Loaded magazine storage.

[Guinness]

Will I prematurely wear out the mechanical function of a magazine by keeping it loaded?

I have a P229 9mm, that I keep with a full mag, hi-cap, I switch which one will be loaded every time I clean it or go shooting but i don't want to ruin them.

Thanks

[CyberSniper]

Generally speaking, I always stop before I've fully loaded any
magazine, be it pistol or rifle. My thinking is that a few less rounds
will keep the spring from being fully compressed, and thus I
think it should extend the life of the spring.
If you plan on long term storage, then just put maybe 12 rounds
in a 15 round mag for example.
I have 20 round AR-15 Mags that I've used for 20 years,
I only put 18 rounds in them. 30 round mags I usually put
25 rounds in. I was first exposed to this idea wayyy back when I
was in the Air Force, so I figured they might be on to something.
And it seems to have worked so far.

[rockbilly]

CyberSniper Says: "I was first exposed to this idea way back when I was in the Air Force, so I figured they might be on to something.
And it seems to have worked so far."

This may have been true several years ago when the quality of metal was not as good as today.  I don't suggest a magazine be kept fully loaded and stored for long periods, but it should not make a lot of difference with modern metals.  Reducing the number of loads is acceptable, but why not purchase a couple of extra mags and swap them out every few months? :roll:

[Sir Knight]

When the M16 was first used by our military, the 20-round mags kept malfunctioning. The troops were advised to load the mags to only 80% of capacity or 16 rounds. They did that and a majority of the malfunctions went away.

I've been following that advise with all of my mags ...

• 6-round mag gets loaded with 5 rounds (6 x 0.8 = 4.8)
  
• 7-round mag gets loaded with 6 rounds (7 x 0.8 = 5.6)
  
• 8-round mag gets loaded with 6 rounds (8 x 0.8 = 6.4)
  
• 9-round mag gets loaded with 7 rounds (9 x 0.8 = 7.2)
  
• 10-round mag gets loaded with 8 rounds (10 x 0.8 = 8)
  
• 11-round mag gets loaded with 9 rounds (11 x 0.8 = 8.8)
  
• 12-round mag gets loaded with 10 rounds (12 x 0.8 = 9.6)
  
• 13-round mag gets loaded with 10 rounds (13 x 0.8 = 10.4)
  
• 14-round mag gets loaded with 11 rounds (14 x 0.8 = 11.2)
  
• 15-round mag gets loaded with 12 rounds (15 x 0.8 = 12)
  
• etc.[/list:u]

[rockbilly]

SirKnight.  Again, "when the M16 was first used by our military."  That was well over 40 years ago.  As I said, metal has been improved many times since the M16 first hit the market.  I retired 1 Jun 06 after almost 50 years of military and civil service (working with the military).  Today, the troops load to the full capacity of the mag.  

Still I do not advise fully loading a mag if it is for long time storage.  I have kept a relvover and a Sig 220 fully loaded for years, I try to fire the Sig as often as possible, that may equate to every two-three months.  Usually when I fire the gun, it is cleaned and the mag is replaced with a fresh fully loaded replacement. I have not had any problems  :roll:

[Guinness]

I have four mags but only two are genuine SIG.

I have had a few loading problems with the knock offs when fully loaded.

I have never had a problem with the SIG mags, so I like to keep them for home defense.  

I think I will drop them down to by 20%, thanks for the replies.