stretching magazine springs instead of replacing
- Thread starter FW
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It's not a good idea if you expect everything to work as designed. Autoloaders are built to operate within somewhat narrow tolerances. When you consider what happens between trigger pulls (the bullet must exit the muzzle, the slide must travel far enough back to allow the mag spring to push a new round up in front of the breechface in time for the slide to chamber that round, and the bullet must enter the chamber at exactly the correct angle, etc. et yada).
Just buy new springs from Wolf.
Just buy new springs from Wolf.
As a very general rule of thumb, if you permanently alter a spring (by stretching until it's longer or by overcompressing so that it shortens), you've damaged/weakened it. Some shortening is normal from use, but you can't undo that shortening effect by stretching the spring. It's a very temporary fix, at best.
Sir Aardvark
Member
Pay the $7.50 each and get new ones. If you buy a pack of 10 then they're only $4.80 each.
http://www.gunsprings.com/
http://www.gunsprings.com/
Crosshair
Member
For a plinking mag that you are willing to put up jams every now and then, I don't see a problem. Just make sure it is marked so that you don't put it with you're HD mags.
Walt Sherrill
Member
Go to the Wolff website and read through the FAQ area. Very useful info.
www.gunsprings.com
Springs will take a "set" after a short period of use, and in the case of mag and recoil springs, this will result in a shorter spring. That doesn't mean they're no longer effective. All springs in those applications will shorten, somewhat.
(Folks compare new springs to old and say something's wrong: the new spring is too long. Wait until the new spring has been use a little...)
Stretching, as noted, damages the springs and will accelerate their decline.
www.gunsprings.com
Springs will take a "set" after a short period of use, and in the case of mag and recoil springs, this will result in a shorter spring. That doesn't mean they're no longer effective. All springs in those applications will shorten, somewhat.
(Folks compare new springs to old and say something's wrong: the new spring is too long. Wait until the new spring has been use a little...)
Stretching, as noted, damages the springs and will accelerate their decline.
caz223
Member
Buy new springs.
Man, they're not that expensive.
With my 15 round CZ magazines, I replace the springs with wolff +10% and call it good, I don't even bother waiting for them to fail.
(Yeah, CZ is notorious for weak springs.)
Man, they're not that expensive.
With my 15 round CZ magazines, I replace the springs with wolff +10% and call it good, I don't even bother waiting for them to fail.
(Yeah, CZ is notorious for weak springs.)
fastbolt
Member
This question has come up occasionally at various armorer's classes I've attended.
The answer has always been ... don't do it. Replace the spring if it's exhibiting signs of having become too weakened to provide for proper functioning.
There's always some person every once in a while that won't accept the experience of the manufacturer and their recommendation when a question is asked, and this subject is no different.
I remember one time when an instructor finally told someone, rather than continue to waste class time by 'debating' with a student, that stretching the magazine spring would most likely damage the spring, and probably reduce the remaining useful service life of the spring to less than an hour ... if that. Don't stretch springs. Replace them. Or use a different magazine until you can replace them.
I had a chance to see someone do this at a range in recent months. A 1911 magazine was exhibiting some occasional last-round feeding problems. As it turned out, the user had ignored the weapon's increasing failure to lock the slide back on an empty magazine, and was only starting to pay attention when the last feeding failures were starting to occur.Someone removed the magazine spring and gave it a 'healthy' stretch, and then replaced it in the magazine. To some people's surprise, the magazine quickly began to exhibit even more feeding failures, and not just with the last round. I strongly recommended the magazine be removed from service until a new magazine spring could be obtained and installed.
This why I generally to keep extra magazine & recoil springs on hand for my various pistols, as well as back up magazines.
Just my thoughts ...
The answer has always been ... don't do it. Replace the spring if it's exhibiting signs of having become too weakened to provide for proper functioning.
There's always some person every once in a while that won't accept the experience of the manufacturer and their recommendation when a question is asked, and this subject is no different.
I remember one time when an instructor finally told someone, rather than continue to waste class time by 'debating' with a student, that stretching the magazine spring would most likely damage the spring, and probably reduce the remaining useful service life of the spring to less than an hour ... if that. Don't stretch springs. Replace them. Or use a different magazine until you can replace them.
I had a chance to see someone do this at a range in recent months. A 1911 magazine was exhibiting some occasional last-round feeding problems. As it turned out, the user had ignored the weapon's increasing failure to lock the slide back on an empty magazine, and was only starting to pay attention when the last feeding failures were starting to occur.Someone removed the magazine spring and gave it a 'healthy' stretch, and then replaced it in the magazine. To some people's surprise, the magazine quickly began to exhibit even more feeding failures, and not just with the last round. I strongly recommended the magazine be removed from service until a new magazine spring could be obtained and installed.
