Firearms Primer #1…Clips are not Magazines!
Don't expose yourself to ridicule as a gun goof by misusing terms
Clip: A device for holding cartridges together, usually to facilitate loading. Widely used as a synonym for "magazine" (although most firearm authorities consider this substandard usage). Technically, a magazine has a feeding spring, a clip does not.
So sayeth erudite gunzine writer and editor Jan Libourel in the Handgunner's Glossary, and he is, characteristically, being kind in his description of "substandard usage."
One of the most misused terms in the firearms culture is "Clip." A "magazine" (shown at right) isn't a "clip," and a "clip" certainly isn't a "magazine."It is amusing that writers who consider themselves knowledgeable or authoritative don't know the difference between the two, or are just plain sloppy in their copy. If called on their gaffe, they often fall back on "Well, everyone knows what was meant," or a plea to not be so pedantic.
What is especially distressing is when a company like venerable Marlin Firearms uses clips instead of magazines… there's no excuse for that, of course, but it doesn't stop them from selling a lot of guns.
Self-loading Firearms Clips
A clip is different from a magazine and the terms are by no means interchangeable. Using "clip" when one means "magazine" is akin to saying "tires" when one actually means "wheels." If it does get the speaker immediately corrected, often unkindly, in newsgroups and on Forums, then such a malaprop marks the user as a hopeless newbie.As Libourel has noted, in small arms terms magazine technically refers to a box, drum or tube with a spring inside to help feed the rounds. Magazines can be a fixed part of the weapon, or detachable. Most detachable magazines can be removed and replaced with a full one to reload the weapon, but there are guns such as the Lee Enfield where the magazine is only removed for cleaning, and is refilled by a different mechanism.
A magazine may therefore be defined as a container of ammo. A room full of shells on a battleship is a magazine, and so was the Parthenon when it was used as a powder store. If one has ever visited Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, one of the restorations there is a building, a "magazine1," dating more than 200 years ago.
On the other hand, the ammo "clip" was introduced by Mannlicher in 1885 and provided a way to charge the magazine in the action. What so many fail to appreciate is that this type of "clip" also forms an integral part of the firearm's mechanism. If the rounds are not held in the "clip," the gun cannot proceed through the normal cycle of…
- Chamber
- Fire
- Extract
- Eject
More reasons why the two terms should not be confused or interchanged is because the "clip" actually fits inside a magazine2. One of the most famous and widely used clip-fed weapons is John Garand's celebrated M1 rifle with which the United States went to war, 1941-45. It might be the popularity of this firearm which has caused so many Americans to confuse reloads with "clips." One may argue that a single round may be hand-loaded into the chamber of a Garand and fired, but the above definition still holds as the shooter is performing the loading part of the firing cycle instead of the en bloc clip.
Chargers
A device that looks very much like a clip is the "charger," sometimes referred to as a "stripper-clip." It is a form of speedloader introduced by Paul Mauser in 1889. Both devices resemble a little rail that holds the rounds by the rim, but the difference is that the charger does not actually enter the magazine en toto, but fits into a guide above it so that the rounds can be pushed from the rail down into the magazine. Well-known examples of charger-loaded firearms include the…If anyone is unsure whether a gun uses a charger or a clip, what is known in law enforcement circles as a "clue" is whether the device fits fully within a magazine or remains outside of it. Also, a charger-loaded firearm may be "charged" with loose ammunition. Another aspect of the charger is it may only hold a portion, a half or a third, of the gun's maximum magazine capacity, allowing the shooter to "top off" before he has shot the firearm empty.
The "stripper clip" is an alternate term for Charger, "stripper" being added to distinguish it from true "clips." Some writers prefer to use "stripper" for a type of charger that is used to load magazines when they are not attached to the weapon. Either use is acceptable.And just to thoroughly confuse matters, there are some genuine, blued-in-the-carbon-steel magazines for which "stripper-clips" are fashioned, per the image at left of an AR15/M16 magazine and a stripper-clip full of 5.56mm (.223 Remington) ammunition! And yes, the magazine is charged via the stripper-clip.
Got it? Good! Now we go to….
Revolver Clips
And then there's the stamped steel devices known as "moon clips," which come in several varieties:- Full Moon (pictured at right)
- Half Moon
- Third Moon (pictured below)
These differ somewhat from clips used in rifles in that their main function is to facilitate the ejection of the rounds rather than the feeding. Some revolvers chambered for rimless pistol cartridges have stepped cylinders in which unclipped ammo can be utilized, but these won't eject by the revolver's extraction mechanism. Examples of revolvers which uses "clips" are the Model 1917 and the S&W Model 625, both in .45 ACP, the S&W Model 610 in 10mm/.40 S&W, and the S&W Model 940 Centennial in 9 X 19mm.Okay, now you know what a magazine is, what a clip is, and even what a "stripper-clip" is… how they work. Go now and sin no more.
But if it's still too much for you to grasp, just do what the 1994 Crime Bill did and call'em all "ammunition-feeding devices."
And Furthermore…
A clip is not a magazine, a mag is not a clip;
Neither is a grip a stock, and "stock" does not mean grip.
I do not mean to nitpick, but improvement could be seen,
If we could bring ourselves to say exactly what we mean.
A clip is not a magazine, a mag is not a clip;
Neither is a grip a stock, and "stock" does not mean grip.
I do not mean to nitpick, but improvement could be seen,
If we could bring ourselves to say exactly what we mean.
- Author identified by Mark Moritz as Jeff Cooper
by , formerly famous gunwriter.
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'Clips' v. 'Mags'
Cooper on point…
"We note that a good many people who presume to teach modern smallarms technique are clumsy about their terminology. I make no claim to hold copyrights on these things, but since the doctrine is already established, using established nomenclature, it would be nice if people paid attention to these things more carefully. For instance, a 'double tap' is not a 'hammer,' nor vice versa. There are other examples."
– Cooper Commentaries
Volume 13, Number 11.
Volume 13, Number 11.
Endnotes…
1.- In its classic sense the term has proven particularly useful to the author over the years, as it is incorporated into the business name of his FFL: Main Street Magazine. In his part of the world, which will never be mistaken for "gun country," it is an appropriate and descriptive name, and lacks the stigma of something like Guns 'R Us which would make many in his community uncomfortable, and send others into dead faints.
The place of business is on Main Street, most know the proprietor to be a writer, and any but those who need to know, blissfully assume that it refers to a publication of some sort.
Remember, the first line of security is a low profile, especially in hostile territory.
2.- There are some clip-loading automatic cannon which don't appear to have any magazine as the clip attaches onto the top of the breech and the rounds feed down. For the purposes of this primer, the discussion is limited to small arms.
3. Yes, the previous "1906" was a typo. Our thanks to BR.com alumnus "Cryto" for catching this.
4.- To further confuse the issue, there were many later model Mauser pistols which could be loaded with both chargers and detachable magazines.
The place of business is on Main Street, most know the proprietor to be a writer, and any but those who need to know, blissfully assume that it refers to a publication of some sort.
Remember, the first line of security is a low profile, especially in hostile territory.
2.- There are some clip-loading automatic cannon which don't appear to have any magazine as the clip attaches onto the top of the breech and the rounds feed down. For the purposes of this primer, the discussion is limited to small arms.
3. Yes, the previous "1906" was a typo. Our thanks to BR.com alumnus "Cryto" for catching this.
4.- To further confuse the issue, there were many later model Mauser pistols which could be loaded with both chargers and detachable magazines.
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Document History
Publication: 10/31/2004
Last Revised: 01/11/2011
Publication: 10/31/2004
Last Revised: 01/11/2011