring "wore out" or fatigued, so that rounds 9 and 10 will not feed.

I know that this is contrary to the popular opinion. YMMV

If the material is not the right alloy or heat treat it can be subject to room temperature creep. Modern/recent manufacturers use the right material and this isn't a concern.

 

[enbloc]

Can someone tell me the difference between a magazine spring and a clip spring?

 

[MAJoe]

Can someone tell me how to wear out the mag springs, some mags are a royal pain to load.

I had a new magazine that had two followers stuffed in it. I was wondering why it was physically impossible to get the last round in, until I took it apart.

 

[PatMcD]

Personally, I load a magazine, fire all the rounds out of it, then throw that mag away. Sure, I can change the spring after every firing, but I'm afraid of sidewall and feed lip deterioration after that first firing. So, to be safe, I just start again with a new mag.

 

[Dench]

I've had magazines in the past that were made improperly that died after years of being stored full. But in these cases the magazines body deformed and or the feed lips bulged.

The only times I've had actual magazine spring problems was with USGI M9 mags which are notoriously shit.

 

[DW357]

Personally, I load a magazine, fire all the rounds out of it, then throw that mag away. Sure, I can change the spring after every firing, but I'm afraid of sidewall and feed lip deterioration after that first firing. So, to be safe, I just start again with a new mag.

 

[Win]

I had a sig p239 that I bought new in 2012 or so. I kept that magazine loaded at all times unless I was actively shooting at the range. I never had any issues. I sold that gun a month ago so it was about 10 years always loaded or in use with no issues.

I did buy an old pre- war Walther ppk that wouldn’t stay open after the last round until I changed the magazine springs - then it started working perfectly again.

 

[APFSDS]

Can someone tell me the difference between a magazine spring and a clip spring?

Magazine spring:



Clip spring:

 

[AHM]

Magazine spring:

Clip spring:

Spoiler: These may also help

Spoiler: Magazine clip

Spoiler: Clip magazine

Spoiler: Banana magazine

Spoiler: Banana clip

 

[AFVet]

I want to thank everyone that responded to my question and clarify what I must have typed incorrectly. I do not change out the springs every 2-3 months, I unload the magazine and reload into an empty Mag, in my apparently mistaken understanding that magazine springs left under pressure lose their strength.
My only physical knowledge of this are my 1980's era M-16 mags that I have from when I left the military. 2 of the 3 that I still have the followers do not reach the top. they stop at what would be 2 or more rounds down. Paul

 

[PappyM3]

I thought it was the cycling that wore them out, being under constant compression is ok

You are correct.

Not entirely. It all depends on how close the spring is to its elastic limit while the magazine is fully loaded. And that depends on both spring and magazine design. Not all magazines will exhibit the same level of wear on the springs over time while loaded.

The wear on the springs when loaded and static in the compressed position isn’t linear though. After a certain period of time ( a couple years I think?), the spring will typically be at about 70%-80% of its strength. But then the wear tapers off significantly and the magazine shouldn’t really show additional wear for a long long time.

And many magazines will still work fine at 70-80% strength. But if you want to play it safe, getting plus power springs if you change out your springs will help even out any future wear.

 

[PappyM3]

… in my apparently mistaken understanding that magazine springs left under pressure lose their strength….

It’s not mistaken. Honestly, instead of rotating magazines like that, either replace springs with plus power springs from Wolff, or Sprinco. And then forget about it. Even if you’re swapping mags every 2-3 months like that, the magazine springs will still accumulate wear in the compressed position over time. But it’s not that big of a deal. The wear slows and effectively stops when considering the timescale of your ownership of the mags.

 

[PappyM3]

Considering old GI AR prebans cycle fine and have probably seen more rounds than all my magazines combined, it’s not really a real issue to worry about.

As others said, it’s the cycling of compressing and decompressing that wears them, not sitting in a fixed state. Remember that the springs are always under tension, even if unloaded. They’re never sitting in a relaxed state.

It’s not just tension or relaxed. It’s about the level of compression. Springs have an elastic limit.

 

[G4Y4HK]

Didn't US soldiers in 'Nam all the way till the Gulf War load up their M16s to only 28 out of 30 so their springs *wOnT tAkE a SeT*?

 

[PappyM3]

Didn't US soldiers in 'Nam all the way till the Gulf War load up their M16s to only 28 out of 30 so their springs *wOnT tAkE a SeT*?

No, it was often to make loading on a closed bolt easier.

I loaded 28 in my USGI mags back in 06-10, but not because of spring wear or inserting on a closed bolt. It was because the feed lips had rough edges and the springs were strong enough on those rough feed lips to cause significant friction and failures to feed when loading the first round. It would sap enough energy from the bolt while going forward that I’d often need to use the forward assist to fully close and lock the bolt. This wasn’t a problem with PMAGs though.

 

[Len-2A Training]

I want to thank everyone that responded to my question and clarify what I must have typed incorrectly. I do not change out the springs every 2-3 months, I unload the magazine and reload into an empty Mag, in my apparently mistaken understanding that magazine springs left under pressure lose their strength.
My only physical knowledge of this are my 1980's era M-16 mags that I have from when I left the military. 2 of the 3 that I still have the followers do not reach the top. they stop at what would be 2 or more rounds down. Paul

Could there be dirt caked on the internals of those mags?

 

[headednorth]

I had an old pre ban mag that I had kept loaded that seemed to have swelled at some point because when I attempted to load it there was significant friction going into the magwell and wouldnt even come close to dropping free.

So polymer mags..keep loaded or no? I had people ripping me a new one on here years ago because I only had one or two mags in the house that were loaded.

 

[cathouse01]

Just search for "store magazines loaded or unloaded” in YouTube and you get a bunch of videos on the subject. The best one I saw was the the short from Caleb Savant of Brownells. He says it all in under 45 seconds:

If you’ve got good mags you can leave them loaded as long as you like, because spring fatigue won’t happen with high quality springs. Sure they’ll take an initial set, but after that nothing changes.

So the springs may take a set (meaning they may be a bit shorter when at rest) but that will have no impact on their functionality. He adds that the quality of the springs does make a difference, but that the quality of springs used by major manufacturers will be such you won’t have a problem.

 

[xtry51]

I have some pmags that are 12+ years old and have thousands of rounds run thru them. I've never had a spring fail or a body deform.

 

[APFSDS]

I had an old pre ban mag that I had kept loaded that seemed to have swelled at some point because when I attempted to load it there was significant friction going into the magwell and wouldnt even come close to dropping free.

So polymer mags..keep loaded or no? I had people ripping me a new one on here years ago because I only had one or two mags in the house that were loaded.

I have had PMAGs (AR and Glock) swell and be hard to insert into the mag well after being loaded a few weeks. They worked, but I like consistent function. I personally use my polymer/composite mags for practice but my carry mags and the ones I keep loaded in my LBE are aluminum, steel or steel lined.

I have also had some function problems with some older 20 round PMAGs (this was in the free states, of course). I ended up chucking those 20 rounders. The 30 round ones seem to work fine, as do Troy battlemags.