Spare mags
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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
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
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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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tony you may want to buy extra magazine springs from bersa. they are about $2 each
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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.
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.
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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.
(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.
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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
If I see some I will post where I saw them.
Tony
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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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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
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
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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.
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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.
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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
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
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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
Bersa Thunder 380 .380ACP 9 Round Black Factory Magazine #90399 | eBay
By the way Gander Mtn is a chain store.
Tony
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