[seaniffd]

I would like to keep a few AR mags loaded (just in case) and was wondering what I can do to prevent weakening the lips. I know mag pull has a a lip saver that snaps in place but only for their mags. Most of what I have is milsurp, old aluminum and steel stuff. Any sage advice?

 

[EBAM1A]

If you have steel military m16 magazines I would use them to keep loaded. The steel magazines should have stronger feed lips if they are a quality military magazine. For the price of P-MAGs you may be better of getting a few of them for loaded storage magazines because the covers do keep the rounds off the feed lips.

 

[mercman]

If you're using 30 rounders just down load them to 28 rounds. When I used USGI mags for work I kept 6 loaded 30 rounders in my duty bag before I started using a plate carrier and I down loaded them to 28 rounds and they were fine. I rotated them out every 6 months. I just put a piece of tape with the date they were loaded on the mag body.

 

[bd111]

USGI aluminums do fine, +1 on the 15, 18 max, in a 20 rounder.

 

[seaniffd]

Is there a better price out there than that $15 for 30 rds? Seems pretty good, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

 

[Daves762]

what I do

I agree with downloading a couple rounds from max for "storage".

I also change the springs out every year, I put the ones that have been compressed into a box and use them after they have "rested" for a year.

the springs are not expensive.

I also -shoot the mags empty- this way i KNOW they function after being stored a while, and if there is a problem I test the hell out of that mag till it ends up with a new spring reloaded or in the "range only" bucket.

With this method it ensures I shoot a minimum every year. AND it's kind of an "op test" at the same time....

Also It is the action of a spring that "wears it out" not the compression. Leaving them loaded does almost zero to a spring.
What wears the springs down is compressing them all the way and then releasing the pressure. SO that means that the more you shoot your mags empty the weaker the springs get, In theory. I have mags that have been fully loaded, only emptied momentarily when I shoot them empty, then fully loaded again for OVER TEN YEARS!! and they still function flawless...

Just my opinion..

 

[oldflyboy]

I would like to keep a few AR mags loaded (just in case) and was wondering what I can do to prevent weakening the lips. I know mag pull has a a lip saver that snaps in place but only for their mags. Most of what I have is milsurp, old aluminum and steel stuff. Any sage advice?

I rotate loaded magazines. I have 12 so I load 3 and rotate every three weeks. Short load will reduce pressure on the spring.
It may be a good idea to keep some spare mag springs.
Unloading does scratch the brass....so I take the pre-loaded mags to the range when I go.

 

[charlie98]

I have read here (I think) and elsewhere that it's not the compression of the mag spring, it's actually it's cycles that determine wear... the more you work it (loading and unloading) the sooner it will loose tension. If you just load it and leave it, it will be fine. I do subscribe to the downloading technique (18 in a 20rd, 27 in a 30) to help save the feed lips.

 

[mercman]

Affirmative!! Cycling a mag is what wears the spring out. Either leave them loaded or leave 'em empty. Also springs should last a LONG time. I will refurb a new to me used mag as a routine AFTER I've shot it, but I have mags that I've had for 30+ years and they have the original springs and they work just fine. Once springs are dead they are dead and should be discarded.

 

[bd111]

All my AR magazines, 20's and 30's, are Vietnam era USGI. I've never had a spring or feed lips crap out. I have replaced a few springs in '60's-'70's M14 magazines. I just toss the old spring, not worth trying to save.

 

[ArmyCPT]

Is there a better price out there than that $15 for 30 rds? Seems pretty good, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

PMAG's can be had cheaper than that. I've seen them for as cheap as $12.00 even.

Google shop and you should find some surprises...

 

[charlie98]

PMAG's can be had cheaper than that. I've seen them for as cheap as $12.00 even.

Google shop and you should find some surprises...

I got my first PMags (a 20 and a 30rdr, to test them and see if I like them. I'm not a big 'plastic' guy...) for $12 a piece from one of the vendors at a local gun show. I'm going to take them to the desert over Christmas and give them the 'what for,' we'll see how they rate against the Colt USGI 20rdrs I have...

 

[charlesPOSTLEwade]

I'm going to take them to the desert over Christmas and give them the 'what for,' we'll see how they rate against the Colt USGI 20rdrs I have...

You will like them They are Top Rate Function is Flawless and the best Part They Do Not Scratch / Scar up the magwell

 

[esrevnoc]

Mag Springs from '46

Guys,
I got the very unique opportunity to shoot a 1911 that a friends grandpa had put up in 1946 with a full mag in the gun, along with 3 other full mags. They had stayed in the unheated attic since then...GI8....This was in 2004!!

Much to my surprise (and delight) the pistol functioned flawlessly after all that time and neglect. We checked the barrel, chambered a round, and then started shooting....not a jam, not a misfire, no hangups at all. FRG1

That has started me on my 1911 kick (3 and counting), and my friend still shoots his grandpa's gun to this day. It is the one that he carried in WWII and my bud has given it the royal treatment since his grandpa has since gone on to be with the Lord.

I am definitely on the side of the mag spring debate that says that the springs are fine either loaded or unloaded, but that cycling them is what wears them out.....just my $.02

 

[82nd ABN]

I picked up 4-20 and 2-30 round pmags from DSG Arms awhile back and I have to say they are golden. If I have one complaint it's this. Last time at the range I removed the mag tops that keep the mag dirt free and the rounds compressed off the lips. When I got home I found that the tops would not work on all the mags. They would not stay on. So it took a few minutes and the process of elimination to get them in order again. Has anyone else experienced this with there tops?

 

[charlie98]

In just the 1 each 30- and 20-round mags I have, one cover does not interchange with the other...

My 20rd mag has what looks like a newer design with "Remove before use" molded into the top, it fits on either mag. The cover on the 30rd mag does not have this lettering and will not catch on the 20rd mag. There is also a 'step' molded right where the cover would push down on the base of the cartridges. I don't know if this is the problem, I downloaded the 20 1 round and it still popped up. Even when I push the catch in with my thumb it pops right off as soon as I release it.

It does work on the 30rd mag, so I'm not too excited about it, but if I wind up with more PMags, it will be a hassle... GI4

 

[tjc357]

The P-Mag is the way to go,I've got 15 30rounders and they stay fully loaded and I've yet to have a failure(knock-on-wood)allso my Beta-C Mag has been loaded with 100rnds for over a year and it works everytime.