Originally Posted by recoilguy

I have been in the steel industry for the past 28 years. What Blade has posted here is correct.

Springs are steel and steel is subject to metallurgy. It is not an opinion and it is not a experiance. It is the science of steel. A spring loaded is a spring doing what it is intrended to do and does not cause fatigue. If you load and unload your spring (mag), the more often you do so the more fatigue your spring experiances. The metulurgist "theroy" is not a theroy it is metallurgy. Your experiance has to have other factors involved that you are not mentioning or simply unaware of. Blade is correct, weather you choose to believe science or rely on experiance you have had in uncontrolled situations is up to you. However, if you choose other then science you are choosing wrong!

RCG

Tried going to Science route on the last 4326 posts related to the EXACT SAME THING, but that didn't work. I agree, wholeheartedly that springs go bad due to cycling, not static position.

Wolff springs is dependent on people NOT believing that though.

Originally Posted by scooter

For clarification to newbs
Clips (stripper clips)

I always thought that "stripper clips" were what Gypsy Rose Lee used, to temporarily hold her clothing on.

If the OP wants security for his family and doesn't want to take chances then easy enough....go to a range yearly or every six months or even more often and practice, run all your mags and check them and if they function fine ...leave them loaded until the next trip etc.....JJ

Ah, the Metalurgist, the one who can transform the eternal steel spring into 24 karat gold, generally, the wizard standing around a boiling cauldron; pointed hat; wand in hand, and newt hair and bat wings in the other. When I've purchased new handguns w/ exceptionally stiff magazine springs that would literally bruise my fingers trying to get those last rounds in, you know what I did, I fully loaded them and left them set for a week, no compress/decompress and wallah! magic, no more bruised thumbs and stiff springs. Likewise, when I left my ak mags fully loaded no compress/decompress for about a year or so, in an ak that has never, ever, misfed, and wallah, the ones I had fully loaded failed to perform consistently w/ the last one, two, three, round's in the magazine. Ah, my faithful, 100% maintained 92 which had never misfed anything was inserted a magazine, believing as you believe. The 15 round beretta factory mag was loaded for car and home defense no compress/decompress for over a year and wallah! a misfeed in about the 5th or 6th round, and consistently thereafter. The 92 had never, ever, failed to cycle. I was so shocked and beside myself thinking what if. You can believe what you wish to believe, wizards and all, but for me fully compressed magazine springs in high cap mags over the year mark is a definite no go. Whether it be from compression or other elements be forewarned.

First off you do NOT have clips, they are magazines. Secondly leaving a magazine loaded will not harm the spring. The spring is weakened by use i.e. compress/decompress. If you have 4 magazines leave two loaded and then switch them out every 6 months.

Well you can keep buying the 6mo. wolff springs and I will stick to my 5yr. factory springs and everybody is happy Okee dokee

Originally Posted by zhurdan

Tried going to Science route on the last 4326 posts related to the EXACT SAME THING, but that didn't work. I agree, wholeheartedly that springs go bad due to cycling, not static position.

Wolff springs is dependent on people NOT believing that though.

You are obviously correct sir. I find it is much wiser to keep my mouth shut (or on some cases my fingers) and have people think me a fool then open it and remove the element of doubt. To disparage an entire science and relegate it to the realm of wizardry, I am at a loss for words.

RCG

Yes, I'll stick with my experience over the metalurgist engineer who's fully compressed magazine springs will leave him one day with a click instead of a bang. Well, I'm off to see the wizard, for that magical "spring."

Originally Posted by Steve M1911A1

I always thought that "stripper clips" were what Gypsy Rose Lee used, to temporarily hold her clothing on.

Leave it to Steve to have the only comment worth reading on this subject.

Pace Denner, new springs always "take a set," and shorten a little bit. But this is not the same as "lose strength" or "fail."

A long time ago, I published a review of Wolff recoil springs for the Government Model .45, as opposed to similar springs by another maker.
The other guy claimed that his springs would take less of a set than did Wolff springs, and that therefore his were better.
If I remember correctly, I fired 100 rounds with each spring. The challenger's spring took a set of 0.25", while the Wolff spring lost 0.37"; but both springs still required the very same compression force, and both springs were faultless in operation.
I continued the test, but it became futile. Each spring remained at its same (post-set) length, and both springs continued to provide proper operation.

Post-first-use spring set may make loading a magazine easier, but it does not indicate fatigue failure, or even potential failure.
Only repeated flexing fatigues a spring. Once set, modern well-made springs do not shorten appreciably because of a steady-state load.

Originally Posted by Holly

Leave it to Steve to have the only comment worth reading on this subject.

"Ah, me public! My fans!" —Bugs Bunny

Originally Posted by denner

Well, if you have more knowledge than Wolff gunsprings than perhaps you're correct, but I'll think I'll stick with their knowledge. Yes leaving a magazine fully compressed will eventually lead to fatigue and malfuntion, i've been there done that. If you believe that to be true than all the power to you.


Below is a message from Wolff Gunsprings:

**spring-selling company advice to buy springs often snipped from here**

Well, I don't have the cauldron and pointy hat required, but I do know a bit about steel and fatigue (Honestly, I do try to keep my trap shut on the many things I'm ignorant about). Fatigue is caused by repeated changes in stress (or strain many purists may argue). It's worse with stress reversal. A static load simply will not cause a fatigue failure though.

I think the confusion on the issue is due to the common use of the word "fatigue" as being tired from exertion. "Fatigue" as used in discussing metal failure has a more specific meaning. It doesn't get tired though

On the plus side, changing your springs often is good for the economy.