Reloading En Bloc Clips - Page 2

10-96 · November 25, 2018, 05:43 AM

I don't know if someone has already mentioned it, but Amazon was selling some really cheap Chinese made clips some years back. I thought that for the price, at least a few out of a box of 20 would be alright. I was sort of right, only a couple out of a box of 20 were of any use at all.

Not all clips are made equal.

RC20 · November 25, 2018, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Ahh, you spotted the range cart..... Yes, it was a lazy Black Friday informal enbloc clip loading tutorial. Don't laugh at the pajamas, I shoot H/P matches with a master that wears sandals and shorts in the summer !

Man if I wanted to see people in their PJs I would got to the grocery store! Oh the humanity!

And please no pictures of the master!

Nodak1858 · November 25, 2018, 09:04 PM

Quote:

I don't know if someone has already mentioned it, but Amazon was selling some really cheap Chinese made clips some years back. I thought that for the price, at least a few out of a box of 20 would be alright. I was sort of right, only a couple out of a box of 20 were of any use at all.

Not all clips are made equal.

This is very true. What are your enbocs stamped with?
Some clips have very heavy parkerizing which can make it hard to insert in the rifle, but this doesn't seem to be your issue.

'88Scrat · March 24, 2019, 12:08 AM

I hate to dig up an old post but I gotta figure this out...

Went out to the range today looking forward to an afternoon of target shooting and I had the SAME problem again, even with the new en blocs I got. I can't put into words how frustrating this is, it just ruins the enjoyability of shooting my Garands. I spend more time fighting the en blocs than shooting. The worst part is I can't for the life of me figure out what I could be doing wrong. I've looked at every corner of the internet for how to get properly loaded up and so far nothing...

Ran into a new problem this time as well, sometimes when I thought I had an en bloc loaded up right I'd go to insert it into the rifle only to find it had expanded so much with rounds in it that it would not fit into the rifle.

I'm at the point where for just a moment earlier today I actually pretty seriously considered selling my M1 rifles...

Help...

Nathan · March 24, 2019, 07:40 AM

Try this LINK

This is my technique basically.

Reloadron · March 24, 2019, 05:09 PM

Will the clips of dummy rounds I sent you manually cycle? Those clips dhould cycle manually just fine as I ran them through one of my own Garands. Your loaded clips should look just like them when finished but with loaded live rounds.

Ron

pwc · March 24, 2019, 06:01 PM

Just for grins and giggles could the rifle be a reweld and the tolerances/alignment are off?

'88Scrat · March 24, 2019, 06:32 PM

They dummy rounds you sent (thanks again by the way!) fit fine into the clip or seem to anyway. But when I got to insert any loaded clip into either of my M1s its like they expand to much and won't seat in the magazine. I have to REALLY push hard to get 'em to go in. Same thing with live rounds. Alll rounds still fit VERY tight in the en bloc.

I suppose its possible I've just gotten really unlucky with bad en bloc clips but at this point I've found only one that works reliably. And when it does it fits like a glove, but it's one out of like 30 that I have.

Maybe a video or or something would help describe this...

Nodak1858 · March 24, 2019, 10:36 PM

The ones that you have issues with what are they stamped?
And also the one that works what is that one?
So you have more than one rifle and they both have the same issue?
Check out the video from Natahn's link. When you have the enblocs loaded do they match the loaded one at the end of the video?
When yu put the rounds in the enbloc, are the bases of the rounds at the bottom of the clip?
The extractor groove in the case needs to "mate" up with the groove stamped in the sides of the enbloc.
This is a good one, how I do it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvMFwk4PL1I

'88Scrat · March 24, 2019, 10:45 PM

The one that works reliably is marked AEC 3 the others are a hodgepodge of various. Some of those are also marked AEC 3

As best I can describe the issue I get the clip loaded and it looks correct. All are uniform within a few mm at most but almost always you can hear one round in the middle kinda rattle around a bit like its loose. That round is always one of the middle 4 and can be moved around a bit in the clip just by nudging it. When this happens it will not go easily into the rifle. When I can get all 8 in with no rattle they slide like butter into either rifle. This has only happened a few times however. As far as I can tell I'm not changing in any way how I load the clip but sometimes (rarely) it just seems to work while most times its difficult.

