I only replace them when they start to feel weaker than my less-used mags. No need to replace things just because.

 

In the event that I have a feed problem, I mark that mag and change out the spring. Carry mags on the other hand are all low round count.

 

Excellent comment. It took me about 40 years of gun carry before I figured out it was a good idea to number my magazines. Just a tiny scratched number on the mag is fine. If I have a problem at the range, then I note the mag number. If it happens again, then that suggests that maybe it is not the ammo. It does not matter much with factory ammo, but with reloads that may be marginal in some way, it saves me time. I will usually set that mag aside until I figure out the issue.

I have found very few issues with 45 acp mags, but have had some problems with 9mm mags in the 1911. In 38 Super, 400 Corbon and my short experience with the 10mm, I have never had a single issue with the magazine in the 1911 platform.

Ironically I have had two Glock magazines fail over the years. One was a Glock 19 factory mag. The other was an Asian made copy. Both of them developed small cracks at the top of the magazine that eventually split. Even, metal lined plastic mags are not fool proof., contrary to their advertising.

 

Magazines which are kept fully loaded for long periods of time, such as in law enforcement and personal/home defense applications, will generally be subject to more fatigue than the weekend shooter's magazine springs in which the magazines are loaded up only when shooting.

Was this not was debunked recently with the use of modern metallurgy?

For me, I’ve only changed mag springs when the slide quits locking back, so not very often.

 

Yep, many reports of the WWII vet bring-back gun, mag loaded, in an old sock in a drawer for decades, and it worked perfectly. I know it to be plausible because I've bought a few!

But having worked for a specialty spring maker, I also know there is a wide variety of spring wire materials, the strength, workability, heat-treatment, and the price!

I often draw the comparison of modern automotive valve springs. They control valves up to 10,000~15,000 rpms and typically last billions of cycles. In the early days of motorized transportation, they broke often. Drivers often carried extra valve springs and the tools to change them. Air-cooled side-valve or 'flathead' motorcycles were even worse. But since the 50s~60s, broken valve springs are a rare occurrence indeed.

 

About every 40-50yrs or so.

 

I figure if it ain't broke, there's no need to fix it.

 

 

Spring set is only an issue with poor-quality magazines. Unfortunately price isn't what makes a magazine low quality. The factory mags for my Kahr P380 cost me something like $40 apiece, and when I left them loaded for a month the springs lost the ability to lock the slide back. I replaced them with MagGuts springs, and I've left them loaded for upwards of a year without any loss of tension.

 

I've got several magazines with springs that are well over 30 years old now. They still run fine.

Jon.

 

Springs that are properly tempered can be left under tension (fully loaded) for many, many years. Cycling is what wears them out.

 

Once every decade, give or take a century.

 

I only replace springs when they no longer function as they should. No specific round count or years involved. Good magazine springs are extremely durable and long lasting. They last for many many years if they are cared for properly.

 

Change springs ”on condition “ - if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it……

 

I have not had any issues with my magazine springs (all the magazines in my normal rotation are WC 47Ds. That said, just because I like to be prepared for things, I have a 10-pack of Wolff springs should they be needed.

Grumpy

 

Magazine Spring Stress Tests - When Will They Fail?

The AmmoToGo.com team tests gun magazines under various conditions to see how to store them, load them and more for optimal reliability.

www.ammunitiontogo.com

 

I had an encounter with three mag's about ten years ago.
Those mag's had been in storage since the Korean conflict.
One was full loaded, one had three in it and the last had
no rounds in it. ALL THREE worked perfectly.

You do what you like, but I see no reason to establish a
schedule for replacement.

 

Have some Wilson 47Ds that I've had since they were first introduced. Shot a LOT back then and have no idea how many rounds the mags have successfully digested. They were often left loaded, cleaned seldom, and not babied at all. They all still work just fine, even with my crub-ball reloads and in various guns. Prior to using Wilson Mags I used Satin Nickle Colt mags for competition as they seemed slicker than the blue mags; maybe or maybe not, but those mags are still running also. Have six in particular (with leather bumper pads) for our old Nastoff gun that have run for an honest 45-50K rounds. What few mag problems we've had over the years were easily dealt with by the trash can!

