Correct use of terms.

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I prefer the term gun as a general use word for reasons already mentioned, that is it avoids terms like weapon and firearm which are very loaded to the general population, if I am talking non-specific firearms I prefer to say gun also (unless there is a choice between a shotgun and a rifle) as it avoids going into unecessary detail, If I am talking shop then we get technical.
I tend to get irritated by people who dwell on the distinction and use military jargon in conversation as, in my experience these people are the wannabees.
I also prefer not to use jargon and technical terms around beginners as too much detail can intimidate and confuse them.
I should just add that the above comments are directed at no one on this board as I have never spoken to any of you and nor do I know you personally, I am just talking about people in general which I have met.
 
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If it's not a handgun, what is it, a handrifle? Some people will say, "They're sidearms!!!" That's fine if they're in a holster ar your side! I'll still use the term "handgun".
 
Technically all pistols/revolvers are rifles. That doesn't mean we call them such, because the term "rifle" is colloquially used in reference to firearms with rifled barrels that are held against the shoulder to be fired, and typically have long barrels.

You could technically say that the Mark 7 16" guns on the Iowa-class Battleships are rifles, because they do, in fact, have rifled barrels.

In any case, I usually use the term rifle when referring to any long gun excepting shotguns and muskets. I use the term pistol when referring to semi-automatic handguns, and revolver when referring to wheelguns.

I use the term "guns" when referring to my arsenal as a whole, or another person's collection of firearms. I'm usually more specific with my wording (see above paragraph) when I'm referring to individual arms.
 
My last instructor, a Federal LEO

Told me to stop referring to my pistol as a "weapon".
He said that I am not in the military any longer and if
I had to appear before a jury after shooting some one
that I would be treated better if I had a side arm
rather then a weapon.
(this was for my CA Armed Guard training)
 
Politically Correct Speech

While you guys are getting your newspeak together, I'll just call em guns, weapons, rifles, pistols, handguns, firearms, etc. You can look em up in the dictionary. :)
 
Looking thru some old American Rifleman magazines I've found at thrift stores, gun shows etc. ads for .22 rifles advertised as "your choice, tubular magazine or clip fed." Apparently Marlin didn't know the difference. Sure.
 
Yeah I don't really think it is worth getting steamed up about words- that is for the liberal PC ypes to worry about.
Call 'em what you want we know what you are talking about, if we don't we'll ask.:)
 
The only one that really burns me is the magazine/clip thing.

Over the course of a year, after you've had a few hundred fathers refer to a 10/22 magazine as a "clip" while teaching hunter ed? Well that particular one drives me a little nuts.:banghead:
 
Eleven Mike hit my question on the head.

I'm not thinking about political correctness, I'm just wondering if there are technical terms where misuse would be unsafe so it is therefore reasonable to be "fussy" about those terms.

For example, I doubt anyone ever got hurt because they called a magazine a clip but I really got on my wife's case for calling the safety a "switch".

Somewhere she picked up the notion that the gun was switched on or switched off (like a hairdryer) and that mental picture was causing her to do some unsafe handling. (By the way, we're LONG past that little mistake :D )
 
Safety schmafety. I'm just a word-geek.

A clip and magazine are two different things.

A revolver is a pistol.

A rifle is a gun.

Don't matter what the manufacturer says; I am always right. :neener:
 
If you are in boot camp, the difference in terminology (gun vs. rifle or weapon) may determine how many pushups you do in a given day...
 
Proper use of jargon has nothing to do with political correctness.
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Well, how about the guy cautioning us not to call a weapon a weapon? I know, we'll all get Nerf baseball bats for self defense. ;)
 
As someone whos been on both sides of the counter, it gets on my nerves too.

I try to be subtle when correcting someone who calls a magazine a clip. And someone who calls ammo bullets. One day someone came into the store and asked for "9mm bullets." The reloading supplies hadn't made it to the proper shelf yet, so I turned around, grabbed a box of 9mm bullets, and laid it on the counter. He then proceeded to call me a dumbass. So we traded words, he was educated in the difference between a bullets and loaded ammunition, and was not-so-politely asked to leave, after calling me a dumbass for the second time.

Now, when I'm actually there long enough to work a little (hasnt happened much since my gf moved in), and someone asks for bullets, I to ask if they were loading their own. Then they'd look at me like I'm stupid, and say "of course," then I'd have to tell them about 9mm guy to explain why I just made myself look like an idiot. Eventually I got tired of it. The one in five that asked for bullets, but meant assembled ammo, got bullets. Most were pretty nice people, some not so nice, but no one was as bad as 9mm guy.

Therfore, "bullets" really gets on my nerves. Now that I think about it, it gets to me more than clips.
 
Well, how about the guy cautioning us not to call a weapon a weapon?
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I can see why you might call that political correctness, but as an officer of the terminology police, I don't like getting lumped in with the no-weapon crowd.

As I have tried to explain elsewhere, "arm," as in firearm or sidearm, means "weapon." So most of those people are still calling it a weapon.
 
On the whole, I really don't care a whole lot, but I actually do correct myself into saying "cartridge" instead of "bullet".
 
I have no idea what any of you guys are talking about...When I feel like going to the range, I round up all of my gats, toss some bullets in the clips, and start capping anything in my way.

Gat can be used in different ways though, if someone got "shot" they also got "gatted." But all of you already knew this. :)
 
Here is the definition of pistol from Websters:

Pronunciation: 'pis-t&l
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle French pistole, from German, from Middle High German pischulle, from Czech píst'ala, literally, pipe, fife; akin to Czech pistet to squeak
1 : a handgun whose chamber is integral with the barrel; broadly : HANDGUN
2 : a notably sharp, spirited, or energetic person

http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/pistol
 
When you make a new gun, is that called "begatting"? Or is it like this:

And flintlock begat percussion.

And percussion begat cartridge-firing weapons.

And the cartridge guns begat lever-actions...
 
heres one meaning for the word "clip" from the dictionary

clip

noun
1. a metal frame or container holding cartridges; can be inserted into an automatic gun [syn: cartridge holder]

i call them magazines. i always have. but i dont think theres anything wrong with sayin clips. its in the dictionary. now who would more likely be wrong? people that do research to find the definition to almost everything, or people that like to think they know what theyre talkin about? even Marlin calls them "Magazine Clips". so maybe everyones wrong and thats the real name. hey its not a stripper clip. so we call it magazine for short? well then we can call it clip for short also.
 
SAO DAO, SA/DA.
Click to expand...

Yes!

Far too many times I've asked about a gun and the bearded sales clerk says it's a "double action". I ask him if it's a single/double or double action only and he looks at me like I'm a retard and repeats "it's a double action."

Then I have to cock the hammer to find out for myself.
 
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