My IBM Korean War era M-1 carbine

[browningautorifle]

"Clip" is a common euphemism

It's more a slang term used by the uneducated towards parts names. It will always probably be used because of things like "World of Warcraft" and such games that use incorrect speak to make things sound salty and professional.

[JimF4M1s (Deceased)]

Some use the term clips. I tend to see it used more often by non gun enthusiasts.

Euphemism is a word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing. Personally I see nothing harsh, blunt, unpleasant or embarrassing about the word magazine. It is just one of the many misused gun terms. There was an article in the July 2014 Guns & Ammo mentioning this and others. From that article.

Clip vs. Magazine

You know that boxy rectangular thingy that holds cartridges and slides into the bottom of your semi-auto pistol? It’s not a clip — no matter how often the term is misused. It’s a magazine.

A magazine holds shells under spring pressure in preparation for feeding into the firearm’s chamber. Examples include box, tubular, drum and rotary magazines. Some are fixed to the firearm while others are removable.

A cartridge “clip” has no spring and does not feed shells directly into the chamber. Rather, clips hold cartridges in the correct sequence for “charging” a specific firearm’s magazine. Stripper clips allow rounds to be “stripped” into the magazine. Other types are fed along with the shells into the magazine — the M1 Garand famously operates in this fashion. Once all rounds have been fired, the clip is ejected or otherwise released from the firearm.

In essence, clips feed magazines. Magazines feed firearms.


Another's that makes me smile are:
Assault Rifle.
Some think AR as in AR15 means Assault Rifle. When it actually refers to ArmaLite, after the company that developed it in the late 1950’s.
Cartridge vs. Bullet.
How often do you hear some say they bought a box of bullets instead of cartridges.

There are many others. I was horrible in my English class in school. But whether considered a euphemism, slang, or common term, in my opinion they are not used correctly.

Boy did I digress from our topic, sorry.

[browningautorifle]

I tend to see it used more often by non gun enthusiasts.

Exactly what I meant.

[Beerhunter]

A magazine holds shells under spring pressure in preparation for feeding into the firearm’s chamber.

I would disagree with the use of the word"shell", that is used extensively in American English,for cartridge. A shell is an artillery projectile that goes bang.

[shadycon]

Shells? let's go to the beach!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Magazines? Playboy perhaps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Clip? Holds paper together!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DaveHH]

Hey RR, good to see you made it to the carbine forum. It's DaveH from the MWR.

Folks, I'll vouch for this guy, he's good to go. Interesting guy and Navy vet. Nice carbine, very nice.

[river rat]

Good to see you over here Dave also.

[fn111557]

Shells? let's go to the beach!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Magazines? Playboy perhaps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Clip? Holds paper together!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't want sand in my shotgun!

[river rat]

I don't want sand in my shotgun!

Funny you said that. Once I had sand put in the breech of a M-16 to teach me a lesson to keep this weapon glued to my body a lesson I never forgot. Dam it was a bummer to clean.

[emmagee1917]

"Clip" is a common euphemism for magazine in the US but getting less so? I wonder if it dates from WWII use of the M1 Garand, with its en-bloc clip, rather than a detachable magazine.

Had not thought about it that way , but you may be onto something.
How many rifles are fed by a clip ( in this case an eight rounder ) into a magazine of smaller capacity ( in this case seven rounds ) .
Also the magazine is usually defined as having a follower and a spring to feed the rounds up and into the gun . Does this mean that the Garand mainspring is part of the magazine ? If so , what about the op-rod ? It holds the magizine spring so is it part of the magazine ?
Chris