 

All magazine springs are made of different steel alloys and have had different heat treat work done on plants all over the world. You cannot say "all springs" because they will all behave differently. Just buy quality name brand springs and change them every 5000 rounds. Wolff has a chart with change schedules for all of their springs.

 

I have a long history with Wolff springs in many different platforms and have a large number of their products in my parts box. That said, they sell springs. I quoted the Wolff answer in Post 1, which says, you can protect yourself against some possible unknown failure down the road by buying good qualify stuff and replacing it periodically. Whet the do not show, is any empirical evidence of magazines taking a set, or losing power. We are talking about only magazine springs, not leave springs or recoils springs or springs on the screen door.

Wolff says to use the magazines, load them, then empty them.

"In applications where the magazine must be kept loaded at all times, a high quality magazine spring such as Wolff extra power magazine springs, will provide maximum life. Regular replacement of magazine springs will provide the best defense against failure from weak magazine springs. Regular shooting of the pistol is the best way to be sure the springs are still functioning reliably."

Exactly the opposite is this article I posted above. Note their statement.

"After 10 months of identical use and identical storage conditions, both the Gen 2 and Gen 3 Pmags we loaded to a full 30 rounds had almost identical spring resistance values to those we left unloaded and those we only loaded half-way. Other AR-15 magazine brands, like Amend2, produced similar test results. Our Glock 17 and Smith & Wesson Shield magazines were similar.
While down-loading seems to make sense as a simple solution, it is largely misdirected. According to our data, down-loading does not give you any significant advantage when it comes to preserving the life of your springs. Many common firearm and magazine malfunctions can actually be attributed to other causes. User errors, specific firearm designs, and even certain ammo loads have all been known to be the root cause of most malfunctions, all before the blame can be placed solely on the magazine springs."

When two groups of folks have exactly opposite views on a subject, scientific evidence would be the thing to look at. Again we are talking about gun magazine springs. Not those springs that control the throttle on a lawnmower of the once that make a retractable pen, retractable. Which brings up an actual fact or which I was the scientist conducting this experiment. It goes like this"

In 1979, while in the military, I bought a Winchester model 70, 30-06. Wonderful gun, made in 1976. It did and does shoot under 0.5 moa. You can see it in my icon with a deer I killed 3 years ago. Within a couple years while on a hunting trip, the extractor spring broke. Holy krap, batman! how can that happen? It looks like this.

So, being in the middle of nowhere and having this tiny spring "break" seemingly impossible for a little captive spring to break, it did and extraction was not reliable. So, what to do? Kind of looks like one of those little springs in a pen, huh? So, that is what I did and it worked fine. So, once back home, I ordered the new one, but since the pen spring, cut to size was working I just put the new one in my parts box. I have fired that gun more than all other hunting rifles that I own, I have reloaded those 55 grain 223 bullet that fit into sabots, 100 grain carbine bullets, 110 spire points, 130 flat points, 150, 165, and 180 grain loads and fired lots of factory and 30-06 ball loaded for the Garand. The gun has killed dozens of deer, probably 15-20 antelope out to 563 yards, coyotes and other critters and lots of steel targets at distances. And that little pen spring is still working just fine. Not much pressure on it, but a pretty cheap spring too. So, just maybe, some springs will do what they do forever? So, next time I think about it, I think I will change that spring and put the new one, now 43 years old into the gun.

 

I have a 1911 that that I bought new. The first and only 1911 I ever shot, which is quite amazing considering I am 60 years old. I have not had it long. I got 2 Met-gar mags with it and bought 3 Wilson Combat mags. I was influenced by the internet, thinking they were the best 8 shot mags money could buy. Much to my surprise they would fail on the first round when full and trying to chamber. No problems chambering when only 7 rounds are in the mags. I just chalked it up to stronger than normal springs and it really doesn't happen with the other mags. The lesson I learned is that nothing beats experience and practice with certain mags with your specific firearm. Experiences can vary. The firearm is one the best shooting guns i have ever owned.

