NFOA MEMBERS FORUM

General Categories => Carry Issues => Topic started by: gsd on January 28, 2014, 09:12:34 AM

Title: How often?
Post by: gsd on January 28, 2014, 09:12:34 AM
Do you change out your carry mag(s)?

Just curious, I usually run about 3-4 weeks then I'll trade them out for a new pair.

Springs are cheap, but I'm cheaper lol.
Title: Re: How often?
Post by: bkoenig on January 28, 2014, 09:20:24 AM
My understanding is that with good quality modern spring steel, constant compression does not harm mag springs.  The cycle of compressing/relaxing them does over time due to metal fatigue.  So, actually unloading and reloading mags is harder on them than leaving them loaded, although either one is such a miniscule amount of wear that it's negligible.

Or so I've been told, anyway.
Title: Re: How often?
Post by: NE Bull on January 28, 2014, 09:21:43 AM
I swap them out for a clean one when the Denim Dust becomes noticeable.
Title: Re: How often?
Post by: bkoenig on January 28, 2014, 09:34:52 AM
I swap them out for a clean one when the Denim Dust becomes noticeable.

Lol...my carry gun gets NASTY. 
Title: Re: How often?
Post by: OnTheFly on January 28, 2014, 09:37:44 AM
I swap them out for a clean one when the Denim Dust becomes noticeable.

Is that what that is?! I thought that was belly button lint. Learn something every day.

Fly
Title: Re: How often?
Post by: gsd on January 28, 2014, 09:40:48 AM
Is that what that is?! I thought that was belly button lint. Learn something every day.

Fly


That depends on carry location lol
Title: Re: How often?
Post by: OnTheFly on January 28, 2014, 09:46:46 AM

That depends on carry location lol


Well I should have known.  It didn't taste like belly button lint.

Fly
Title: Re: How often?
Post by: abbafandr on January 28, 2014, 07:37:26 PM
Well I should have known.  It didn't taste like belly button lint.

Fly
I've never tasted belly button lint, guess I've just had a sheltered life :laugh:
Title: Re: How often?
Post by: GreyGeek on January 29, 2014, 10:56:13 AM
My understanding is that with good quality modern spring steel, constant compression does not harm mag springs.

So, leaving your CC weapon locked and loaded doesn't harm the charge spring either?
Title: Re: How often?
Post by: JTH on January 29, 2014, 11:29:43 AM
So, leaving your CC weapon locked and loaded doesn't harm the charge spring either?

What's a charge spring?
Title: Re: How often?
Post by: bkoenig on January 29, 2014, 01:04:03 PM
I've never tasted belly button lint, guess I've just had a sheltered life :laugh:


I've heard people pay good money for that in Bangkok. 
Title: Re: How often?
Post by: GreyGeek on January 29, 2014, 01:45:33 PM
What's a charge spring?

The spring the recycles the slide.  I don't remember what it is called.
Title: Re: How often?
Post by: bkoenig on January 29, 2014, 01:49:09 PM
That would be the recoil spring.  AFAIK the same goes for that - just compression is fine, it's actually using it that wears it out.
Title: Re: How often?
Post by: JTH on January 29, 2014, 02:38:19 PM
The spring the recycles the slide.  I don't remember what it is called.

Ah.  Recoil spring.

In general, the recoil spring is compressed just sitting in the gun.  Cocking the gun compresses more the spring only briefly, and when the slide returns to battery (once the gun is cocked), the spring is then returned to its "slightly compressed" situation.

Leaving it that way technically will fatigue the spring, but only if you leave it that way for a couple hundred years or so. 

Firing the gun and making the recoil spring work through many full compressions is far harder on it, and will (over time) fatigue the spring such that it will not expand to its formerly full length.

Modern magazine springs are the same.  If you leave a magazine full of ammunition, it will be MANY years before it is unable to do its job.  (Matter of fact, corrosion and damage due to atmospheric moisture, spills, banging the magazine around, etc, will cause more problems than simply leaving the magazine loaded.)  What fatigues magazines is actual use.  People who shoot a lot have to replace magazine springs MUCH more often than people who simply leave their magazines loaded all the time, but don't actually shoot.
Title: Re: How often?
Post by: AWick on January 29, 2014, 08:42:01 PM
People who shoot a lot have to replace magazine springs MUCH more often than people who simply leave their magazines loaded all the time, but don't actually shoot.

When I was reading reviews for Chip McCormick 1911 mags a guy was complaining because the springs started wearing out at 10,000 rounds... I wish I had that problem! $24 mag wears out after probably $3,000 worth of ammo through it...