Storing with slide back / bolt open...

[late08]

Quick question...

I am storing some of my firearms with cable locks in place. That being said on the pistols I store them with the slides locked back so they don't rub on the cable lock.

My AR has a cable lock as well, so I lock the bolt back.

Is this a good idea for storage? Will it fatigue the recoil springs/mechanisms?

Should I just ditch the cable locks since they are already in a safe?

Thanks!

 

[blindndead]

I just wrap the cable lock around the case I have the firearm in and the handle of the case so it will not open.

 

[Mike-Mike]

Ditch them..


Also, I would not store a semi in locked back position. I would rather the slide rest on the lock.

 

[MassMark]

Ditch the locks....

 

[Ninsho]

Springs only fatigue through motion, leaving a spring compressed will not wear it out.

That said, keeping the lock out and the slides closed will probably keep more dirt and dust out of the action... though most of our safes are probably clean enough for it not to matter.

 

[Chuck Would]

There is a huge difference between today's modern steel coil springs and the flat springs of yesterday.

I had a couple older friends years back who firmly believed that they had to pull the trigger after unloading their hunting rifles every night. I tried to explain that difference and it fell on deaf ears.

Now ask me about the repair to the Camp roof.

Luckily, no one was injured but that practice stoped.

 

[one-eyed Jack]

I don't subscribe to this locking shit. Jack.

 

[pdm]

The only thing that locks is my safe.

 

[vellnueve]

You should get a safe, #1.

I agree that I would prefer to rest the bolt on the lock than keep it all the way back, but not because of spring fatigue, which is a non issue. I would do it just to reduce the chance of the bolt slamming forward on the lock.

 

[BOBKATT]

Is this a good idea for storage? Will it fatigue the recoil springs/mechanisms?!

No but it gets you by in a pinch

Yes it will fatigue the springs

Should I just ditch the cable locks since they are already in a safe?

Thanks!

Yes of course. Why not? You put a gun in the safe, you check if it is unloaded, then you check again. You take a gun out of a safe, you check if it is unloaded, then you check again.

 

[vellnueve]

It will NOT fatigue the springs.

 

[BOBKATT]

It will NOT fatigue the springs.

Is this a phenomenon unique to recoil springs? Can you support this claim?

 

[n1zfg]

I really don't give a hoot about the plastic sheath on the cable lock. When it gets damaged enough to expose the cable itself, I'll either replace it or mooch some shrink tube from the lab and re-sheath the cable. Until then, I don't even have a problem with pinching it between the slide and the ejector port.

The only time I use them though, is going to/from the range when using a soft-sided case. Otherwise they are either under my control or locked in a safe or solid gun case.

 

[M1911]

Is this a phenomenon unique to recoil springs? Can you support this claim?

First class in Statics and Strength of Materials. Metal fatigue is caused by cyclic loading. Springs don't wear out because they are compressed. They wear out due to the cycling of compression/decompression.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_fatigue

 

[BOBKATT]

First class in Statics and Strength of Materials. Metal fatigue is caused by cyclic loading. Springs don't wear out because they are compressed. They wear out due to the cycling of compression/decompression.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_fatigue

Very interesting. I wonder why they feel lesser powered after leaving them compressed for a while

 

[eisenhow]

Very interesting. I wonder why they feel lesser powered after leaving them compressed for a while

That would require a graduate level course in the study of creep

 

[vellnueve]

Exactly correct. You'll wear it out more by putting ten thousand rounds through it than by leaving it compressed for ten years.

 

[GSG]

Quick question...

I am storing some of my firearms with cable locks in place. That being said on the pistols I store them with the slides locked back so they don't rub on the cable lock.

My AR has a cable lock as well, so I lock the bolt back.

Is this a good idea for storage? Will it fatigue the recoil springs/mechanisms?

Should I just ditch the cable locks since they are already in a safe?

Thanks!

I only use cable locks as a last ditch option. Guns in the safe are stored fully loaded.

YMMV.

 

[BOBKATT]

Exactly correct. You'll wear it out more by putting ten thousand rounds through it than by leaving it compressed for ten years.

Sure, I can agree with this. But does that really mean that leaving it compressed does not degrade the performance of the spring? For instance; magazine springs left compressed for long periods of time and the common conception that this makes them less powerful and less reliable.

 

[M1911]

Bobkatt: Do you jack up your car every night to take the weight off the springs?

 

[vellnueve]

Sure, I can agree with this. But does that really mean that leaving it compressed does not degrade the performance of the spring? For instance; magazine springs left compressed for long periods of time and the common conception that this makes them less powerful and less reliable.

That is a false conception. Modern magazines may be stored loaded without any performance drop.

 

[BOBKATT]

Bobkatt: Do you jack up your car every night to take the weight off the springs?

No, and I thought about that too. I know when I store ammo in a magazine for a long period of time, a few weeks or so, that spring is considerably weaker than the magazine that is fresh that I transfer the ammo to. I don't know how to explain that if what you are saying is true.

 

[M1911]

Creep is not metal fatigue.

 

[BOBKATT]

Creep is not metal fatigue.

Does that mean that it will eventually get back to normal strength? What are the permanent effects of doing this?

 

[eisenhow]

Creep is not metal fatigue.

I didn't say it was. I was saying that it is a different phenomenon that he is describing.

 

[M1911]

I didn't say it was. I was saying that it is a different phenomenon that he is describing.

I wasn't responding to you. Sorry for the misunderstanding.