Clip (firearms)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Magazine (firearms).
An M1 Garand en bloc clip (left) compared to an SKS stripper clip (right)

A clip is a device that is used to store multiple rounds of ammunition together as a unit for insertion into the

stamped sheet metal, intended to be disposable, though they are often re-used.[citation needed
]

Types

Stripper

Main article: Stripper clip
Loading a 7.92×57mm Mauser Karabiner 98k rifle with a five-round stripper clip.

A stripper clip (

Lee-Enfield, Mosin–Nagant, Gewehr 98, M1903 Springfield, SKS, Vz. 58 and T48 rifle. Detachable magazines may also be loaded with stripper clips provided they have a special guide attached, as in the M14 rifle or M16 rifle
.

En bloc

An en bloc clip of 8×56mmR is inserted into a Steyr M95 carbine.

Several rifle designs utilize an en bloc clip for loading. With this design, both the cartridges and clip are inserted as a unit into a fixed magazine within the rifle, and the clip is usually ejected or falls from the rifle upon firing or chambering of the last round. The en bloc clip was invented by Ferdinand Mannlicher for use in his Model 1885, Model 1886, and 1888 rifles.

Other rifles utilizing en bloc clips include the German

Steyr-Mannlicher M1895, the Hungarian FÉG 35M, and the American M1895 Lee Navy, M1 Garand, and Pedersen T1E3. Original Austrian Mannlicher clips were often uni-directional, but already the Gewehr 88 and subsequently the M1891 Carcano used symmetrical clips. John Pedersen at first developed a irreversible clip[1] for his rifle, later he redesigned the clip to be reversible.[2] This design was also utilized for the competing designs by John Garand.[3]

Moon and half-moon

Main article: Moon clip
M1917 revolvers. The .45 Auto Rim
cartridge may be used in a revolver's cylinders without the clips.

A moon clip is a ring-shaped or stellate piece of metal designed to hold a full cylinder of ammunition for a revolver (commonly 6 rounds) together as a unit. Therefore, instead of loading or extracting one round at a time, a full cylinder of ammunition or spent cases can be loaded or extracted at once, speeding the loading process. A similar device known as a "half-moon clip" is semi-circular and designed to hold a half cylinder of ammunition (commonly 3 rounds) in which case two clips are necessary to fully load the cylinder. Such devices have most often been used to chamber rimless semi-automatic pistol cartridges into a revolver, but they can also be used with rimmed cartridges to allow for the faster loading and/or unloading of a revolver.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Cartridge clip".
  2. ^ "Reversible en bloc clip for cartridges".
  3. ISBN 0-87341-824-7

External links
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