The media and especially politicians use the term clip and magazine interchangeably. While I am not particularly uptight about the misuse of the term, it’s incorrect use seems to have taken center stage.   Both a Ford Focus and a Porsche are cars, but we can agree one is a significantly difference when it comes to performance. Same applies to Clips and Magazines.

A clip is used by the military and is a designation for cartridges that are, wait for it, ‘clipped’ together in a string, do not consist of a spring assist and primarily used to maintain a constant field of fire. Think of the full-auto M-60

machine gun . Most often they have a second person feeding the ammunition into the machine gun.

A magazine is completely different in that you load the cartridges into the either a single or double stacked sleeve that then fits into the bottom of firearms.

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 ammunitions. After all, one can never know when an extra knowledge might come in handy.

Difference between a Clip and a Magazine