Nodak1858 · March 24, 2019, 10:53 PM

AEC3 one are usually good to go, the park is heavy on some, I have taken a green Scotch brite pad to it and knocked down the roughness on them when they were new. Sounds like the rounds are not all seated to the bottom. Wen they are all seated they shouldn't rattle. Sometimes the rounds can get hung up on each other on the extractor groove.
If you have any stamped SF, those sometimes give guys problems.

'88Scrat · March 24, 2019, 11:05 PM

The round in the middle is so loose I can actually spin it with my fingers.

Nodak1858 · March 24, 2019, 11:15 PM

I just grabbed a loaded AEC clip with HXP in it. When you are loading the rounds, are they all seated to the bottom? I tried it were I staggering them some a bit off the bottom, like 303 in a stripper clip, and I had a loose round in it.

Nodak1858 · March 24, 2019, 11:17 PM

this is not how they should be, these are rimmed 303, but this is what I tried and got loose ones.

They should look like this in the clip

Reloadron · March 25, 2019, 08:15 AM

Back in post #16 I tossed out a few images of how the clip has a groove which will allow the extractor grooves of the cartridges to align with. A loaded clip is tight, very tight so how tight the cartridges fit is normal.

The only way a loaded clip will expand as it is pressed into the rifle is if the follower is not dropping easily pushing the loaded cartridges up as you try to push the clip down. While holding the operating rod back you should be able to easily push the follower down using your fingers, just make sure you hold the op-rod securely, least fingers have a bad day.

The clips I sent were GI and they functioned fine in a few of my rifles so those are good. Likewise the dummy rounds, I checked them for form, fit and function, so something is keeping the loaded clips from going in the rifle.

Ron

GarandTd · March 25, 2019, 04:29 PM

I had a similar problem with a couple of my en Bloc clips. I just stopped using them, but it was 2 out of a total of 5 that I have, so the scale of my problem and solution was not nearly as big. The clips were purchased pre loaded with surplus ammo. There were several duds amongst them (old 42' stamped rounds). When the time came to reload those clips, they were very difficult and when loaded in the rifle, the rifle wouldn't strip rounds from the clips without chewing them up. I can't tell the difference in those clips. They look the same as the ones that work.

pwc · March 25, 2019, 07:41 PM

The early CMP stocks ised to have bullet point dents where GIs would bang the clips to seat the carts back into the clip before loading. You can accomplish the same by by banging the back of the clip on the bench.

veprdude · March 26, 2019, 12:41 AM

Sounds like the bullets aren't seated all the way to the bottom. There should be no gap between the bottom of the clip and the bottom of the bullet.

The last round should be loaded on the right side of the clip where the dimple is. But I think that problem was solved long ago. I always load them the correct way so I don't get funny looks.

agtman · March 26, 2019, 11:59 AM

Interesting necro-thread.

As always, ... wait for the 'Ping!'

GarandTd · March 26, 2019, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Interesting necro-thread

At least the OP is still actively involved.

raimius · March 26, 2019, 03:36 PM

Are the cartridges seated against the back of the clip (bottom of the "U")? If you don't get them all the way back, they will be loose and generally cause problems.

'88Scrat · March 26, 2019, 05:56 PM

I'll make a point to make sure they are all seated. When I look they seem to be but I'll make a greater point of it in the future.

November 25, 2018, 05:43 AM	#26
10-96 Senior Member Join Date: October 19, 2005 Location: Tx Panhandle Territory Posts: 4,159	I don't know if someone has already mentioned it, but Amazon was selling some really cheap Chinese made clips some years back. I thought that for the price, at least a few out of a box of 20 would be alright. I was sort of right, only a couple out of a box of 20 were of any use at all. Not all clips are made equal. __________________ Rednecks... Keeping the woods critter-free since March 2, 1836. (TX Independence Day) I suspect a thing or two... because I've seen a thing or two.

