Some members of the AR-15 community insist that storing an AR with the bolt locked open will damage the rifle’s buffer spring. Leaving the spring under pressure, so the theory goes, weakens it over time, leading to unreliable cycling. Reality or myth? Don’t worry, Brownells Gun Techs™ Steve and Caleb are here to settle the matter! It boils down to a similar situation to storing magazines loaded. Does leaving a spring compressed for a long time cause it to lose the oomph needed to do its job? Caleb points out that the AR-15 buffer spring is ALWAYS under tension. (Notice how you have to compress it in order to install it in the receiver extension, aka buffer tube?) It’s just under more tension when the bolt is locked back.
Springs wear out through compression-and-release cycling, not through sitting compressed. If compression wore out springs, we’d have to put our cars on blocks when they’re parked!
Storing the rifle with the bolt locked to the rear actually provides a big safety benefit: you can easily see the chamber is empty. When you step away from the line at a shooting range, an open bolt and magazine removed clearly show the rifle is unloaded and safe. If you do choose to store your AR-15 with the bolt-open, Caleb recommends doing so with the magazine out of the gun. A sharp rap to the buttstock CAN cause the bolt catch to release, letting the bolt fly home and chamber a round. Storing the gun with the bolt locked open ensures the rifle stays UNLOADED. If you need it quickly – for example, in a home defense emergency – you can easily insert the mag and hit the bolt release. If you want to store the gun loaded, do it with the bolt CLOSED and the safety on.
So today’s myth is BUSTED. It’s totally fine to store your AR-15 with the bolt locked back. It won’t wear out the buffer spring, and you get practical “safety first” benefits.
For more discussion about spring longevity, check out our earlier Quick Tip episode, “Is It OK to Store Magazines Loaded?”
Note to readers: Please click the share buttons above or below. Forward this article to your email lists. Crosspost on your blog site, social media, internet forums. etc.
The "Magazine Storage" video we are referring to-
If you want a visual cue showing that your weapon is unloaded, instead of storing it with the bolt locked back, just use a chamber flag. They are usually high vis colors and with that inserted it shows there is no round in the chamber.
Same for leaving a hammer cocked, I assume?
Fair question but my question then is why would you want to store the rifle in that way? Is it to have it ready to load a mag then easier to chamber the round? Considering how easy it is to have your bolt carrier slam into battery with not much effort then just have the gun with bolt carrier in battery, empty, then if you want to make ready load mag and pull charging handle. The time you might save doing it the other way to me doesn't give you an advantage since a relatively small jolt can close the bolt and scare the crap out of anyone around. If you're not around and it happens then you're kind of dicked if you assume it's as you left it.
A friend of a friend of a buddy's mom's ex husbands sister's boyfriend said his AR totally exploded when it was left with the bolt locked open because it weighed as much as several boxes you might be moving and was capable of fully semi-automatic fire.
For anyone who wants to store an AR platform rifle with a loaded mag: I'd argue that it'd be a good idea to take a couple of rounds out of the mag. When you push a fully loaded magazine into a gun with the bolt in battery your top round in the mag is making contact with the bolt and further compressing the magazine spring. When fully loaded with 30rds and placed in the gun you're pretty much bottoming the spring out on the disassembly plate of the mag. At least I've found this to be true with my Colt M16 style rifle.
We can call it a myth and at the same time when a gun has a recoil spring that's too stiff, and won't let the gun function, we lock the slide back for a few weeks and then it functions like it should. Had a Glock like this and many autoloading shotguns that work after locking the bolt back and letting the spring… weaken… soften… other words from the thesaurus. It's just a matter of degrees here.
Is that a fcd upper?
Does this concept apply same way with the trigger springs? AR, Shotgun, and Pistol, I have tenancy to leave them un-cocked, especially the O/U shotguns.
Today I learned that mortaring the rifle is a really cool way to release the bolt.
This is another video that would been better with data instead of just assertions.
What about when you clear your weapon, camber is empty, mag is out. And you go to store it. Should you dry fire it first before storing it or not?
