Difference between handgun and pistol

[Neo-Luddite]

Yes it's a refrigerator, but I'll call it an ice box if I want to.

Here, the pistol vs. handgun problem is mostly that two roughly equal words have been passed down from two different cultures. Pistol is (IIRC) Italian/Spanish in origin and handgun is Anglo-Saxon.

I always prefer sidearm anyway, but that's just me.