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The difference between a magazine and a clip

24K views 53 replies 18 participants last post by  MGMike 
#1 ·
The short explanation is that a magazine is spring loaded and encases the all of the entire rounds save the top one, which is partially exposed. As the gun fires and cylces, the magazine spring brings the next unfired round to the loading position.

A clip is not spring loaded, generally does not cover the entire round, and thus only holds the round at the base. In the case of the M1 Garand, the clip feeds rounds into an internal magazine (actually a spring-loaded follower) incorporated into the rifle. In other cases, clips are used to facilitate rapid reload of an external magazine before insertion into the weapon, such as with reloading the rotary magazine on a Thompson submachine gun.
 
#3 · (Edited)
We hear this debated, sometimes at great length, and lots of newcomers will ask the question. Both Universal Exports and MLB have nice offerings (above) that readily explains it -- and don't miss MGMike's offering below, either: In short, an instant Sticky for future reference for one and all.

Feel free to add on to the discussion, of course.
 
#4 ·
Between the two, the FUNCTIONAL distinction is that a MAGAZINE contains an integral mechanism (usually a spring or a spring-driven device) that individually presents each cartridge in succession for feeding, each time the firearm's action is cycled.

A CLIP merely holds cartridges together ("clipped together") in a package so they can be conveniently loaded into the firearm or into a detachable magazine. It does not contain any mechanism to individually present the cartridges for feeding.

There are basically two types of clips: en bloc and stripper. An en bloc clip is inserted into the gun and remains there to hold the cartridges until the ammunition is expended. A stripper clip is emptied as the gun is loaded (cartridges are "stripped out") and then can be discarded; it does not go inside the gun.

M
 
#7 · (Edited)
Very odd, but back in the mid-60s Uncle Sammie described the 7 shot "container" that the 1911A1 used to contain and feed ammo into the pistol as a "clip". And if you watch many old WW2 movies you will frequently hear someone say "I am out of clips", and they will be referring to a weapon that uses magazines. The Navy calls the place where they store ammo for their guns on the ships as "magazines". And I don't think they use spring-loaded devices to load those big guns.
Also, Uncle Sammie would get all bajiggity about calling your riflle a "gun". If you watch the movie Full Metal Jacket and see those guys marching around chanting "This is my rifle and this is my gun, this is for fighting and this is for fun", we really DID do that (and I was in the Army). But only if we accidently called a rifle a "gun". Supposedly guns meant smoothbore weapons like a shotgun. But that theory goes out the window because artillerymen called their howitzers guns and they WERE and are rifled.

I don't know when people got all anally retentive about differentiating between a magazine and a clip. To me it seems to be much ado about nothing. If I say my SIG P226 uses a 15 shot clip, does anyone think I am referring to a pre-loaded strip of cartridges like an M1 Garand uses? I doubt it. And to be honest. I like using the term clip for all my handguns. Why? Two reasons...
1. Because that's the way I was taught
2. It always seems to piss off the anally retentive definition Nazi who insists that people use HIS description over any other. Just call me a rebel. :D



 
#52 ·
........
I don't know when people got all anally retentive about differentiating between a magazine and a clip. To me it seems to be much ado about nothing. If I say my SIG P226 uses a 15 shot clip, does anyone think I am referring to a pre-loaded strip of cartridges like an M1 Garand uses? I doubt it. And to be honest. I like using the term clip for all my handguns. Why? Two reasons...
1. Because that's the way I was taught
2. It always seems to piss off the anally retentive definition Nazi who insists that people use HIS description over any other. Just call me a rebel. :D
SARCASM MODE ON:
I prefer to be a revolutionary or a rebel; not a "patriot." However, as we all know, if you call a magazine a clip, the bullet will not know which way it is supposed to go and the pointy end will not come out of the end of the barrel because it is too embarrassed about its owner.
 