This why I generally to keep extra magazine & recoil springs on hand for my various pistols, as well as back up magazines.
Just my thoughts ...
wally
Member
Agreed stretching a spring or otherwise permanently deforming it is generally a bad idea and does nothing good for the spring. OTOH if it ain't working, what have you got to lose? and if you manage to squeeze a little more life out of it while waiting for a replacement to arrive so much the better.
I have on more than several occasions bent the nose forward half or third of the top turn of a mag spring up a bit to salvage a mag that wasn't reliably locking the slide back or was giving the occasional nose down jam (usually with 147gr 9mm JHP). In fact one of the Taurus Mec-Gar 17prnd PT92/99 mags I had out today had this done to it a year or more ago and is still functioning fine and continues to lock the slide back.
--wally.
I have on more than several occasions bent the nose forward half or third of the top turn of a mag spring up a bit to salvage a mag that wasn't reliably locking the slide back or was giving the occasional nose down jam (usually with 147gr 9mm JHP). In fact one of the Taurus Mec-Gar 17prnd PT92/99 mags I had out today had this done to it a year or more ago and is still functioning fine and continues to lock the slide back.
--wally.
Sean Smith
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Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan have tried this with the mags on their M9s. Doesn't work.
wally
Member
Not sure what you are refering to here, as I've not heard the stories other than a general dislike of the M9's performance.
My experience at the range (since I generally only clean my guns when they start having problems) would make me unsurprised that any double stack single feed mag could be problematic in sandy/dusty envrionments. Lots of opportunity for grit to cause the rounds to bind at the double to single stack transition region leading to feed failures. My Para widebody .45 mags are probably the worst -- functioning only with the strongest springs I can get, and only if kept clean.
I'd like to hear the war stories though.
--wally.
Technosavant
Member
New springs are cheap.
Stretching springs, even if it worked (which it doesn't), might cost less in terms of cash, but would cost vastly more in terms of blood and life.
I can't imagine why anybody would want to keep even a questionable spring around; I haven't seen a gun spring that is so expensive, it is worth risking a life over.
Stretching springs, even if it worked (which it doesn't), might cost less in terms of cash, but would cost vastly more in terms of blood and life.
I can't imagine why anybody would want to keep even a questionable spring around; I haven't seen a gun spring that is so expensive, it is worth risking a life over.
Walt Sherrill
Member
About the only thing stretching springs does is PROVES that a spring has lost its vigor, and makes the likelihood of future failure greater.
If you've got a problem, stretching the spring MIGHT show that it was a spring problem... but if it doesn't, you've arguably trashed a spring that wasn't bad.
Get new springs. Don't throw the old ones away until you're sure the new ones solve the problem. If they don't, look for a different cause, and reinstall the old springs, and store the new ones.
If you've got a problem, stretching the spring MIGHT show that it was a spring problem... but if it doesn't, you've arguably trashed a spring that wasn't bad.
Get new springs. Don't throw the old ones away until you're sure the new ones solve the problem. If they don't, look for a different cause, and reinstall the old springs, and store the new ones.
Stretching Springs
I resorted to this trick in 67/68 in RVN for a 1911 because their were no new springs available. An enlisted man would have to turn in his magazine to the armorer for repair. You would never get it back. Mags were harder to get than the pistol itself. If the spring needs to be stretched it is ruined anyway. Spring stretching is an act of desperation. The criteria is that a stretched spring may be better than no spring. I see no use for stretching springs in a modern society.
I resorted to this trick in 67/68 in RVN for a 1911 because their were no new springs available. An enlisted man would have to turn in his magazine to the armorer for repair. You would never get it back. Mags were harder to get than the pistol itself. If the spring needs to be stretched it is ruined anyway. Spring stretching is an act of desperation. The criteria is that a stretched spring may be better than no spring. I see no use for stretching springs in a modern society.
fastbolt
Member
Well said Coronach & 106rr ...
106rr, your explanation based upon experience and reasoning is simple, clear and concise.
Coronach, I see you appear to agree that there's a time and a place for subtlety, and then there's the rest of the time ...
106rr, your explanation based upon experience and reasoning is simple, clear and concise.
Coronach, I see you appear to agree that there's a time and a place for subtlety, and then there's the rest of the time ...
Not only does stretching the spring weaken it, but it deforms its shape. When you put the follower on top of the spring, you will notice that it no longer stays aligned with the base plate insert. IOW, it is torqued to the left or right a little. This leads to binding inside the mag and generally poor performance. As me how I know this... :banghead:
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