March 24, 2019, 12:08 AM	#29
'88Scrat Senior Member Join Date: July 11, 2011 Location: Kansas Posts: 549	I hate to dig up an old post but I gotta figure this out... Went out to the range today looking forward to an afternoon of target shooting and I had the SAME problem again, even with the new en blocs I got. I can't put into words how frustrating this is, it just ruins the enjoyability of shooting my Garands. I spend more time fighting the en blocs than shooting. The worst part is I can't for the life of me figure out what I could be doing wrong. I've looked at every corner of the internet for how to get properly loaded up and so far nothing... Ran into a new problem this time as well, sometimes when I thought I had an en bloc loaded up right I'd go to insert it into the rifle only to find it had expanded so much with rounds in it that it would not fit into the rifle. I'm at the point where for just a moment earlier today I actually pretty seriously considered selling my M1 rifles... Help... __________________ BOOM

March 24, 2019, 06:32 PM	#33
'88Scrat Senior Member Join Date: July 11, 2011 Location: Kansas Posts: 549	They dummy rounds you sent (thanks again by the way!) fit fine into the clip or seem to anyway. But when I got to insert any loaded clip into either of my M1s its like they expand to much and won't seat in the magazine. I have to REALLY push hard to get 'em to go in. Same thing with live rounds. Alll rounds still fit VERY tight in the en bloc. I suppose its possible I've just gotten really unlucky with bad en bloc clips but at this point I've found only one that works reliably. And when it does it fits like a glove, but it's one out of like 30 that I have. Maybe a video or or something would help describe this... __________________ BOOM

March 24, 2019, 10:36 PM	#34
Nodak1858 Senior Member Join Date: September 7, 2009 Location: N. Dakota Posts: 435	The ones that you have issues with what are they stamped? And also the one that works what is that one? So you have more than one rifle and they both have the same issue? Check out the video from Natahn's link. When you have the enblocs loaded do they match the loaded one at the end of the video? When yu put the rounds in the enbloc, are the bases of the rounds at the bottom of the clip? The extractor groove in the case needs to "mate" up with the groove stamped in the sides of the enbloc. This is a good one, how I do it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvMFwk4PL1I __________________ We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true. Last edited by Nodak1858; March 24, 2019 at 10:46 PM.

March 24, 2019, 10:45 PM	#35
'88Scrat Senior Member Join Date: July 11, 2011 Location: Kansas Posts: 549	The one that works reliably is marked AEC 3 the others are a hodgepodge of various. Some of those are also marked AEC 3 As best I can describe the issue I get the clip loaded and it looks correct. All are uniform within a few mm at most but almost always you can hear one round in the middle kinda rattle around a bit like its loose. That round is always one of the middle 4 and can be moved around a bit in the clip just by nudging it. When this happens it will not go easily into the rifle. When I can get all 8 in with no rattle they slide like butter into either rifle. This has only happened a few times however. As far as I can tell I'm not changing in any way how I load the clip but sometimes (rarely) it just seems to work while most times its difficult. __________________ BOOM

March 24, 2019, 07:40 AM	#30
Nathan Senior Member Join Date: July 1, 2001 Posts: 6,331	Try this LINK This is my technique basically.

March 24, 2019, 05:09 PM	#31
Reloadron Senior Member Join Date: June 8, 2016 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Suburbs Posts: 1,750	Will the clips of dummy rounds I sent you manually cycle? Those clips dhould cycle manually just fine as I ran them through one of my own Garands. Your loaded clips should look just like them when finished but with loaded live rounds. Ron

March 24, 2019, 06:01 PM	#32
pwc Senior Member Join Date: March 21, 2018 Location: AZ Posts: 236	Just for grins and giggles could the rifle be a reweld and the tolerances/alignment are off?

March 24, 2019, 10:53 PM	#36
Nodak1858 Senior Member Join Date: September 7, 2009 Location: N. Dakota Posts: 435	AEC3 one are usually good to go, the park is heavy on some, I have taken a green Scotch brite pad to it and knocked down the roughness on them when they were new. Sounds like the rounds are not all seated to the bottom. Wen they are all seated they shouldn't rattle. Sometimes the rounds can get hung up on each other on the extractor groove. If you have any stamped SF, those sometimes give guys problems. __________________ We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true.

