Firearms are used by security officers, political leaders, cops, and leaders for security purposes. Firearms are used for both good and bad intentions.
Firearms are formed by connecting many devices to eject ammunition. However, the terminologies are wrongly used even by experts. Clip and magazine are two words that differ but are used interchangeably.
Key Takeaways
- A clip holds ammunition together for easy loading, while a magazine stores and feeds ammunition into a firearm.
- Clips are external and removable, while magazines can be detachable or integrated into the firearm.
- Magazines have a spring mechanism that feeds the ammunition, whereas clips do not.
Clip vs Magazine
A clip is a device that holds cartridges together in a single unit. They are made of metal or plastic used in older firearms such as bolt-action rifles and pistols. Magazines are containers that hold cartridges and can be detachable or fixed made of metal or plastic.
A clip device is used to speed up the reloading of ammunition in the firearms. Its design varies for different guns. It does not have a strip of spring to hold the bullets like a magazine.
These are used mainly in military firearms, where the device is external to the gun.
On the other hand, a magazine is made of metal, with a spring inside to hold the clip device. These are internally built-in firearms; in some, it is a detachable device.
Magazines are made reliable with the help of technology to reduce the danger of misfires.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Clip | Magazine |
|---|---|---|
| Material | Steel stamping | Metal or plastic polymer |
| Definition | The clip is used to hold rounds of ammunition ranging from six to thirty | The magazine is used to hold clip devices in the fire chamber of the firearm. |
| Purpose | The clip helps to speed up the reloading during shooting | The magazine helps to push the ammo into the fire chamber of a firearm |
| Derived from | Middle French Magasin, Italian Magazzino, and Arabic magazine, meaning storehouse | Middle french Magasin, Italian Magazzino, and Arabic magazine, meaning storehouse |
| Spring | Spring is not present in the clip to hold bullets. | It has a spring to push bullets into the fire chamber. |
What is Clip?
Firearms have a device in which the ammunition is loaded called a clip. It is inserted into the magazine to prepare the gun or firearm for shooting. The clip must be handled carefully. Otherwise, it reloads the gun automatically, resulting in a misfire.
The clip helps to reload the ammunition faster in the firearm. In some guns, it is an internal part; in some, it is external.
Various types of ammunition available are used in different firearms, and each gun has an additional clip device to hold the shot.
It is a device made of steel stamping and is inserted into the magazine to load ammunition quickly.
In some firearms, the ammunition is loaded into the fire chamber, and in some rifles, it loads bullets into the guns as the magazine is an internal part.
Clips are designed for military purposes where shooting speed must be maintained high. Hooks come in various shapes depending on the type of firearm.
Today, clips are not used in firearms as only en-bloc and stripper clips are used in internal magazine firearms. Full moon and half-moon clips are used in the revolvers where the former holds six ammunitions, and the latter has three.
Clips increase the efficiency of firearms.
What is Magazine?
Magazines are the part of firearms in which ammunition is stored. Magazines and clips are two different devices that go into the rifles. The clip-holding bullet is inserted into the magazines, which are then inserted into the rifles of the firearm.
Magazines are made of metal sheets with a spring that holds the cartridge tightly. Magazines come in two models one is detachable magazines, and the other is built-in in the firearms.
Magazines can hold more than ten pieces of ammunition with the help of technology. Magazines are essential in the military, where the speed of fire matters. Soldiers need to be ready for the subsequent fire before the defender protects themselves.
The magazine’s design has evolved in the years to make the holdings of rounds more than before. The Classic rifles the young generation uses for casual Target Shooting practice hold more than 16 cartridges.
AR-15, a semi-automatic rifle, uses a standard magazine that holds up to 30 rounds of ammunition.
Today, magazines are manufactured using plastic polymers, and the shape of the lips of magazines is also improved. Technological improvements made spring designs more reliable than before.
Main Differences Between Clip and Magazine
- The clip is a device used to store rounds of ammunition, whereas a magazine is used to store clip devices to set the firearm.
- The clip is fed into the magazine, whereas the magazine is fed Into the firearm to push bullets into the fire chamber.
- The clip holds bullets in a row form, without a spring, but the magazine has a spring to push ammunition one after another.
- The clip uses steel stampings, and the magazine is manufactured using plastic polymer or any metal.
- Clip increases efficiency, and the magazine improves the reliability of the firearm.
- https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/242500.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjk3-T9-Yj1AhVGSGwGHb2LD4oQFnoECBIQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2CM0ck-A1lwcpYz1PQ2Olf
- https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.sascv.org/ijcjs/pdfs/Lemieuxijcjs2014vol9issue1.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwihhL6W-oj1AhUYS2wGHYwBDl04ChAWegQIBRAB&usg=AOvVaw3sgeyOO0RvcJU0rGqHRdZL
Last Updated : 11 June, 2023
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Piyush Yadav has spent the past 25 years working as a physicist in the local community. He is a physicist passionate about making science more accessible to our readers. He holds a BSc in Natural Sciences and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science. You can read more about him on his bio page.
The irony is, despite the importance of the clip and magazine distinction, the mislabeling doesn’t seem to affect the actual functionality of firearms. As long as the ammunition is loaded properly, it should get the job done either way.
It’s a shame that many people don’t understand the difference between the two. It could lead to potentially dangerous situations. I think this information should be made more widespread to prevent any accidents from occurring.
Indeed, knowledge about this distinction should be more publicly available. Thank you for sharing this article, it was very enlightening.
Absolutely. With the misinformation available so widely, it can lead to mishandling of firearms, jeopardizing many lives.
The correct usage of the two terms has been much maligned lately. It would appear that the misuse of them is propagated by the media more times than not, which is then adopted by the public. The distinction is important and should be corrected.
So, essentially, the magazine feeds the bullets into the firearm, while the clip device is used to store the ammunition for later feed. I wonder why the clip and magazine are incorrectly seen as the same thing by many people. It’s actually a very important distinction.
You’re right. I had no idea about the difference until now, and I consider myself quite knowledgeable in firearms. It’s a vital distinction to get right.
It’s fascinating how such a critical difference between clip and magazine can be so widely misunderstood. A good number of people, including gun enthusiasts, could not differentiate both. Such an interesting read, kudos to the author!
Indeed, perhaps there should be more emphasis on educating the public about such intricacies. It is indeed crucial for everyone’s safety.
Given the misunderstandings surrounding the terminology, it is clear that the public requires proper education. This will help in enhancing the responsible and well-informed use of firearms.