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Magazines
"I mean, the last time I called a magazine a 'clip' was before I was in the military. But still, if you are in a gunfight and somebody asks for a 'clip' and you turn and tell them it's a 'F*CKING MAGAZINE,' you just killed someone. Why in the world would you not give someone ammo just because they didn't call it magazine? I would shoot you in the face right then and there." - Jahadaz
Left to Right: Magpul P-mag, 5.56mm stripper clip, Glock 17 magazine (9mm), 7.62x39mm stripper clip, Ruger 10/22 25 round magazine (.22 LR), Garand En Bloc clip (.30-06)
Let's start off on the most common issue. Mag or clip? As you can see above, the box that can be removed from the gun is a magazine. Any container for cartridges within the weapon is called a magazine. The reason they're frequently called clips, is because stripper clips used to be the standard before detachable magazines were invented. Realistically speaking, it doesn't matter what you call them, unless it's actually a situation where you have to be specific.
Most older military firearms, and a number of sporting arms use internal magazines. These have the ammunition fed directly into them via single rounds or stripper clips, which hold the bullets in alignment and are removed before loading. This means slower reloads, but also no magazines outside of the weapons to mess with or get damaged, lost, etc. Most of this kind open up for maintenance.
The tube magazines on pump action shotguns and lever action rifles are also internal magazines, and their lack of stripper clips means a slower rate of fire, and the in-line arrangement means that pointed bullets cannot be used, but the type does have it's advantages.
Detachable box magazines lock into the gun, and hold ammunition until it runs dry. At that point, it is ejected and a fresh magazine loaded for a swift reload. Compared to a clip, they're a lot more expensive, so people try to hang onto magazines or recover them more frequently.
Mechanically, all a detachable magazine really is could be described as a box with it's contents compressing a spring-loaded platform. When a round is pushed into the chamber, the next rises into place. They can be made of metal, polymer, or several different materials, and may be cut to allow reading the number of loaded rounds.
Regardless the design, it's no exaggeration to say the magazine is the heart of any repeating firearm.
Left to Right: Magpul P-mag, 5.56mm stripper clip, Glock 17 magazine (9mm), 7.62x39mm stripper clip, Ruger 10/22 25 round magazine (.22 LR), Garand En Bloc clip (.30-06)
Let's start off on the most common issue. Mag or clip? As you can see above, the box that can be removed from the gun is a magazine. Any container for cartridges within the weapon is called a magazine. The reason they're frequently called clips, is because stripper clips used to be the standard before detachable magazines were invented. Realistically speaking, it doesn't matter what you call them, unless it's actually a situation where you have to be specific.
Most older military firearms, and a number of sporting arms use internal magazines. These have the ammunition fed directly into them via single rounds or stripper clips, which hold the bullets in alignment and are removed before loading. This means slower reloads, but also no magazines outside of the weapons to mess with or get damaged, lost, etc. Most of this kind open up for maintenance.The tube magazines on pump action shotguns and lever action rifles are also internal magazines, and their lack of stripper clips means a slower rate of fire, and the in-line arrangement means that pointed bullets cannot be used, but the type does have it's advantages.
Detachable box magazines lock into the gun, and hold ammunition until it runs dry. At that point, it is ejected and a fresh magazine loaded for a swift reload. Compared to a clip, they're a lot more expensive, so people try to hang onto magazines or recover them more frequently.
Mechanically, all a detachable magazine really is could be described as a box with it's contents compressing a spring-loaded platform. When a round is pushed into the chamber, the next rises into place. They can be made of metal, polymer, or several different materials, and may be cut to allow reading the number of loaded rounds.
Regardless the design, it's no exaggeration to say the magazine is the heart of any repeating firearm.
John_234 |
Latest page update: made by John_234
, Nov 20 2010, 5:15 PM EST
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