March 24, 2019, 11:05 PM	#37
'88Scrat Senior Member Join Date: July 11, 2011 Location: Kansas Posts: 549	The round in the middle is so loose I can actually spin it with my fingers. __________________ BOOM

March 24, 2019, 11:15 PM	#38
Nodak1858 Senior Member Join Date: September 7, 2009 Location: N. Dakota Posts: 435	I just grabbed a loaded AEC clip with HXP in it. When you are loading the rounds, are they all seated to the bottom? I tried it were I staggering them some a bit off the bottom, like 303 in a stripper clip, and I had a loose round in it. __________________ We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true.

March 24, 2019, 11:17 PM	#39
Nodak1858 Senior Member Join Date: September 7, 2009 Location: N. Dakota Posts: 435	this is not how they should be, these are rimmed 303, but this is what I tried and got loose ones. They should look like this in the clip __________________ We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true.

March 25, 2019, 08:15 AM	#40
Reloadron Senior Member Join Date: June 8, 2016 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Suburbs Posts: 1,750	Back in post #16 I tossed out a few images of how the clip has a groove which will allow the extractor grooves of the cartridges to align with. A loaded clip is tight, very tight so how tight the cartridges fit is normal. The only way a loaded clip will expand as it is pressed into the rifle is if the follower is not dropping easily pushing the loaded cartridges up as you try to push the clip down. While holding the operating rod back you should be able to easily push the follower down using your fingers, just make sure you hold the op-rod securely, least fingers have a bad day. The clips I sent were GI and they functioned fine in a few of my rifles so those are good. Likewise the dummy rounds, I checked them for form, fit and function, so something is keeping the loaded clips from going in the rifle. Ron

March 25, 2019, 04:29 PM	#41
GarandTd Senior Member Join Date: June 15, 2016 Location: Rural PA Posts: 1,639	I had a similar problem with a couple of my en Bloc clips. I just stopped using them, but it was 2 out of a total of 5 that I have, so the scale of my problem and solution was not nearly as big. The clips were purchased pre loaded with surplus ammo. There were several duds amongst them (old 42' stamped rounds). When the time came to reload those clips, they were very difficult and when loaded in the rifle, the rifle wouldn't strip rounds from the clips without chewing them up. I can't tell the difference in those clips. They look the same as the ones that work. __________________ 22lr, 20 gauge, 8mm Mauser, 35 Remington, 30-06, 5.56x45/223, 9mm, 380acp

March 25, 2019, 07:41 PM	#42
pwc Senior Member Join Date: March 21, 2018 Location: AZ Posts: 236	The early CMP stocks ised to have bullet point dents where GIs would bang the clips to seat the carts back into the clip before loading. You can accomplish the same by by banging the back of the clip on the bench. Last edited by pwc; March 25, 2019 at 09:19 PM.

March 26, 2019, 12:41 AM	#43
veprdude Senior Member Join Date: March 18, 2019 Location: Texas Posts: 430	Sounds like the bullets aren't seated all the way to the bottom. There should be no gap between the bottom of the clip and the bottom of the bullet. The last round should be loaded on the right side of the clip where the dimple is. But I think that problem was solved long ago. I always load them the correct way so I don't get funny looks.

March 26, 2019, 11:59 AM	#44
agtman Junior member Join Date: July 26, 2001 Location: midwest Posts: 2,374	Interesting necro-thread. As always, ... wait for the 'Ping!'

March 26, 2019, 03:36 PM	#46
raimius Senior Member Join Date: January 27, 2008 Posts: 2,199	Are the cartridges seated against the back of the clip (bottom of the "U")? If you don't get them all the way back, they will be loose and generally cause problems.

March 26, 2019, 05:56 PM	#47
'88Scrat Senior Member Join Date: July 11, 2011 Location: Kansas Posts: 549	I'll make a point to make sure they are all seated. When I look they seem to be but I'll make a greater point of it in the future. __________________ BOOM