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A stripper clip (also known as a charger or charger clip, especially in British and in Commonwealth military vocabulary) is a
speedloader A speedloader is a device used to reduce the time and effort needed to reload a firearm. Speedloaders come in a variety of forms for reloading revolvers, or the magazines used with other types of firearms such as rifles and shotguns. Generally ...
that holds several
cartridge Cartridge may refer to: Objects * Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition * ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device * Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators Other uses * Cartridge (surname), a ...
s (usually between 5 and 10) together in a single unit for easier and faster loading of a
firearm magazine A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device for a repeating firearm, either integral within the gun (internal/fixed magazine) or externally attached (detachable magazine). The magazine functions by holding several cartridge (firear ...
. Stripper clips were originally employed in infantry
bolt-action Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed). Most bolt-action ...
rifles, such as the Russian Mosin–Nagant, the British
Lee–Enfield The Lee–Enfield or Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the British Army's sta ...
, and the German
Mauser Model 1889 The Mauser Model 1889 is a bolt-action rifle of Belgian origin. It became known as the 1889 Belgian Mauser, 1891 Argentine Mauser, and 1890 Turkish Mauser. History After the Mauser brothers finished work on the Model 71/84 in 1880, the design t ...
,
Gewehr 98 The Gewehr 98 (abbreviated G98, Gew 98, or M98) is a German bolt-action rifle made by Mauser, firing cartridges from a five-round internal clip-loaded magazine. It was the German service rifle from 1898 to 1935, when it was replaced by the Kar ...
and its variant the
Karabiner 98k The Karabiner 98 kurz (; "carbine 98 short"), often abbreviated Karabiner 98k, Kar98k or K98k and also sometimes incorrectly referred to as a K98 (a K98 is a Polish carbine and copy of the Kar98a), is a bolt-action rifle chambered for the 7.92× ...
, the related US
M1903 Springfield The M1903 Springfield, officially the United States Rifle, Caliber .30-06, Model 1903, is an American five-round magazine-fed, bolt-action service repeating rifle, used primarily during the first half of the 20th century. The M1903 was first ...
, M1917, Swiss
K31 The Karabiner Modell 1931 (K. 31/Kar. 31/Mq. 31) is a magazine-fed, straight-pull bolt-action rifle. It was the standard issue rifle of the Swiss armed forces from 1933 until 1958 though examples remained in service into the 1970s. It has a 6-ro ...
and many others. Stripper clips were also employed in newer, semi-automatic rifles with internal box magazines, such as the Soviet SKS, and the Egyptian
Hakim Rifle The Hakim Rifle is a gas operated semi-automatic rifle. It was originally designed by Sweden and produced as the Ag m/42 for the Swedish Army. The tooling and design were later sold to Egypt, and the Hakim was produced there during the 1950s a ...
. Stripper clips differ from ''en bloc'' clips in that they are not designed to be inserted into the weapon itself, but only to load it or its magazine. After the magazine is loaded, the stripper clip is removed and set aside for reloading, or simply discarded during combat. Generally, a weapon that can use a stripper clip for loading can also be loaded one round at a time, while a weapon designed for an ''en bloc'' clip cannot be used without the clip. Currently, they are used to top off detachable box magazines for semi-automatic and automatic rifles. A magazine loader is placed on the lip of the box magazine, the clip is placed inside the loader, and then the rounds are pushed into the magazine.


Use

It is called a "stripper" clip because, after the bolt is opened and the stripper clip is placed in position (generally by placing it in a slot on either the receiver or bolt), the user presses on the cartridges from above, sliding them into the magazine and stripping them off the clip. Stripper clips differ from ''en bloc'' clips in that they are not designed to be inserted into the weapon itself, but only to load it or its magazine. After the magazine is loaded, the stripper clip is removed and set aside for reloading, or simply discarded during combat. Generally, a weapon that can use a stripper clip for loading can also be loaded one round at a time, while a weapon designed for an ''en bloc'' clip cannot be used without the clip. Depending on the firearm, magazine, and cartridge, stripper clips come in a variety of shapes, some quite complex, though most are either straight or crescent-shaped pieces of stamped metal—usually brass, steel (often blued or
parkerized Phosphate conversion coating is a chemical treatment applied to steel parts that creates a thin adhering layer of iron, zinc, or manganese phosphates, to achieve corrosion resistance, lubrication, or as a foundation for subsequent coatings or pai ...
), or plastic.


