Once & for all, let's get this straight!

[jski]

Is a revolver a pistol? Or are pistols strictly autoloaders?

From Guns&Ammo:

Pistol vs. Handgun

There is some gray area with this one. Some use the term “handgun” to describe any hand-held firearm, but only use “pistol” in reference to semi-automatic handguns — not revolvers. I’m of the school that believes pistol and handgun may be used interchangeably. Here’s why.

One authoritative source, The NRA Firearms Sourcebook, defines a pistol as “a generic term for a hand-held firearm. Often used more specifically to refer to a single-shot, revolver or semi-automatic handgun.”

Then there’s the historical record. Though there’s debate over whence the term “pistol” arose, by the late 16th century it was commonly used to describe any hand-held gun. It even appeared in works by William Shakespeare. Then along came Samuel Colt, who described his cylinder-firearm invention as a “revolving pistol.”

“Pistol” was an established part of the vernacular long before the semi-auto handgun. Therefore it’s safe to say all handguns are pistols, and all pistols are handguns.

Read more: http://www.gunsandammo.com/gun-culture/9-misused-gun-terms/#ixzz5P4BSqJyq

The obvious answer is all handguns are pistols, not just autoloaders. Not sure who came up with this BOGUS distinction but it's nonsense.

 

[CZ9shooter]

"Pistol" is synonymous with "handgun" in my book.

 

[Goosey]

 

[Cokeman]

Revolvers were pistols back in the 1800s, Then there was a split. Autos started being called pistols when they came on the scene and revolvers were only called revolvers to distinguish the from pistols. That’s my explanation.

 

[MachIVshooter]

If you really want to get into the etymology, "handgun" means any hand held firearm, to include rifles & shotguns. "Pistol" distinguishes the smaller, one-handed weapons.

Today, handgun is a colloquial and legal term that excludes long guns.

As for using the term pistol in reference to revolvers, some of us do and some don't. I'm in the "do" camp, and use the term pistol more frequently than handgun or revolver.

 

[ugaarguy]

The obvious answer is all handguns are pistols, not just autoloaders. Not sure who came up with this BOGUS distinction but it's nonsense.

To what prompting do we owe the pleasure of this rant?

 

[JONWILL]

Meaning of words change over time.
Right now Pistol generally means semi
Revolver means revolver

 

[buck460XVR]

....all I can say is,

 

[jar]

I have been waiting for my pistol to autoload for decades but it has not even opened the box of ammo yet.

Did take my auto-unloader to the range the other day.

​

It worked.

 

[MEHavey]

hand-held autoloaders, revolvers, single-shots, are all (generically) "pistols"

All insects are bugs.
But not all bugs are insects.

 

[bannockburn]

I remember reading Major Julian S. Hatcher's book: "Textbook of Pistols and Revolvers" and thinking that must be the proper way to distinguish between handgun types with there being semi-automatic pistols and revolvers.

Sort of good enough for Major Hatcher, good enough for me.

 

[BSA1]

Ok Mugsy,

In addition to terminology;

A Roscoe is a revolver.

A Heater is a semi-automatic.

 

[.308 Norma]

Meaning of words change over time.
Right now Pistol generally means semi
Revolver means revolver

So, what's my bolt action, single-shot, 7mm IHMSA, XP-100? A "hand-held rifle" perhaps?

 

[JohnBiltz]

The one thing that I find funny is that the people who insist that a revolver is not a pistol are the same people who insist that a clip is not a magazine. That one term can change in meaning by common usage but the other can not.

For myself, if it was good enough for Sam Colt, who am I to disagree.

 

[MedWheeler]

"Once and for all..."

 

[Riomouse911]

Ok Mugsy,

In addition to terminology;

A Roscoe is a revolver.

A Heater is a semi-automatic.

And a chopper is a Thompson...

 

[JeffG]

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Call them what you want as long as they work! I like them all...

 

[bannockburn]

BSA1

In addition to terminology;

A Roscoe is a revolver.

A Heater is a semi-automatic.

So where does a "Gat" fit in?

I read somewhere it initially was short for "Gatling Gun" but during the Prohibition Era it came to mean just about any gun.

 

[milemaker13]

For some unknown reason... i tend to think of an auto loader or single shot when i hear " pistol"... but i also use pistol for all three.

 

[1KPerDay]

Ok Mugsy,

In addition to terminology;

A Roscoe is a revolver.

A Heater is a semi-automatic.

So what's my hogleg?

 

[rugmar]

Hogleg is a shifter lever. Unless it’s connected to an automatic transmission, then it’s just a shift lever.

 

[.308 Norma]

So what's my hogleg?

I guess it's different than Josh Randall's "mare's leg" huh?

 

[1KPerDay]

Hogleg is a shifter lever. Unless it’s connected to an automatic transmission, then it’s just a shift lever.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hogleg

 

[Mauser lover]

I haven't seen this answer yet in this thread, so I'll jump in too...

I've heard people argue (and some state lawmakers agree, whatever that counts for) that a pistol has a fixed chamber. Single shot or semi-auto doesn't matter, but if it has a fixed chamber it is a pistol. A revolver obviously does not have a fixed chamber. Colt's advertisement referenced above seems to not care about that though.

Just as long as a detachable box magazine is not a clip... Although some detachable box magazines can be fed from clips.... whatever that's worth.