Quick Tip: Is It OK to Store Magazines Loaded?

The debate has raged, probably since the invention of the first detachable box magazine. Can you store a loaded magazine for long period of time? Or will the spring fail and lose its ability to feed reliably? Brownells Firearm Support Tech Caleb Savant weighs in. Modern high-quality tempered magazine springs will take a bit of a set, Caleb says, but after that they can sit loaded for a VERY long time before they fail. Springs wear out more from use - many repeated compression/expansion cycles - than from being stored compressed. In fact, loaded mags have sat for many DECADES, and then fed just fine when used! Caution: You get what you pay for; cheaply made mags may have cheap, poorly tempered springs, and they may fail after long-term loaded storage.