There are a lot of myths out there surrounding gun magazines. One of them, that we covered in-depth previously in our blog, had to do with a pervasive and insistent myth that you shouldn’t top off magazines or store them loaded.
This, as we break down fully in our previous post, is not true. It’s not storing mags loaded that causes spring fatigue, it’s the number of compression cycles you put them through. It’ll happen eventually, it’s just a matter of time and use. But it doesn’t happen simply from storing mags loaded. For more information, see our previous post, Storing Glock Mags Loaded: What You Need to Know.
That being the case, here are three other issues associated with Glock mags that we figured we’d cover.
Drop Them
Shooters commonly drop their handgun mags right out of the gun and leave them on the ground where they lay, specifically when they are competing or training for competition. This is a common practice especially among those that are practicing speed reloading.
Granted, dropping the mag with no mind for where it lands will cut some time off your reloads, but at the same time, it’s genuinely not good for the mag.
Think of it this way. Even if you forget the impact (which can damage the magazine), the floor or ground is really not where you want your Glock mags to be, at least if you can help it.
The ground is full of dust and dirt, which, if it gets into your mag, can hinder feeding, cause jams, and of course, incur premature wear and damage to your magazine. If you jam a dusty mag into the gun, you could damage the mag catch, the feed lips, feed ramp, or even the chamber.
The impact can also damage the mag, particularly if the mag tumbles and hits the ground feed lips-first. Any deformation to the feed lips can cause aberrations which will then result in jams. It’s not likely but it could happen.
The takeaway? Don’t drop your mags on the ground unless you absolutely have to.
Leave Them Anywhere You Wouldn’t Leave Your Gun
This is the most important observation in this post, so if you get nothing out of this article but this, take it to heart.
Your Glock mags are precision implements, without which your Glock handgun would be little more than a single-shot pistol with a glorified reciprocal action - that doesn’t work.
Storing your Glock mags anywhere you wouldn’t store your guns is a bad move. Moisture, specifically, is the enemy here.
You wouldn’t keep your Glock uncased in the crawl space or the shed, would you? No, because the high moisture would ruin the gun in a matter of months, if not weeks.
The same goes for Glock mags. Though they are mostly polymer (more on that below) the mag spring is still steel, and that thing will rust if you let it.
So follow the same safeguards with storing your Glock mags that you would with your gun. Most importantly, store your mags somewhere climate controlled, with a constant year-round humidity of less than 50%. Between 30% to 50% is ideal, per the NRA, with lower relative humidities being preferable.
Also, if you can avoid it, don’t store your Glock mags anywhere that they will experience extreme temperature shifts, which is more of a problem for any ammo in them than it is for the mag itself. Nonetheless, high temperature can damage ammo, so stay on the safe side and store your mags somewhere cool and dry.
Forget to Clean Them
Lastly, there is this myth that polymer mags - like Glock mags - do not need any maintenance. This is flatly untrue.
Perhaps the myth arose because polymer parts in general need less maintenance than steel and aluminum parts, which is somewhat true. It is, however, equally important to note that “less maintenance” is not exactly synonymous with “no maintenance.”
Moreover, Glock mags, while they are largely made of polymer, are not all polymer. The mission critical component of the mag, the mag spring, is steel. That part will rust and fail prematurely if you don’t disassemble and clean your mags.
So don’t fall into this trap of thinking that your Glock mags can go years without cleaning just because they are mostly made of synthetic polymer. They should be cleaned periodically just like your guns.
For more information on this, please see our previous post, Glock Mag Disassembly Made Easy.
Stock Up on Spare Glock Mags
Here for a few spare Glock mags, or magazines that are compatible with your favorite Glock pistol? Stock up on high-quality spares from our collection, you can add a few more to your range bag for a steal.
While you’re here check out our police trade-in specials as well as our bulk ammo deals. You never know what you might find!