How often do you rotate mags? - Page 2

DiscoRacing · August 23, 2010, 09:08 PM

I like to about twice a week... I know everyone says its not necessary...but...it cant hurt either...I dont think.

BfloBill · August 23, 2010, 10:04 PM

I have read several articles and all the "experts" say that worrying about worn out springs is a waste of time. Personally I have 2 autos that I leave loaded all the time to max capacity and have never had a problem.
But my guess is if you are the type of person to worry about it, you are probably also the type of person to be at the range often enough to notice a problem before it becomes an issue.

demigod · August 24, 2010, 09:03 AM

Quote:

I like to about twice a week... I know everyone says its not necessary...but...it cant hurt either...I dont think.

You're putting excessive cycles on your spring, and getting more wear on the mag than if you'd just leave it alone.

booker_t · August 24, 2010, 02:43 PM

So much nonsense and bad science in this thread. Comparing magazine springs to valve springs? Good lord.

Load your mags, keep 'em full, use them frequently. The springs will be fine, I promise. Cartridge deformation? You've got to be kidding me.

There are a dozen threads of people continually discussing this same topic. Does anybody use the search function?

Don P · August 25, 2010, 07:56 AM

Rotate only when smell and mold become evident. Other wise let things be as they are. Compressing and decompressing the magazine spring is what will cause a spring to wear out/fatigue.
Springs will not go bad from being compressed and the ammo will not go bad if kept in the magazine.

Quote:

So much nonsense and bad science in this thread

It must be true I read it on the internet and the TFL!

How true your quote

pgdion · August 25, 2010, 08:42 AM

Didn't see any mag springs compared to valve springs. I see lots of claims that the springs where out from compression / decompression. This failure mode for a spring, called fatigue, is not likely to occur in a magazine spring with it's very slow rate of compression and decompression and, even under heavy use, a very small number of cycles compared to what a spring is designed for. I would guess the shock from firing is harder on the spring than the cycling itself is. The valve spring was mentioned as an example of where spring fatigue is of great concern, where a spring may be fully cycled over 50 times a second and a cycle may take a few milli-seconds. It's used as a differentiator, not a comparison ... an example of why I don't think spring fatigue from cycling should greatly affect a magazine spring. What I have seen first hand with most magazines is how hard it is to get that last round in when they're new. They loosen up over time and I believe it is from the heavy spring compression each time you push in the last couple of rounds, each time it relaxes the spring a little more. I believe if you want your springs to last the longest, don't load the last couple of rounds and leave them there.

Bartholomew Roberts · August 25, 2010, 08:54 AM

Personally, I treat my magazines like any other machine - as parts that are going to wear out one day. I would like to tell you that I just use them and replace them when they are no longer working as desired.

In actual practice, I have a big pile of magazines (AR mostly; but a few others) that are no longer reliable that I keep around and try to fix. Left over habits from the ban era when that was a worthwhile approach. Considering what it costs to by quality components to rebuild a magazine (assuming the actual mag body isn't the problem), you are almost always better off trashing the non-working magazine and buying a quality new magazine.

Not to mention you avoid the irritation of the bad magazines working their way back into your "good" magazine pile. I swear those little bastards grow legs and sneak across the room at night.

booker_t · August 25, 2010, 10:06 AM

Quote:

..if you want your springs to last the longest, don't load the last couple of rounds and leave them there.

My concern is for me lasting the longest. Never had a spring failure in 10s of 1000s of rounds, in magazines that are always fully loaded. YMMV.

demigod · August 25, 2010, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Not to mention you avoid the irritation of the bad magazines working their way back into your "good" magazine pile.

I put them out in the garage on a shelf. I should throw them out, but I too am still a little reluctant due to the ban.

August 23, 2010, 09:08 PM	#26
DiscoRacing Senior Member Join Date: December 19, 2008 Location: milton, wv Posts: 3,640	I like to about twice a week... I know everyone says its not necessary...but...it cant hurt either...I dont think. __________________ Desert Eagle Alliance Group Launcher Extraordinaire ______ ----Get Busy Live'n.....Or....Get Busy Die'n......Red -------They call me Dr. Bob,,,, I have a PhD in S&W

August 25, 2010, 08:42 AM	#31
pgdion Senior Member Join Date: April 22, 2010 Location: MPLS, MN Posts: 1,214	Didn't see any mag springs compared to valve springs. I see lots of claims that the springs where out from compression / decompression. This failure mode for a spring, called fatigue, is not likely to occur in a magazine spring with it's very slow rate of compression and decompression and, even under heavy use, a very small number of cycles compared to what a spring is designed for. I would guess the shock from firing is harder on the spring than the cycling itself is. The valve spring was mentioned as an example of where spring fatigue is of great concern, where a spring may be fully cycled over 50 times a second and a cycle may take a few milli-seconds. It's used as a differentiator, not a comparison ... an example of why I don't think spring fatigue from cycling should greatly affect a magazine spring. What I have seen first hand with most magazines is how hard it is to get that last round in when they're new. They loosen up over time and I believe it is from the heavy spring compression each time you push in the last couple of rounds, each time it relaxes the spring a little more. I believe if you want your springs to last the longest, don't load the last couple of rounds and leave them there. __________________ 597 VTR, because there's so many cans and so little time! Last edited by pgdion; August 25, 2010 at 10:01 AM. Reason: Fixed math (divided by 6 not 60 ... ooops)

August 23, 2010, 10:04 PM	#27
BfloBill Senior Member Join Date: August 2, 2010 Location: Buffalo, N.Y. Posts: 457	I have read several articles and all the "experts" say that worrying about worn out springs is a waste of time. Personally I have 2 autos that I leave loaded all the time to max capacity and have never had a problem. But my guess is if you are the type of person to worry about it, you are probably also the type of person to be at the range often enough to notice a problem before it becomes an issue.

August 24, 2010, 02:43 PM	#29
booker_t Senior Member Join Date: July 21, 2009 Posts: 797	So much nonsense and bad science in this thread. Comparing magazine springs to valve springs? Good lord. Load your mags, keep 'em full, use them frequently. The springs will be fine, I promise. Cartridge deformation? You've got to be kidding me. There are a dozen threads of people continually discussing this same topic. Does anybody use the search function?

August 25, 2010, 08:54 AM	#32
Bartholomew Roberts member Join Date: June 12, 2000 Location: Texas and Oklahoma area Posts: 8,462	Personally, I treat my magazines like any other machine - as parts that are going to wear out one day. I would like to tell you that I just use them and replace them when they are no longer working as desired. In actual practice, I have a big pile of magazines (AR mostly; but a few others) that are no longer reliable that I keep around and try to fix. Left over habits from the ban era when that was a worthwhile approach. Considering what it costs to by quality components to rebuild a magazine (assuming the actual mag body isn't the problem), you are almost always better off trashing the non-working magazine and buying a quality new magazine. Not to mention you avoid the irritation of the bad magazines working their way back into your "good" magazine pile. I swear those little bastards grow legs and sneak across the room at night.