harquebus

en-noun

harquebus (plural harquebuses or harquebusses)

harquebuses (plural)
harquebusses (plural)

From French harquebuse, borrowed from Middle Low German hakebusse or Middle Dutch hakebus, hagebus (modern Dutch haakbus), from hôk (“hook”) + busse (“box; firelock”), from Old Saxon hōk + *buhsa, from Proto-Germanic *hōkaz + *buhsā.

A portable gun, varying in size from a small cannon to a musket. When used in the field it was supported upon a tripod or trestle.


fusillade

From French fusillade, from fusiller (“shoot with a firearm”), from fusil (“rifle, gun”).

The simultaneous firing of a number of firearms.

залп

the simultaneous firing of a number of firearms


bascule

A device for coupling and releasing the trigger mechanism in a bascule of a gun

1997, Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office:

(firearms) The portion of a breech-loading firearm that pivots open in order to allow access to the chamber.


bourrelet

The bourrelet is a slightly raised surface on the rocket designed to maintain a light contact with the inside of the launching tube to center the rocket when fired.

2019, Thomas Gersbeck, Practical Military Ordnance Identification, 2nd edition, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 111:

(firearms, weaponry) An accurately machined portion around the diameter of a shell of a gun, which acts to increase accuracy of projectile fit to the barrel.


charger

/ˈt͡ʃɑɹd͡ʒɚ/

-ɑː(ɹ)dʒə(ɹ)

From Middle English chargere, equivalent to charge + -er.

dækketallerken

a large platter under the dinner plate in a formal dinner setting

(firearms) A speed loader that holds several cartridges together in a single unit for easier loading of a firearm's magazine.


repeating

repeating (countable and uncountable, plural repeatings)

What the moderns could mean by their suppression of the final couplet's repeatings, cannot be conceiv'd […]

1779, Edward Capell, John Collins, Notes and various readings to Shakespeare:


culverin

From Middle English culveryne, from Old French coulevrine, from couleuvre (“snake”) (or from Latin colubrīnus), ultimately from Latin colubra, coluber (“snake”). Doublet of colubrine.

Let Sacars, Culuerings, and Cannons ſound / In honour of their bones, and rock the ground / With all your deafning terrors: for behold / The Balſum for your wounds, are rich mens gold, / Powder the world with wonder, and thus crie, / The Camel now may paſſe the needles eie.

1616, M. Robert Anton, “The Philosophers fovrth Satyr of Mars”, in The Philosophers Satyrs, London: Printed by T[homas] C[reede] and B[ernard] A[lsop] for Roger Iackſon, page 36:

This had been discharged from a culverin on the opposite side of the valley.

1895, R. D. Blackmore, Slain By The Doones, Dodd, Mead and Company, page 6:


Thompson submachine gun

Thompson submachine gun (plural Thompson submachine guns)

From Thompson + submachine gun. Named after John Taliaferro Thompson, an American army officer.

A .45-caliber American submachine gun, having a wooden stock and a drum, stick, or box magazine.

en:John Taliaferro Thompson
en:Thompson submachine gun


Thompson

Variant of Thomson, from Tom + -son, originally meaning "son of Thomas".
* Calque of Scottish Gaelic MacTamhais (“McTavish”); also an anglicisation of the Gaelic name MacTamhais, meaning "son of Thomas".

calque

Thompson submachine gun
Thompson submachine gun#English

(firearms) Ellipsis of Thompson submachine gun (“Tommy gun”).


tschinke

(firearms) A light wheellock hunting rifle once used for shooting wildfowl.


forearm

From fore- + arm. Compare Dutch voorarm (“forearm”), Danish forarm (“forearm”), German Vorderarm (“forearm”).

(firearms) A section of the weapon between the receiver and the muzzle, used to hold the firearm steady.


full house

American Handgunner, Heavyweight Bullets In The .357 Magnum
An occasional pig, and not so occasional ram, would quiver and then settle back down without toppling, even when hit dead center with a full-house load with a 158-gr. jacketed .357 Magnum bullet.

(firearms) Having ammunition loaded to full allowable power, usually in reference to magnum handgun cartridges and shotgun shells.


zero deflection

(firearms) The adjustment of a sight, exactly parallel to the axis of the bore of the gun to which it is attached.


cannelure

(firearms) A ringlike groove, such as that around the cylinder of an elongated bullet for small arms to contain a lubricant, or around the rotating band of a gun projectile to lessen the resistance offered to the rifling.


buckshot

en-noun

buckshot (countable and uncountable, plural buckshots)

Our men were all well armed with Colt's revolvers and Mississippi yagers, which last, carried a bullet, and two buckshots.

1879, Buffalo Bill, The Life of Hon. William F. Cody, Known as Buffalo Bill, page 58:

(chiefly US) Lead shot used in shotgun cartridges, made of larger pellets than birdshot and suitable for hunting larger game. [from 18th c.]


biathlon

biathlon (countable and uncountable, plural biathlons)

/baɪˈæθˌlɑn/

PIE word
 *dwóh₁
From bi- (prefix meaning ‘two; both’) + -athlon (suffix meaning ‘contest’), modelled after pentathlon.

confix

cross-country skiing
cross-country skiing

(winter sports, uncountable) Racing combining cross-country skiing and rifle shooting; (countable) a particular instance of such a race.

biatlón

racing combining cross-country skiing and rifle shooting; a particular instance of such a race

duathlon · triathlon · quadrathlon · tetrathlon · pentathlon · hexathlon · heptathlon · octathlon · decathlon · pentadecathlon


bridge mount

(firearms) A sight mount with a strong metal frame between the rings, used on large-caliber rifles to negate the effects of recoil on accuracy.


cocked

(firearms) Of a firearm or crossbow; to have the cock lifted or prepared to be fired.

viritetty

firearms: having the cock lifted or prepared to be fired


repeater

(firearms, dated) A gun that has a store of cartridges and does not need reloading after each shot.

автоматична пушка

a gun that has a store of cartridges and does not need reloading after each shot


plunger

(firearms) The firing pin of a breechloader.


dotty

Never bummy but I'm scummy fam, I used to burgle houses
Then some OGs was consignin me them ounces
Wet man round me had me feeling like I’m drownin
Fam we really went there with a brownin
Me and next man really went there with a dotty
05 murder squad nicked me for a [censored]

2013, “Mad Years”, in Potter Payper (lyrics), Training Day, performed by Potter Payper:

They dont know what I’ve been through
Red dot on his head like a hindu
Scrams, Face just stack for the Wesson
Ca’ be the gunplay that we’re into
It’s like them man chill with the singer
Two dot dots there in the dinger
Yard man’s got a dotty in the rave
But he’s still tryna do the La Linga
We’ve had guns and shanks without awareness
We’ve had guns and shanks we’re so fearless

2017, “Mad About Bars”, TMula (lyrics), performed by 86 (TMula x Scrams):

Bro I’m booky, I’ll take your food if my belly starts rumblin
They rap about bootings, they ain’t blammed nobody
Hold that properly when I bang that dotty
I put sniff in a rex, and I slang that bobby

2017, “Next Up?”, Digga D (lyrics), performed by 1011 (Digga D x Sav'O x T.Y):

I’m out here from the night till dawn
The dotty’s out but I like it sawn

2020, “Respawn”, Cillian (lyrics), chorus:


plink

en-verb

plink (third-person singular simple present plinks, present participle plinking, simple past and past participle plinked)

plinks (present singular third-person)
plinking (participle present)
plinked (participle past)
plinked (past)

We plinked all week long in the slow-moving days between hunting seasons. Life Savers or Necco Wafers at 25 yards offhand, or 50 yards prone, and vanilla wafers offhand at 50 yards or prone at 100, were challenging targets.