#8 ·
I'd never presume to doubt a man who's been there, but Uncle Sammy's own manual refers to it as a magazine. It's an interesting read if nothing else:

http://www.sightm1911.com/manual/manual.htm

I certainly don't care to enforce any terminology, but everything has a proper name I guess, and it's good to know the difference. It's a sticking point with some. You've got to try harder than gunslang to agitate this anal retentive though ;)

There's a big difference between assisting fellow gun enthusiasts in learning about firearms, and simply being pedantic. No one learns much by being pounced on for fine points.
 
#9 ·
I guess I should have been more specific. My DIs that were employed by Uncle Sammie called it a clip. They were all combat vets wearing CIBs and none of us green trainees were about to argue the point with a guy that actually fired the 1911A1 in combat. ;)
If they called it a thingamajig or a whatchamacallit we would use that same terminology. You just don't argue with someone who has "been there and done that". :)
 
#10 ·
You just don't argue with someone who has "been there and done that". :)
But in your own mind you know he is wrong.

I like to see words used properly. It is part of my English upbringing. I still think that cool is something between cold and slightly warm. But even here in France they have adopted the modern usage, c'est cool. I even hear old French guys ( I mean men) saying that. And kids (I mean children) speak a totally different language to me. Times they are a changing.

I found a clip (and I mean clip) full of 30-06 Spr cartridges (or should I say bullets) in one of my outbuildings that you "guys" left after the last big event over here. I unloaded them all and cleaned some of them into their original condition. But all of my rifles and pistols take magazines.

I'm not as perfectionist, but I am trying! But even now my gin and tonic is fighting my attempts. So if I have made any errors, blame the gin, or the computer.
 
#12 ·
When I posted the explanation that heads this current thread, I believe it was in response to someone who asked the question about the difference between a clip and a magazine.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go magazine my fingernails.
 
#15 · (Edited)
I have magazines on my coffee table (where there is no coffee and never has been, nor is it made of coffee, I might add). Some are made of printed paper; the rest are made of plastic & metal.

The metal & plastic ones make for boring reading. The paper ones don't fit in my weapons or in my gun (well, they might fit in the mag well of my .308...I haven't tried that) and they do very little when it comes to holding the cartridges I use in my weapons. I've never tried using cartridges in my gun (that sounds painful) though I've heard people say that they're "shooting blanks" when referring to their gun...

The cartridges I use in my printer, while likely fitting in my .308's magazines, would not fit into the chamber and if they did would not go "bang" when I pulled the trigger. The cartridges I use in my weapons do a poor job when placed in my printer. In fact, my printer won't even recognize that they're there.

If only doctor's offices would put the metal & plastic magazines on the tables in their waiting rooms and allow us to take those home (some doctors offices do allow you to take magazines home, though not many). They wouldn't be good for passing the wait time while you're there, but if they fit one of your weapons at home, they would make for more fun at the range.

That would be the gun, er weapon, range. Not the mountain range, though I suppose you might be able to shoot weapons there, and maybe even your gun...

What's the range to the range? Do you drive to the range, or on the range? Do you drive your car there, or a golf ball? How long does it take to get there if you drive a golf ball? How do you fit inside the golf ball to drive to the range? They're awfully small...oh and what's the effective range of your weapon? What's the effective range of your gun?

This is getting confusing. I think I'm getting a headache. :D
 
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#16 ·
I grew up hearing everyone say the word "clip." I still use it sometimes... I only corrected myself when the forum nazis started in on the misuse of "clip" :) :)

Now, I type magazine, but use magazine and clip interchangably. AT the large houston gun shows - the MAGAZINE vendors :) have a huge sign that says "clips" :)

I personally have no problem with the use of the word "clips."
 
#17 ·
Jon and Ship...GREAT POSTS!!! :D

I agree with both of them. I can't imagine being in a firefight (I'm too old for that stuff...but with the way things are going in this country, who knows?) and having my neighbor and fellow gun owner yelling at me "Hey Mike, I need some clips for my Beretta", and stopping and lecturing him about the difference between clips and magazines. Folks pretty much know what you are talking about either way. Splitting hairs about it may be something that is done at gun stores or on the internet, but when the poo-poo hits the fan, it really doesn't matter what you call them. Do I call the 8-round en bloc clips for my M1 Garands magazines? Nahhh. I don't think anyone ever called them that. If you watch the war movies, they just call them "ammo". "I need more ammo for my M1". It was common knowledge that they came packed the way they did. No need to give them a fancy name.



