[AquaHull]

Since I didn't take many Metallurgy classes, and because I have enough that I can, I rest my magazines & springs every 6 months at carry ammo changeover.

Yesterday I went from the Speer Gold Dot 9mm Luger 115+P+ JHP,which is my summer ammo, to the Speer Gold Dot 124+P JHP,in fresh springs&magazines. 1 G19 mag for conceal carry,2 G17 mags for reload. The G 17 mags are downloaded to 16 for easier insertion in case of a closed slide.

I do it because I have the ammo, mags and I can. YMMV as well as opinions.

 

[kyletx1911a1]

The springs will take a set mags can stay loaded for years.
Cylcling the mags wear the springs out

 

[AquaHull]

The springs will take a set mags can stay loaded for years.
Cylcling the mags wear the springs out

And how many Metallurgy classes did you take?

My carry mags have 200 or so rounds through each of them for reliability testing.

Loading and unloading the ammo once a year won't wear them out in my lifetime if your reasoning is sound.

I usually shoot it out, but I was late this year and I'm on quiet time to keep Bambi's nerves at ease.

I have 1 practice mag that I snipped part of the spring of to cause FTFeeds, 2 others have recalled followers in them that cause a death jam with hollow points on the last round, along with perfectly good mags with snap caps inserted at random. I use some undersize and oversize OAL dummy rounds for fun too.

It makes things interesting at practice.

 

[armyguy]

It is better to leave the bullets in the magazines instead of changing them out because springs gets weaken for each time it is expanded and depressed. So if you keep your ammo int he mag and never change it it will just work fine. I have buckets of ammo in their magazines and they still work like brand new after years. I havent taken any metallurgy classes and this is all from experience.

 

[JuddJc]

From what I have seen its about a wash. All springs take a set regardless if compressed for long periods or loaded & unloaded.

I did see a study once that left a magazine spring compressed for 16 months and there was noticeable set however another spring (identical) loaded and unloaded 150 times took the same measurement and was damn near the same in spring compression weight.

Personally my mags get loaded and unloaded about 150 times in about 5 months easily, so for me in theory they would last longer to just leave them compressed.

With that said my Glock 19 Gen3 has about 5k rounds through the pipe on 2 mags with no issue (also note the mags stayed loaded between range sessions).

 

[AquaHull]

That's why I trimmed a spring to cause malfunctions, we all know Glocks don't malfunction on their own, so how else would do you practice the drill?

 

[JuddJc]

My point was not about training but more about spring life of loaded .vs occasional reset based off of the thread title.