1992, Ken Warner, Gun Digest, 1993, page 19:

(firearms) To take part in the sport of plinking.


silencer

An attachment to a gun or an exhaust pipe that reduces the sound it emits


disintegrating link

en-noun

disintegrating link (plural disintegrating links)

(firearms) A pressed metal or plastic link, used to join cartridges for a machine gun, which is expelled when the cartridge is removed during loading.


Sten gun

An acronym, derived from the initials of the surnames of the weapon's chief designers, Major Reginald Shepherd and Harold Turpin, and Enfield, the location of the Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF) in London.

A family of British 9 mm submachine guns used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and numerous other conflicts.


headless

From Middle English heedles, hevedles, from Old English hēafodlēas (“headless”), equivalent to head + -less. Cognate with Dutch hoofdloos (“headless”), Danish hovedløs (“headless”), Swedish huvudlös (“headless”), Icelandic höfuðlaus (“headless”).

A headless shell doesn't have a flange.

(obsolete, firearms) Rimless, not having a cartridge case rim (flange).


floorgrip

(firearms) A device used to steady firing and counter the effects of recoil, resulting in far more accurate fire when shooting in full auto mode. It can be incorporated in some rifles as part of the Rail Integration System.


overbore

(firearms) Such that the capacity of the burning cartridge powder is greater than the volume within the barrel.


overbore

en-verb

overbore (third-person singular simple present overbores, present participle overboring, simple past and past participle overbored)

overbores (present singular third-person)
overboring (participle present)
overbored (participle past)
overbored (past)

(firearms, transitive) To modify so that the capacity of the burning cartridge powder is greater than the volume within the barrel.


en-noun

M1 (countable and uncountable, plural M1s)

(firearms) A semi-automatic rifle that was the service rifle of the U.S. Army during World War II and the Korean War.


bullseye

→ German: Bullauge (calque)

→ Esperanto: bovokulo (calque)

From bull's + eye. May have come from the practice of English archers shooting an arrow through the eye socket of a bull's skull as a test of skill. The connection to philately comes from the shape of the key plate or vignette.

(military, firearms) The centre of a target, inside the inner and magpie.

འབེན་མིག ('ben mig, literally “target-eye”)


thunderbox

Probably a calque of German Donnerbüchse (“(archaic) blunderbuss; cannon”) (from Donner (“thunder”) + Büchse (“box; can; rifle”)), or its etymon Dutch donderbus (“blunderbuss”) (from donder (“thunder”) + bus (“box; container; (chiefly historical) type of early modern firearm”)).

nb...

With Illustrations of the Scenes of Remarkable Events, and of Popular Traditions. By Baron J. J. von Gerning. Embellished with Twenty-four Highly Finished and Coloured Engravings, from the Drawings of M. Schuetz; and Accompanied by a Map. Translated from the German by John Black.

101, Strand; and sold by the principal booksellers in the United Kingdom.

In the year 1346, at the battle of Crecy, the engliſh uſed a ſort of cannons, which were then called thunder-boxes.

1800, Gerhard Ulrich Anthony Vieth, “Gunpowder”, in [anonymous], transl., The Pleasing Preceptor; or Familiar Instructions in Natural History and Physics, […], volume I, London: […] [F]or G. G. and J. Robinson, […] by George Woodfall, […], →OCLC, page 58:

[…] I saw Arnoldi at Dettelbach, standing unhurt amongst the lances and swords, which flashed and glittered around him like lightning; the thunder-boxes peppering away all the while as if it snowed lead; and when the pastime (for it was nothing else to him) was over, there he stood leaning on his halbert, coolly shaking out the bullets, which rattled like peas from his breeches and doublet.

1848, H. J. Whitling, “The Old Man and His Guests”, in Bentley’s Miscellany, volume XXIII, London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 203:

(military, obsolete) A blunderbuss; also, a cannon.


dry fire

en-verb

dry fire (third-person singular simple present dry fires, present participle dry firing, simple past and past participle dry fired)

dry fires (present singular third-person)
dry firing (participle present)
dry fired (participle past)
dry fired (past)

Rob finished cleaning his empty gun then pointed it at an imaginary target and dry fired.

2009, Debra Parmley, A Desperate Journey, →ISBN, page 32:

(firearms) To discharge a weapon without ammunition in the chamber.


breechloader

A variety of firearm in which the weapon is loaded from the breech (the end opposite that which discharges the projectile).

orúžije, zarjažájuščejesja s kazjónnoj části

ору́жие, заряжа́ющееся с казённой ча́сти


muzzleloader

A variety of firearm in which the weapon is loaded from the end that discharges the projectile (the muzzle).


touch hole

A small hole through which the propellant charge of a cannon or muzzleloading gun is ignited.


lapping

en-noun

lapping (countable and uncountable, plural lappings)

From Middle English lapping, lappyng, lappinge, equivalent to lap + -ing.

(firearms) The process of rubbing away the lands, or metal between the grooves of a rifled gun, to increase the bore.


pepperbox

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-pepperbox.wav

She had her knees up, resting her wrists on them; the pepperbox muzzle of a flechette pistol emerged from her hands.

1984, William Gibson, Neuromancer (Sprawl; book 1), New York, N.Y.: Ace Books, →ISBN, page 21:

(firearms) A repeating firearm with three or more barrels grouped around a central axis.


modern pentathlon

modern pentathlon (usually uncountable, plural modern pentathlons)

Dwindling interest and a reputation for being outdated couldn’t change modern pentathlon. A brief video clip of a coach punching a horse at the Tokyo Olympics has altered it forever.

2021 March 11, Victor Mather, “Modern Pentathlon Drops Equestrian Competition After Abuse Claims”, in The New York Times:

An athletics event where athletes compete in épée fencing, shooting, freestyle swimming, show jumping and cross country.


holdover

holdover (countable and uncountable, plural holdovers)

This rangefinder not only measures the distance to the target, but also provides a digital readout of the inches of holdover at that distance.

