Many of you probably have seen pistol display stands where the gun is supported by a dummy magazine made of either wood, aluminum, or polymer, with a base platform usually of the same material. These are not my favorite ways to display a pistol, though it’s nice for photos and informal shelving I have found.
So my question is when inserting the gun over the dummy mag, since there is no mag catch cut out (at least not on any of mine and I’m talking about a Beretta 92 FWIW) you have to depress the mag release some and slide the gun all the way to the bottom of the dummy mag. Well this keeps some, looking at mine I’d say maybe half the compression on the mag catch spring indefinitely or as long as it’s displayed. Would this have any detrimental effect of wearing out a mag catch spring being slightly compressed for years on end? I know springs generally lose effect after the cycle of compression and elongation rather than just being statically compressed, and have heard many stories about magazines loaded for years to no ill effect. I’m wondering if this would follow the same suit? I know springs can take a set, though usually that’s when compressed more than halfway I think.
Originally posted by LincolnSixEcho: I’m wondering if this would follow the same suit?
Yes. As you stated, springs wear from cycles of compression and release, not from remaining compressed (partially/fully) for extended periods.
You've already recognized that with magazines. Similarly, many of the other coil springs in a pistol are commonly partially compressed while the pistol is at rest in storage: recoil spring, mag release spring, etc.
Think back to reassembling certain pistols, and how a certain spring is elongated when loose and relaxed, and must be partially compressed to get the guide rod/mag release/slide stop/etc. back into place.
springs wear from cycles of compression and release, not from remaining compressed (partially/fully) for extended periods.
But then there are the Internet Experts who tell me to leave a magazine with overly stout spring loaded for a week to squash it down into normal operation.
Posts: 3334 | Location: Florence, Alabama, USA | Registered: July 05, 2001
^^^^^ I have read this as well. I also did take out an older Beretta mag that I got used years ago and pulled the spring out and it was about 3/4” shorter than the new factory replacement spring that I took out of the box, FWIW.
