Come to think about it, when I am watching all of my favorite police dramas on television, I am not sure that I have ever heard them refer to the container for cartridges as a magazine. They always use terms like " dropping the clip" instead. I guess it's more dramatic, and possibly a word that the general public may understand better. If you hear someone say "put the clip in the pistol," you know what they mean. However, this is an incorrect statement. You can't load a clip into your pistol
. You can, however, use a clip to load a magazine
. Are you completely confused now?

The confusion possibly originates from the returning soldiers of World War II. The clip-magazine confusion may have started with the M-1 Garand. U.S. Soldiers used the M1 Garand heavily throughout the war. The M1 Garand has an internal magazine, and soldiers used clips to load rounds into the internal magazine. After the war, when soldiers returned to the states, they called anything that loads rounds into a firearm a clip. It stuck, and it's now common for people to refer to a clip as a magazine or a magazine as a clip. The terms magazine and clip are more commonly used correctly in the firearms communities; however, they are still overwhelmingly misused outside of those communities. Let's clear up the confusion so that we can help teach future generations to use the terms correctly.

What Is a Clip?

A clip is nothing more than a storage device used to load ammunition
into the magazine of a firearm. They were initially developed for military applications, the most common of which were rifles
with internal magazines. An internal magazine is a magazine that is held inside of the firearm. It has all of the same functions as a standard magazine, but it is not removable. The internal magazine stores ammunition and feeds it into the chamber, but instead of being removed, the internal magazine stays put.
Clips are used for loading ammunition directly into these internal magazines, which in turn feeds the individual rounds into the firing chamber. There are all kinds of clips, the most common of which are en block clips and stripper clips. An en block clip holds rounds side by side, while a stripper clip holds the rounds as a row of cartridges. The stripper clip is not loaded into the firearm, rather it is loaded into the magazine and is stripped of its ammunition. The magazine is then loaded into a firearm.

Mosin Nagant 10 Pack Stripper Clips

  Although uncommon, some rifles with detachable magazines can be loaded with clips, but this is not the majority. Clips themselves are not very commonly used at all. Most modern-day firearms do not use clips.

What Is a Magazine?

A magazine
is a container, device, or chamber for storing cartridges to be fed automatically into the breach of a gun. It is the device from which ammunition is pulled into the firing chamber.


Beretta 81 Magazine

A magazine can be a permanent part of a firearm, or it can be removable, but either way, it serves the same purpose. Today most pistols, and even some rifles, use a detachable magazine. These magazines are hand loaded with ammunition or even a clip, and then the loaded magazine is placed into the firearm. When shooting, the magazine loads individual cartridges into the chamber with the help of a spring-loaded follower. Not many guns use clips, but all guns use magazines, with the exception of revolvers.

Glock 9mm 33rd Steel Lined Magazine

Let's Sum It Up!

A clip is used to load a magazine. A magazine can be fixed or detachable. A magazine is a device where ammunition is held and stored, and it is used to feed cartridges into the chamber of a firearm. We offer thousands of magazines, clips, and even drums! Shop our entire selection here
.