(firearms) The distance (at target) by which a rifle scope is aimed higher than the intended point of impact in order to compensate for bullet drop over the distance to the target.


headspace

headspace (countable and uncountable, plural headspaces)

en:gap inside firearm action, bolt face to cartridge stop

(firearms) The gap between the face of the bolt and the stopping surface for the cartridge.


headspace

en-verb

headspace (third-person singular simple present headspaces, present participle headspacing, simple past and past participle headspaced)

headspaces (present singular third-person)
headspacing (participle present)
headspaced (participle past)
headspaced (past)


deprime

deprime (third-person singular simple present deprimes, present participle depriming, simple past and past participle deprimed)

deprimes (present singular third-person)
depriming (participle present)
deprimed (participle past)
deprimed (past)

(firearms) to remove the (remnant) primer from a cartridge casing (from the brass).


chronograph

chronograph (third-person singular simple present chronographs, present participle chronographing, simple past and past participle chronographed)

chronographs (present singular third-person)
chronographing (participle present)
chronographed (participle past)
chronographed (past)

/ˈkɹɒnəɡɹɑːf/

/ˈkɹɑnəˌɡɹæf/

From Ancient Greek χρονογράφος (khronográphos, “chronicler”). Equivalent to chrono- + -graph.

uder

(firearms) To make an accurate measurement of the speed of a projectile.


wildcatter

Audio (US)

Roy Weatherby began his career in the firearms industry as a “wildcatter”, developing his revolutionary ideas about rifle cartridge performance and design.

a. 2005, “Ammunition”, in Weatherby, archived from the original on 2005-02-15:

(firearms) A person who makes wildcat cartridges and the guns that use them.


40 mike-mike

From Mike (“the letter M in the ICAO spelling alphabet”).

(US Army and Marines, military, slang) Any weapon firing a 40mm grenade. Often specifically the M203 grenade launcher, mounted underneath an M-16 or variant. In the Marine Corps, often the Mark-19 Automatic 40mm Grenade Launcher.


stovepipe

From stove + pipe. The firearms sense is due to the trapped cartridge case resembling a stovepipe of the stove sense.

(firearms) A type of malfunction affecting breechloading firearms, where a spent cartridge casing fails to eject completely, instead becoming stuck in the firearm's ejection port, usually oriented vertically or nearly so.


stovepipe

en-verb

stovepipe (third-person singular simple present stovepipes, present participle stovepiping, simple past and past participle stovepiped)

stovepipes (present singular third-person)
stovepiping (participle present)
stovepiped (participle past)
stovepiped (past)

(intransitive, firearms) Of a cartridge case, to become wedged vertically in the ejection port of a breechloading firearm, rather than ejecting completely from the weapon.


tige

Borrowed from French tige (“stem”), from Latin tibia (“shin bone, leg”). Doublet of tibia.

(firearms, historical) A steel pin in early rifles.


sniper rifle

A long-range rifle, usually equipped with a telescopic sight and often a night vision device.


suppressor

A device which suppresses something, especially an electronic or mechanical device.

A device added to the barrel of a firearm which reduces the noise and flash generated by firing the weapon.

A person who suppresses others, a tyrant.

(genetics) A gene that suppresses the effect of another through epistasis.


grease gun

(colloquial, due to its appearance) A small machine gun, particularly the .45 calibre M3 used by the US in WW2.


six-gun

Robbin' people with a six-gun / I fought the law and the law won

1958, “I Fought the Law”, Sonny Curtis (music):

(dated) A revolver with a cylinder that holds six bullets.


botty

Compare boot, booting for shoot, shooting

Sticks and Stones may break my bones
Not when I back this botty

2017 August 4, “Sticks and Stones”performed by Zone 2 (Kwengface x Trizzac x PS):

If Kizz step with a botty
You know it's packed with two big cylinders

2019 May 21, “Can’t Rate” (0:46 from the start), Yanko (7th) (lyrics):

Stepped in a rave with ying and yang, that’s me and bro with the botties
Ride around in the back of a cab, that’s me and this thing from Tottie

2020 October 17, “Ying Yang”, performed by #TNB MA x Mighty1 x Di, 1:48 and from 2:55:

(MLE, slang) Alternative form of shotty, alternative form of dotty (“shotgun”).


reload

reload (third-person singular simple present reloads, present participle reloading, simple past and past participle reloaded)

reloads (present singular third-person)
reloading (participle present)
reloaded (participle past)
reloaded (past)

(firearms) To load a gun again; or recharge a used cartridge.


reload

(firearms) An ammunition cartridge prepared from previously fired ammunition.


misfire

misfire (third-person singular simple present misfires, present participle misfiring, simple past and past participle misfired)

misfires (present singular third-person)
misfiring (participle present)
misfired (participle past)
misfired (past)

Either a univerbation of earlier miss fire, or the compound mis- + fire (or possibly a confluence of both).

(firearms) To fail to discharge properly.


sporter

(firearms) A firearm suitable for sporting use.


wheellock

(historical, firearms) An early type of firearm, using a spring-driven wheel against a flint to make sparks in the firing pan.


petronel

From Middle French petrinal, alteration of poitrinal, from poitrinal (“of the chest”) (the weapon is thought to have been braced against a chest-pad when firing), from poitrine (“chest, breast”), from Latin pectorina, feminine of pectorinus (“of the breast”) (from pectus (“chest”) + -inus (“-ine”)).

[…]And putting vp good ſtore of gold and Iewels for that iourney, and taking with him a good horſe, that was browne Bay, with a Petronell hanging at the arſon of his Saddle[…]

1634, Matheo Aleman, “Wherein Guzman de Alfarache relateth the Story of thoſe two Louers, Ozmin and Daraxa”, in Don Diego Puede-Ser, transl., The rogue: or The life of Guzman de Alfarache, volume 1, pages 68–69:

(obsolete, weaponry) A short but large-caliber, heavy 16th and 17th-century firearm that used a matchlock or wheellock mechanism, intermediate between the arquebuse and pistol.


BB gun

From the size of buckshot originally fired from this type of gun.

A gun that shoots BB-size pellets, typically using compressed air, or sometimes just a compressed spring.


pan

→? Irish: panna

→ Japanese: パン

From Middle English panne, from Old English panne, from Proto-West Germanic *pannā, from Proto-Germanic *pannǭ, from Late Latin panna, from Latin patina (“broad, shallow dish, pan, stewpan”), from Ancient Greek πατάνη (patánē, “kind of flat dish”), which is probably from Pre-Greek.
Cognate with West Frisian panne, Saterland Frisian Ponne, Dutch pan, German Low German Panne, Pann, German Pfanne, Danish pande, Swedish panna, Icelandic panna.

pan

flat vessel used for cooking — see also frying pan

flash in the pan

[…] he pull’d the Trigger, but Providence being pleas’d to preserve me for some other Purpose, the Cock snapp’d, and miss’d Fire. Whether the Prime was wet in the Pan, or by what other Miracle it was I escap’d his Fury, I cannot say […]

1743, Robert Drury, The Pleasant, and Surprizing Adventures of Mr. Robert Drury, during his Fifteen Years Captivity on the Island of Madagascar, London, pages 95–96:

And he […] glared on the cold pistols that hung before him—ready for anything. And he took down one with a snatch and weighed it in his hand, and fell to thinking again; and, as he did, kept opening and shutting the pan with a snap, […]

1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard:

(firearms) The part of a flintlock that holds the priming.


undercharge

en-verb

undercharge (third-person singular simple present undercharges, present participle undercharging, simple past and past participle undercharged)

undercharges (present singular third-person)
undercharging (participle present)
undercharged (participle past)
undercharged (past)

to undercharge a gun

(transitive, firearms) To put too small a charge into.


breechloading

Describing a breechloader gun: one that has ammunition loaded from the rear of the barrel rather than where it will exit.


muzzleloading

Of a gun, having ammunition loaded from the front of the barrel where it will exit.

suustaladattava

of a gun, having ammunition loaded from the front of the barrel


drawbore

drawbore (third-person singular simple present drawbores, present participle drawboring, simple past and past participle drawbored)

drawbores (present singular third-person)
drawboring (participle present)
drawbored (participle past)
drawbored (past)

(transitive) To enlarge the bore of a gun barrel by drawing, instead of thrusting, a revolving tool through it.


