Spare mags

7661 Views 22 Replies 9 Participants Last post by tarheelcracker, Feb 5, 2018

jjccamis

Discussion Starter · Dec 9, 2016

is it preferable to store spare mags fully loaded or empty?

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Tony1990

· #2 · Dec 10, 2016

For my BT 380 and my BT380cc I have 8 mags that can be used in either of them and I keep 4 loaded, one in each pistol plus a spare. The other 4 mags are empty. I rotate them on the last day of the month.
With my Ruger LC9s I only have 3 mags, 2 loaded and 1 empty spare. On the last day of the month I load my empty mag and put it in my LC9s, I unload my old spare and keep it empty.
I just don't want the mag spring to stay compressed for a long time. I am not sure if it does any good but I feel better.
However when I go to the range it changes everything but either way my mags are rotated at least once a month so my mags do not stay loaded for more than a month.
Maybe there are ex police or Military people that can give us the correct info on storing mags loaded or not.

Tony

crimenoirmikee

· #3 · Jan 17, 2017

tony1990, i'm a former security enforcement officer and when i was carrying a auto i always left my magazines loaded.and it never seemed to bother them. i think it has more to do with the quality of the springs. but its up to you. no some folks loaded one less round so as to create less compression on the spring. so it's really up to you. but with rotating them check your ammo to make sure it is not coming loose. also i would load my mag in,rake the slide and then drop the mag to put one round back in to keep the mag then fully loaded. and i would check those rounds more so. i just went a got the mag from my new bersa thunder 380. i took the magazine apart and the spring seems well made so maybe you could go longer then say a month with it being fully loaded.also when you do rotate your mags it never hurts to take them apart and run a dry patch or cloth through them. also i would my self only use bersa mags,then mec-gar ones. factory is always your best choice and with mec-gar they know what there are doing. they make a lot of the magazines for a lot of the gun companies of the world. so i hope this helps you. but in the end its up to you

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crimenoirmikee

· #4 · Jan 18, 2017

tony you may want to buy extra magazine springs from bersa. they are about $2 each

imarangemaster

· #5 · Jan 18, 2017

On my Bersa FireStorm, I only have 4 mags (all 8 round 380CC mags). I keep them all loaded. One in the weapon, one in my briefcase, and one in the glove compartment of each vehicle. My S&W Shield, I have 8 mags for. I keep 4 loaded (2 seven rounders and two 8 rounders), and four unloaded for practice. Same scenario with them as the Bersa Mags. My Glock 19 that I occasionally cary, I only have two of my 8 or 9 mags loaded. One 15 rounder in the weapon, and one in the outside pouch of a leg holster I use when hiking in the woods with the Glock.

When I was in the arms room, we kept 30 round M16 mags loaded. we issued them out daily and took them in, and used them as range ammo for quals twice a year. That rotated ammo and mags every 6 months. I remember reading in a professional LEO publication that it wears the spring out more to continuously load and unload them than it does to leave them loaded.

robhic

· #6 · Feb 19, 2017

I can't count how many times I've seen this issue discussed in different forums. I'd say the bottom line is do what you think is best. On the plus side of leaving them loaded, examples of mags found loaded since WWII (!!!) - that's 60 yrs + that still functioned. The opinion (one I agree with) is that constant loading/unloading is more likely to weaken springs than just loading and leaving them alone. As a treat to give you more info on springs than you EVER wanted

(plus tons of other mechanical devices) go to http://tinyurl.com/z6t7pld It's the Mechanical Reliability (MecRel) handbook from the US Dept. of the Navy. It'll make your head hurt with all the stuff there. I think "Springs" starts on page 81.

exdetsgt

· #7 · May 11, 2017

OK to all that, where do you get extra mags? Just got a new Bersa Thunder .380 duotone (I wanted an all black one, but the lgs only had the one) and it only came with one mag. I checked the Bersa website and they seem to be out of stock.

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Tony1990

· #8 · May 13, 2017

Bersa mags, that is a good question since several Stores (not all store carry Bersa Mags) I asked said the ones they do get are gone real quick. The only place I have gotten them is thru Bersa web site and gun shows.
If I see some I will post where I saw them.

