Long term loaded mag storage

[festus]

Here is what works for me!
I can put 8 HK91 Mags in a standard 30 cal ammo can.
I use cardboard under and on all four sides of the can to cushion the mags from metal to metal contact.
I keep each loaded with 20 rounds of ball ammo.
HK alloy mags are about 2.00 bucks each and hence dang near disposable in mass numbers. (HK mags will not let you flatten out a spring enough to take a set)
Toss in a couple of small dessicant packs from shoes and you are done. (don't use the ones from jerky...salt+grease=bad juju)
That gives me 160 rounds of grab and go capability.
I figure that if you ain't ready when they start the dance, you ain't gonna get there on time!

[DocBoCook]

I keep 30 rounds with my M4 in Magazine with a joiner attaching 30more rounds so the magazines are attached and easily switched. with 2 more in reserve in a ammo can with 4 magazines of .45, 4 magazines of 9x19, with multiple ammo boxes in a backpack/bugout bag

[KimberPB]

I have an LBV with 4 pouches in the front and an older style belt pouch with three more attached. Plus two pistol mag pouches. Hanging in my closet just in case the zombies attack. lol. That’s 210 extra rounds of 5.56.

Now if I could only find a couple hand grenade’s to fill those pouches I'd be set. Lol

[AR Hammer]

I'm more concerned with spring tension than long term 'Storage'....
The firearm is useless if it won't feed, and since pressure on the springs will reduce their effectiveness rapidly, I don't much care to have the 'Cheap' mags loaded for very long...

Music wire mag springs tend to loose effectiveness even when installed in empty mags.
Chrome Silicone springs do NOT.

Interestingly enough, it seems to be how FAST the spring is compressed or released that effects it most during operation,
Although most music wire springs loose about 3% of effectiveness per year used, the speed of cycling (and firearms uncoil the spring VERY quickly in use) would reduce the effectiness by about 1% per every 100 compressions until the spring reaches about 50 strenght from new,
where it levels off...

Anyone remember the M-9 fiasco when the second Iraq war happened?
Mag springs from mags that had never been used were failing to raise the next round into loading position,
And the mags had only been in storage for 3 to 5 years!

The military went nuts trying to locate chrome silicone spring replacements for those M-9 mags!

Guys in Viet-Nam would only load 17 or 18 rounds into a 20 round magazine to keep the music wire springs working correctly...
That makes stripper clip speed loading a REAL NIGHTMARE under fire to exclude two or three rounds out of the second stripper clip!
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I found this out racing cars, valve springs of 'Music Wire' or 'Spring Steel' mostly lost tension very quickly,
And the longer they stayed compressed, the more they lost...

When we switched to chrome silicone springs, the valve spring tension stayed where it was supposed to,
So I went to chrome silicone springs in my mags and didn't have ANY problems after that.

What I often though were gas problems in my AR went away when I switched to chrome silicone springs in my AR competition and varmint rifles!

Just something to think about when you try to store loaded magazines for long periods.