Large Fierce Mammal

(LFM photo)

All the debate, argumentation, and general rigamarole about firearms lately has motivated me to start a new series, as if I didn’t already have enough on my plate. Thank you very fucking much. Terms that either are, or will come to be, addressed in this series appear in bold type.

Today we’ll deal with the distinction between “clip” and “magazine“. I know some of you who are more opinionated than most will say this distinction doesn’t matter, and that adherence to long known and accepted terminology is little more than splitting hairs, but to that I would say fie. Yes, fie. Words have meaning, and no argument has merit that deals in sloppy language or revisionist history.

I’ll keep it simple – A repeating firearm is one that is capable of firing more than one shot before it has to be reloaded. This is an obviously desirable trait for any firearm to possess in that it permits rapid follow up shots to be fired when engaging a dangerous target – a large predatory animal for example – or to ensure that a hunter can reliably bring down prey that may only be wounded by the first shot fired. A Duck hunter, for example, needs to fill the air around his quarry with enough projectiles to ensure that a sufficient number strike the bird to bring it down – hence two or three quick shots fired by one who knows his or her business will do what a single shot will not.

The legacy of the first solutions to this are extant today in the form of double barrelled  shotguns and the handguns referred to as revolvers – the first carries its follow up shot ready to go in the chamber of an entirely self contained alternate barrel while the second has a single barrel and carries additional ammunition inside a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers that are rotated into alignment with the breech of the barrel as each is fired in turn.

Most repeating firearms carry additional ammunition in a reservoir called a magazine. The famous Winchester lever action rifle we all know from watching movie and television Westerns has a magazine in the form of a tube slung underneath and parallel to the barrel, as do most repeating shotguns. Most rifles and pistols you’ll encounter today feed their ammunition from a so called “box” magazine – usually detachable from the firearm, but sometimes built in. No matter which, all magazines share a common trait. They incorporate a spring in their structure that presses against the last round in the magazine and thereby feeds each round as the action requires it.

A clip, on the other hand, has a different purpose, and the role of both it and the magazine will become clear by way of the following images.

Two detachable, 10 round box magazines for the Lee Enfield No.4 Mk.1 rifle. The one on the right is loaded with 10 rounds of .303 British rifle ammunition, the one on the left is unloaded, showing the stamped steel “follower” which, pushed by the magazine spring below it, feeds each succeeding round of ammunition into the action every time the rifle’s bolt is cycled by the operator. (LFM photo)

What you see here, above the magazines previously referred to, is a “clip”, or “charger” in Commonwealth parlance, loaded with 5 rounds of .303 British ammunition (not in accordance with Commonwealth military doctrine for reasons that don’t matter for today’s discussion). It is used to recharge rifle magazines with ammunition, 5 rounds at a time. Clips and magazines – not the same thing. (LFM photo)

This is a picture of a CLIP that has been inserted into the feedway of the official LFM Lee Enfield Rifle, No 5 Mk1. A CLIP is used to feed ammunition, in this case five rounds at a time, into the MAGAZINE of a rifle. A MAGAZINE has an internal spring that feeds each round to the CHAMBER of a firearm every time the ACTION is cycled. The CLIP does no such thing. The only spring it has is the one that keeps the ROUNDS from falling out until my thumb pushes them down into the MAGAZINE. (LFM photo)

Soak this up and learn the terminology. You’ll need it for what’s to come, and be mindful that I don’t tolerate sloppy argumentation.