Re: How long is to long for loaded PMAGS?
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MidwestPX</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Magazine springs, and springs in general, don't fatigue from being constantly compressed or decompressed. It's the compression/decompression cycle that weakens them. </div></div>
I agree 100%
Guys at work have this discussion about once a year. I keep my call out mags loaded all the time and then have mags specific for training. My training mags have a lot of cycles through them, the duty mags have very few cycles but have been loaded with 27 rounds for almost 3 years. A few months ago I measured a duty magazine spring and compared it to one of my training mag springs. The difference was minimal but the training mags were slightly shorter.
The bottom line is mags tend to be a weak link in weapon systems and they are generally inexpensive. When you start doubting the magazines integrity mark it for training purposes only. I use pink duck tape on all mags I don't trust. The mag pul mags tend to just need new springs. GI mags tend to get damaged feed lips.