Five minutes to bug out!

[crackshot]

[Bonesaw]

Those Tanks pushed down the Wall, shot Tear Gas in, and backed out. If you got the Gas Masks on their Tear Gas wont do ****.

i'm sure in a SHTF situation like this they'll have some live shells laying around somewhere for ya  

[azhunter]

Hmm - how's your speed change if you use a LULA?  Or were you using one already?

 
I have a LULA speed loader, but I can still load the mags faster with just my hands. Although if I had to load a bunch of mags, I would definatly use the LULA, other wise my fingers might fall off! It's a great product and anyone who needs to load their mags up a lot need to look into them. I have only had mine for maybe three months or so, maybe after I get use to using it my time may pick up. Good thinking though.

[handyrandyrc]

Another bonus to keeping those magazines all loaded up at all times:

The spring starts to "loosen up" (if that's possible) and later on it becomes easier to re-load.

Remember, these springs work fine either way, loaded or unloaded, and it doesn't "wear them out" by keeping it loaded up.  I'm a pro keep-my-mags-loaded-type-of-guy.

[fryeg7]

i keep a number of 30rnd AK mags loaded and ready (as well as stripper clips for the yugo), but i only load them to 25-27 rounds to keep from over-stressing the springs (i also download pistol mags by 1 round).  spring compression is not a direct function, so those last few rounds exponentially increase tension on the spring.

i know there are pages and pages of debates on gun boards regarding magazine spring wear, but this is what i do to make myself sleep better at night . . . .  :D

frye

[1952Sniper]

spring compression is not a direct function, so those last few rounds exponentially increase tension on the spring.

Actually, spring compression IS a linear function.  F = kx.  The force on the spring is equal to the spring constant times the displacement.  When you chart it out, it's a line.  So adding the last couple of rounds in the magazine doesn't do anything exponentially.

*edit*

Just in case you don't believe me, here's a web page that describes it, and shows a chart.  Magazine springs are simple, linear type springs.

[fryeg7]

compression and extension of a spring are not the same thing.  the site you linked to only talks about extension.

if spring compression is linear, what causes the difficulty of getting that last round or two in?  i don't think friction of the spring or rounds against the side of the mag body could account for the huge increase in effort.

frye

[azhunter]

I was told that (atleast in shotguns) that the only time a spring will fail, meaning it will not do it's job is when it is constanly loaded and unloaded. Leaving them loaded will not harm them as much as we once thought. The instructor for my last class said he needed to replace his spring every year almost. But this guy has been using the same 500 for almost ten years, shooting atleast three times a week. Plus it is the demo gun for the entire class with snap caps. I leave my AK mags loaded all the time. But I try to shoot them about every month or so just to make sure everything is working still.

[Swamp Fox]

Bust out a 100 pound bag of buckwheat flour and start making pancakes.

[1952Sniper]

compression and extension of a spring are not the same thing.  the site you linked to only talks about extension.

Yes they are.  Springs work the same way in compression and tension, as long as you stay within the "elastic range" of the steel.  And all magazine springs are designed to be well within the elastic range.

if spring compression is linear, what causes the difficulty of getting that last round or two in?  i don't think friction of the spring or rounds against the side of the mag body could account for the huge increase in effort.

frye

You must have some other problems going on with your magazines.  I haven't ever noticed a problem getting the last two or three cartridges in a magazine.  As each cartridge goes in, it compresses the spring a little bit more, which makes the following cartridge just a little bit harder.  And I usually notice this all the way until it's full.  

I don't mean to argue with you, but the way springs work is not a mystery.  There is no magical phenomenon that happens with the last couple of rounds in a magazine that would negatively affect the spring.  If you're that adamant that the last couple of rounds is "exponentially" harder to get in, I'd suggest doing an experiment.  Set yourself up a test where you can add small weights  to a tray that sits on a rod, which pushes down on your magazine follower.  Measure the displacement of the mag follower as you add the weights.  Then do the experiment again with the spring outside of the mag body, just to check the results and see if they are different.

[Onepoint]

Actually what makes mag loading fairly fast is strippers and a mag loading guide, even on AR mags.

But I always keep a couple mags loaded, a lot of times you dont have time to laod a mag when you need a rifle.

[TheMechanic]

That’s why they put speed racer jacks under every vehicle so the springs aren’t damaged or worn out by just parking the vehicle?

Magazines are mechanisms. A double stack has friction (cartridge to magazine body) by the tem you get to the last few rounds loaded. That little spring has no problem injecting them into the action of your favourite magazine fed rifle. When loading the shoulder/feed elements of the magazine design com into play. That why magazine loading tools try to minimize this. Maybe your just the sensitive type and have a better feeling for these things than the poor dumb spring?

[fryeg7]

i never said i had any problems loading mags, i'm just saying it takes more force to compress the spring the height of a cartridge on the last round than it does on the first.   true?

i'm an HVAC mechanic, i doubt my fingers and i are the "sensitive type" when it comes to these types of things.  my fingers and i usually physically do more in a day than most people do in a week  :wink:  :D .

frye

[azhunter]

i never said i had any problems loading mags, i'm just saying it takes more force to compress the spring the height of a cartridge on the last round than it does on the first.   true?
 

Mean while as we have had this very long talk about springs, the bad guys have come in, cleaned out your house, and left you naked sitting on a milk crate with your computer.

[fryeg7]

how do you know i wasn't already naked on a milk crate at the computer?

frye