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ARMAG

Search matches names, aliases and the text of every page. An arm found by its service designation is found by its alias, not its title.

En bloc clip

A clip that is loaded into the magazine along with the cartridges and stays there until the last round is fired.

The difference from a stripper clip is that this one goes in. The clip is part of the feed system: rounds are pushed up out of it by the magazine follower, and when the last one is chambered the empty clip is ejected — in the M1 Garand’s case upwards, with a metallic ring that is one of the best-known sounds in firearms.

The consequence is that the rifle cannot be topped up. Fire three rounds from an eight-round clip and the only ways to reload are to fire the other five or to eject a partly full clip and lose whatever is in it. That constraint, more than anything else, is why the M14 which replaced the Garand has a detachable box magazine.