Firearms Stack Exchange Archive

How often should I disassemble my magazines?

I’m fairly thorough about cleaning my firearms, but I haven’t ever cleaned my magazines. I remember the original documentation for my XD stating that the magazines should be cleaned, but I’ve fired a couple thousand rounds without any problems. What problems can occur because of a dirty magazine and how often should I clean to avoid them?

Answer 944

Problems that can occur include binding of the follower and rusting of the spring. Depending on the type of steel your springs are made of and the environment you’re shooting in, spring steel rusting may not be an issue. In the desert southwest and the middle east I’ve never had a problem with this. Very fine sand and grit, however, has been an issue for me repeatedly.

To clean my mags I generally do not disassemble. I put them under running water and blow them dry, and if it’s available I use compressed air to blow them out and skip the water (rust isn’t really an issue for me). The tolerances in most magazines I’ve used are not nearly so tight that they require constant or very thorough cleaning.

I generally perform this whenever I feel that the follower is riding roughly through the magazine body. I check the mags each time I clean my firearms, and generally only have to clean them every third or fourth time. Under very bad conditions, such as training or working in the rain and mud, or in sand storms, this interval obviously increases.

Answer 946

As usual, “It depends”. Most magazines (like those for an XD) will work almost indefinitely without cleaning if they are used exclusively at the range, and your range isn’t located in a dust bowl. If you drop them (as in action shooting sports) you should clean them any time they get dusty / muddy / wet and at least once a season. Probably the most harsh environment for a magazine is concealed carry. Lint and other debris accumulate in both firearm and magazine and I’d recommend cleaning such a mag every other month or so.

These are pretty general guidelines. Single stack magazines seem immune to all kinds of debris, higher capacity magazines less so. But most standard capacity magazines are going to be pretty robust.

Answer 967

For me it tends to vary. I train roughly 4-5 times a year, and I generally disassemble my magazines and clean the follower and springs when I notice dirt and grime getting in the assembly.

A good rule of thumb I apply is how easily the follower will consistently push “down” on the spring without snagging or getting caught - same goes with on the way up (gently release pressure on the follower and feel how smooth or rough it comes back up as the spring presses it).

For malfunction drills, depending on the drill style, you tend to toss magazines away (or during emergency reloads as well), those magazines hitting the ground and gathering dirt will definitely have a difference when it comes to the “smoothness” of the follower.


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