M14/M1A, using stripper clips and clip guide

[voortrekker]

Hello All,

The purpose of this topic is to :

1) give my experience with M14 stripper clips and clip guide.

2) request that others with experience using this reloading system provide insight to the use of stripper clips and clip guides for the M14/M1A and other rifles that have the ability to use stripper clips and clip guides.

Why is this Appleseed relevant?

Shooters that attend Appleseed events will benefit from the ability to prep their magazines quickly towards the next course of fire.  Using stripper clips and clip guides might help.




1) I bought some M14 bandoleer sets from Sarco, Inc. for $6.50 each.  Includes U.S. G.I. cloth bandoleer with U.S. made stripper clips and clip guide.

The clip guide is made to quickly prep magazines.

All brand new, never been used.  I do not know when they were made.  The stamping on the cloth bandoleer indicates : "NATO 7.62mm, BALL M80, 5RD CLIPS, WRA 22772"

The stripper clips and the clip guide were parkerized.

The mags used to test these stripper clips and clip guides were pre-ban M14 mags and C.M.I mags.

My experience testing this system :

The clip guides fit VERY tightly onto the magazines to the extent that I needed pliers to remove them.  Not good.

I used both the stripper clips from Sarco(likely genuine 60's US made hardware) and some Chinese made stripper clips I bought a few years ago.

The stripper clips I received from Sarco  were very well parkerized, the Chinese made stripper clips were not parkerized.

The chinese made stripper clips had edges that were very, very sharp......not good for quickly reloading.

The stripper clips from Sarco were not sharp, again, likely, 1960's U.S. G.I. hardware.


The gist, despite using the Sarco bought stripper clips or those made in China, I was REALLY disappointed in the ease of using these stripper clips and the clip guide to prep pre-ban/G.I. contract 20rd magazines.

In addition, I was really disappointed when I tried to use both stripper clips to prep a pre-ban 14XXX Springfield Armory M1A that has the stripper clip insert a top it's reciever.

Bottom line, I could reload M1A magazines faster than myself using these stripper clips and clip guides.

When I was struggling to prep a 20rd mag with these stripper clips and clip guide(20 times at least), I could not help but to think of our Veterans that were in Vietnam carrying the M14.

Thinking to myself, if they were given this system to reload, I'd throw the stripper clip and clip guide crap away and hand load the mags............and FORGET about a bandoleer for the M14.



NOW..........remember........... this is my experience with using stripper clips and clip guides for the M14/M1A.



I may be doing something wrong.




This is why I included 2) in the topic.


Anybody else with reloading using stripper clips and clip guides?


Specifically, the M14/M1A?


Let's see what others have to say about stripper clips and clip guides.......................



Take care.




Brett

[asminuteman]

.

[Old Dog]

I've seen folks put the stripper clip in the guide and holding the magazine, place the top bullet against the post of the overhead cover at Ramseur and then JAMB the rounds into the magazine by shoving the magazine towards the post.

When I see that I wonder how many times the magazine lips can smack that post (as the last of the 5 rounds are forced into the magazine) before damage to the lips begins to occur.

The condition of the feed lips are extremely important to the continued good feeding of the rounds from the magazine and into the chamber.  I wouldn't do anything to smack them against anything harder than my fingers or the palm of my hand.  Maybe that's one reason the 5 magazines I've been using since 1978 (they were used then) still work today.

[pat]

I had the same issues as Voortrekker when I started using stripper clips.

I took all the clips and the clip guides and removed the "surplus" crud of off them with steel wool and naval jelly and sanded where they fit into the clip guideThis crud is similar to the stuff that accumulates on brass and has a specific name,but I don't remember what it is.Its just sticky,mildewy gunk that inhibits smooth operation of the stripper clip.

Then I lubricated the clips using q-tips and the same grease used when lubricating the rifle taking care to lubricate the tracks where the bullets sit and the "lips" of the clip on the inside where the shoulder of the bullet sits in.I also lubricate the outside of the clip where it fits into the clip guide.

As for the stripper clip guide,I used pliers so it was snug not tight on the magazine lips,then cleaned and lubricated that also,especially the inside tracks where it clamps onto the magazine and where the stripper clip goes.Some sanding helped then lubrication.

Some magazines needed external grease where the stripper clip attaches to assist smooth operation.Some clips and guides didn't work as well as others and were set aside from carrying.

Yes,it took some time to clean and lubricate the clips and guides but it is a joy to use them to quickly reload a magazine or top up.I can use just my thumb without using another surface or the m-14 tool.