Jungle Carbine

So called due to its primary service in the jungles of Malaya after World War II.

(informal) The British-made Number 5 SMLE rifle, with a shortened barrel suitable for jungle warfare.


Russian roulette

From roulette, a game of chance involving a revolving wheel. The first description is apparently in "The Fatalist," an 1840 short story by Russian writer Mikhail Lermontov.

(idiomatic, games) A deadly game in which a person loads a single bullet in the cylinder of a revolver, spins the cylinder so that the bullet's location is unknown, points the muzzle at his/her head, and pulls the trigger. In its most lethal form, played by multiple participants each of whom takes a turn until the weapon discharges.

رُولِيت رُوسِيّ

deadly game with revolver and random spinning


lead shot

Small balls of lead, used as projectiles in shotguns, and as a weight in angling etc


concentrator

(firearms) A frame or ring of wire or hard paper fitting into the cartridge case used in some shotguns, and holding the shot together when discharged, to secure close shooting; also, a device for slightly narrowing the bore at the muzzle for the same purpose.


smoke wagon

The following list of hobo words, presented in glossary form, was collected by me during twenty years of experience with hobo cases in my profession of attorney-at-law. . . . Smoke wagon—pistol.

1926, Nicholas Klein, “Hobo Lingo”, in American Speech, volume 1, number 12, pages 650–653:

Familiar epithets for the revolver were equalizer, shootin' iron . . . smoke wagon.

1950, C. Merton Babcock, “The Vocabulary of Social Life on the American Frontier”, in Western Folklore, volume 9, number 2, page 138:

Wyatt (Kurt Russell): Go ahead. Skin it. Skin that smoke wagon and see what happens. . . . I'm getting tired of your gas. Jerk that pistol and go to work.

1993, Kevin Jarre, Tombstone (film script)

(US, slang, archaic) A handgun, especially a revolver.


speed loader

(firearms) A pressed metal (or plastic) clip, holding a set number of cartridges for a firearm, and used for rapid reloading of the weapon or its magazine.


six-shooter

He drank a quart of whisky a day; was almost never drunk, but on rare occasions when the liquor fumes bested him he would invariably select a hapless victim and, whipping out the pair of mother-o’-pearl-handled six-shooters he always wore at his belt, would force him to dance by shooting at his feet—a pleasing fancy brought with him from Texas and the Cimarron.

Five or six of them youngsters, weren’t but two of them upwards of twelve or thirteen, they outs with their six-shooters and had me covered.

1979, Louis L'Amour, Bendigo Shafter, →ISBN, →OL:

(colloquial, dated) A revolver which holds six cartridges.


saucisse

Borrowed from French saucisse (“sausage”). Doublet of sausage.

(mining, firearms) A long and slender pipe or bag, made of cloth well pitched, or of leather, filled with powder, and used to communicate fire to mines, caissons, bomb chests, etc.


plinking

en-noun

plinking (countable and uncountable, plural plinkings)

(firearms) Informal target shooting done at non-traditional targets such as tin cans, glass bottles and wood blocks.


trapshooting

The sport, similar to skeet, of shooting at thrown targets with a shotgun.


oiler

From Middle English oyler, equivalent to oil + -er.

(firearms) A small (typically thumb-sized) metal container of oil, often containing an integral brush.


AK

(US) Abbreviation of Alaska, A state of the United States.


AK

an AK-47, AK-74, or related assault rifle (Avtomat Kalasnikova or Kalashnikov)

Cops got AKs, y'all only got pumps, that shit's just dumb.

2001, “That's How”, in Denaun Porter (lyrics), Marshall Bruce Mathers III and Denaun Porter (music), Devil's Night, performed by D12, New York: Shady Records:

(by extension, slang, nonstandard) Any assault rifle or machine gun.


Armalite

Brand name, presumably from arm and light, i.e. lightweight.

Any of several assault rifles originally made in the USA from the late 1950s.


muzzle velocity

muzzle velocity (plural muzzle velocities)

(firearms) The velocity of a discharged projectile at the muzzle of a firearm.


free float

en-verb

free float (third-person singular simple present free floats, present participle free floating, simple past and past participle free floated)

free floats (present singular third-person)
free floating (participle present)
free floated (participle past)
free floated (past)

(firearms) to alter a firearm so that no part of the barrel touches the stock.


barrelled

a barrelled action

a double-barrelled shotgun

(firearms) Having a barrel or specified number of barrels.


exit wound

Exit wounds, whether they are the result of contact, intermediate, or distant firing, all have the same general characteristics. They are typically larger and more irregular than entrance wounds and, with rare exception, do not possess an abrasion ring. Exit wounds can be stellate, slit-like, crescent, circular, or completely irregular (Figure 4.23).

1998, Vincent J. M. Di Maio, Gunshot Wounds: Practical Aspects of Firearms, Ballistics, and Forensic Techniques, 2nd edition, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 92:

(medicine, forensics) A perforation of the skin caused by a projectile (such as a bullet) leaving the body.


sawed-off shotgun

en-noun

sawed-off shotgun (plural sawed-off shotguns)

sawn-off shotgun
sawn-off shotgun#English


sawn-off shotgun

sawn-off shotgun (plural sawn-off shotguns)

I never really got there / I just pretended that I had / Words are blunt instruments / Words are sawn-off shotguns

2007, “Jigsaw Falling into Place”, in In Rainbows, performed by Radiohead:

A shotgun whose barrel(s) has been shortened for ease of concealment and to give a larger spread, though with more limited range (often for illegal purposes).


double-barrelled shotgun

double-barrelled shotgun (plural double-barrelled shotguns)

A type of shot-firing gun with two long, parallel barrels, allowing the user to fire twice in quick succession.


softnose

Questions that have arisen regarding the "stopping power" of the modern small-caliber bullet, particularly in view of the reduction of the caliber of the rifle in some services to 0.25 inch, or even less, have led to propositions to adopt soft-nose or "mushrooming" bullets, which will be deformed on striking an animate object, inflict a more dangerous wound, and increase the shock over that given by a hard bullet of the same caliber and weight, which would penetrate the body without deformation. […] The soft-nose bullet is inferior in accuracy, and is especially inferior in its ability to penetrate hard substances used for defensive purposes, making it almost useless to reach troops under cover that would be dislodged by the service bullet.

