Clips vs Mags. You CAN recover your dignity

Miscellaneous Fun/Humorous
#1

There is rarely a new person to the gun community who doesn’t accidentally use the word “Clip” instead of “Magazine”, with resultant look of disgust from more seasoned members. From better members of the community, it’s a quick vocabulary lesson, and they move on, minimizing embarrassment. Others, well, I haven’t run into too many of those.

If you are new, and have been caught once again, a famous WWII rifle can come to your rescue. I was able to fire an M1 Garand vintage rifle with my brother. It was a bit of nostalgia for me, as my grandfather died in WWII, but being in infantry, must have carried one. I was extremely pleased to find out that Garands do not have “Magazines”. They literally use clips… thin metal disposable (in WWII, not now) carriers for 8 rounds, designed to help soldiers load faster under fire.

That might also explain how we got this from the movies… WWII movies with Garands probably would have used “clips” correctly.

Magazines are, of course, more substantial, last longer, hold more and load better. However, next time you start to embarrass yourself, you can come back with, “I was waxing nostalgic, thinking about the M1 Garand, for THIS gun, I clearly meant ‘Magazine’”. They may not believe you, but perhaps you’ll get some credit for knowing about a classic rifle.

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#3

I couldn’t wax eloquent on the exact mechanism, other than I was privileged to shoot one, and it seemed to work reasonably well at the range. What I can say is that loading a group of 8 in a clip has to be better than fishing for a single round with frozen fingers at the Battle of the Bulge. Compare this more recent ways to quickly load a revolver (speed loaders?) instead of crouching down trying to push bullets into a cylinder while pumped full of adrenaline.

I can also say that reloading the clip (you don’t just throw away vintage stuff) was a bit trickier than loading a magazine.

Actually, I’m not sure how they were distributed in a company of soldiers either. Does it make sense to grab a few pre-loaded “clips” from a canister in the cold, since they are so cheap to make? Or did they do their own loading, while freezing in a snow covered fox-hole.

The main thing is distract from the verbal slip by invoking respect for our heros. :wink:

#5

Just to remind people the M-1 system wasn’t a strip like the 03 Springfield bolt action. On the old bolt action the clip was used to load five or 6 rounds and then you pulled the clip out and tossed it or put in in your pocket. With the M-1 the clip, closer to a box looking device, will contain the rounds and stay in the gun till they are all fired and then pop out with the last shot to lock the bolt back for the next reload. To a degree that may have been where to old wives tail of waiting to hear the ping before charging a GI’s position during WW2 came from. The M-1 carbine had a magazine.

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#6

If I inadvertently call a magazine a clip and someone corrects me I will forever refer to them as a clip in front of said person.

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#7

As an engineer I was trained to correct people if they called something the wrong name.

As a normal person I disciplined myself not to correct someone outside the engineering environment if I knew what they meant. It wins more friends and makes communication easier.

It also pisses my wife off less :+1:

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#8

Yes the M1 Garand uses a “clip” more precisely and “en-block clip” as it is stored outside the rifle and inserted into the rifle and the bolt sent home over it chambering the first round (providing you get your thumb out of the way). Other “clips” are stripper clips used to charge magazines such as the M-14 and M-16/AR-15 magazines but are also used to charge the “magazine” of a bolt action rifle such as the Lee Enfield, 1903, P-17/14 some Win M-70’s, Mauser’s etc. Then there are “Half Moon” and “Full Moon” clips that hold 45 ACP rounds for insertion into the M-1917 45 revolvers (Colt & S&W).

Essentially if you stuff around into it and it completely encloses the round (other than the top) prior to stuffing the whole assembly into a gun then it is a Magazine, it also require a magazine release button / lever / something to eject said device. If it just holds the rounds in place so that you can stuff them into the gun more rapidly then it is tossed it is a clip.

What ever definition you choose I have yet to see a magazine that holds “50 clips” as our beloved ex-vice president stated.

Cheers,

Craig6

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#9

Craig, that was referred to as “M1 thumb”. For those that have never loaded the garand, you depress the clip in with your thumb, if you don’t do it right getting you thumb out of the way in time the only way I can describe this is when the clip grabs and chargers it tries to ca-chunk your thumb… pain and blood insue.

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#10

@Fizbin When you write “Garand” please give it the respect and reverence it demands and use the capital G as in Garand. :roll_eyes: :wink:

#11

Roger that, it’s the result of trying to type with big giant sausage fingers on this phone.

That M1 was the very first semiautomatic I ever fired. My uncle in law introduced me to that and firearms back in 90’s, he was a huge influence on my life.

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#12

@Fizbin I am well aware of what it’s called and how it feels. I have lost several thumb nails to good John Browning’s design and am much happier with the M-14 design. That said fully seating the clip with the edge of your hand blocking the op rod as it jumps forward a bit then yanking your hand, thumb up, OUT is a fair descent cure. Tempting fate and trying to beat the bolt is a recipe for much pain and dare I say a bit of blood as you note. Then there is the beloved “ping” which announces your trials are about to begin again.

Cheers,

Craig6

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#13

I still remember the first time it bit me. Making memories with the past Uncle Don!

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#14

Thanks for explaining the difference. I have always known that I load a magazine for my handgun. So, is the M1 Garand the only gun that uses a “clip”? Inquiring minds want to know- well at least I do. :thinking:

#15

Yes, several weapons can use stripper clips. The self ejecting box clip like the M-1 not so much. Not that I have seen anyway.

#16

Got a bunch of 8mm ammo on clips. For an old Mauser bolt action…

#17

In the history I was taught, both the 1903 Springfield and the M1 Garand had a magazine, but it was internal and not removable. The period nomenclature referred to the well which held the rounds as the magazine, and it performed the same function as modern removable magazines: holding multiple rounds and pushing them up towards the chamber.

The clip was the removable part, much like some ammo still comes packed in clips to make it easier to load magazines.

M1 clips came fully loaded. One can imagine how fast a Soldier could reload once the old clip was ejected. Push down, release, pull trigger. It was really a great advance, but I’m happy we’ve evolved and no longer get M1 thumbs.

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#18

That metal thingy that holds the extra bullets takes longer to say, but is grammatically safer

#19

Rounds would be a more safer term as boolts are the part that leaves the barrel pointed in the direction that the sights were last looking at regardless of the intent of the end user. :upside_down_face:

Cheers,

Craig6

#20

Um, the would be John GARAND, not Browning​:blush:. You’ve never really had the Garand experience until your thumb’s been bit at least once​:smirk:. Most folks quickly learn to get their mitt outta the way after the first time, as it’s a memorable (:flushed:) event.

#21

Wrong… internal magazine…a clip holds rounds ready for loading .
Fact !

#22

I hate this thread. Since it started I have said clip 3 times and had to go back and edit.:rage:

I never used to say clip. I blame this thread. :smiling_imp::innocent:

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