An apparatus (10) for application of surgical clips to body tissue, the apparatus comprising: a handle portion (12); a body (14) extending distally from the handle portion and defining a longitudinal axis; a jaw assembly (16) mounted adjacent a distal end portion of the body, the jaw assembly including first and second jaw portions (16a,6b) movable between a spaced-apart and an approximated position; a jaw closure member (200) positioned adjacent the first and second jaw portions to move the jaw portions to the approximated position; a plurality of surgical clips (30) disposed within the body; a clip pusher (414) disposed proximal to the plurality of clips and configured to bias the plurality of clips in a distal manner; a feed bar (400) configured to individually distally advance a surgical clip to the jaw assembly while the jaw portions are in the spaced apart position; a wedge plate (600,650) longitudinally movable between the first and the second jaw portions; and an actuator at least partially disposed within the body and longitudinally movable in response to actuation of the handle portion, wherein the actuator comprises a cam (208,752), and the wedge plate has a first cam slot (612) and a first camming surface (614) to engage with the cam to move the wedge plate distally between the first and second jaw portions upon a distal advancement of the actuator.