Magazine - Encyclopedia Uplandia

Magazine

On an autoloading or pump shotguns, the tube from which the shells are fed is referred to as the magazine.

This term dates back hundreds of years, and derives from the French word magasin (meaning storehouse), which comes down from the Old French magazin, possibly from the Old Italian magazzino. The Italians got the word from the Arabic mahzin, where it derived from the Aramaic massen - which means to hoard or store.

When the French used it in its most current from, it was usually used to describe a place where ammunition is stored, or the ammunition itself. It follows that the container built onto a gun, in which multiple rounds of ammunition are placed in advance of their use, would also come to be known as a magazine.

Here's an important point: depending on the state or jurisdiction in which you're going to be bird hunting, you may need to have a plug in the magazine to prevent it from holding more than a certain number of shells. Certain seasons, game, and/or areas mandate only a certain capacity - often three rounds total.

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