Magazine….Clip?????

[Gunsby_Blazen]

Ok, who in the heck started calling Magazines; clips? What is the history of this and why do people continue to call them clips? Furthermore, who cares if they call it a clip or not??? I know that I don’t give a dang. I call it a Magazine, but it doesn’t bother me if someone calls it something its not. I really don’t care…..

So, why the big deal??

 

[simpleguy]

Clip is what Garands hold their rounds in. There are also stripper clips to load ammo into magazines.

I personally prefer magazine vs. clip, well becuase it's just not right. IMO it's like calling a can of Spam gourmet ham......I guess you can do it but it really isn't right.

 

[Thumper_6119]

Some people care, some people don't. It's sort of like spelling and spelling Nazi's in some cases. I can see problems communicating at times if proper terminology isn't used, but for the most part, I think it more annoys people than anything. (And there will never be an escape from people who simply exist in this life to argue for the sake of arguing on internet forums).

Clips load magazines. Magazines load guns.

 

[Gator]

Magazines and clips are two different things. Personally I like calling things by their proper names, others don't care. C'est la vie.

 

[theotherwaldo]

I may be wrong, but I've always thought that a clip is an ammunition storage and alignment tool used to reload a magazine or cylinder.

Clips are more or less disposable, magazines are not.

 

[Hook686]

Magazine….Clip?????

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok, who in the heck started calling Magazines; clips? What is the history of this and why do people continue to call them clips? Furthermore, who cares if they call it a clip or not??? I know that I don’t give a dang. I call it a Magazine, but it doesn’t bother me if someone calls it something its (SIC) not. I really don’t care…..

So, why the big deal??]

I guess it is just something that makes me more better than you ... kinda like spelling, grammer and da other important things in life.

 

[Picard]

I think the whole calling of magazines clips started with the gaming culture. Game developers weren't too gun savvy and, when making first person shooter games, misrepresented them. Don't quote me on that though.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

The magazine is the part of the rifle that holds the ammunition during firing. Originally, magazines were non-detachable (an integral part of the firearm).

As rate of fire and reloading became more critical, ammunition was stored in groups (5, 10 whatever) on thin metal clips that could be used to rapidly recharge the magazine.

Eventually, someone created the detachable magazine so that an empty magazine could be removed and replaced with one already loaded. People began to use the term "clip" and "magazine" interchangably because both were used to reload an empty weapon.

The technical difference is whether you are reloading the magazine with new ammunition (a clip - i.e. stripper clip or M1 Garand en-bloc clip) or replacing the existing magazine with a pre-loaded magazine (pretty much any modern semi-auto firearm).

 

[Henry Bowman]

Clip is what Garands hold their rounds in.

A whole generation of WWII vets came home calling the thing that holds the rounds a clip. I expect most of them had previously predominantly used revolvers and bolt action rifles.

 

[Noxx]

They are two different items, however the usage has become quite mixed, and it's probably too late to save it. "Clip" has come to mean not only "a clip" but also "slang term for removable magazine".

Personally, I call a mag a mag, and a clip a clip, but I've gotten over the urge to bother correcting anyone else in their usage. I'd prefer everyone to use the correct terminology, but then I'd prefer people in general do a lot of things that they don't do (spelling correctly or just using Firefox, using their turn signals, understanding that deodorant is not soap... the list goes on).

Either way, fact is I'm not other people, nor am I in charge of other people, so I just let it ride. Bigger fish to fry on a daily basis.

 

[Crunker1337]

Clips retain rounds. Magazines feed rounds. There's a big difference there, in my opinion.

 

[Mr_Rogers]

"Clip" instead of "magazine" is unfortunate but it does not basically alter the value of most discussions.

However, using the word "caliber" instead of the correct cartridge name is a real crime against logic. Which would you rather use for SD, a 22LR cartridge or a 223 cartridge? Both the same caliber but very different effects.

If you are in casual conversion the usage of clip/magazine or caliber/cartridge does not really matter but if you are going to use the expressions in a discussion you really ought to be more careful with your choice of words.

 

[cdrt]

Ok, who in the heck started calling Magazines; clips?

The magazine versus clip conundrum started almost immediately after the U.S. adopted the 1911 as it's Service Pistol. An early Army manual called the seven round 1911 magazine a clip and it's been batted around ever since.

 

[Thumper_6119]

I think the whole calling of magazines clips started with the gaming culture. Game developers weren't too gun savvy and, when making first person shooter games, misrepresented them. Don't quote me on that though.

'80's action movies contributed quite a bit to it as well.

 

[Gunsby_Blazen]

STRIPPER CLIPS! YES!
I had a homer simpson moment, DOH!

 

[Janitor]

'80's action movies contributed quite a bit to it as well.

That's what I was going to guess.
--

Let's not forget moon clips in wheel guns, and aren't the links in beltfeds referred to as clips (could be way wrong with that one)?

I actually don't happen to have any clips for my 1911, but if you ask me how many I have I'll be pretty well able to guess what you're asking.

 

[Geronimo45]

"How the mighty have fallen." Look at the word 'magazine'. Back in the 1800s, a 'magazine' was a big cache of gunpowder and similar goodies - you know, for artillery. The word's become so corrupted that people think that stupid little tube under the barrel of their 870 is a 'magazine'. It's not a magazine, it's a cartridge holder!

 

[ProficientRifleman]

it is very simple

A clip is a binder, like a paper clip, a stripper clip, or an en-block clip.

A magazine is a container, such as:

An M14 Magazine
A Beretta M92 Magazine

or even a place to store your powder, like a bunker, called a Powder Magazine.

 

[Rampant_Colt]

when i hear someone refer to magazines as a clip i automatically assume they're a noob or 14 years old....

 

[Gordon Fink]

A magazine holds articles and keeps their pages securely bound in the correct order. A clip holds the pages only loosely, so the articles can become easily lost or disorganized. Some publishers keep the pages clipped together before binding them into a magazine.

~G. Fink

 

[jnyork]

Here you go, the difinitive word: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magazine_(firearms)

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

The simplest distinction I've seen (learned at THR) is:
magazine: spring
clip: no spring

I don't really care as long as I know what the person means.

 

[RONSTAR]

Clip is what Garands hold their rounds in. There are also stripper clips to load ammo into magazines.

Nailed it. I simply dont call magazines clips becuase drill sargeant smoked me when I did.

 

[coloradokevin]

I blame Hollywood.

Usually the purists use the correct terms. For those of us who have been around shooting for a while, the people who use the correct term often appear more knowledgeable.

But, I generally don't call anyone on it, unless they ask... Or they are someone I know well and want to make fun of

 

[Evenflo76]

Clips feed Mags, Mags feed Guns...


Thats how I remember