stripper clips for .223 or 5.56

Howard Law

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out if curiosity, who uses stripper clips for their ARs? I got a bunch cheap and figured it wouldn’t hurt to keep loose ammo better organized. Any downsides I’m not aware of?
 

AtlMedic

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Seriously, my Loose ammo goes in the magazines. I don't see any point in creating another step to loading.
I have a bunch of loaded mags already, keeping all my mags loaded would make storing them a pain in the ass because of weight.
 

Laufen

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I have a bunch of loaded mags already, keeping all my mags loaded would make storing them a pain in the ass because of weight.
It's not going to be much lighter using stripper clips instead of mags.
 

AtlMedic

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It's not going to be much lighter using stripper clips instead of mags.
Its about space. I have a good place for ammo cans but the added bulk of the mags wouldnt work very well. I have a duffel bag of empty mags up on a shelf. but if all those mags were loaded it would be too heavy to get down without hurting myself. The ammo on stripper clips or loose all fits in an ammo can on the floor. If I had more space available I would be more likely to keep more in mags.

Plus it really isnt a big deal to load the loose rounds onto the clips while I am watching TV.
 

Hayata

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I'm too cheap to buy one but always thought these were cool -

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I keep SKS ammo on stripper clips but none for AR platform
 

EugenFJR

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It's faster to load mags from stripper clips most all of my M855 and M193 is on stripper clips already... And I found a .50 cal can slap full of stripper clips, so if I need to load out my 5.56 that's not on clips, I can do that as well.
 

boss_hawg

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i guess it depends on your mag count. if you have a metric shit ton of mags and a metric shit ton of ammo, then you don’t need stripper clips.

however if you have three English shit tons of ammo but only three metric shit tons of mags, well then you’re gonna need some stripper clips.
 
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boss_hawg

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also does keeping mags loaded shorten their life?

i’ve always heard that life of the mag springs is based on cycles but i’m no rocket scientist.
 

dial1911

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also does keeping mags loaded shorten their life?

i’ve always heard that life of the mag springs is based on cycles but i’m no rocket scientist.

While I have nothing to back this up, I have always heard that spring life is measured in cycles. However, I know that some metals will take a set if left in the same position too long. So a relaxed spring, fully extended, even taking a set is no problem.

Magazine springs are never fully relaxed. They keep tension on the follower. So maybe that's an indication of the spring material's ability to resist taking that "set"... I don't know. I do only load my AR mags to 27 rounds. I have nothing to back up why, but I don't leave 30 rounds in the loaded ones.
 

dial1911

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Oh- and back to the original point... I have a hell of a time loading a mag using a stripper clip and a spoon. I've tried a few times (definitely not "training") but those 20 round stripper clips seem damn near impossible to force into the mag using the spoon and gloved hands. I started wearing the gloves after pinching the crap out of a finger or two.

Somebody tell me what I'm doing wrong.

The 10 round strippers aren't too bad.
 

Jake

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also does keeping mags loaded shorten their life?

i’ve always heard that life of the mag springs is based on cycles but i’m no rocket scientist.

I've always heard that too. I don't know if that's true or not. I did have a 1911 mag that had been loaded for about 5 years that didn't have enough spring pressure to hold the slide open on the last round anymore. When I loaded it up it was fairly new and had not been used very much at all, just enough to test function and make sure that it worked properly in my guns. I hadn't used that mag since I loaded it up 5 years ago. I put a new spring and follower in it and it works fine now.
 

boss_hawg

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Oh- and back to the original point... I have a hell of a time loading a mag using a stripper clip and a spoon. I've tried a few times (definitely not "training") but those 20 round stripper clips seem damn near impossible to force into the mag using the spoon and gloved hands. I started wearing the gloves after pinching the crap out of a finger or two.

Somebody tell me what I'm doing wrong.

The 10 round strippers aren't too bad.

what you’re doing wrong: use the 10 rounders and one of these

http://www.maglula.com/product/m-16-ar-15-striplula-5-56-223/