AK Sponsor
Posted: 3/19/2009 1:20:30 AM EDT
| Will storing loaded mags over long periods of time have any detrimental effects? Will it cause the springs to weaken? |
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Not in your lifetime.
Not in your children's lifetime. Probably not in your grandchildren's lifetime. Beyond that no one's entirely sure, but informed speculation is your great grandchildren will probably be able to shoot the cartridges without having a magazine related failure. |
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Usually steel mags and synthetic mags with steel feedlip reinforcement are good to go forever.
Aluminum mags and completely sythetic mags can have feelip problems over time. On cheap aftermarket mags there are often reports of bulged floorplates, especially in pistol mags. Springs only wear out if they are used often (loaded and unloaded regularly) or subjected to bad environments (humid or salty). All my mags are always loaded (45 AK, 15 AR, 6 SKS, 6 Glock, 7 Makarov) and I have yet to have a problem with any due to storing loaded. Some of my steel AK mags have been loaded over 8 years and and still have the same spring strength. My steel reinforced polymer mags show no signs of feedlip creep or cracking after five years (bulgarian waffles and polish slabsides). I expect my non-reinforced polymer mags to show problems, but haven't seen any yet, but I've only had them around one year.(Tapco AK & SKS, Bulgy Clear AK). |
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