Magazines, clips, and other minutia...

Sir

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I was listening to G. Gordon Liddy one evening several years back and he went on a tear about people calling magazines clips. At first, I thought he was being a little pedantic, but then it got me to thinking about it. If we're going to be accurate in our shooting and our firearms, I figure he's absolutely correct. Now, magazine doesn't sound quite as cool as clip but correct is correct. Now it drives me nuts when I hear someone refer to a magazine as a clip. It ends up being all about correctness when the goofballs in the legislature start working these terms against us. Cheers!
 

Smitty of the North

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Lotsa things are called by the Wrong Name, and eventually it becomes the Right Name.

Lotsa things are called by the Wrong Name, and eventually it becomes the Right Name.

It's OK to be Correct, but dunno why some people get all bent outta shape when someone calls it a CLIP.

I think that sometimes, people want to appear smart, by making someone else look dumb. (Or, maybe, I just dont' like to be corrected.)

It's easier to say "clip", and folks know what you're talking about, so IMO, Magazine or Clip, it's no beeg deel what you call it.

It's kinda like, "45 LONG Colt".

Smitty of the North
 

JC in AK

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+1 on that Smitty. It's kinda like when someone calls a fender a front quarter panel. It's incorrect but it gets the point across and that's the important part.

John
 

tyrex13

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To shoot your primers down the stock accurately you need to pull the hammer to release the trigger. Make sure you have your sling swivels lined up correctly.

thereisadifference2.jpg
 

sthrcave

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I am probably going to come off as an *****-hole, but when I hear someone refer to a magazine as a clip, I automatically assume that they have extremely limited experiance with firearms. I am not saying that the folks that have posted on this thread have limited experiance. I grew up around firearms, and now I am in the military. I was always taught that a magazine, or "mag" for short and a clip are two different things. Someone who confuses the two has more than likely been watching too many movies or listening to too much rap. Again; I spend a fair amount of time on this site and I know that some of the other folks who stated their .02 on this topic to be extremely knowledgeable about firearms and such. This is simply my .02.
 

LeonardC

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Maybe so. I grew up in Montana and every one I knew pronounced Leupold LEO-pold. Come to find out the correct way is LEW(?)-pold. I'm not overly bright, but I can figure out what some one is talking about when it's pronounced either way.

And then there was a certain college class where we older folks learned a cresent wrench is properly refered to as an adjustable open ended wrench. When refered to as such at work the response is always: "In standard or metric?"
 

ADfields

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How correct do you want to be? On a 1911a it is an “eight round single stack detachable magazine” if you want to ACTULEY be correct. When did gun folk get so nit-picky? Truly, must we assume if someone calls loaded rounds of ammunition bullets or spells bullet “boolet” that they are gun ignorant? It could very well be that where they are from it’s the proper nomenclature and they have vastly more experience than you do.:eek:

Reminds me of the word “chaps” for cowboy’s leg protectors, across the Southwest where I grew up it’s pronounced “shaps” without exception within cowboy circles. They protect your legs from chaparral so chaps is pronounced “shaps” the same way chaparral is produced “shaparall” like the old TV show High Chaparral. You walk up to an Arizona brush popper and pronounce it as “ch” in English rather than the Spanish “sh” sound and most would assume you a dumb city boy. But some dang good cowboys come from Wyoming/Montana and the Canadian Plaines and grew up for generations saying it the way it reads in English . . . I say who cares how they say chaps do they know how to put them on!:topjob:

Same with magazine/clip/boolet holder thing . . . who cares what they call it, I want to know do they actually know guns, their nomenclature is irrelevant to that.
So the guy I just met corectley calls it a magazine, great, whatever:hmmmm:
Does the guy hold it like I handed him a dead rat or like his hand has been there before?
Does he check the chamber when I hand him a weapon even though he just watched me check it?
Does he have muzzle discipline?
Does he know how to clear it?
Is he smart/experienced enough to say “I never handled a “insert type” before how do I open it?”
DOES THIS PERSON KNOW GUNS!
I don’t care if he knows/uses proper names of gun parts . . .
 

JOAT

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I side with sthrcave on this one 100%. Anytime I see a guy holding a magazine and he calls it a "clip", my impression of his IQ just went down about 40 points. Things have proper names. Them thar round rubber things that contact the roadway under your vehicle are called "tires", not "wheels", to respond to another vehicle-related analogy posted previously. When you hear someone talking about "wheels", anyone with a lick of sense knows that he is talking about the metal gizmo in the center that the "tires" are mounted to. If you then find out he was talking about the "tires", then you'll think he's an idiot. Same thing happens when we hear someone talking about "clips" for ammunition. A "clip" and a "magazine" are two completely different things.

