Lesson learned - GLOCK magazine springs

[Universal 2.0]

I recently replaced the magazine springs in all six magazines for my GLOCK 19. Three of them were the original three that came with the gun, which I purchased approximately ten years ago. Those three magazines have been loaded to full capacity almost the entire time.

The other three magazines I purchased about seven or eight years ago, and those three have been what I normally used on the range so they have several thousand rounds through them. When not in use they were left unloaded.

I had not really experienced any issues with any of the six magazines other than one or two hang ups over the years.

When I removed the old springs from all six magazines and compared them to the new springs, there was ca. 2.5 cm of permanent compression of the old springs. When I installed the new springs, I could tell a huge difference in how it felt when I loaded up the magazines,

I was told by a GLOCK armorer that it is a good idea to replace the magazine springs every five years, so all six were very much overdue.

So, lesson 1 is to not wait so long to replace my magazine springs, and lesson 2 is that regardless of the magazines being left loaded or unloaded but often used for years, the permanent compression is the same.

My conclusion is that I will replace all the springs every five years, regardless of whether the old ones seem to be working.

[Fast Fumble]

My conclusion is that I will replace all the springs every five years, regardless of whether the old ones seem to be working.

Your conclusion is correct, one should not wait for the feeding issues to occur. Preventing them is much smarter.
But...

After a few weeks use, remove your "almost new" springs and compare them to an unused spring.
You'll notice that they "settle", and are actually shorter even after just a short period of use. My personal theory is, that the poorer the spring quality, the more the spring settles (or shrinks) during initial use.