will this damage my handgun?
- Thread starter curvy
- Start date
- Location
- Halifax - NS
Yes and Yes, in both cases the springs will wear prematurely. It's OK to do both, just be prepared to replace mag and recoil springs more often.curvy said:
It depends on the quality of the springs, and gun. If they are made correctly, they can be stored loaded (under tension) almost indefinately. Springs wear by cycling.
If springs are over compressed this no longer holds true, and some poor designs allow over compression.
If springs are over compressed this no longer holds true, and some poor designs allow over compression.
Interesting... I've always heard the same about leaving mags loaded weakening the springs over time... but I've kept three Glock G22 mags fully loaded [except when shooting] for the past 11 years and the springs are still like new.... things that make you go, hmmmmm.... 
i'm suspecting maybe the manufacturer/R&D/scientific perspective is to say that the springs do weaken over time, because of the tendency to over engineer and safeguard things. it might be a situation where scientific/commercial prudence says that, yes, the springs may weaken, but in practical real life terms, the springs may not weaken for 100 years or they may weaken in some barely perceptible way that isn't noticeable to the normal user. does that make sense??
as far as the mags go...i can live with replacing them or their springs in 20 years, if it means i can have 20 years of easy access to loaded magazines. slightly more concerned about the guns themselves, but again, unless it's a collector piece, replacing the springs in a few decades doesn't seem too high a price to pay for a few decades of having a weapon in a 'more ready' condition. thoughts..??
as far as the mags go...i can live with replacing them or their springs in 20 years, if it means i can have 20 years of easy access to loaded magazines. slightly more concerned about the guns themselves, but again, unless it's a collector piece, replacing the springs in a few decades doesn't seem too high a price to pay for a few decades of having a weapon in a 'more ready' condition. thoughts..??
curvy said:
I have read lots of anecdotes about folks digging up old WWI or WWII guns and mags from the attic after decades or more of storage, and found them all working fine.
Look at cars, they are sitting on loaded springs all the time. Nobody suggests that you should jack them up to take the weight off the springs when you head off on holidays.
If the springs are not overloaded there is no harm done with time. Engineering books consider spring cycles and max loads, not compression times.
Dang it redleg...just as I was reading down and about to post an example, you have to reply again....haha joke
Yes, cars sitting in one's garage vs taking a drive down to the supermarket to buy a quart of milk through pothole infested canadian streets. Under the normal range of use(ie non over compressed nor over extended) springs at stationary will undergo little loss in performance...especially compared to say shooting a few boxes at the range. Having said that, I don't use a cable lock...but in any case, recoil springs are cheap anyway.
Does one buy a car only to not use it because stopping wears the brakes, accelerating wears out the engine and everything wears the suspension...???
Yes, cars sitting in one's garage vs taking a drive down to the supermarket to buy a quart of milk through pothole infested canadian streets. Under the normal range of use(ie non over compressed nor over extended) springs at stationary will undergo little loss in performance...especially compared to say shooting a few boxes at the range. Having said that, I don't use a cable lock...but in any case, recoil springs are cheap anyway.
Does one buy a car only to not use it because stopping wears the brakes, accelerating wears out the engine and everything wears the suspension...???
The only thing that can damage a spring is very high heat, as in hot enough to take out the temper, and using a spring. Leaving a mag loaded or an action open will not. Repeated use can work harden a mag spring where it bends, but leaving it compressed does nothing.
i left my new mags loaded for a long time. After using them i made sure they were loaded up again.. makes the reload a little easier after a while. Once the springs were " nice" I leave um empty. I dont leave my gun cocked, nor do I leave it with the action open.. all springs are at rest when being stored.
The mags for my Sig 220 have been loaded since it was issued to me in `84. I bought replacement springs a few years ago but only replaced one and that was just as an experiment. The gun has more than 75,000 rounds through it and has only balked when the trigger return spring broke.
If I used it for daily carry, I'd replace the springs more often. Now that I'm retired, it is not my "always gun". I do replace the recoil spring every 5,000 rounds. I have also replaced the trigger return and decocker springs.
John
If I used it for daily carry, I'd replace the springs more often. Now that I'm retired, it is not my "always gun". I do replace the recoil spring every 5,000 rounds. I have also replaced the trigger return and decocker springs.
John
Cocked&Locked
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- S. Ontario
alexlacelle said:
Springs fail due to use (cycles compressed to uncompressed) or overloading (compression beyond the design/material limit) If you get your firearm really hot you may draw temper out, but your grip panels would melt or burn before it got that hot...
I store all my firearms with the actions open and all my mags fully loaded, no problems yet. The firing pin assembly on my TOZ-99 did break recently (first part that ever breaks on a firearm for me) but I strike that to poor quality materials.
