The key difference between clip and magazine is that clip is stored in the ammunition as a whole unit while magazine works both as a storing instrument as well as a feeding device.
Clip and Magazine are terms related to ammunition. To gun aficionados, the difference between a clip and a magazine is as apparent as the difference between black and white. However, for those who don’t know much about guns, the dissimilarity might not be as conspicuous.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Clip
3. What is Magazine
4. Side by Side Comparison – Clip vs Magazine in Tabular Form
5. Summary
What is Clip?
The clip is an apparatus that is utilized to store ammunition together as a whole unit, and then it is inserted in the magazine of a firearm. It is basically what holds the bullets together. A clip generally needs another structure that will push the ammunitions out from the chamber.
Figure 01: Clips
The main function of the clip is to hold the rounds, but it will not feed the bullets to the firearm since there is no spring that will propel them towards the barrel. A clip can be rendered useless if it doesn’t have any spring on it since it doesn’t have any shooting capacity without any spring on it.
What is Magazine?
Magazine works both as a storing instrument as well as a feeding device. Its component includes a spring in which it can launch the ammunition into the firearm. It can be either an internal part of the firearm or it can also be detachable.
Figure 02: Magazines with Clips
It usually has a box-like structure that holds the bullets together that create the pressure to the bullets, though this device comes in many names such as casket, rotary, drum and pan among others. A general rule of thumb if it has a spring on it, then that is a magazine. Magazines already possess both capacities, which are the reason why it widely used these days since a separate spring is no longer needed.
What is the Difference Between Clip and Magazine?
The clip is an apparatus that is utilized to store ammunition together as a whole unit, which is then inserted in the magazine of a firearm. Magazine works both as a storing instrument as well as a feeding device. Its component includes a spring in which it can launch the ammunition into the firearm while a clip does not have a spring.
The main function of the clip is to hold the rounds of bullets. The main function of the magazine is to launch the ammunition into the firearm.
Summary – Clip vs Magazine
It pays to know the difference between the two, not just to learn something new but also to provide the proper response when you find yourself in a conversation with someone about guns and ammunition. The difference between clip and magazine is that clip is stored in the ammunition as a whole unit while magazine works both as a storing instrument as well as a feeding device. They are very much different from each other, in fact, sometimes a clip is considered to be a magazine. After all, one can never know when an extra knowledge might come in handy.
Image Courtesy:
1.’Mosin ammo clip’By BigBattles – Own work, (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2.’7.62x39mm Clips’By W3bj3d1 – Own work, (CC0) via Commons Wikimedia