A debate as old as .45 vs 9mm, AK vs AR...

[Rebel Jack]

2nd gen PMags. Can you store them long term loaded?

Okay, so maybe not as legendary as the arguments stated in the subject but the question stands. Has any ever come to a decisive conclusion on this? Tried it out? Loss of functionality over time?

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Yes you can. It's not the spring being compressed that causes it to lose strength/functionality, it's the compression and decompression cycles (in other words, normal use) that cause the spring to wear or weaken.

 

[LarryC]

2nd gen PMags. Can you store them long term loaded?

Okay, so maybe not as legendary as the arguments stated in the subject but the question stands. Has any ever come to a decisive conclusion on this? Tried it out? Loss of functionality over time?

The springs will be fine as has been stated. However, I personally would be concerned with any magazine that has feed lips made of plastic as plastic can deform under pressure and heat. I don't own any P-mags, so can't verify if the feed lips are plastic. With metal mags, there is no problem storing them loaded for any period of time, in fact some WW2 1911 mags were found filled from the 1940's that functioned perfectly after over 50 years of storage. I personally have many fully loaded magazines stored and keep my EDC's fully loaded, the only time they are not loaded is when I shoot them..

 

[Rebel Jack]

Yeah I've heard the constant compression vs. Spring cycles debate. That seems to be the point of contention that is permanently trapped in a loop of debate.

The feed lips are another animal altogether. Unlike Glock magazines that have a steel sleeve inserted, the PMags are entirely made of polymer, as you suggested. Lip deformation would be a serious cause for concern over a period of months, depending on ambient humidity and heat. PMags (at least through 2nd gen) come with a small plastic dust cover that slightly depresses a loaded mag, theoretically alleviating pressure to the feed lips with cartridges loaded. As an aside, said dust cover also neatly snaps over the mags baseplate and holds it together as a suitable emergency field repair, should your baseplate break on the pavement after a drop.

Edit: I do find it odd that MagPul went out of their way to print on the D-60 box that it was perfectly fine to leave the drum loaded long term, but they omitted such from their standard PMag line up? Maybe it's a liability thing regarding warranties and folks not using the dust covers properly...

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Per Magpul, they tested them for at least 8 years with multiple heat cycles, etc. and never observed feed lip spreading. I've left them loaded in the trunk of my patrol car for years and never had an issue.

 

[Rebel Jack]

Per Magpul, they tested them for at least 8 years with multiple heat cycles, etc. and never observed feed lip spreading. I've left them loaded in the trunk of my patrol car for years and never had an issue.

Confirmation via MagPul. Good to know amd thanks for the head's up.