 
#18 ·
Well, If I'm every in a firefight and someone asks me for a magazine, I'm going to have to stop and ask...paper or plastic? :)
 
#21 ·
All right, enjoy your heckling of the "bullet holder thingie" nomenclature. ;) Just encouraging those who want to raise the bar, as it were.

But I won't expect to hear any highly offended proselytizing about the "high-tech polymer frames" should I refer to a plastic framed Glock (or Walther for that matter) pistols either. :D
 
#23 ·
Glad to see that you noted the copyright protection afforded that piece of plastic, Dep. We sure wouldn't want a letter from an attorney, demanding either cease-and-desist or compensation. :) In the old days, in another life, I used to hear from Wham-O, the makers of the Frisbee© -- with the demand that the tou device in question be referred to as a flying disc. And no, you can't make that stuff up. You can, however, read about it in a magazine.
 
#24 ·
I can't edit any more. You can delete it or change it if you want. I know what you mean about copyright stuff. Actually, I didn't even notice it when I used the picture link. :)
 
#26 ·
...I was just having some fun with the copyright requirements and how some folks are truly persnickety about the whole thing....
I admit to being persnickety (if not downright belligerent) about copyright requirements because I own couple of them and I don't take kindly to poachers.

There is a wide segment of the population that thinks that because the internet is free, it gives them the unfettered right to reproduce any damned thing they please.

M
 
#28 ·
I don't have any argument with those sentiments, nor with the idea of copyright protection, guys. Honest. The author in me certainly agrees. At the same time, I think the folks at Wham-O are nuts when they send out registered letters from lawyers demanding that frisbees (upper or lower case, your choice) require a copyright protection mark ... or that they be called flying discs instead.

OK, I'm better now. Back to magazines.
 
#29 ·
I have often heard of the magazine referred as to as a clip. I do find it annoying, but it is nothing to get up in a lather about. I have also heard of a handheld weapon referred to a gun and a shoulder fired weapon also referred to as a gun. I can see the ability for some to become confused. My military training taught me that a 'Clip' is the device used for the M-1 Garand and a 'Magazine' is as others stated, I feel like we should use proper terminology to show others we know what we are referring to, and to be clear on the subject. Nothing sounds worse than an under-educated individual carrying a firearm, that is what ANTI-GUNNERS want on the nightly news.

MLK 'Knowlegde is POWER'.
 
#31 ·
Nothing sounds worse than an under-educated individual carrying a firearm, that is what ANTI-GUNNERS want on the nightly news.

MLK 'Knowlegde is POWER'.
This is so true!

I'm not sure about "knowlegde", but knowledge is definitely power! ;)
 
#35 ·
Be cautious of giving references in army manuals. Over the years they have said just about everything. My NCO's manual from 1917 (the one with the French dictionary in the back) instructs to carry the .45 auto with the hammer down on a loaded chamber--but to carry a revolver with an empty chamber under the hammer. I also get a chuckle when I read in a different manual from the 1950s when a revolver in .38 S&W was referred to as ".38 regular."

I've read where Elmer Keith used "clip" when referring to that thing that goes in a .45 automatic, which I don't think he ever called a "1911." But some clips do have springs (8mm Mauser, for instance) and some, probably correctly called chargers, entirely enclose the cartridges. And some, like the charger for a .303 British, just don't look like they'd work, but do, every time.

Now, when is a carbine a carbine?
 
#36 · (Edited)
I was looking something up in an old gun catalog the other day, trying to find some reference to an obscure single shot .22 pistol (not trying to avoid the clip/magazine issue) and it appeared that clip and magazine were used quite interchangably and I doubt that anyone was the least bit confused. And if I'm not mistaken (often am, however), they were just called .45 automatics, not 1911s.

