OT/OT Clip vs. Magazine - What's the difference

I think it goes back to the old days when a stripper clip held a number of rounds of ammunition for fast reloading of the magazine. The ammunition on the clip was inserted into the magazine by pushing the rounds downward, off of the stripper clip. Somehow they became synonymous.

I guess technically it's a magazine in that it is the device that holds the ammo. Specifically, it's a detachable magazine (some guns, rifles mostly, have fixed internal magazines set into the body that aren't removable and are loaded from the top). Clips can be like stripper clips, which hold rounds of ammo in a row so they can easily and quickly loaded into a magazine, or an en bloc clip like on the M1 Garand, where there is a metal frame that holds the rounds and the whole package is loaded into the gun. The M1 clip can't be topped off and the metal clip gets ejected when the last round is fired.

All technical description aside, many people use the terms clip and magazine interchangably when refering to detachable magazines for pistols or rifles. Apparently your marshall is a "purist".

Dave

I would say RobG had it right from te times I had rifle instruction on SMLEs. The 5 round clip went into the fixed magazine. The distinction nowadays is probably pedantic at best; I can't think of a rifle or pistol in widespread service that has the clip and magazine arrangement.

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Many people are also morons.

Which both the Germans and Japanese learned to listen for, as that's when they were going to pop up and shoot you while you were reloading. So the M1 riflemen took to carrying a empty clip around in their pocket, which they could throw down on the ground to make the "ping" sound, and then wait for enemy riflemen to show themselves.

Pat

I've heard this story repeatedly but its veracity seems doubtful.

I mean, how audible would the sound of the empty clip being ejected be in the general cacophony of the battlefield?

How often would infantry be engaging at a range where the "ping" would be audible in any case? It would seem that at anything over fifty feet or so, it would be inaudible even without the general din of the battlefield.

Cheers,