Do you load your magazines to capacity?
This seemingly innocuous question evokes a very different response depending on whose answering and their life experiences. The average duck hunter would scoff, explaining that he uses a wooden dowel to prevent that because he doesn’t want a hefty fine from DNR.
A Vietnam veteran would tell you that doing so it tantamount to suicide, since early M16 20-round magazines would often fail if loaded past 17 rounds and stored too long. Glock users would tell you they normally load their mags to the brim, if their thumbs can take it.
Personally, I only load specific types of magazines to capacity – My AKM, Glock and G3 magazines. I do those because they don’t get prohibitively difficult to insert when fully loaded. My AR-15 magazines can be a tremendous pain in the ass to securely seat when filled to the brim. I’ve made the mistake of dropping a loaded mag from my AR-15’s mag well when pressing the bolt release because it wasn’t fully inserted.
How about you? Fill out the one=question survey below, and add your comments below. We’d love to hear from all our readers out there.
I load all my mags to full capacity you have to be ready for a zombie apocalypse any day
I keep all mags fully loaded.what wears the springs out is loading them to the max and unloading them constantly
I always leave at least 2 spaces in my mags…unless.! ..going to shoot for sure…just habbit no tech. Info just is ..
I always leave at least 2 spaces in my mags…unless.! ..going to shoot for sure…just habbit no tech. Info just is ..
I have (4) mags for my Sig P320c and I have kept loading them to their full capacity of 15 rounds. I may only keep them to 14 rounds from now on because I notice when you put the last one in(even with a uplula) it is hard and there isn’t even 1/8″ of free play to push down. If I can’t neutralize a threat with 56 rounds I’ll trade my Sig in for Grenades.
Load my ar mags 1 short to facilitate easier seating with a closed bolt. Keep ammo types separated by color coding: FDE – Practice .223 Various Remington, Federal, Fiocchi, etc. BLK – M193 GRN – M855 SND – Alternating M855 & Hornady TAP 75 gr. My in house welcome mix for un-invited visitors. Keep 1 30 round mag of each ready except the welcome mix which is in 2 20 rd mags. 11Bravo forever!
I always keep mine to full capacity… come get some
I always keep mine to full capacity… come get some
Since I live in Commiefornia….I cannot imagine loading my mags to 8 rounds instead of 10! F’in stupid!
I have about 30 magazine always loaded completely and they sit well over a year and everything works fine when I operate them !!!
When I answered the survey, I may have read more into the question than you intended. My mags don’t allow me to load to actual capacity (my answer), there is some material or another inside blocking that attempt. (definitions from my engineering background tend to make me read some things differently than most folks) Anyway, I generally fill all my mags with the “specified” capacity and then back off a round to leave a little more freedom of movement inside. I’d rather be short a round than stuck with many left but unusable at the moment needed. I also use loading assisters most of the time when loading at home, but practice without them when at a range or afield.
I leave all my magazines fully loaded they always operate perfectly even if it’s been a year or two! Leaving them fully loaded does not weaken the spring at all !!! I have at least 30 magazines among them I have the surefire 60 round and 100 round Mags !!!!
I dont load mine to capacity because i fear the springs will get a memory of being compacted and they will no longer function properly (this is only if i dont shoot the magazine for rolonged periods of time)
I load my 30 round Pmags for my AR15 fully and leave them loaded. I leave my standard AR15 mags with 28 rounds ready to rock and roll. I don’t use junk mags because they are usually not worth you time or your money!
I load all mine to full capacity. If I can’t, then I take them apart to fix the problem.
if the mag says 30 rounds then 30 rounds it is!!!
I load all magazines to -1 of capacity. Have had problems getting the mag to seat or load at full capacity in both long and short guns.
I don’t load them full and let them sit. If I am loading up to carry, they yes, but unload later. I typically only load ten rounds at a time at the range into any mag simply to pace myself.
I load to the max whether Glock or AR-15. I make sure the bolt is locked open before inserting the mag in the AR.
Some think that a fully loaded mag weakens the spring over time but in reality, it’s the number of cycles that affect the life of the spring.