Years ago, a guy named Mike Izumi wrote a series of article on gun springs. Mike was literally a rocket scientist, and a metallurgist, as well as being a part-time sheriff's deputy and firearms instructor. Mike's comments echoed (or maybe presaged would be a better term) Steve's and Caleb's here: It's not being compressed that wears out springs, it's being cycled, i.e. compressed then uncompressed, time after time.
There has to be better questions to waste time on.
Sounds like James shouldn't store his balls in his wifes purse.
Nicely explained 👌 👏
How many times can you dry fire ars and will it be bad to the carbine
where do you get them flannels??!
wow..I never even considered storing mine with the bolt open. Don't think I'll be doing that
i think the best is no round in the chamber trigger pulled and safety off. all you gotta do is rack a round. as for springs though they dont go bad when staying compressed its from being compressed and uncompressed(used).
Why store it with bolt locked back?
"Hard to argue with that" 🤣😂🤣
Just use a flag. That shows is empty.
I always keep my ar 15 with a loaded magizene empty chamber bolt forward hammer down
Is there another myth worked out for closing the springloaded bolt without a cartridge could cause a longevity error to the bolt head ? As i dont believe its true while writing the question because i am thinking that the cartridge has minimal influence at the bolt rotation while seating in the chamber or maybe slowdown the bolt 1% while feeding the cartridge. While feeding the same cartridge over and over again without firing them could possibly cause the bullet case depthening into the case dependend of hitting the barrel ramp. More likely at pistols with large ramps where the hitting point of the bullet is near the center.
with the open bolt i was more concerned to get unintentionally my fingers into the opening while accidentally the bolt closes. The Bolt open catch is only working by loaded pressure holding against the catch. There are lots of ways like shaking or hitting somewhere like the bolt catch itself or the hole gun itself as you demontrated in the video.
Lol dumb as hell. These same humans don't deserve a firearm, change my mind
Way too much time wasted on bla bla before getting to the topic. I bailed before getting to the actual topic.
A myth to investigate may be this? Storing your rifles, Barrel UP, makes all the gun oils fall into the chamber! And then "gums up the works" so it does not work properly!
So store them Barrel Down or Horizontally, to avoid this problem!
Seems like if you wanted to get dust, dirt and debris out of the gun's chamber area. Common sense says, you would NOT store it with the BCG locked open. (I don't!)
No sir, the spring is not "always under tension". It is under compression. "Tension" describes stretching the spring – the opposite of compressing it. Sorry for being that guy, but when talking about technical aspects, it's important to understand the nomenclature.
As always, thanks for sharing.
Steve
First it was the magazine spring, then the buffer spring. Next we will need to store it with the hammer down so it's spring can rest…
These are good Spring time discussions.
I keep a loaded mag in my ar I keep in the car. Charging handle engaged but I always have a chamber flag in it. If needed, pull out flag and engage bolt. Fast, safe, easy peasy.
A lot of AK-47 are DESIGNED to be able to be stored like that by a notch cut into the selector, however I still don’t use that method
I never understood these pointless arguments. If you’re worried the weapon is loaded then grow up. Gun is “always” loaded and when you clear your gun… its unloaded. Yet there is panzies out there who are scared of pulling the trigger to dissemble ur glock for instance. Idiots all the time shoot themselves why? Guns fault? No, its cuz the idiot forgot the most basic rule of them all. If the gun is clear… its clear. The only times it becomes not clear is when you leave visual sight of the weapon or if u load it. When you pick up a gun, remove magazine and check the status. If empty, load it. If loaded, then ur good to go. Guns are dangerous. Get over it… idek how I ranted about this subject but it ties into the bolt locked back. If you’re worried about a AR with its bolt forward… here’s a tip, clear the damn weapon. Assume its dangerous until its not. Be a man… and thats even coming from a dude with a dumbass username made when I was 11. Stay dangerous friends. Eitherway, enjoyed the video but man these comments are funny
Keeping an EMPTY magazine would prevent the bolt from coming home inadvertently, since it should keep the bolt hold open engaged I would think. However I don’t really see much sense in that from a ready to use stand point. Just adds another couple steps.