Loading strip
Charging strips are used for fast filling gun - and guns - magazines with cartridges . The technically closely related loading frame , on the other hand, is inserted directly into the gun's magazine well with the cartridges it contains.
construction
A loading strip is a sheet metal strip with sideways bent cheeks. The cartridges are pushed into the loading strip with their pull-out groove. To prevent the cartridges from sliding out of the loading strip due to their weight, a spring plate is attached to the inside of the strip (the side facing the case base), which presses the cartridges against the retaining cheeks.
Types and functionality
A basic distinction is made between two different types of loading strips, which are called “stripper clips” and “en-bloc clips” in English. According to their developers, the distinction between "Mauser loading strips" and "Mannlicher loading frames" is also common. They were first developed for bolt-action rifles with a fixed box magazine, the types developed by Peter-Paul Mauser and Ferdinand Mannlicher every few years were later used for other weapon designs.
- Mauser loading strips or stripper clips
- are in the real sense only accessories that only simplify and accelerate the loading of the magazine of the weapon, but (in the vast majority of cases) are not absolutely necessary. The filled loading strip is attached to the slots provided in the weapon magazine and the cartridges are pushed or stripped from the loading strip directly into the case of the weapon from above . The cartridges are now in the magazine, the loading strip is pulled out of the guide and is no longer needed after loading. They are used both for weapons with a permanently installed magazine (e.g. the eponymous Mauser weapons such as rifles from the Mauser 98 system or the Mauser C96 pistol ) and for filling removable magazines, as are common in many modern automatic handguns ( e.g. AK-74 ). Weapons with an integrated or inserted interchangeable magazine can also be refilled with individual cartridges without a loading strip. Some interchangeable magazines, e.g. B. that of the Beretta BM 59 can be charged when plugged in using the charging strip.
- Mannlicher loading frame or en-bloc clips
- In contrast to stripper clips, they are indispensable for loading and using the weapon, as they function of the magazine to a certain extent in the weapon, i.e. H. take over the (supply) guidance of the cartridges. This type of loading frame is completely pushed into the weapon with the cartridges, remains there even while the shot is fired and holds the cartridges in the weapon. These are guided upwards by a spring-loaded feeder installed in the gun's magazine slot. Only with the last shot does the emptied loading frame fall out through an opening at the bottom of the weapon (eponymous: rifles of the Mannlicher system , e.g. model 1895 ) or is ejected upwards ( M1 Garand ). Without a loading frame, these weapons can only be used as single-shot weapons; after each shot, the cartridge must be inserted directly into the chamber by hand.
- Lee loading strip
- are a rare intermediate type and, developed by James Paris Lee , were only used in the M1895 Lee Navy rifle . Like Mannlicher-type loading strips, they are loaded into the weapon with the cartridges, but do not replace the magazine and fall out of the weapon before the first shot is fired.
Loading strip
SKS
Mauser C96
Loading strip for Swiss carbine 31
Carabiner 31 with attached plastic loading strip
a STANAG magazine is filled with a STANAG loading strip
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Loading frame
M95 / 30, attached loading frame
M1 Garand
5 shots Mannlicher loading frame, used in Berthier rifles
revolver
There are similar systems for revolvers , which are known as "Speedloader" and "(Half) Moon Clips".
- Speedloader
- have a similar function to Mauser loading strips or stripper clips. A speedloader holds a suitable number of cartridges in such a way that they can simply be placed on the drum of a revolver. The cartridges are then released mechanically and slide into the drum, the speedloader can be removed. As the name suggests, speedloaders only serve to accelerate the charging process and are not absolutely necessary.
- (Half) Moon clips
- have a similar function to Mannlicher loading strips or en-bloc clips. Either a full or half (half moon clips) drum load of cartridges is held by a thin component. Moon clips are mainly used to hold rimless cartridges - mostly calibers originally developed for pistols - in the drum. Since, unlike rim cartridges , they are not fixed in the revolver drum by the design of their case, the clips must remain in the revolver and hold the cartridges in the drum. One example is the M1917 revolver , which is set up for the rimless pistol caliber .45 ACP and can therefore only be loaded and used with moon clips. In some revolvers, very similar systems are structurally integrated into the design of the weapon, for example in the Mateba MTR .
Moon and half-moon clips (6 shots in .45 ACP)
