The Russian Mosin Nagant Forum

I bought some stripper clips off of ebay. These clips claimed to be "Soviet Union Manufacture" and also claimed "These clips work a lot better than the Chinese made reproductions." Well, that sounded good to me. I knew to avoid the cheap Chinese repops.

They clips appear to have a "Tula Star" stamped on the bottom. They look like this:


So I bought them. This turned out to be a mistake.

I am sure that they are not Tula Manufacture, and highly doubt that they are even Soviet, so I bought some Izhevsk clips for comparison. For those who don't know, Izhevsk clips look like this:


Here is the big difference. The Izhevsk clips hold snugly, while the mystery star marked just kindof let the rounds do whatever.


Side by side, you can see that the mystery clips are folded over at the top. This makes the clip wider at the top and makes it more difficult to feed into the rifle. It also makes the only real point of consistent contact with the round right there where the fold is. This seems to be the reason the rounds flop all over. The Izhevsk clips on the right have very clean bends and no fold at the top, so the rounds are held snugly.


I don't know what the real history is behind the star marked clips, but I'll tell you this, don't buy them. If they work better than the Chinese repops, the Chinese repops must be absolutely horrid.

A year or so ago, I bought some cheap new manufactured clips on Amazon. They also allow the rounds to wobble, like your supposed Tula ones. I had to practice over and over, but they do work ok, although I don't recommend them for a serious shooter. I go to the range maybe once a month, and also shoot a 9mm pistol and skeet with a 12 gauge shotgun. I have heard that the original vintage surplus clips work smoothly and they resemble your Ishvesk (spelling?) ones. Someone probably fakes those Tula ones.

there also fake tikka's one floating around too shiny, looks like there chromed also don't work

gbeecher65 wrote:A year or so ago, I bought some cheap new manufactured clips on Amazon. They also allow the rounds to wobble, like your supposed Tula ones. I had to practice over and over, but they do work ok, although I don't recommend them for a serious shooter. I go to the range maybe once a month, and also shoot a 9mm pistol and skeet with a 12 gauge shotgun. I have heard that the original vintage surplus clips work smoothly and they resemble your Ishvesk (spelling?) ones. Someone probably fakes those Tula ones.

The Izhevsk clips are awesome, and do work very smoothly. I highly recommend them. They are a tad more expensive, but very worth it.

I made a one time purchase of a tin of 7.62x54r with stripper clips already attached. It wasn't that much more. And now I have more clips than I know what to do with.
They are not that rare to come by. Just keep your eyes open for sales, and at gun shows.

Back when I bought clips there were so few people looking for them that only a few originals were available, today there are fakes all over, and none of them are made properly.

I'm old. I shoot slowly. Load with fingers.

Whats a good source for clips?

liberty tree collectables has them but are bit pricey. you can also check with ammo dealers at gun shows around here, there 2 bucks ea, the last time i was picking some out, A guy walked past, with a finn M28 for sale............ got the the 28 for 200 bucks, but still havent got the clips

There was a lot of 1940's Soviet ammo that sold a year or so ago, guys shot it and have been listing extra clips on eBay and GB, look for the Izhevsk stamp, as good as you are going to get in a Mosin clip.

[The Izhevsk clips on the right have very clean bends and no fold at the top, so the rounds are held snugly.]

The tops of the Izhevsk clips ARE folded over on the top. It's a very tight fold and one must look closely to see it.
BTW--I have several Izhevsk clips and they are, without a doubt, the absolute best clips.
Jon

I too am old and will state this over and over till the day I die! All Mosin clips are junk made to be used one time to hold ammo and thrown away. Why else would they sell 440 round spam cans on clips? When you have one and say it works great, how many rifles does it work great on? I have 6 safes full of Mosins and have owned hundreds in my life and believe me when I say stripper clips for Mosins are a waste of time and money other than to hold loose rounds together in an ammo box on the way to the range. I use the cheapest Chinese reproductions I can find online to only do that, hold loose rounds together till I get to the range.

