how long will a mag last?

[rottman43055]

On another forum I have read that it loaded mags actually last for 20 years or more, but the spring will wear out faster but loading & unloading.

I know from first hand experiance from my fist XD I bought a while back that the springs in XD mags suck. I had to replace two for my first XD I bought then sold a while back (which I bought because I didn't know they where covered in the warantee) I loved the gun, but wasn't going to buy new mags all the time.

[GunnBugg]

Originally Posted by tARfoo

I read a while back that common practice is the load mags like you have (self-defense at-the-ready setup) at max capacity minus one round.

This serves several purposes to minimize wear and tear over the years, but most of all it helps me to perform tactical loads/reloads on a closed-side/loaded-chamber situation. A full-to-capacity maxed out mag I often find is almost impossible to tac load quickly regardless of make or model. Minus one round helps a LOT.

And if you're worried about not having that 13th round after you've popped off the first 12 in a situation, you have more things to worry about, like why you're not running towards your long gun.

the minus one rule goes a long way back.....to the 1911. Traditionally, a round is chambered and the mag left one round short to ensure the mag wasn't too tight to load. The XD generally does not have this problem.

The mags will last to the half-life of stainless...which should equal the half life of chromium.

[flivver]

Originally Posted by GunnBugg

The mags will last to the half-life of stainless...which should equal the half life of chromium.

I wasn't so much concerned about the metal, as I was the spring.

[sqeeler]

Hey just to shed some light I have a xd tactical .45 that is somewhere between 6-8,000 rds and a S"&W M&P that has over 25,000 rds and both guns are using the original magazines with no spring replacement so far, I think the situation you use the mags for will dictate how often to change them. When one starts acting up REPLACE the springs and possibly get new followers as well, why waste money needlessly, save it for ammo.

[Eichenlaub]

I've never had any springs on any guns wear out. But I have had the feed lips of my XD 45 mags deformed from being loaded too long and not in the gun. Springfield did replace them for free. In the future I will keep the mags loaded to less than full capacity if I do not intend to rotate them regularly. I learned my lesson.