Tony

exdetsgt

· #9 · May 13, 2017

Thanks, Tony 1990, looking forward to your notification.

robhic

· #10 · May 16, 2017

exdetsgt said:
OK to all that, where do you get extra mags?

There is always lively discussion on this and I'll probably get some push-back from some and thumbs up from others, but aftermarket mags like MecGar and ProMag have worked well for me in my Bersa Thunder and Ruger LCP. For any carry situation I defer to the factory mags. But for range (or other) use, the aftermarkets have never given me ONE single problem. And .... even if they did hiccup now and then at 1/2 the price of Bersa mags ($18+/-) I can live with them! Do what you think fits your need, IMO. I just bought 5 ProMag 10 rd mags for a Beretta 9mm pistol and, again, no issues with them and at $23 compared to Beretta factory mags at $35, I can live with them ... even IF they gave problems which they haven't! Am I the only person to use the non-OEM mags without issue? I hardly think so....

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Tony1990

· #11 · May 19, 2017

Hi Robhic, I have often wondered how the ProMag magazines would work on my BT380 and BT380cc however with 14 Bersa mags and at that time cost a lot less than they do now at a gun show, I did not get one.
I did get some first hand experience with the ProMag 2 months ago. Went to a range with a couple of close friends and one had nothing but ProMag and he let me try a couple of 10 rounds. Used up 3 box's of 380 FMJ , that's 150 rounds without a single problem. It got me sold but with 14 Bersa 380 mags it is a no go.
I do intend to get some ProMags for my BT32 if the make them. Plus my Ruger LC9s cost $15.95
Will let you know how they work out but I do believe it will be a very good report.
Tony

9UC

· #12 · May 19, 2017

Being a little hard headed, set in my ways and basically old school, I buy and only use OEM mags in my Bersas. It took several years,but I now have 12 of the 9 rd DLX mags for my two Bersa BT380s and my 18 of the 13 rd mags for the two 9UCs. Advice I got from a guy who was trained in metallurgy when I first started with Bersas years ago was to keep mags fully loaded all the time. If ya' run dry, a rock makes a better projectile when thrown than an empty mag.

exdetsgt

· #13 · May 19, 2017

Just bought an 8 rounder from Mec-Gar for $33.10 from their website. At least they had some, unlike Bersa.

9UC

· #14 · May 19, 2017

I understand, went through that 10 years ago and bought two non OEM mags and delegated them for range practice only until Eagle got some in stock. Bought one at a time as I could afford it for several years. It took quite a while to build up my mag supply, but when I had enough to suit my needs, I round filed the Pro Mags as I did not feel good about giving or selling them to another BT380 shooter due to my AF Security Police background and having served in Nam.

Tony1990

· #15 · May 19, 2017

Exdetsgt: Sorry but I could not find any Bersa 380 mags, on the web, or 5 LG store I give my money to, one gun show but could not find any. I find it hard to believe that no one has any for sale. (also tried a pawn shop).
However when I checked Gander Mtn web site I found they have a big going out of Business sale so maybe they had some mags but still no luck. I did find a Career area where people can apply for a job with Gander Mtn now that is very strange......
Tony

exdetsgt

· #16 · May 20, 2017

Strange, indeed. Is it a chain, in which case it would make more sense.

Tony1990

· #17 · May 20, 2017

Try this for a Bersa 9 round mag at $35.80.
Bersa Thunder 380 .380ACP 9 Round Black Factory Magazine #90399 | eBay

By the way Gander Mtn is a chain store.
Tony

exdetsgt

· #18 · Jun 2, 2017

Took the Mec-Gar 8 rounder to the range yesterday. After running 5 mags full without a hiccup I have decided to order two more.

9UC

· #19 · Jun 2, 2017

Glad to hear that they are working fine, best of luck with them.

Reactions: 1

Tony1990

· #20 · Jun 3, 2017

After all is said and done it comes down to how the Mags do at the range under live conditions. Glad it worked out so well for you that you got 2 more Mec-Gar 8 rounders. Speaks well of the Mec-Gar 8 rounder mags.
Thanks for the update.

Tony

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