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how often do you swap out your carry magazine?

6K views 23 replies 22 participants last post by  oldrwizr 
#1 ·
to relieve spring tension. i can't say i have a set schedule. maybe once a week. whenever i think of it. take the rounds out. put them in one of the other two.
 
#5 ·
#8 ·
No need to rotate them. You should have training mags and carry mags. The spring can become fatigued from compression and decompression. If you use different sets you are good to go...
 
#9 ·
^^^that. Compression does not hurt your spring, USING your magazine will eventually wear the spring out. So you do not need to worry about keeping a couple of mags always loaded with your premium self defense ammo.
 
#10 ·
Never.

My grandad told me a story once before he died. He had his service 1911 loaded with the same ammo after WWII until he retired in 1965. He took that magazine out and put it in one of his ammo tins and kind of forgot about it.

In 1999, he was cleaning out some stuff and came across that old magazine, still loaded with the ammunition he had put in it in 1945. He decided for fun to shoot it. Every single round fired and cycled reliably until the slide locked back after the last round.

If his can sit in the magazine for 54 years and still fire I think you'll be okay not swapping it out every week.
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#13 ·
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I don't worry about it. They get emptied about once a month at the range anyways.

I'd be more concerned with repeatedly filling & emptying the mags & wearing the springs out that way.
 
#14 ·
Oh boy... we're back to this? Time to recycle.

For the readers who are not mechanical engineers, springs of any sort do NOT have to "rest." I struggle to gloss over the technical details (if you ask me the time, I'll probably give you instructions on how to build an atomic clock)... but what "weakens" magazine springs is their cyclic loading and unloading. In other words, their use. Leave 'em loaded, leave 'em unloaded - no difference, they'll pretty much last a long time. But with use, the springs will weaken (spring constant will decrease), which is perfectly normal. By unloading your mags when you don't need to, you're just hastening the day when the springs need to be replaced.

I have about a dozen and a half magazines for my 3 1911s. I shoot steel matches 2-4 times a month, and I reserve 8-10 mags for that use. The others remain in the 1911s and nearby. I pay attention to my mags, and I can tell when I load 'em if the springs are getting softer. Given my relatively high usage, I keep spare mag springs and followers on hand and change 'em before they create problems in use. I refuse to keep "range use only" magazines on hand - they get fixed or they get tossed. No matter the gun, magazines are "consumables" which do not last forever.

My advice for the folks who are not into competition or other heavy use: every autoloading firearm you own should have a minimum of 3 functional magazines. One in the gun, and two "ready to go" spares. If you want to dedicate some mags to range use, go for it; just consider those 'extras' beyond the requisite three. And please, make sure all your first-line magazines function 100% in your gun!
 
#15 ·
About every 10 days or so I will think to take the magazine out of the pistol, remove a couple of rounds, replace it with the full magazine from the magazine carrier, and then place a fresh and full magazine into the magazine carrier. Basically a rotation involving three magazines.

I don't know that it's necessary like that, but it is more or less a habit.
 
#16 ·
I rotate my carry/duty mags on the 1st of each month. Have been doing so for the last 27 years, so I see no reason to stop.

I also download my mags to 14+1 (insteadof 15+1) for a more positive insertion.

Each of us must decide to do what he/she thinks is best for themself.
 
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#23 ·
EDC is a GLOCK 19 with a genuine GLOCK magazine. I have 4 other GLOCK magazines. I do not have any Korean magazines. When I compete in a match (about once a month or every other) I unload my carry magazine and load it up with FMJ range ammo. I also carry 2 other magazines during the competition. By the end of the match I don't know which magazine was in the pistol when I started. I load one up with Golden Sabres and go on. All of my magazines function fine in my pistol. Yes I need to get more magazines.
 
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