1897, “Seacoast Guns”, in Annual Report of the Chief of Ordnance to the Secretary of War for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1896, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 21:

When I got the rifle I shot a coyote in a trap, to see what effect the soft nose bullet would have. He was struck back of shoulder, and a hole torn, where bullet entered, about 3½ inches in diameter.

1898 September, A. A. Haines, “The Ideal Gun for Coyotes [letter]”, in G[eorge] O[liver] Shields, editor, Recreation, volume IX, number 3, New York, N.Y.: G. O. Shields (Coquina), →OCLC, page 216, column 1:

The soft nose bullet if it is fired and hitting any hard object, especially bone, it flattens and becomes distorted and is no longer round and has a tearing force with it.

1935 November 11, J. C. Shields, witness, New York Life Insurance Company, Petitioner, vs. Stella Jane Gamer, as Executrix of the Will of E. Walter Gamer, also Known as Edward W. Gamer, Deceased: Transcript of Record (Supreme Court of the United States; no. 323), Washington, D.C.: Judd & Detweiler, […], published 31 December 1937, page 184:

The softnose technique involved placing an inhibitor on a blaster, which allowed a laser to travel at slower speeds, actually penetrating the target. Initially developed for mining purposes, they were quickly adapted by some greedy weapons manufacturer.

[2002, Eoin Colfer, “Cruisin’ for Chix”, in Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Miramax Books; Hyperion Paperbacks for Children, →ISBN, page 35:

(firearms) Of a bullet: lacking a jacketed nose and thereby deforming greatly on impact, causing a large amount of damage; soft-nosed.

pehmeäkärkinen

of a bullet: lacking a jacketed nose and thereby deforming greatly on impact


softnose

softnose (countable and uncountable, plural softnoses)

Coordinate term: hollow point

The soft nose when it strikes a hard substance, mushrooms, would leave ten times as large a hole as a hard nose bullet striking the same substance. A soft nose bullet would leave a ragged edge.

1935 November 11, Clyde L. McNeil, witness, New York Life Insurance Company, Petitioner, vs. Stella Jane Gamer, as Executrix of the Will of E. Walter Gamer, also Known as Edward W. Gamer, Deceased: Transcript of Record (Supreme Court of the United States; no. 323), Washington, D.C.: Judd & Detweiler, […], published 31 December 1937, page 215:

And get a couple of boxes of .40 caliber Glasers, too. And about a dozen boxes of .30 caliber softnoses for my SKS. You need some cash for all that?

2000, John W. Myers, “Can Your Home Fort be Defended if Attacked? Or, ‘Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition’”, in The Crossland Shootpout: Adventures of a Photojournalist, Lincoln, Neb.: Writers Club Press, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 116:

The softnoses were just as quickly outlawed, for the obvious reason that these weapons were designed to kill, and not to incapacitate.

On the upside, I guess the sniper keeps the kids home at night. They're at that age where they prefer tear-assing around town to spending time at home. Judy's 15, and that means all she thinks about is boys. Too bad for her none of her knights in shining armor have been willing to risk a .270 Winchester softnose between the eyes.

2004 October 27, William Gussie [pseudonym], “Man, I Wish that Sniper would Go Away”, in The Onion, archived from the original on 2018-03-14:

(firearms, countable) A bullet of this kind; (uncountable) bullets of this kind collectively.

pehmeäkärkinen luoti

bullet of this kind; bullets of this kind collectively


automatic rifle

automatic rifle (plural automatic rifles)

(weaponry) A rifle that loads itself either from a belt or magazine; a machine gun. (Compare fully automatic rifles vs semi-automatic rifles.)


reloader

(firearms) A shooter who makes their own ammunition from separately purchased components.

(firearms) The equipment used by such a shooter, particularly a levered press used to force the components together.


entry wound

(pathology, forensics) A wound caused by a bullet or other object as it enters the body, as contrasted with exit wound.


Glock

The handgun is named after Austrian engineer Gaston Glock (1929–2023).

named-after

Grab ya Glocks when you see Tupac, call the cops when you see Tupac

1996, “Hit 'em Up”, performed by Tupac Shakur:

Feel these hot rocks, fellas, put you in a dry spot, fellas / In a pine box with nine shots from my Glock, fellas

2001, “Ether”, in Stillmatic, performed by Nas:

Alex blinked her eyes open and looked up at the face of a bald man wearing pajamas. In his right hand was a pump shotgun, in his left her Glock 23.

2007, Greg Iles, True Evil, Simon and Schuster, page 279:


bolt action

A type of firearm action in which the weapon's bolt is operated manually by the opening and closing of the breech with a small handle, most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon.


stutter gun

(dated, gangster, slang) A machine gun, particularly the Thompson or similar.


rolling block

A form of firearm action where the sealing of the breech is done with a specially shaped breechblock able to rotate on a pin.


(US) A lightweight assault rifle, originating from the Vietnam War period.

the primary competitor for the M-16, originating from the Communist Bloc

FN-FAL

the primary competitor for the M-16 in NATO


railgun

[ˈɹeɪ.jəɫ.ɡʌn]

From rail + gun.
* (railway gun): From being a gun mounted on a rail car, and being railroad-mobile.
* (EM gun): From being a projectile ejecting device with a pair of electric conducting rails that a launch sled runs along, which shoots the projectile.


leade

The bullet must then jump some distance before it enters the leade of the rifling in the barrel. There is always some tendency for skidding to occur before the rifling fully engages […]

2004, Tom A. Warlow, Firearms, The Law And Forensic Ballistics, page 117:

That portion of a firearm's barrel immediately in front of the chamber where the bullet travels prior to contacting the rifling.


matching numbers

(Firearms, on a bolt action rifle), corresponding serial numbers on both the removable bolt and the frame of the rifle.

Firearms; on a bolt action rifle; Firearms; on a bolt action rifle


muzzle-loading

Describing a gun in which the ammunition is loaded at the front of the barrel


breech-loading

(of a gun) Such that ammunition is loaded at the rear of the bore.


clay pigeon

The term is a remnant of the history of trap shooting. Originally, live pigeons were used as targets, but they were gradually replaced with clay disks and ultimately banned. Later, clay was replaced with more suitable raw materials.

A flying target, usually a disc, made of a mixture of pitch and pulverized limestone rock, used as moving target in sport shooting.


unrifled

(firearms) Having a bore with a smooth interior, i.e. one that has not been rifled


smoothbore

From what distance the smoothbore musket was able to fell a human target has been the source of debate for a long time.