History

Stripper/charger clips have been used since 1889 (in the form of the
Mauser Model 1889 The Mauser Model 1889 is a bolt-action rifle of Belgian origin. It became known as the 1889 Belgian Mauser, 1891 Argentine Mauser, and 1890 Turkish Mauser. History After the Mauser brothers finished work on the Model 71/84 in 1880, the design t ...
), while ''en bloc'' clips have been used since the mid to late 1880s. Stripper clips are intended purely to load ammunition into the magazine, while ''en bloc'' clips, as used in the
M1 Garand The M1 Garand or M1 rifleOfficially designated as U.S. rifle, caliber .30, M1, later simply called Rifle, Caliber .30, M1, also called US Rifle, Cal. .30, M1 is a semi-automatic rifle that was the service rifle of the U.S Army during World War ...
as well as the Italian
Carcano Carcano is the frequently used name for a series of Italian bolt-action, magazine-fed, repeating military rifles and carbines. Introduced in 1891, this rifle was chambered for the rimless 6.5×52mm Carcano round (''Cartuccia Modello 1895''). ...
, are designed to be inserted into the magazine itself, essentially forming part of the loaded working magazine. The M1891 Three Line Rifle (the first " Mosin-Nagant") utilized stripper clips; however, the design was improved upon later and gradually refined by Mauser. Mauser clips are inherently smoother and are ejected automatically upon closing the bolt, while Mosin-Nagant clips require a special technique to get anywhere near the same efficiency and must be manually removed before the bolt can be closed. Still, both are faster than reloading with single cartridges. Moreover, once some but not all rounds have been fired, ''en bloc'' clip format guns are, as a rule, difficult or impossible to top-up to their maximum capacity again with additional cartridges, which is generally easy with stripper-clip loading weapons. Stripper clips were originally employed in infantry
bolt-action Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed). Most bolt-action ...
rifles, such as the Russian Mosin–Nagant, the British
Lee–Enfield The Lee–Enfield or Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the British Army's sta ...
, and the German
Gewehr 98 The Gewehr 98 (abbreviated G98, Gew 98, or M98) is a German bolt-action rifle made by Mauser, firing cartridges from a five-round internal clip-loaded magazine. It was the German service rifle from 1898 to 1935, when it was replaced by the Kar ...
and its variant the Mauser K98k, the related US
M1903 Springfield The M1903 Springfield, officially the United States Rifle, Caliber .30-06, Model 1903, is an American five-round magazine-fed, bolt-action service repeating rifle, used primarily during the first half of the 20th century. The M1903 was first ...
and many others. Stripper clips were also employed in newer, semi-automatic rifles with internal box magazines, such as the Soviet SKS and Egyptian
Hakim Rifle The Hakim Rifle is a gas operated semi-automatic rifle. It was originally designed by Sweden and produced as the Ag m/42 for the Swedish Army. The tooling and design were later sold to Egypt, and the Hakim was produced there during the 1950s a ...
. Many early semi-automatic pistols also used stripper clips to reload, including the
Mannlicher M1894 The Mannlicher M1894 was an early blow-forward semi-automatic pistol. General features The earliest Ferdinand Mannlicher pistol, manufactured by Fabrique D'Armes de Neuhausen, Switzerland, was designed to be self-loading and to use a special ...
, the
Roth–Steyr M1907 The Roth–Steyr M1907, or, more accurately Roth-Krnka M.7 Leszek Erenfeicht: ''Pra-pra-Glock: Repetierpistole M.7'', in: ''Strzał'' Nr. 1(80)/2010, , pp. 36–50. was a semi-automatic pistol issued to the Austro-Hungarian ''kaiserliche und kön ...
, and the Mauser C96. In modern use, strippers are used to fill detachable
box magazine A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device for a repeating firearm, either integral within the gun (internal/fixed magazine) or externally attached (detachable magazine). The magazine functions by holding several cartridges with ...
s for semi-automatic and automatic rifles. A magazine loader is placed on the lip of the box magazine, a full clip is inserted in the loader and the rounds are pushed into the magazine.


See also

*
Clip (firearms) A clip is a device that is used to store multiple rounds of ammunition together as a unit for insertion into the magazine or cylinder of a firearm. This speeds up the process by loading the firearm with several rounds at once, rather than one at a ...
* Magazine (firearms)


References


External links

{{commonscat
Stripper Clips
Ammunition Firearm components