Watch: Hickok45 on Mag Springs

Hickok45 is a bit of a jokester, as you will learn when you watch the video below, in which he is shown “carving” a wooden pistol using an improbably huge knife.

The subject of the short video is magazine spring wear. Specifically, will it harm or weaken a magazine spring if you keep a magazine loaded?

This is a popular bit of shooting folklore, which he addresses in short order. And his answer didn’t surprise me. How about you?

[Spoiler alert] It’s perfectly fine to keep your mags loaded, which makes sense. And when it comes time to use a gun in a hurry, you definitely don’t want your magazines to be empty!

Check out the video and let us know what you think (it’s only about one minute long).

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.