2008, Earl J. Hess, The Rifle Musket in Civil War Combat: Reality and Myth, University Press of Kansas, page 13:

(of firearms) Having a bore with a smooth interior, i.e. one that has not been rifled.


smoothbore

(firearms) A cannon, gun or other firearm that has an unrifled barrel.


chicken wing

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-chicken wing.wav

(firearms) A 20th-century shooting stance where the two elbows are positioned inline with the neck.


calling card

(World War I– World War II military slang) An explosive dropped from a bomber aeroplane.


minigun

From mini- + gun, so-called because General Electric designers scaled down the rotating-barrel 20 mm M61 Vulcan cannon for 7.62×51mm ammunition (in order to create a weapon with a higher and more reliable rate of fire).

You know, what I'm actually thinking- is, if the deathclaw event actually happens, will the minigun on [that] Vertibird still be a minigun, or will it be something completely different?

2019 October 24, ISP, quoting iSorrowproductions, Fallout 4 But I Randomized EVERYTHING:

A machine gun with several rotating barrels, capable of firing several thousand rounds per minute.


chain gun

A machine gun or autocannon that uses an external power source via a continuous loop of chain.


squad automatic weapon

en-noun

squad automatic weapon (plural squad automatic weapons)

personal machine gun
personal machine gun

(military, weaponry) A kind of light machine gun; a machine gun issued to a squad of troops, being heavier than the standard assault rifles, personal machine guns, machine carbines, battle rifles issued per trooper.


section automatic weapon

section automatic weapon (plural section automatic weapons)

squad automatic weapon
squad automatic weapon

(weaponry) squad automatic weapon, a class of light machine gun; a machine gun issued to a section of troops, being heavier than the standard assault rifle and personal machine guns issued per trooper.


Garand

Borrowed from French Garand. The rifle is named after its designer, John Garand.

(informal) The M1 American semiautomatic rifle.


shooting range

A facility designed for firearms practice.

مَيْدَان رِمَايَة

a facility designed for firearms practice


sidelock

(firearms) The design of a gun that has the lockwork mounted to the inside of a plate; compare boxlock.


Weatherby eyebrow

Weatherby eyebrow (plural Weatherby eyebrows)

From the Weatherby series of firearms, noted for their large calibres and heavy recoil.

(informal, shooting) An injury caused to the shooter's face when the recoil from a powerful rifle pushes the telescopic sight forcefully against the face of the shooter.


scattergun

But in all-around use, the scattergun now ranks first across fields and forests, trap and skeet ranges.

1973 September, Gary Gillespie, “How to select a modern scattergun”, in Popular Mechanics, →ISSN, page 134:

Groundhitching the horse, he left the Winchester in the saddle boot and reached under his duster to unsling the scattergun.

1999 December 1, Jason Manning, Gun Justice: The Unforgettable Story of Texas John Slaughter, One of the Greatest Gunfighters of the Old West, Macmillan:

You ever have a staring contest with a fish? No eyelids. Kinda pointless, right? Like you reaching for that scattergun.

2013 February 21, “Relevance”, in Person of Interest, season 2, episode 16, spoken by Sam Shaw (Sarah Shahi):


scattergun

en-adj

scattergun (comparative more scattergun, superlative most scattergun)

more scattergun (comparative)
most scattergun (superlative)

UKIP's Facebook approach was the most 'scattergun', posting a slew of national messages, presumably in the hope that something might impact locally.

2016, Darren G. Lilleker, Mark Pack, Political Marketing and the 2015 UK General Election, page 127:

While the use of such language in judicial reasoning is not uncommon amongst the more senior Pakistani courts, the acceptance of all pleaded grounds, no matter how 'scattergun' the approach, certainly is.

2017, Helen Stalford, Kathryn Hollingsworth, Stephen Gilmore, Rewriting Children's Rights Judgments:


frizzen

From earlier frizzle (noun), of unknown origin. Compare fleerish, furison.

An L-shaped piece of steel hinged at the rear used in flintlock firearms, positioned over the flash pan so to enclose a small priming charge of black powder next to the flash hole that is drilled through the barrel, such that when fired the flint scrapes it so as to create a spark.


flare gun

A large-bore pistol-like firearm used to fire signal flares.


birdshot

en-noun

birdshot (countable and uncountable, plural birdshots)

A rifle or pistol cartridge containing small shot instead of a single larger projectile.


CCW

(US, firearms) Initialism of concealed carry weapon.


CCW

(US, firearms) Initialism of carrying a concealed weapon.


headstamp

Photographs were taken of the weapons' serial numbers and [of the] markings on the bottoms of the cartridge casings, known as headstamps, which can reveal where and when ammunition was made.

2009 Chivers, C.J. (The New York Times), Is U.S. Ammo going to Taliban?; run in Austin American-Statesman, May 20, 2009, p A-1

(military, firearms) The identification marking on the base (bottom) of a cartridge casing.


DAO

DAO (countable and uncountable, plural DAOs)

(firearms) Initialism of double action only, a trigger mechanism for revolving cylinder and semi-automatic firearms.


long arm

the long arm of the law

(idiomatic) Influence; far-reaching power.


jingal

/ˈd͡ʒɪnɡɔːl/

Borrowed from Hindi [script needed] (janjal).

bor+

(India) A type of gun, usually a light piece mounted on a swivel, sometimes taking the form of a heavy musket fired from a rest.


TEC

I strap out, step out in every direction / Glock, TECs, jimmy hats, in case I need protection

1993, “Just Another Day”, in Black Reign, performed by Queen Latifah:


hogleg

A plain-clothes man with his coat off and his hog's leg looking like a fire plug against his ribs took one eye off his evening paper […].

1940, Raymond Chandler, Farewell, My Lovely, Penguin, published 2010, page 228:

Well I been a-ridin' shotgun on the Houston-Dallas stage / I got me a sawed-off hogleg, twenty is the number gauge / I'd shoot anybody, that would try to stop this ride / A lot of outlaws tried it, a lot of outlaws died.

(US, slang) Any large-caliber handgun, typically with a long barrel.


pocket pistol

A semi-automatic handgun designed to be carried inconspicuously in a pocket of one's clothing.


hammerless

(firearms) Without a visible hammer; said of a gun having a cock or striker concealed from sight, and out of the way of an accidental touch.


muff pistol

A century earlier [than the 1870s], women in dangerous professions, such as tending bar or prostitution, carried a “lady's muff pistol.”

2006, Elisabeth Israels Perry and Jennifer Ann Price, expanatory note for An American girl, and her four years in a boys' college by Olive San Louie Anderson, page 203

(historical) A small flintlock or percussion gun, usually for women, which can be hidden in a muff (hand-warmer).


accurize

en-verb

accurize (third-person singular simple present accurizes, present participle accurizing, simple past and past participle accurized)

accurizes (present singular third-person)
accurizing (participle present)
accurized (participle past)
accurized (past)


yager

There are fourscore of them; and but that each carries a yager rifle in his hand, a knife in his belt, and a Colt's pistol on his thigh, you could not discover the slightest point of resemblance between any two of them.

Many present identify it as the yager usually carried by Clancy.

We were each armed with a Mississippi yager and two Colt's revolvers.

1879, William F. Cody, The Life of Hon. William F. Cody:

(US, obsolete) A heavy, muzzle-loading hunting rifle


nonrecoil

(firearms, physics) Without recoil; recoilless.


