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Astripper clip (also known as acharger orcharger clip, especially inCommonwealth English military vocabulary) is aspeedloader that holds severalcartridges (usually between 5 and 10) together in a single unit for easier and faster loading of afirearm magazine.[1]
Stripper clips were originally utilized in infantrybolt-action rifles, such as the RussianMosin–Nagant, the BritishLee–Enfield, and the GermanMauser Model 1889,Gewehr 98, and its variant theKarabiner 98k, the Mauser action related AmericanM1903 Springfield andM1917 Enfield, SwissK31, and many others. Stripper clips were also employed in newer,semi-automatic rifles with internalbox magazines, such as the SovietSVT-40,SKS and the EgyptianHakim Rifle. Semi and full automatic firearms using both stripper feed inserts and detatchable box magazines are the Canadian (FNC1A1) version of theL1A1 self-loading rifle, the USOA-96 carbine andT48 rifles and the ChineseType 63 andType 81 assault rifles.
In contemporary times, they are used to top off detachable box magazines for semi-automatic and automatic rifles. Amagazine 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.
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 thereceiver orbolt), the user presses on the cartridges from above, sliding them into the magazine and stripping them off the clip.[2]
Depending on the firearm, magazine, and cartridge, stripper clips come in a variety of shapes, some are quite complex, though most are either straight or crescent-shaped pieces of stamped metal—usually brass, steel (oftenblued,parkerized), or plastic.
Stripper clips differ fromen 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. On the other hand, en bloc clips are loaded inside the weapon while shooting. 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 can only be used when it is loaded into the magazine and all of the remaining rounds must be either fired or ejected before another full en bloc clip can be loaded.
A device practically identical to a modern stripper clip was patented by inventor and treasurer ofUnited States Cartridge Company De Witt C. Farrington in 1878, while a rarer type of the clip now known as Swiss-type (after theSchmidt–Rubin) frame charger was patented in 1886 by Louis P. Diss ofRemington Arms.[3] The former was not adopted on a military rifle until 1889 (onMauser Model 1889) and the latter until 1887 (onVetterli-Vitali M1870/87).
A different device known as theen bloc clip has been used since the mid to late 1880s (Mannlicher M1886). Stripper clips are intended purely to load ammunition into themagazine, whileen bloc clips, as used in theM1 Garand,M1891 Carcano, andMannlicher M1895, are designed to be inserted into the magazine itself, essentially forming part of the loaded working magazine. They are faster to use but more expensive to produce then more common Farrington-type chargers, and become unreliable if used many times (hence they are designed for single use).
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 as the remaining rounds must be either fired or ejected before a new fully loaded en bloc clip can be loaded, which is generally easy with stripper-clip loading weapons.
Stripper clips were originally employed in infantrybolt-action rifles, such as the RussianMosin–Nagant, the BritishLee–Enfield, and the GermanGewehr 98 and its variant theMauser K98k, the related USM1903 Springfield and many others.[4] Stripper clips were also employed in newer, semi-automatic rifles with internalbox magazines, such as the SovietSKS and EgyptianHakim Rifle.[5] Many early semi-automatic pistols also used stripper clips to reload, including theMannlicher M1894, theRoth–Steyr M1907, and theMauser C96.
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In modern use, strippers are used to fill detachable box magazines 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.
