In general de-cocking is the generic advice to avoid creep (loss of preload and stiffness over time).
Different designs create different perspectives, but the way we teach the spring concept is to view the operating stress level in the spring against the ultimate and yield stress of the material. Depending on what percentage of the yield stress we run, determines the life of the spring.
Unfortunately most firing pin spring designs do run at the levels where they have a short and limited life. Long and short term creep is a longer discussion, but in general if you expect a bolt gun to sit idle for a time (more than a few weeks), it is best to store it de-cocked.
When the steel they used was more controlled, we could tell the armorers a more reliable cycle count for the rigs the GOV kept in the inventory. But as time passed with more models being introduced and the QC of their springs running too loose, there have been unfortunate failures.
Not all spring steels are equal, and as our luck would have it the better steels are more expensive.
Some outfits keep careful track of all their parts, and others don't. Springs might be well tracked in some examples, or someone may be dumping them all in a giant tub where they become a mix of very old and very new. In that instance, when a bad batch of springs gets mixed in, you end up with a real problem trying to sort the difference of ammo issues from ignition issues and failure investigations get ugly.
The main advice I try to impress on young operators, is to get to know their design and the maintenance and keep a diary with the gun. By knowing your hardware and keeping spares, you can keep out of trouble or at least minimize the confusion during a troubleshooting session.