RAS

rail accessory system
rail accessory system#English

(firearms) Abbreviation of rail accessory system.


MPBR

(firearms) Initialism of maximum point blank range.


AHO

(Australia, firearms) Initialism of approved hunting organisation, an organisation of which membership is one of several possible prerequisites for a firearms license.


coach gun

A double-barrelled shotgun with very short barrels.


(singular only, informal, firearms) The .303 British rifle calibre.

(countable) A rifle chambered in this calibre, normally the SMLE series.

(countable, music) The TB-303 synthesizer.


(often with "the") North Central Colorado, including Denver and Boulder, after the 303 area code.


lever action

a type of firearm action which uses a lever located around the trigger guard area, to load fresh cartridges into the chamber when the lever is worked.


falling block

A single-shot firearm action in which a solid metal breechblock slides vertically in grooves cut into the breech of the rifle and actuated by a lever.


pump action

A type of firearm action that uses a sliding handgrip to cycle the mechanism.


cop-killer

Serpico spat the words out. "For killing a cop! He's a fucking cop-killer! Tell that to all his fucking friends up there."

1974, Peter Maas, “Chapter Thirteen”, in Serpico, Bantam edition, New York: Bantam Books, published 1973, →ISBN, page 225:

A person who deliberately kills an on-duty police officer.


neck down

neck down (third-person singular simple present necks down, present participle necking down, simple past and past participle necked down)

necks down (present singular third-person)
necking down (participle present)
necked down (participle past)
necked down (past)

(firearms, transitive) To alter (a cartridge) by forcing it into a smaller calibre and size.


bullpup

From bull + pup. The firearms sense originated from firearm designers in the United States during the 1930s. The unconventional configuration of bullpup rifles was compared by analogy to bulldog puppies, which were considered "squat, ugly, but still aggressive and powerful".

(firearms) A firearm configuration in which the trigger is located forward of the magazine and breech, as opposed to a conventional configuration in which the trigger is located rear of the magazine and breech.


belted magnum

A very large rifle cartridge that incorporates a strong ring of metal around its base for strength.


fireform

fireform (third-person singular simple present fireforms, present participle fireforming, simple past and past participle fireformed)

fireforms (present singular third-person)
fireforming (participle present)
fireformed (participle past)
fireformed (past)

To lengthen or widen the body of a cartridge case by firing it in a gun that has the same calibre but a larger chamber.


hang fire

(firearms) The situation when a gun does not immediately fire when the trigger is pulled, but may fire shortly after.


saddle ring

(firearms) A small metal ring on the side of a firearm, allowing it to be hung on a saddle hook or attached to a lanyard.


firing pin

(firearms) the part of the firing mechanism which strikes the cartridge's primer to ignite the gunpowder.


wadcutter

(firearms) a special-purpose bullet designed for shooting paper targets, usually at close range and at subsonic velocities.


Nosler

The bullet is named after gunsmith John Nosler.

(firearms) A bullet having two lead-filled partitions separated by a copper or brass section, intended to retain hitting power after the initial expansion on impact.


wristguard

(firearms) A metal band between the stock and the receiver.


sight in

sight in (third-person singular simple present sights in, present participle sighting in, simple past and past participle sighted in)

sights in (present singular third-person)
sighting in (participle present)
sighted in (participle past)
sighted in (past)

(firearms) To align the sights of a firearm.


SxS

en-noun

SxS (plural SxS or SxSes or SxS's or SxSs)

SxS (plural)
SxSes (plural)
SxS's (plural)
SxSs (plural)

(firearms) Abbreviation of side by side (a double barrelled shotgun with both barrels beside each other, rather than over and under).


Mannlicher stock

Mannlicher stock (plural Mannlicher stocks)

* From a 1903 carbine designed by Ferdinand Mannlicher.

(firearms) A stock on a rifle that runs the full length of the weapon.


breechblock

(firearms) The metal block that closes the breech of a breech-loading gun after insertion of the cartridge.


ACP

(firearms) A class of handgun ammunition; Initialism of automatic Colt pistol.


running target

(firearms) A target that is towed across a range as the shooter shoots.


Kentucky rifle

(US, historical) A distinctive type of flintlock (later percussion cap) rifle used on the American frontier from 1700 to the 1850s.


flash-ball

From the trademark Flash-ball, from flash + ball.

French security forces fired tear gas and flash-balls after a march through picturesque central Paris went from peaceful to provocative.

2019 January 5, “France: Year’s 1st yellow vest event brings tear gas, fires”, in AP:


musketoon

From musket + -oon, after French mousqueton. Compare Italian moschettone.

(obsolete) One who is armed with such a musket.


toolie

Rise that heater, tap that mash
They don't come outside their flats
Decamp, decamp, aim this toolie at your hat
They piss us off on Snap, so we rise up and load them straps

2020 July 2, “Stop Check”, Td of TPL (lyrics):

(slang, US, MTE, MLE, and possibly wider) A gun.


obturation

obturation (countable and uncountable, plural obturations)

From Latin obturare (“to stop up”): compare French obturation.

(firearms) The process of a bullet expanding under pressure to fit the bore of the firearm, or a cartridge case expanding under pressure to seal the chamber.


Yellow Boy

From the golden yellow colour of its receiver.

(firearms, informal) A Winchester Model 1866 lever action rifle.


mil-dot

(firearms) A type of firearm scope reticle using a thou dot as an aiming point and reference for range and holdover estimation.


caliver

That done, running out into the streets, with a crosse-bow in one hand, and a caliver [translating harquebouze] in the other, at two shoots, slew the two first Turks that came next to his gates[…].

1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 3, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:


punt gun

Named after punt (“shallow boat”) on which the shotgun was typically fixed.

(chiefly historical) A very large shotgun used in the 19th and early 20th centuries for shooting large numbers of waterfowl for commercial harvesting operations and private sport.


needle gun

(historical) A firearm that has a needle-like firing pin.

naaldgeweer

a firearm that has a needle-like firing pin


thunderstick

From thunder + stick. Originally used by or ascribed to members of non-European cultures or anthropomorphized animals describing firearms.

The man pointed his thunderstick at the buffalo, and with a great noise and fire, the buffalo fell down dead.

We sneaked into the soldiers' camp, and stole five thundersticks.

...the Men, when they hunt us with their arrows or a thunder-stick which strikes with a loud noise...

1904, W.A. Fraser, “The Narrative of Buffalo and Bison”, in Metropolitan, volume 20, number 11, pages 195–196:

Two men with beards... carrying thundersticks... were in the village above...

1931 He Dog, interviewed by Mari Sandoz (John Colhoff, interpreter), in The Beaver Men: Spearheads of Empire (University of Nebraska Press, 1964)

We have heard that they have magic thunder sticks; that all they need do is point the stick at a man and thunder and lightning comes out of it and the man dies.

1938, Mark Raymond Harrington, The Indians of New Jersey: Dickon among the Lenapes:

(Two bears discussing a rifle found lying on the ground): Thunderstick? ...You actually said 'Thunderstick?'... That, my friend, is a Winchester 30.06.