As far as I know no one will be firing back at me while I am at the range so speed of reloading is not a priority or even necessary. I have loaded single rounds for years and find no earthly reason why you have to be Speedy Gonzales at the range where I go to relax and remind myself what a blind old bat I really am! Other rifles take well to stripper clips and they for the most part you will find better made clips which can be used over and over for awhile till they too wear the heck out and should be tossed. For those of you who shoot in timed competition maybe the Mosin is not the answer? Maybe you can find one particular set of clips that will do the job but even loading single if I try I can come close to being quick and I am old and arthritic. Save your money and buy ammo or an M28 over the useless stripper clips! Bill

Recently got my hands on a set of five original stripper clips made in the German Democratic Republic together with a batch of ammo sold to Czechoslovakia - well, the ammo surely is long gone down the range or elsewhere, but at least some of the clips have survived. Despite their simple design they work pretty well, hold the cartridges not really tight, but tight enough to prevent them from falling out. And I simply prefer to load with stripper clips because there is only one occasion each 5 rounds to damage my thumb at that sharp edge of the interrupter - single loading gives me this chance with every cartridge. Okay, I'm a newcomer with Nagants and therefore lack handling practice - skills will surely improve with time and danger for my thumb diminish accordingly...

zeebill wrote:I too am old and will state this over and over till the day I die! All Mosin clips are junk made to be used one time to hold ammo and thrown away. Why else would they sell 440 round spam cans on clips? When you have one and say it works great, how many rifles does it work great on? I have 6 safes full of Mosins and have owned hundreds in my life and believe me when I say stripper clips for Mosins are a waste of time and money other than to hold loose rounds together in an ammo box on the way to the range. I use the cheapest Chinese reproductions I can find online to only do that, hold loose rounds together till I get to the range.

As far as I know no one will be firing back at me while I am at the range so speed of reloading is not a priority or even necessary. I have loaded single rounds for years and find no earthly reason why you have to be Speedy Gonzales at the range where I go to relax and remind myself what a blind old bat I really am! Other rifles take well to stripper clips and they for the most part you will find better made clips which can be used over and over for awhile till they too wear the heck out and should be tossed. For those of you who shoot in timed competition maybe the Mosin is not the answer? Maybe you can find one particular set of clips that will do the job but even loading single if I try I can come close to being quick and I am old and arthritic. Save your money and buy ammo or an M28 over the useless stripper clips! Bill

All three of my Izhevsk clips work wonderfully in all three of my rifles. I like having them because they keep my rounds nice and organized, and I don't have to screw with one at a time reloading. I just pick up a clip, *ZIP* and done. So, while they may be useless to you, I prefer having them. And since they are "useless" to you, I'll gladly take any Izhevsk clips you've got off your hands.

Equally important is the proper position of the cartridge rims when loaded in the clips.

OK, Magots it's not like we are on Guadacanel, Taraw, Peleliu, Saipan, Guam, Iwo Jima, or Okinawa, etc. as we've got plenty of time to load rounds, rather than facing a Banzai charge.

A-1-6 2nd Mar Div FMF

Joeinthehills wrote:OK, Magots it's not like we are on Guadacanel, Taraw, Peleliu, Saipan, Guam, Iwo Jima, or Okinawa, etc. as we've got plenty of time to load rounds, rather than facing a Banzai charge.

A-1-6 2nd Mar Div FMF

I Sir (and I'm using the term loosely here) am greatly offended by your calling me a maggot in much the same way as referring to you as a '' Jar Head''. Just because you don't agree with someone's way of doing some thing is no reason to get offensive. My guess is that you shoot one of those AR rifles because you can't handle the heft or recoil of the '' real'' rifles out there. In keeping with your offensive language, there is a name for guys like you and it's synonymous with a part of the female anatomy and it's not arm or leg. What's next? Telling me I can't /shouldn't load all 8 rounds in my M1 rifle??!!??!!
Jon

Joeinthehills wrote:OK, Magots it's not like we are on Guadacanel, Taraw, Peleliu, Saipan, Guam, Iwo Jima, or Okinawa, etc. as we've got plenty of time to load rounds, rather than facing a Banzai charge.

A-1-6 2nd Mar Div FMF

Heck, it was only on Guadacanal that stripper clips were used.

Blame the Navy for not purchasing M1s for the Marines before that.

