smokey
2A TEACHER
- Jan 31, 2008
- 31,543
Point taken (which didn't escape me). But any watch- or clock-maker will tell you the same thing (springs take on a "set" when left compressed)....and, although we work with alot of them, we don't sell springs. Just sayin'.
Again, I mentioned that is taken into consideration during manufacturing. Will a spring take a "set" when compressed? Yes. This plastic deformation will be beneficial in the long run as it makes the spring more resilient to the forces acting on it(especially in a highly controlled environment like a magazine body where travel is limited to a working range). That's why magazine manufactures a) make springs slightly longer than they need to be b) often will "preset" their springs.
Will a spring experience "stress relaxation" if it's left permanently loaded? Yes. The degree will be dependent on the intensity of force acting on it, temp, and basic metallurgy stuff. Again, mag manufacturers have factored this in to design and made springs slightly stronger than they really need to be. It's also a suuuuper slow process and shouldn't be an issue for most people during the life of a magazine. Cyclical wear isn't really a concern because the spring would have to go through multiple thousands of cycles for it to come in to play.
In real world practice, number your mags and load emm up. Use them and if you notice a bad mag that's misfeeding, chuck it and replace it. Springs aren't the only reason a mag can go bad. Feed lips can be buggered up as well as the internal body just getting too crudded for the follower to move well (so clean them occasionally). Mags are the heart of the gun, but are also luckily really cheap for such a vital part.
Sooo that should be that. Back to the 9mm carbine or AR choice. In my earlier post, I mentioned some overpenetration stuff and how the home turn offers some benefits. If penetration is a concern, you can also preemptively act by toughening up the backdrop where you may be firing.
By rehearsing, I've already identified a few good places to be in the event of a defensive shooting in my home. Knowing probably directions of fire from me and to me, I can either pickup some professional ballistic barriers(they're getting cheaper these days) and fortify walls/furniture....or use the redneck version. The redneck version is essentially a bunch of sheets of tiles from home depot packed inside of something like duct tape or nylon. Screwed to the back of a bookshelf, they actually can be relatively effective in providing protection.