Can anyone tell me if it will damage my magazines to store them in a loaded condition? I am refering to 7 round mags for a 1911 Colt ACP and 5&30 round mags for an 7.62x39 SKS. Will long term compression of the springs become a problem?

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"Don't let so much reality into your life that there's no room left for dreaming."

Oh geez, you are opening a big can of worms here! All the experts tell you not to, as the follower spring can/will take a set. Personally, I have never noticed a problem. Last year I was clearing some stuff out of my old room in my parents house and found a full 45 magazine that must have been loaded with 8 rounds for 10-12 years. Realizing what a golden opportunity this was, I shot the magazine as it was, and it functioned perfectly with all 8 shots. Later removed the spring and it does not seem to have taken any sort of a set. Now this was a chip mccormick mag so if you tried it with a chinese one it might be different, but I would have no problem keeping them loaded for years at a time.

I have not had any experience with the Colt or SKS mags. But I can tell you that my father has had his Browning High Power 9mm mags fully loaded for about 27 years now and the original mags still function perfectly. He also has a Ruger Mini 14 that has had its original 20 shot mags fully loaded for about 16 years and they still function perfectly. So going by these accounts I think that a good original mag should have no problem if left fully loaded and serviced now and then.

Some gun crank wrote about a 45 mag load from WW2 a couple of years ago it worked. But then a had a couple of after market ppk mags of Italian maufure that took a set after a few years. good springs last a long time poor ones don't.

Thanks guys. I guess I don't really have to worry. I think just to be safe I will unload all but the one 8 round .45 that I keep handy for self defense. I hardly ever shoot the SKS anyway and I practice with the pistol on occasion so it does get cycled.

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"Don't let so much reality into your life that there's no room left for dreaming."

An acquaintance of mine recently retired from US Army Special Forces -- at one point in the 1980s, they made use of some M3A1 "Grease Gun" SMGs and were issued magazines that had been loaded for the Korean war. He reports that all of the magazines and ammunition worked perfectly.

John