V Tech shooter shopped E-Bay for mags

jimpeel said:
Then you haven't been to CA where the law remains as it was on the federal level prior to the repeal.
Wow, how did Virginia Tech get all the way to California so quickly? ;)
 
I notice that the story gave his e-mail addy. Anybody here sent him a farewell greeting like "Rot in hell you effen ess-oh-bee!"?
 
If the common term is "clip" (and, believe it or not, in the whole of society it is) then the media is not inaccurate for using the term.

This is a clip.

M1clip.jpg
 
This is a clip.

Why yes, that is a clip, and along with moon clips for revolvers. And those would be the the accepted uses of the words for firearms enthusiasts.

However, the use of "clip" when referring to a magazine is common outside the firearms community. It's also rapidly becoming the accepted term for a majority of English-speaking people. It's also beginning to appear as an accepted definition in dictionaries. In other words, twenty years from now when you complain about people calling a magazine a "clip," you'll be the one that's wrong. Language evolves.

You can be bitter and/or pedantic about it all day, but it doesn't change anything.
 
Hmm.

I agree, language changes. But just because most people will give plurals (god I'm shuddering just thinking about it) using apostrophes, does not mean it is right, or will be any time soon. Whoever "carry's" might abuse grammar, and "it's" abuse is still not correct.

Language does evolve, but it does not mean we have to put up with its degradation. There is a difference we can agree upon when it comes to "clip" and "magazine". It is a distinction that can be a handy one. By allowing the degradation of the word among ourselves, we lose the power of language that distinction once lent us.

Some people will say "wheels" when they mean "tires", but mechanics won't, because they're different things, and the distinction is helpful.
 
The problem with language is that your thoughts are limited to your grasp of language, and the capacity of language itself. If you can't describe what's in your head, then how can you know what it is exactly that's going on? We could be cavemen grunting at each other, or we can learn to use English correctly.

Language evolves. But idiots and Noam Chomsky destroy language. Degrading languge leads to ambiguity. Insert 1984 reference here.

If we start calling magazines clips, then what will we be calling clips? Clips as well? Ambiguity. The media is using the term "clips" because it's typical. One journalist misuses or presents incorrect facts, and every other journalist copies, instead of doing their own research. A brian ross article on hi-cap "clips" was featured on abc.com before the VT victim's bodies had time to cool down.
 
Okay. I'll try this then.

A clip merely grasps the ammo. The ammo is not held completely within the clip as it is with a magazine. Most clips are ejected automatically after the last round; or are never housed within the firearm -- moon clips excepted.

A magazine holds the ammo completely within its housing and that entire housing then is placed within the firearm. That housing remains with the firearm after the last round is expended until manually ejected by the shooter.

The en-bloc clip shown with the M-1 does, indeed, reside within the firearm until it is automatically expelled with the last round.

Stripper clips are of both types and merely grasp the ammo for fast loading. There are those which the firearm is loaded by "stripping" the ammo into the firearm such as the SKS. Other stripper clips reside within the firearm, such as the Mauser Broomhandle or Lee Enfield and is automatically expelled out of the bottom of the firearm via gravity after the last round is chambered.

Okay?
 
Um...I'm well aware of the difference between a "clip" and a "magazine," thank you. I'm pretty sure everybody here is. My point is that if "clip" becomes a commonly accepted synonym for "magazine" (which it is becoming, if it hasn't already) then both terms will be interchangeable...much to the disdain of firearms enthusiasts everywhere. At which point the media wouldn't be wrong to use the term known by a majority of their audience.

Of course, thank you for the incredibly condescending explanation of something I already knew. That was priceless. And yet we wonder why we have trouble bringing people into the fold that might be on the fence. Yes, I've seen just as condescending (and/or outright rude) explanations used to correct "newbies" on ranges and elsewhere. Makes them feel welcome.

Which reminds me...

Some people will say "wheels" when they mean "tires", but mechanics won't, because they're different things, and the distinction is helpful.

Except that mechanics don't have a vested interest in encouraging other people to become mechanics, lest they end up losing their right to be mechanics (or have it severely restricted). Which is why mechanics don't have to worry about being jerks when explaining the difference between "tires" and "wheels"...they get paid either way.
 
JuanCarlos

Of course, thank you for the incredibly condescending explanation of something I already knew. That was priceless.

You think farrrrrr too highly of yourself, I'm afraid. What I wrote was not directed at, or to, ANY member in particular -- not even you.

I never argued what you posted and I believe a quick read -- perhaps not as quick as your last fast scan -- will bear that out. Perhaps you could print out my post and present it to the next reporter who misuses the term "clip". That would be better than simply accepting the misuse as "evolution".

Language has always evolved as civilization evolves. Thus we no longer have such archaic terms as:

a well-turned ankle;

a comely young lass;

bitchin';

groovy;

tallywacker;

bumbershoot;

beelzebub;

land o' Goshen;

etc., etc., etc.

Words mean things; and correcting the misuse of same is no offense. Allowing the bastardization of one's language, however, is.
 
Which is why mechanics don't have to worry about being jerks when explaining the difference between "tires" and "wheels"...they get paid either way.

They might if the media was implicitly talking about banning some types of Firestone "wheels" rather than "tires".
 
JuanCarlos...

Uh oh...looks like you ran afoul of the FC (Firearms Correctness) police, those guys who watch every news story just to see if the reporter uses incorrect firearms terminology, so they can then rant about the ignorance of the news media.
 
Interesting that there is a claim of confusion between "clip" and "magazine" yet not a single one of us were confused.

There are lots of reasons to allow this type of re-use of words, part of which is to not force people to feel intimidated that they are using the wrong one. If I were attending training or a seminar where the distinction was necessary I would expect the correct clinical use of the words with differentiation. On the street, it doesn't really matter.

"The thing that holds the bullets" is fine.. though round or cartridge would be more accurate, it is another bit that doesn't need to be called out all the time, for the same reason.
 
I'm all in favor of allowing everybody to keep calling magazines "clips," if for no other reason than hearing a guy playing an acoustic guitar sing "I went in the house to get my magazine, with my MAC-10, on the side of my hip" just doesn't make me grin nearly as much... ;)
 
Are we still talking about those thingies that go in the bottom of the doohickey that holds the whatchamacallits that make it go boom? I'm so confused.:confused: :D

Clips or magazines. It just lets you know the other persons level of knowledge so you can act accordingly. I see no need to correct otherwise uninterested people.
 
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