A "clip" is a metal device used to hold up women's hair, hold together a small stack of papers, or, if you are dealing with ammunition it is a metal device that holds a small quantity of ammunition by the cartridge head to facilitate loading into a magazine or cylinder. For example, 5.56x45 NATO is packaged in 10-round "clips" that allow quick loading from the manufacturer's packaging directly into the magazine that is inserted into the M-16 rifle. Some people use "clips" to quickly load the cylinder of a revolver (e.g. "moon clips"). In all cases, a "clip" of ammunition is not fully encased and they are usually considered an expendable device. Many "clips" do not actually go into the firearm, with the notable exception of those "moon clips". The ammunition is stripped off the "clip" in the process of loading into the firearm's magazine.

A magazine, on the other hand, is a reusable device that fully encases the ammunition. It may be removable or a fixed part of the firearm. The tube on the bottom of popular 22LR and pump shotguns is called a magazine not a "clip". The ammo storage area in bottom of the receiver of a bolt action rifle is called a magazine, not a "clip". The ammo storage locker next to a howitzer is called a magazine, not a "clip". The removable boxes that we use to load ammo into most semi-auto pistols and rifles are called magazines, not "clips".

Still in doubt, look up the parts guide on your semi-auto firearms. See if you can find a "clip well" or the term "clip" used to describe the "magazine" anywhere in the manufacturer's owner or parts manuals. Thank you very much.

Oh yeah... and there's nothing about saying "clip" that sounds cool. In fact, it sounds pretty gay when someone says, "clip" in reference to a magazine. :nyanya:
 

rbuck351

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Specific words do have specific meaning and it bothers me sometimes to to see this sort of misuse. However the English language is constantly changing and the words clip and magazine may someday be interchangable. Take the word gender which is now used to refer to what sex you are. Total misuse but now accepted. Part of the Orwell double speak thing I guess.
 

gogoalie

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My drill sargent Holloway, in 1989 summed it up best...why the hell would someone wanna put in a nice four syllable, ten letter word, defication, when a single syllable four letter word: ***** would sum it up more succinctly??? Ponder the profundity in that, when it comes to "clip" vs. "magazine"...:D (even though he was pretty anal 'bout referin' to military terms for guns & bullets...:D)
 

iofthetaiga

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My drill sargent Holloway, in 1989 summed it up best...why the hell would someone wanna put in a nice four syllable, ten letter word, defication, when a single syllable four letter word: ***** would sum it up more succinctly??? Ponder the profundity in that, when it comes to "clip" vs. "magazine"...:D (even though he was pretty anal 'bout referin' to military terms for guns & bullets...:D)
"anal"?? Does that term have something to do with firearms/ammunition?
 

iofthetaiga

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It's OK to be Correct, but dunno why some people get all bent outta shape when someone calls it a CLIP.

I think that sometimes, people want to appear smart, by making someone else look dumb. (Or, maybe, I just dont' like to be corrected.)

It's easier to say "clip", and folks know what you're talking about, so IMO, Magazine or Clip, it's no beeg deel what you call it.

It's kinda like, "45 LONG Colt".

Smitty of the North
I will be the first to admit I am far from perfect, but it bothers me to hear a person use a term incorrectly. Why does it bother you to be corrected? It's a free country, as they say, and a person may refer to a magazine as a clip all he or she wishes; he or she will still be incorrect.
 

iofthetaiga

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Maybe so. I grew up in Montana and every one I knew pronounced Leupold LEO-pold. Come to find out the correct way is LEW(?)-pold. I'm not overly bright, but I can figure out what some one is talking about when it's pronounced either way.
Is your name pronounced "LEO-nard"? We could pronounce it either way and still know who we were talking about... but it would be incorrect, would it not? Leopold is a family name. The family pronounces their name LEW-pold. Don't they deserve the same common respect that you do when someone pronounces your name?
 

iofthetaiga

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I side with sthrcave on this one 100%. Anytime I see a guy holding a magazine and he calls it a "clip", my impression of his IQ just went down about 40 points. Things have proper names. Them thar round rubber things that contact the roadway under your vehicle are called "tires", not "wheels", to respond to another vehicle-related analogy posted previously. When you hear someone talking about "wheels", anyone with a lick of sense knows that he is talking about the metal gizmo in the center that the "tires" are mounted to. If you then find out he was talking about the "tires", then you'll think he's an idiot. Same thing happens when we hear someone talking about "clips" for ammunition. A "clip" and a "magazine" are two completely different things.

A "clip" is a metal device used to hold up women's hair, hold together a small stack of papers, or, if you are dealing with ammunition it is a metal device that holds a small quantity of ammunition by the cartridge head to facilitate loading into a magazine or cylinder. For example, 5.56x45 NATO is packaged in 10-round "clips" that allow quick loading from the manufacturer's packaging directly into the magazine that is inserted into the M-16 rifle. Some people use "clips" to quickly load the cylinder of a revolver (e.g. "moon clips"). In all cases, a "clip" of ammunition is not fully encased and they are usually considered an expendable device. Many "clips" do not actually go into the firearm, with the notable exception of those "moon clips". The ammunition is stripped off the "clip" in the process of loading into the firearm's magazine.

