Magazine springs

[Whaleman]

One thing I have neglected over the years is replacing my mag spring in my P380. I seem to wait until it does not lock back every time on an empty mag. I pull out the spring and stretch it out and that works for a short time. Here is a photo of my maybe 3 year old spring and a new one. Dan

[Bawanna]

That's pretty common really. In a month or probably less that new spring will be similar to the hold. I believe they are designed that way. I seldom replace my own, don't shoot enough, but replace lots of Beretta springs at the PD which were shot a lot. Range mags etc. Very similar in most every case.

[FreeMe]

Stretching out the spring does more harm than good. A new spring will take on a set quickly once installed and used, and will be shorter than its starting length. Stretching it back out causes fatigue and will shorten its life dramatically. A high quality spring like those that come n Kahr mags that is not somehow defective from the start lasts a very long time if not thusly abused. Once it is fatigued by use or abuse (simple age or storage when loaded is rarely the cause), the only real cure is replacement. And then the new spring will be longer...for a short while.

[Whaleman]

Stretching out the spring does more harm than good. A new spring will take on a set quickly once installed and used, and will be shorter than its starting length. Stretching it back out causes fatigue and will shorten its life dramatically. A high quality spring like those that come n Kahr mags that is not somehow defective from the start lasts a very long time if not thusly abused. Once it is fatigued by use or abuse (simple age or storage when loaded is rarely the cause), the only real cure is replacement. And then the new spring will be longer...for a short while.
I know you are right FreeMe about stretching out the spring. I just wanted to get a couple of months until the wife and I got home from Florida. My main mag and my extra carry mag are both filled with 6 bullets. I read some posts here about using the Wolff +10% springs for the KelTec. I thought about it but decided to stay with the Kahr spring. I know the spring will soon take a set as you point out. What I can say for sure is after installing the new spring the sixth bullet was way harder to put in. Thanks to both of you for reading and commenting. Dan