 

I have a 1911 that that I bought new. The first and only 1911 I ever shot, which is quite amazing considering I am 60 years old. I have not had it long. I got 2 Met-gar mags with it and bought 3 Wilson Combat mags. I was influenced by the internet, thinking they were the best 8 shot mags money could buy. Much to my surprise they would fail on the first round when full and trying to chamber.

Wilson includes instructions with their mags...

https://s3.amazonaws.com/wilsoncombat/files/47Series.pdf

Like other mechanical devices, your Wilson Combat® magazine may be a little stiff when first used. This is normal and should not effect its feeding capabilities, however you will notice that as you use your magazine it will become easier to load and seat in your pistol and it will function even more smoothly over time. If you wish to expedite the break in process simply leave your new magazine loaded to capacity for a day or two, this will preset the spring to normal operating tension.

Load them, both the Wilson and the Mec-Gar mags, and let them sit fully loaded for several days.

Another point, Wilson has a large variety of mags in their line-up. They are not all created equal.

 

I wasn't dogging them at all. I am not new to firearms, just 1911s. I figured they would settle after awhile.

 

I didn't say you were. You mentioned you were new to 1911's. I'm trying to help.

The point I made about... "Wilson has a large variety of mags in their line-up. They are not all created equal." ... is true. Many new to 1911's follow the "get Wilson mags" recommendation, and go to Wilson's site and choose a lesser mag than the mags Wilson made their reputation. Wilson mags are my mag of choice, but not all of them are created equal.

 

Understood, thanks. For the record I bought 3 black 47D 8 round Wilsons.

 

The full size 7 round 47 uses the same tube length as the 8 round 47D. Because of this, the 7 rounder gives you a better spring and a better follower than the 47D comes with. The 7 round 47 is a better mag than the 8 round 47D.

Wilson's better 8 round mags are found in their ETM line-up. The ETM's have a longer tube than the 47D, which again allows room for a better spring and better follower.


Edit to add: In relation to the thread topic, one would expect to get longer life from a Wilson 47 and ETM spring than from a 47D spring.

 

wait... the springs come out?

 

I've noticed that no one ever talks about replacing valve springs in engines. It would seem that anyone wanting to make a good magazine would use at least as good a steel as used in a valve spring.

 

When you get smoke above 3000RPM with a non-solid lifter equipped engine ...

 

Depends on the mag.
7-round 1911 mags might last forever; I have some that are 100 years old, and they're still working.
Any magazine that has "one more round" in it, like flush-fit 8-round mags, might need new springs every few thousand rounds; my Shooting Star mags did, but Power 8 mags, from the same manufacturer, did not.
The factory 6-round mag in my Detonics Combat Master needs replacing every 500 rounds, if I don't want to wait until it stops functioning properly; it's a full round shorter than a standard "compact" mag, but holds six rounds.

 

I share your belief Rick.

A friend of mine was given 80-90 military issue standard 7 round mags of various manufacture. They were surpluses from the local national guard unit because they were no longer serviceable due to visible defects. The visible defects are scratches or rust. His cousin was the supply sergeant charged with trashing them. So he asked several of us if we wanted any and gave us 10 each. Our plan was to clean them up and order new springs for them.

Except I just kept mine for range use or spares. I like to have 8-10 loaded mags when I travelled and still do. I have 45s and I have one converted to 400 Corbon. I also have three revolvers that shoot 45 acp, nothing easier than a 1911 mag for carrying ammo around.

Not one of those magazines have failed in the 45s or the 400 Corbon. Those 10 were given to me about 1982 and still going strong. And now for the bizarre. I was military at the time and often gone for months and moved frequently. Some of those magazines sat loaded in gun safes, since 1982, and again none have failed. So, I need to drag them out and replace those springs because I have pushed that limit way too far. Everything fails. Guess I will be making an order to Wolff pretty soon.

Wolff has 10 packs of magazine springs for $47.99. They have 3 strength levels, the normal 7 round, the 8 round with +5% power and one for the 8 round ACT mag, a +10% power. Anybody have any recommendation for any other the normal 7 round springs, which is what I am replacing?