[Matt]

One problem both I and AZWildcat2001 have had is sometimes the clip slips through the guide and jams in the magazine. This most often happens with clips that don't have the little bump on the side that is designed to prevent this, or with clips that have that bump worn down. My solution is to hold the clip at the point where it should stop in the guide, then push down with my fingers on the rounds slowly, making sure each round goes in.

Wildcat's solution is to take the rounds out of the clips and feed them in one by one.

[ItsanSKS]

While I don't have experience directly with the M1A stripper clips and guide, I have picked up some useful experience with both the SKS and Mosin Nagant stripper clips.

When buying brand new, never issued stripper clips, some fitting & polishing will be necessary for smooth operation.  Ideally, you will want to be sure that the rounds can be pushed from the stripper clip with little to no resistance.  This can be accomplished by opening up the guide with a pair of pliers, a flat head screwdriver, or even some steel wool- the point is to reduce the holding tension of the clip.  Once you can slide the rounds from the stripper clip with minimal pressure, then you can begin practicing loading from the stripper clip into the magazine. 

Hand/thumb position is key- you want all the pressure going straight down, as close to the base of the rounds as possible. 
If, after getting the action of the stripper clip itself smooth, you cannot get them to feed into the magazine, inspect the feed lips closely- they may be bent in a little bit, which would make it nearly impossible to feed from clips.

I'll look for some pictures/videos showing what I'm describing.

[TOMINCT]

 Matt's problem with clips probably stems from the fact that some of the ones being used are for a different firearm. The bumps are the stops that correctly position the clips to allow unimpeded loading into the magazine. Clips without the stops in the right place or without stops are for a different application, such as an 03 springfield, mauser or even a thompson/greasegun. Get the correct clips, polish/tweak them a little if neede and you should be fine. Regards, Tom.

[Nickle]

.308, .30-06 and 8mm Mauser may share the same rim size, but, I'll vouch for the stripper clips being different.

1903's, 03-A3's and 1917 Enfields use one type, and the Swedish Mauser stripper clips will work.

Model 98 Mausers use a separate one, and you may find the older Mausers have a different type (other than the Swedish, which we know is different than the M98).

M14 and FAL strippers should be the same. I've gotten the proper size strippers from TAPCO and Fred. They've worked well enough, though no stripper clips work perfectly. They're made cheap, to be used ONCE.

[voortrekker]

Thanks to All,

That have responded to this topic.

My conclusions :

Polishing, oiling stripper clips should be unnecessary, no matter what make of stripper clips or clip guides, especially when they are G.I. manufactured.

Depending on "selected" stripper clips to reload, is unacceptable.

When I need to reload in the field, it will be handloading mags I trust by hand.  I can trust this method and know the time it will take, every time.

In this case, I will be carrying a pouch of some sort carrying loose .308 while in the field, to reload quickly and with confidence, even in the dark.

I think this method will work well, especially for those of us that hog hunt at night.

Oink, oink! , 



Thanks everyone for your replies!


Brett out.

[Old Dog]

So, how many mags are typical for a "hog hunt" at night?

[voortrekker]

Thanks to All,

That have responded to this topic.

My conclusions :

Polishing, oiling stripper clips should be unnecessary, no matter what make of stripper clips or clip guides, especially when they are G.I. manufactured.

Depending on "selected" stripper clips to reload, is unacceptable.

When I need to reload in the field, it will be handloading mags I trust by hand.  I can trust this method and know the time it will take, every time.

In this case, I will be carrying a pouch of some sort carrying loose .308 while in the field, to reload quickly and with confidence, even in the dark.

I think this method will work well, especially for those of us that hog hunt at night.

Oink, oink! , 



Thanks everyone for your replies!


Brett out.

Howdy Everyone, I have renewed confidence in M14 stripper clips to load mags using a stripper clip guide.

I had the opportunity to use another instructors M14 strippers clips last weekend.

They worked very well to quickly reload M14 20 rd mags.  Definitely faster than loading loose rounds by hand.

These stripper clips needed no oiling or cleaning according to the owner.  He said he bought them from Numrich.


My conclusion is the M14 stripper clips I bought from Sarco don't work.



The stripper clips that did work were bought from Numrich.  They were stamped "SEY" or "SMI".

The stripper clips that did NOT work were from Sarco.  They were stamped "A".


I hope this helps for those wanting to start using stripper clips and stripper clip guides for the M14/M1A.



Brett