Why use stripper clips instead of a magazine?
This is a good question and it’s fair. It will be the subject of a blog post soon. The short answer is stripper clips are a supplementary loading method. Change your magazine as long as you have loaded magazines. Stripper clips are best used when there aren’t anymore loaded magazines left. It’s also a lot of fun. There is a blog post here discussing this issue further.
Will the clip guide obstruct my sights?
It’s very unlikely. The clip guides do obstruct the sights if you have adjusted your rear sight to the lowest possible settings. In our experience, it is not common to see a Mini-14 with it’s sights adjusted very low at all. In many cases, shooters run out of upward adjustment on their rear sight and have filed the front sight down just to accommodate. In any case, we can offer a custom front sight arrangement to bring your sights into alignment.
Can a I use a stripper clip guide and a scope?
You can’t use stripper clips with a scope over the receiver like the ZFK-55. While that sounds delightful, the scope would just need to be too high to get the clip to successfully fit under. “Scout-type” rails are an alternative option for the those who need a scope. If you got creative in the machine shop, you could mount the scope off to the side like an M1C or M1D, but I don’t suspect many people will attempt this. It would also require entirely custom scope mounts to accomplish
Where do you get stripper clips?
For 7.62×39 clips we recommend stripperclip.com. They have been good at getting the clips consistently, and they have Czech, Soviet, Yugo, and authentic military Chinese circle 31 clips. The authentic military clips are far better than the imported Chinese commercial made clips. If we come across some good deals on clips, you can count on us either pointing you to them, or offering them to you through our website when appropriate. We now offer U.S. Military 5.56×45 stripper clips. Thermold clips can be purchased externally here.
Why does it take so long to get my stuff?
All of our parts are made to order. Making parts to order ensures we keep the cost low across a large selection of products. That way we don’t make the customer pay a mark up for our mistake of ordering too many of something and it never gets sold. There is a slight delay to get parts ordered with our manufacturer, and there is a delay there waiting for parts to get made and post processing. The parts need to then move from their factory to our door where we sort and package the parts for the end user. We typically can get parts turned around in about four weeks. Take a look at some of the 3D printing technology used to make out parts.
Why the angle to the stripper clip insertion?
The ejector on the “Ranch Rifles” protrudes from the left side of the receiver and sits right over the back of the magazine almost to the center-line of the rifle. That means to get the clip in, a slight offset angle is needed to insert the clip just under the ejector and between the feed lips of the magazine.