This is why it's a clip to me not a magazine....

[Ironbar]

Well that's fine and dandy for you. How many of us civilians have ever been in a tank? Let alone load the gun from the "tank's magazine". For you, it is a good explanation, but for us it will always be a magazine. Just because you had to do a chit load of push up's doesn't make it so. A clip is for your hair or paper not a gun. Clip is just the lazy way of saying magazine. So in your little world you keep calling anything you want to. In the real world out here they are Magazines.

I was going to say this exact thing. Thank you.

 

[One-Eyed Ross]

Well, as a "starship trooper" (11E20W1 - M60A2 tanker back before the 19K days) I have to say we didn't have an separate "magazine" for our rounds, just the ready rack and then storage spaces...of course, that's why they could go up in such pretty blossoms when they were hit.

But, hey, magazine, clip....if you've got a handgun in your hands, I know what you're talking about. If you're on a destroyer or battleship and say magazine, I know which one you're probably talking about. Context is everything.

Now, if you have an SKS in your hands, it could get confusing...

 

[EZLivin]

All I know is I went to Great Clips the other day and they didn't have anything in stock that fit my guns.

 

[Man In Oregon]

Simply put, a clip is used to load a magazine. I spent a few years in the US Army in the 60's, including being a Drill Sargent. A rifle with a non removable magazine can be loaded one cartridge at a time or several cartridges at a time with a clip. The magazine holds the cartridges for insertion in to the firing chamber of the firearm. For example, a Colt 1911 or a Glock 9mm hand gun or an M16, M14, AR15 or AK47 rifle use a removable mag, not a clip. Words mean something.

"A clip is a device that is used to store multiple rounds of ammunition together as a unit, ready for insertion into the magazine or cylinder of a firearm. This speeds up the process of loading and reloading the firearm as several rounds can be loaded at once, rather than one round being loaded at a time. Several different types of clips exist, most of which are made of inexpensive metal stampings that are designed to be disposable, though they are often re-used.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary now defines a clip as "a device to hold cartridges for charging the magazines of some rifles; also a magazine from which ammunition is fed into the chamber of a firearm." However, many authorities say this is incorrect.[citation needed] In their usage, a clip is used to feed a magazine or revolving cylinder, while a magazine or a belt is used to load cartridges into the chamber of a firearm. In essence, the clip stores the rounds of ammunition before being inserted into the magazine, which houses the clip inside for use by the firearm. Most weapons that use clips, such as the M1 Garand as seen above, utilize the clip by loading it directly into the firearm."

Wikipedia Clip (ammunition) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Carry on.

 

[kibs45]

In regards to stuff like this, I think the context of the conversation is important. If someone is just haveing a casual discussion, I don't think its a huge deal when terms get a little gray, or just used incorrectly. If all you are trying to do is get a point across, I think we can all understand. Haveing said that, if the conversation is life or death (M1 Carbine vs. M1 Garand) or extrememly technical (read: laws, politics) it had better be right. I would say it is best to practice using the correct terminology in general so as to be as technically correct as possible, as much as possible. That is not to say, that always clears everything up. Ask someone in the gasoline world what an "intercooler" is, and then ask the same question of a diesel guy...

 

[Rotty]

All I know is I went to Great Clips the other day and they didn't have anything in stock that fit my guns.

Whatever!

 

[tanzuki]

Then why are they called stripper "clips" and not stripper magazines?

 

[BAMCIS]

Then why are they called stripper "clips" and not stripper magazines?

Everyone knows stripper magazines are kept behind the counter. Sometimes wrapped in brown paper.

 

[billyinfinity]

A word is just an invented cluster of sounds and syllables we use to communicate. If I say either "clip" or "magazine" chances are pretty dang good the listener understood what I was referring to and either one of those words did the job. Quit getting hung up on what you think is right because someone at some point in your life told you that it was. Words are a tool, just like your weapon..use them to get the job done and don't sweat the small stuff.

 

[CLT65]

Yes, words do have meaning. They mean what we want them to, as a society. In the last half century it has become commonly accepted among gun owners that a stripper clip or en-bloc magazine is a "clip", and a detachable box magazine is a "magazine"; it also means that you will likely be verbally assaulted if you misuse the word clip. What the most vehement defenders of this seldom admit is that "clip" used to be entirely accepted nomenclature for a detachable box magazine. Even the great Elmer Keith referred to them as clips.

Meanings change over time, for various reasons. The word "clip" has changed, specifically for military logistical reasons. It used to be considered correct. This is indisputable. Calling a magazine a clip is not necessarily lazy or ignorant; it is simply archaic. Why do some people get so upset about it, bordering on violent? I have seen ordinarily nice people get downright rude and nasty when the subject comes up. The only thing I can figure is that it's some kind of Pavlovian response ingrained by numerous pushups or beatings in the military, or passed on from someone else who has.

