(And some of you shoud know better!) For the god's sake! Everywhere I look...what ever happened to proper nomenclature? A clip is (generally) a stamped metal "holder" for ammunition that allows a speedy load/reload of a magazine before it is discarded (the M1 Garand is slightly different). A magazine feeds the ammunition into the breach of a weapon. *Most* 9mm Semi-Automatic pistols are fed by a detachable magazine...not by a fixed magazine which is reloaded with a "clip"...grrrr....(see sites of word misuse as well as a detailed pictorial description of clips vs. magazines below the fold)

FoxNews:

Police were still investigating around 9:15 a.m., when a gunman wielding two handguns and carrying multiple clips of ammunition stormed Norris Hall, a classroom building a half-mile away on the other side of the 2,600-acre campus.

7.62 mm Justice:

You can expect a effective range of 152 feet from a 9mm pistol, and a clip size of no smaller than ten shots. Most pistols come with two clips, but purchasing additional clips is not difficult.

Associated Press:

Virginia Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum would not say how many weapons the gunman carried. But a law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation was incomplete, said that the gunman had two pistols and multiple clips of ammunition.

ABC News:

It is unknown at this time if the guns had standard or extended clips, which can fire as many as 30 shots before the gun has to be reloaded.

OK...Now the pictorial difference:

A magazine and pistol (Glock - similar to the one[s] used by the shooter)

Loading a pistol magazine

A cutaway of a magazine inserted into a pistol

A "stripper" clip

A "stripper" clip being used to load a rifle

An "Armalite" style (M16/M4/AR15) magazine with "stripper" clip and adapter

Loading an "Armalite" style magazine

A "Garand" style inter-magazine clip (on the left)

Loading a "Garand" style clip

Got it? Good!

Posted by: Misha Moriarti at 09:22 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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