All three of my Izhevsk clips work wonderfully in all three of my rifles. I like having them because they keep my rounds nice and organized, and I don't have to screw with one at a time reloading. I just pick up a clip, *ZIP* and done. So, while they may be useless to you, I prefer having them. And since they are "useless" to you, I'll gladly take any Izhevsk clips you've got off your hands. [/quote]


All three of your rifles Huh? I am sorry I have sold all of the clips I had for $2 or $3 each to people who try to use them on all three of their rifles and probably have troubles with them on theirs like I had too. If you learn to hit the sweet spot on the interrupter they pop in with little or no effort and I have never cut myself on loading them as singles. I frankly rarely have feed problems as the rounds just sort of load with the rims backing away from the entry point of the shell. This is not always what occurs when using a stripper clip either. I have many different stripper clips from many different countries from over the years of collecting and they all differ from country to country with none being exactly the same because they are made quickly and cheaply for use one time.

Joeinthehills wrote:OK, Magots it's not like we are on Guadacanel, Taraw, Peleliu, Saipan, Guam, Iwo Jima, or Okinawa, etc. as we've got plenty of time to load rounds, rather than facing a Banzai charge.

A-1-6 2nd Mar Div FMF

Joe I am assuming this is a tongue in cheek tease and you are assuming the role of a typical drill Sarge talking to the troops? I would hope so as that is the way I took it with a chuckle.


Getting back to the clips the entire idea behind my comments is I would rather see all of us have a few more dollars for ammo and Mosins rather than cackle about the type of clips that are junk versus the eternally great ones that always work on our personal rifles because the point is very few of us have over maybe a dozen rifles which is all well and good with me. But over the years I have noted how few work on a hundred different ones and rather than drive ones self crazy spending money you don't need to looking for that one special one it is much easier and cheaper to just load slowly and one at a time. Bill

zeebill wrote:All three of my Izhevsk clips work wonderfully in all three of my rifles. I like having them because they keep my rounds nice and organized, and I don't have to screw with one at a time reloading. I just pick up a clip, *ZIP* and done. So, while they may be useless to you, I prefer having them. And since they are "useless" to you, I'll gladly take any Izhevsk clips you've got off your hands.

All three of your rifles Huh? I am sorry I have sold all of the clips I had for $2 or $3 each to people who try to use them on all three of their rifles and probably have troubles with them on theirs like I had too. If you learn to hit the sweet spot on the interrupter they pop in with little or no effort and I have never cut myself on loading them as singles. I frankly rarely have feed problems as the rounds just sort of load with the rims backing away from the entry point of the shell. This is not always what occurs when using a stripper clip either. I have many different stripper clips from many different countries from over the years of collecting and they all differ from country to country with none being exactly the same because they are made quickly and cheaply for use one time.

Joeinthehills wrote:OK, Magots it's not like we are on Guadacanel, Taraw, Peleliu, Saipan, Guam, Iwo Jima, or Okinawa, etc. as we've got plenty of time to load rounds, rather than facing a Banzai charge.

A-1-6 2nd Mar Div FMF

Joe I am assuming this is a tongue in cheek tease and you are assuming the role of a typical drill Sarge talking to the troops? I would hope so as that is the way I took it with a chuckle.


Getting back to the clips the entire idea behind my comments is I would rather see all of us have a few more dollars for ammo and Mosins rather than cackle about the type of clips that are junk versus the eternally great ones that always work on our personal rifles because the point is very few of us have over maybe a dozen rifles which is all well and good with me. But over the years I have noted how few work on a hundred different ones and rather than drive ones self crazy spending money you don't need to looking for that one special one it is much easier and cheaper to just load slowly and one at a time. Bill[/quote]

Bill,
You're right on the $$$! Just having some fun, and don't get upset w/ the terms jarhead, leatherneck, Uncle Sam's Misforgotten Children, etc. I think the Jr. DI's took the starch out of my ass in '66 & then some.
Yes, I use stripper clips on my '03-A1's just 'cause I got um, otherwise load manually.
M-1 only by Enbloc clips
M1-A1 Sweet Jesus, but 20 rd mags.
FN-FAL -Do-
Got a couple of the black plastic guns back in the 90's but never fired either the Colt or Bushmaster, but enough mags and stripper clips and mag loaders just in case the balloon ever goes up.