Who here has ever referred to their rifle or pistol as a "gun"? This is also taboo. As most of you know, a real gun is crew served and measured in pounds or inches. Words mean things, and in certain circumstances those specific meanings are critical. Since I'm not in combat, I'll continue to use clips in my 1911, and I'll call my pistol a gun, thank you very much. Call me old fashioned, but don't call me lazy or stupid. It's my little bit of rebellion against the nomenclature police.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary now defines a clip as "a device to hold cartridges for charging the magazines of some rifles; also a magazine from which ammunition is fed into the chamber of a firearm." However, many authorities say this is incorrect.[citation needed]

Merriam-Webster is technically correct. Wikipedia on the other hand, is notoriously unreliable. Notice the "citation needed" part.

Now "bullet" for cartridge, or "bullet tip" for bullet, that's a different story. Don't get me started...

 

[Jim Colvill]

Easy solution !

It is a " lead tipped brass encased projectile secure containment apparatus "

Now was that so hard

And since the government loves acronyms it is now a LTBEPSCA, call it a "lite bepsca" *can I make it even muddier?*

 

[JimmyS1985]

I was never in Marine Corp. BootCamp training. However there is a scene in Full Metal Jacket and I had a guy who had gone through Marine Corp. Boot Camp training and he said the Marines would beat your *** if you violated this fundamental rule of properly calling something, that it is. "This is my Rifle this is my Gun, this one's for fighting this one's for fun!"

I didn't understand the scene until a Marine told me that if they called their "Rifle" a "gun" they would be severely beaten by the Senior Drill Instructor. I don't see it as a debate, but as a dog whistle for someone talking about guns, who clearly has never handled or fired a gun, in an attempt to talk about restricting gun use.

 

[One-Eyed Ross]

Well, the Marines have guns, just like the army...they are crew served, though. I remember when going before the E5 board, there was a question about a "truck"....the idea being that the ball on top of the flag pole was the only "truck" on post, the rest were vehicles. Being the smart azz that I was, and working in the motor pool, I said "wait a minute, here. It says 'truck, 2 1/2 ton, M35A2' right there on the manual."......needless to say, we had a long discussion about military terms and what they "really" meant.

Like I said before, it's all about context. I usually can tell what a guy means by what the discussion is about. For those who get hung on things...well, let them get hung up on things. In the long run, if they are that anal retentive, well....

 

[WhyteCheddar]

The famous/infamous clip vs magazine argument. Yes most people are absolutely correct about calling them magazines but there are some who call them clips for a real reason.

I had a magazine in my tank, I had an M4 carbine in my tank, if I ask my loader, gunner or driver about a loaded magazine or how many rounds are in the magazine which one do you think I really care about? As a tanker for 23 years I was taught to use the term clip and magazine to make sure there was no confusion about what we were talking about. I carried clips for my M4, I had a magazine in my tank.

Does This fly for 99% of everyone who uses the term, nope but I'm tired of remf's, desk commandos and zero timers giving me the "it's a magazine not a clip lecture" no to me it will always be a clip I did 8 trillion push ups because I called them magazines not clips, when I quit calling them magazines I quit doing push ups. So for a few of us (mostly 19 kilo's) they are clips because we didnt want confusion in our conversation.

Thanks for your service!

You must have some pretty righteous upper body strength! LOL

 

[Flopsweat]

Virtually every anti-gun nutjob on the idiot box misuses the word "clip". It's how I tell my non-shooter friends to recognise that someone doesn't know what they're talking about. I don't go around correcting everyone, but if you're speaking publicly get it right. You want to misuse the term at home or whatever, that's fine. If you do it on this forum you're teaching the newbs to sound just like the idiots on TV. If you rode in a tank for a few decades in defense of our nation you can call them whatever the heck you want, but please don't encourage the children.

 

[salmonriverjohn]

Soooo, the take away from these two pages so far is, don't sweat the petty stuff, and never pet the sweaty stuff

 

[Ironbar]

All I know is I went to Great Clips the other day and they didn't have anything in stock that fit my guns.

 

[CLT65]

Virtually every anti-gun nutjob on the idiot box misuses the word "clip".

I'll agree with that, for sure, but do we really want them using the correct terminology and sounding like they know what they're talking about?
It's so much more fun to laugh at them when they're foaming at the mouth worrying over those scary "assault clips".

 

[Flopsweat]

I'll agree with that, for sure, but do we really want them using the correct terminology and sounding like they know what they're talking about?
It's so much more fun to laugh at them when they're foaming at the mouth worrying over those scary "assault clips".

I don't correct them - just the folks on our side. I do correct them on "Assault Rifles" since that's a term deliberately used to invoke fear.

 

[DEADTIME]

I'll try to make myself do push ups now if I call them clips....wonder if I can even do a push up any more as banged up as I am...lol won't be a billion though, not this time.