Can you leave ak mags loaded

In theory , if you started with a brand new magazine and loaded it to full capacity, then left it in a drawer, it should not lose a significant amount of spring tension for a very, very long time. Probably years. But reality is messier than that. Using the spring loading and unloading the magazine frequently will cause it to wear out as well.

The spring should last tens of thousands of cycles before this occurs, but it will happen eventually. When left loaded to full capacity and not used, most magazines will very slowly lose some amount of spring tension over time. Some springs may stay loaded for decades and still function, and others might wear out after a much shorter period of time. So just to be safe, the best practice is to rotate the magazines periodically. A gunsmith at Beretta who claimed not to be speaking on behalf of the company told us he rotates his personal carry magazines every two weeks.

The customer service rep we spoke to from Sig said that once every six months would be sufficient. Polymer followers in particular seem to be a common failure point for magazines. Adding some complexity to this debate is whether loading the mags to their full capacity will make any difference in how quickly the springs wear out.

Again, there is not a clear consensus in the industry. OMG i just spat rice pilaf on my keyboard now thanks alot. Leave the things loaded. What are you guys thinking - come the hell on people. Have you not seen all the footage of all those soldiers loading the rounds in their AKs just before firing them to keep the magazines from getting damaged Quoted: I load one round every day, then when they are full I take one round out every day.

I keep every mag I have fully loaded and have for years, with no problems. Empty magazines are useless. Milk currently spewing thru nose For a serious answer Metalurgically, mag springs dont wear based on how long they are compressed. They wear by being compressed and releived. By loading your mag and leaving them for years, you are basically loading them and taking them to the range to unload once.

Load those bitches, 'cause I need some AK's at my back when all hell breaks loose and feel confident that they'lle feed well. Load 'em up and keep them that way. The springs loosen because of repeated compression and relief.

I have always made it a practice to rotate ammunition from full to empty magazines every time I think about it and have the time. That works out to just about never. Never had a problem. We'll all be dead before the magazine spring goes bad. Load them with 30 and leave them Rotate every year or two. Someone pass a beer, please. Mags are cheap You guys are amatures, I keep 30 magazines each loaded with one round. It's the only way to be shure! I try to keep my mags loaded and rotate them out at the range.

Speaking of which, anyone know where to find Barnaul FMJ? It's harder on the springs to keep loading and unloading. If you have a 30 round mag and want to keep it loaded while sitting around the house, I sugg. This is what I have been told by several AK dealers. I only load full when I'm about to head to the range.