Stripper Clips for your AR Rifle/Pistol...

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DustyGmt

DustyGmt

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Are any of you guys regular habitual users of stripper clips when you load magazines or keep a healthy horde of ammo loaded onto them?

I know there are probably more modern, efficient mag loaders but do alot of you guys find them to be practical and relevant to your "Hit the Fan" prepping scenario or are they kind of a relic of a time past?

I've never really used them, but I put together a little battle pack today and loaded a can full of ammo on clips for the heck of it and it was at this time I realized that they are compatible with P-Mags, something I never knew. I just erroneously assumed they were for use with USGI mags...

I got to thinking about it and was wondering if people on here were fans of them and if there were any modern day "bandoliers", an updated departure from the old Vietnam era 5.56 bandoliers. Just curious.

I have never really given them much thought, I more or less subscribed to the school of thought that a truckload of magazines would negate the need for strippers but after thinking about it for a prep stash or bug in/bug out scenario they might be something not to dismiss as I have up to this point. I know they could be efficient to use at the range for some folks, not really an issue for me because I really dont mind taking time to load magazines at the range, I'm a fast loader and I think it would hinder my conservation efforts more than anything and I dont burn up cases of ammo on a range trip, especially not now but was just wondering What do you guys think about them in general?
 
I do, and I'm pretty dang fast loading a mag with them. Perhaps a Cammenga is faster, but also bulkier and can't be done 'on the move'. I did get a lot of experience using them in the Army. They are a little slower on P-Mags, harder to slide on, but still way faster than one by one. I also have a bolt action .223, and keep the ammo for that on strippers, it's not hard to strip 4 off and hand load the Axis mag. I also used them for the H&R Handi-rifles I had, after the first one, you just slid them down and popped the bullet into the bore, and pulled the stripper to the side.
I keep ammo cans with stripper clips in bandolieers for a rainy day, and loose stripper clips in an ammo can for range ammo.
 
I keep some ammo in stripper clips...some I loaded, some I bought that way. A BIG key to using a stripper clip is having the spoon. The spoon marries the clip to the magazine. No spoon, no workey...

comments on clips....
  • Nice to have around, but seem fragile. Mine are always dropping a round (I do not clamp the tabs tight enough)
  • For the cost, just buy extra mags...springs do not go bad for being loaded - the downside, mags take up more space.
  • For example, you can buy loaded stripper clips with 420 rounds in an ammo cans
  • A nice tool instead of a spoon is the Maglula, see link below.
ymmv

for illustrative purposes:
https://cogburnarsenal.com/product/m16-surplus-stripper-clip-spoon/
https://www.maglula.com/product/m-16-ar-15-striplula-5-56-223
 
 
I think they are very convenient at the range, esp. in the military when you are trying to maximize use of all of your available time to train. Now that I'm a silly-vilian, I load my mags the day before range day when I am prepping my targets, guns, and other gear.
 
DustyGmt said:
Are any of you guys regular habitual users of stripper clips when you load magazines or keep a healthy horde of ammo loaded onto them?
Click to expand...
No. I find them awkward to use. If I need a buttload of prepped ammo, I'll sit in front of the TV loading mags and packing them into ammo boxes. I've got a couple of inexpensive mag loaders that work well. Even so, I find loading single rounds by hand less of a chore than using stripper clips and a spoon.
 
MistWolf said:
No. I find them awkward to use. If I need a buttload of prepped ammo, I'll sit in front of the TV loading mags and packing them into ammo boxes. I've got a couple of inexpensive mag loaders that work well. Even so, I find loading single rounds by hand less of a chore than using stripper clips and a spoon.
Click to expand...
I tested this myself some time ago, definitely recall it being awkward the first couple times. The first ten and second ten are much easier than the third. I think it's a good way to top off real quick if you had to. I have enough mags and clips that I can keep both around and not really sweat it.....
 
I’ve got quite a bit of 5.56mm loaded on strippers, I think they work well with some practice. Having a bandolier or 2 ready to go is also a handy way to transport or carry ammos, rather than loose or in boxes.

I've also got a fair amount of 7.62mm in 5rd strippers, in bandos... same-same. The stripper guide in my M1a is too tight for some strippers, but I don’t really use them that way... I just load mags with them.
 
DustyGmt said:
I tested this myself some time ago, definitely recall it being awkward the first couple times. The first ten and second ten are much easier than the third. I think it's a good way to top off real quick if you had to. I have enough mags and clips that I can keep both around and not really sweat it.....
Click to expand...
Ha! It was awkward more than the first couple of times! I once loaded a thousand rounds into mags from stripper clips & spoons for an upcoming shooting trip.

I'd put the spoon on the mag and slide the loaded clip into place. Then, I'd push the rounds into the mag using the edge of a table, the least difficult way I found. Nearly always one or two rounds would not load correctly. Much easier using a commercial mag loader or even loading the rounds into the mag by hand.
 
Charlie98 said:
Y'all are doing it wrong, then... ;)

Typically, I use the base of another magazine to push the rounds into place, as close to the stripper as I can get it. I might have one round not fully seat, but that's it.
Click to expand...
Ah, no. The loader I've got is straight forward. One unit instead of a Rube Goldberg three piece (spoon, clip, pusher) mashup.
 
MistWolf said:
Ah, no. The loader I've got is straight forward. One unit instead of a Rube Goldberg three piece (spoon, clip, pusher) mashup.
Click to expand...

No, I got you... I've seen some pretty cool loaders. But in all seriousness, as far as a compact system to transport and load a fair volume of ammo, it's hard to beat strippers in bandoliers.

This is the tail end of 1000rds of ammos I loaded up to torture test my DPMS AR a year or so ago... loaded by hand. I could have done that in about 1/3rd the time it took with ammo on strippers.

cysgxxWm.jpg
 
Charlie98 said:
No, I got you... I've seen some pretty cool loaders. But in all seriousness, as far as a compact system to transport and load a fair volume of ammo, it's hard to beat strippers in bandoliers.

This is the tail end of 1000rds of ammos I loaded up to torture test my DPMS AR a year or so ago... loaded by hand. I could have done that in about 1/3rd the time it took with ammo on strippers.

View attachment 944271
Click to expand...
I realize it's very subjective. I did the stripper clip thing more than a few times and not just with ARs. They work for some people, but not for me. Stripper clips are an annoyance I'd rather not deal with. Stripper clips do a poor job of holding the rounds together during transit, it's difficult pushing the rounds into the mag and they're just another piece of crapola to police up at the end of the shooting session.
 
DukeConnor said:
I end up bleeding when i use stripper clips.

Obviously I'm doing something wrong.
Click to expand...

Try Charlie 98's suggestion next time. I learned it from a Master Sargent in my unit who'd been in VN.

Charlie98 said:
Typically, I use the base of another magazine to push the rounds into place, as close to the stripper as I can get it. I might have one round not fully seat, but that's it.
Click to expand...
 
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