Model Forum / General / Models / July 2007

Even with ear plugs in you can hear it from the target pits 200 yards
downrange during a highpower rifle match.

I could see this happening in the Pacific against the Japanese, who oft
times engage at very close range via ambush or sniper operations.
Here's what Wikipedia says:
"Ejection of an empty clip created a distinctive and unnatural metallic
"pinging" sound. In World War II, reports arose that German and Japanese
infantry were making use of this noise in combat to alert them to an
empty M1 rifle in order to 'get the drop' on their American
counterparts. The information was taken seriously enough that U.S.
Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground began experiments with clips made of
various plastics in order to soften the sound, though no improved clips
were ever adopted.[7] During the Korean War, American soldiers
supposedly used the sound to their advantage, noting that the enemy
would reveal themselves when they heard the clip eject, and would carry
and throw empty clips as a decoying tactic. However, all of these
reports are largely unsubstantiated, and, in reality, clip ejection
noise in the larger cacophony of infantry small arms combat likely had
little effect one way or another in most engagements."
Here's another opinion:
http://tenring.blogspot.com/2005/12/one-from-vault_28.html
"Still, the en bloc clip makes the M1 fun to shoot today. When you’ve
shot your last round, the magazine follower kicks out the clip with a
merry little chime and lets you know you’re ready to load another clip.
I have read another criticism of the clip—that the distinctive ring
could tell the enemy that you’re reloading. I doubt that any soldiers
were killed because of the clip’s distinctive sound. For one thing,
battle noise would drown out the sound, you’d probably have other troops
near by who aren’t reloading, and there’s no real evidence that such a
situation ever occurred."

In both these statements one gets the feeling that battle was always
going on at high intensity; not like a small squad going into a
abandoned French town as stealthily as possible to see if the Germans
have left. In a situation like that one could picture them wanting every
advantage on their side, and dreading the ping of the ejecting clip if
there were hidden Germans about.
In reality, this could be something like the suspicion that you could
give away your position by the jangling of loose change in your pocket,
so you should never take it into combat.
Once the idea starts spreading around, everyone buys into it, and it
takes on a superstitious aspect, like the fact that Lucky Strike
cigarettes really were lucky to carry.
Is the enemy really going to detect you by the clip ping? Probably not.
Are you going to carry a empty clip or two with you in case the need
arises to use them? Damn right. You might be able to confuse the enemy
as to your position if you throw one quite a ways to your side,
particularly in a situation where you are in among buildings or at night
all on your lonesome.

Pat