A magazine, on the other hand, is a reusable device that fully encases the ammunition. It may be removable or a fixed part of the firearm. The tube on the bottom of popular 22LR and pump shotguns is called a magazine not a "clip". The ammo storage area in bottom of the receiver of a bolt action rifle is called a magazine, not a "clip". The ammo storage locker next to a howitzer is called a magazine, not a "clip". The removable boxes that we use to load ammo into most semi-auto pistols and rifles are called magazines, not "clips".

Still in doubt, look up the parts guide on your semi-auto firearms. See if you can find a "clip well" or the term "clip" used to describe the "magazine" anywhere in the manufacturer's owner or parts manuals. Thank you very much.

Oh yeah... and there's nothing about saying "clip" that sounds cool. In fact, it sounds pretty gay when someone says, "clip" in reference to a magazine. :nyanya:
I was on board with you right up to your last sentence JOAT. Then you lost me. I could test it for you and report back, but I don't think it's necessary. I'm confident that if any of my heterosexual friends spoke the work "clip", it would not necessarily make them audibly distinguishable from my extremely happy heterosexual friends, nor my homosexual friends, be they extremely happy or not.

Let's talk about the use of "decimate" vs. "devastate". Now that one really "get's my goat"....
 

ADfields

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The removable boxes that we use to load ammo into most semi-auto pistols and rifles are called magazines, not "clips".

Still in doubt, look up the parts guide on your semi-auto firearms. See if you can find a "clip well" or the term "clip" used to describe the "magazine" anywhere in the manufacturer's owner or parts manuals. Thank you very much.
I don’t know when gun people got so nit-picky and judgmental but I agree it’s simple and straight forward to tell a magazine from a clip . . . or is it?

What is this and where does it go?
677853.jpg

I guess the people at Remington Arms don’t know anything about guns?

remington Magazine Clip
remington Model 597™ 30-Round Magazine Clip


Brownells doesn’t know anything about guns ether?
.22 RIMFIRE CLIP MAGAZINE

I could show you thousands but why. Decline the imperious nose angle just a tad boys, it's non-inclusive, elitist sounding, turns off what could be good allies and serves no real use anyway.
 

iofthetaiga

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I don’t know when gun people got so nit-picky and judgmental but I agree it’s simple and straight forward to tell a magazine from a clip . . . or is it?

What is this and where does it go?
View attachment 48406

I guess the people at Remington Arms don’t know anything about guns?

remington Magazine Clip
remington Model 597™ 30-Round Magazine Clip


Brownells doesn’t know anything about guns ether?
.22 RIMFIRE CLIP MAGAZINE

I could show you thousands but why. Decline the imperious nose angle just a tad boys, it's non-inclusive, elitist sounding, turns off what could be good allies and serves no real use anyway.
I would suppose people in general became "nit-picky" way back when we realized it was better to eat meat than to eat dirt. And we became "judgemental" when others tried to tell us that eating dirt was just as good as eating meat and we were being too "nit-picky". Then we became nit-picky and judgemental about guns immediately upon beginning to invent them.:) Is holding up examples of others using the terms "clip" and "magazine" incorrectly meant to be a convincing argument that the rest of us who know better may as well go along? I wouldn't go so far as to say Remington and Brownells "don't know anything about guns", but is is apparent by your examples that at least some of their marketing people are unable to differentiate between a clip and a magazine.:lol: I don't think my nose is excessively elevated, but I wouldn't go over to the fly fishing forum and suggest that they're snooty because they refer to their tools as "rods" rather than sticks...
 

ADfields

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I don't think my nose is excessively elevated, but I wouldn't go over to the fly fishing forum and suggest that they're snooty because they refer to their tools as "rods" rather than sticks...[/SIZE][/FONT]
Is fishing stick or fly stick commonly used among people that use them? My point is, rightly or wrongly, clip is a very common word widely used by people who use gun and people who make guns both to refer to a “detachable box ammunition magazine clip.” It’s a magazine because it encloses ammo for storage, it’s a clip because it clips ammo togather in a grope for use. If you actually want to be “correct” then say the whole thing! Saying magazine or mag is no more correct than clip, they are all only part of the full discretion. I’ve often heard in the last 20 or so years “that’s not a pistol it’s a revolver” too because, like it or not, it’s becoming common nomenclature that only semi-autos are referred to as a pistol. Revolvers were pistols long before autos existed and still.

I think it’s okay to explain the whole mag/clip thing at the right time and place as a point of conversation. I don’t think it okay to obsess about it like so many do, or use it as a reason to feel smarter than others you don’t know anything about. Many extremely well versed gun folk who know well what it is still say clip. Most of the Greatest Generation say clip because of their use of the M1 Grand, they know what a magazine is and what a clip is but still say clip. I think if you’re going to make all the effort of looking down your nose at someone it should at least take a bigger faux-pas than them calling a “detachable box magazine clip” a clip.
 

iofthetaiga

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Sorry Andy, I didn't intend to stroke your fur backwards! And I'm not intending to sound or feel smarter than anybody else either. Y'all can call it whatever you want. Don't let me stand in your way.:)
 
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