And speaking of .45 autos, I inherited a single .45 clip/magazine of WWI manufacture and it had a lanyard loop on the base. Now since the pistol also had a lanyard loop, too, was the soldier supposed to have two lanyards or what?
 
#37 ·
I was looking something up in an old gun catalog the other day, trying to find some reference to an obscure single shot .22 pistol (not trying to avoid the clip/magazine issie) and it appeared that clip and magazine were used quite interchangably and I doubt that anyone was the least bit confused. And if I'm not mistaken (often am, however), they were just called .45 automatics, not 1911s.

And speaking of .45 autos, I inherited a single .45 clip/magazine of WWI manufacture and it had a lanyard loop on the base. Now since the pistol also had a lanyard loop, too, was the soldier supposed to have two lanyards or what?
Re: Lanyards

Simply, yes. You could have a lot of things with a lanyard in the military. We called it "Dummy Cording". So you didn't lose it basically. During a reload, they could insert the mag, shoot, and discharge the magazine during the next reload without worrying about handling it or losing it in the heat of battle.

Funny thing to note though, I've still lost many things when they have been dummy corded to my body, lmao! Can't fix stupid :D
 
#38 ·
I suppose lanyards of all sorts are rather down on the list of things people like to talk about. But they're still mildly interesting. In British service, they are quite popular as uniform accessories, apparently. But one used to be issued with the "clasp knife."

Some pistol lanyards that I've had were quite short and presumably intended to be attached to the pistol belt. During the period before WWII, the American fashion in some circles, at least, was to wear the lanyard over the left shoulder and under the right arm (around the body, that is). There was no shoulder loop to hold it in place on the shirt most commonly worn as an outer garment and around the neck was bad form. However, I believe it was considered of value chiefly to mounted troops, who were nearly all issued pistols.

I understand that lanyards of one form or another are currently something of a fad among the action pistol shooting crowd of the Gunsite variety, yet not so many pistols come with loops or rings. But they don't worry so much about losing the magazine anymore.
 
#39 ·
Who was it that said an assault rifle had to be select fire? Does a three-round burst selector count?

And you know, I was looking over my accumulation of junk and I happened to notice that some of my clips had springs. Sure enough, ones for three different cartridges had springs, but ones for two others didn't. Boy, I was really getting confused and more than a little worried until I remembered I no longer had any of the rifles they went with. That was a load off my mind. Now, I don't have any (just haven't got around to it) but at least one clip, more likely called a charger, fully encloses all the cartridges, though I don't know if it has a spring or not. But it definately doesn't go inside the gun I mean rifle because there is a box magazine that protrudes out of the bottom of the, uh, firearm. This is getting worrisome.

Just don't say shotty, OK?
 
#40 ·
Who was it that said an assault rifle had to be select fire?
Wikipedia says so :)

An assault rifle is a selective fire (selectable between semi-auto and fully automatic) rifle (capable of being fired from the shoulder) that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies. Assault rifles are categorized in between light machine guns, which are intended more for sustained automatic fire in a light support role, and submachine guns, which fire a pistol cartridge rather than a rifle cartridge.
Examples of assault rifles include the Kalashnikov family (by far the most common), M16 rifle, G36, FN F2000, and the Steyr AUG.

Assault rifle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



 
#41 ·
Well, if John Browning says it's so, then it is. But don't tell me what Wikipedia says. It isn't good enough for students to use.

Let us split some hairs.

You could lay a semi-automatic AK or AR-15 next to a full-auto (or semi-full auto) AK or M-16 and if the side with the safety/selector switch were on the other side, you probably couldn't tell them apart. They look the same, they weigh the same, they take the same cartridge and the same magazines. One has a rate of fire of, oh, perhaps five times as fast as the other, so arguing about whether something is an assault rifle or not is like arguing whether or not a shotgun is a sporting weapon. In fact, the Germans originally called them machine pistols until someone came up with a name that sounded better, which was literally "storm rifle."
 
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