in firearms, a magazine (often incorrectly called a "clip") is a container that holds ammunition for a firearm. an external magazine is pushed into the firearm, which is called loading. an internal magazine(common in bolt action rifles) is built into the gun and cannot be easily taken out, these are usually reloaded individually or via a stripper clip. taking an empty magazine out of a firearm and putting in a full one is known as reloading the gun, but putting more bullets inside the magazine is known as reloading the magazine.