1985, Gary Larson, Bride of the Far Side:

...the captain of the vessel ordered a crew member to fire the thunderstick, as ancestors called the gun.
Word of bearded White men and their thundersticks was carried inland to other Indians.

2010, Our Story: Aboriginal Voices on Canada's Past:


varminter

A rifle designed or modified to increase accuracy so that it can be used for varmint shooting.

Accuracy folks (benchresters, varminters, etc.) lean decidedly towards the Remington. Its tubular design allows it to be chucked in a lathe and "hot-rodded" very easily.

1997 December 23, Marcus [username], “Re: New Pre '64 or 700 action?”, in rec.guns (Usenet):


SMG

Initialism of Standard Modern Greek (the contemporary language, taught in Greek schools since 1982).


double action

(firearms, primarily of revolvers) Requiring only a trigger pull to both cock and fire.


double action

(firearms) A trigger mechanism requiring a single pull to both cock and fire.


Maxim gun

After the inventor, Sir Hiram Maxim (1840-1916).

(firearms) A British machine gun of various calibres used by the British army from 1889 until World War II.

(firearms) A machine gun which derives after some manner from the patented gun mechanism of Sir Hiram Maxim

(firearms, informal, obsolete) A machine gun


tertiate

en-verb

tertiate (third-person singular simple present tertiates, present participle tertiating, simple past and past participle tertiated)

tertiates (present singular third-person)
tertiating (participle present)
tertiated (participle past)
tertiated (past)

Borrowed from Latin tertiāt-, the perfect passive participial stem of Latin tertiō, from tertius (“third”).

quintate

reduce proportionately, by single aliquot part

(firearms) To examine, as the thickness of the metal at the muzzle of a gun; or, in general, to examine the thickness of, as ordnance, in order to ascertain its strength.


backstrap

(firearms) The rearmost surface applied to the grip especially of a pistol below a possible beavertail.


blaze away

blaze away (third-person singular simple present blazes away, present participle blazing away, simple past and past participle blazed away)

blazes away (present singular third-person)
blazing away (participle present)
blazed away (participle past)
blazed away (past)

Scott, somewhat stunned and now worried that everybody might have opened fire at the U.S. destroyers (he presumably missed Laffey and Farenholt merrily blazing away with their own guns into the darkness), ordered all firing to cease after a couple of minutes.

2020 December 9, Drachinifel, 20:18 from the start, in Guadalcanal Campaign - Cape Esperance (IJN 1 : 2 USN), archived from the original on 2022-12-04:

(firearms, intransitive, idiomatic) To fire (firearms) repeatedly.


SPRG

(firearms, with regard to the 30'06 cartridge) Abbreviation of Springfield Armory.


(firearms) The Mauser model 98, or a firearm action based on this design.


straight pull

(firearms) Alternative spelling of straight-pull


Chicago typewriter

en-noun

Chicago typewriter (plural Chicago typewriters)

From its use by Chicago's underworld in the Prohibition Era, and likening the rattling sound of gunfire to that of a typewriter.

As the .45 cartridge is used in many weapons, Ballistics test-fired it in all — three different models of the Thompson sub-machine gun, the “Chicago typewriter” of gang warfare; the Reising sub-machine gun used by the marine Corps; the new and exciting M-3 sub-machine gun; the Colt .45 automatic pistol […]

1946, Wesley Winans Stout, Bullets by the Billion, page 68:

Few arrests were made and the city was alive to the sound of screeching tyres, the chatter of the Chicago typewriter or Tommy gun (which was invented just too late for the First World War but just in time for Capone & Co) and the music of the speakeasies and juke joints.

2010 July 23, Neil Norman, “The man who really caught Capone”, in Express:

The Russian soldiers carried Czech-made Skoda Tommy guns reminiscent of the well-known Thompson Chicago typewriter, made famous by the FBI and gang warfare during the Depression years.

2012, Edward M. Arnett, A Different Kind of War Story, page 105:

(slang) Synonym of Thompson submachine gun.


recapper

(firearms) A tool that applies a fresh percussion cap or primer to a cartridge shell in reloading it.


fire in anger

en-verb

fire in anger (third-person singular simple present fires in anger, present participle firing in anger, simple past and past participle fired in anger)

fires in anger (present singular third-person)
firing in anger (participle present)
fired in anger (participle past)
fired in anger (past)

The Napier of Magdala Battery never fired a shot in anger: it never engaged in combat.

(military, idiomatic) To fire a weapon with the intent of causing damage or harm to an opponent (as opposed to a warning shot or a practice shot).


neck up

neck up (third-person singular simple present necks up, present participle necking up, simple past and past participle necked up)

necks up (present singular third-person)
necking up (participle present)
necked up (participle past)
necked up (past)

(firearms) to increase the size of a cartridge's chamber and calibre.


Texas heart shot

en-noun

Texas heart shot (plural Texas heart shots)

(hunting, firearms) A bullet fired through the anal area of an animal.


Whitworth gun

Invented by Sir Joseph Whitworth of Manchester, England.

THE WHITWORTH GUN. — Mr. Whitworth, of Manchester, has succeeded in constructing several rifled breech-loading cannon of various calibres: his 3-pounder gun, 208 lbs. in weight, with a calibre of 1½ inches, a charge of 8 oz. of powder,[…]

1863, Henry Lee Scott, Military Dictionary:

A form of rifled cannon and small arms. The bore has a polygonal section, and the twist is rapid. The ball, which is pointed in front, is made to fit the bore accurately, and is very much elongated, its length being about three-and-a-half times its diameter.


boomstick

From boom (“a log; explosion sound”) + stick.

(slang) Any shotgun, especially a sawed-off version.


doglock

(firearms, historical) The lock that preceded the true flintlock in both rifles and pistols in the 17th century.


pinfire

(firearms) An obsolete kind of brass cartridge in which the priming compound is ignited by striking a small pin which protrudes radially from just above the base of the cartridge.


underlug

(firearms) One of the locking lugs on a break-action firearm that extend from the bottom of the barrels under the chamber(s) and connect into the receiver bottom.

(firearms) The metal shroud underneath the barrel of a revolver that surrounds and protects the extractor rod.


slamfire

(firearms) The premature accidental discharge of a firearm while a round is being loaded into the chamber.


Picatinny rail

Named after the Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey.

(firearms) A bracket used on some firearms in order to provide a standardized mounting platform.


speedloader

Various speedloaders had different colours. You could also hear the data being loaded (1200baud iirc) and some programs had very interesting 'tunes' in them, and it was also possible to work out where you were in the load of your favourite games by the sound.

2002, John Bland, “Thumb Bandits.”, in comp.sys.acorn.misc (Usenet):

(firearms, computing) Alternative form of speed loader


keyholing

(firearms) The tendency of a bullet fired down an excessively large barrel to wobble in flight and leave a keyhole-shaped puncture in the target.


sporterize

en-verb

sporterize (third-person singular simple present sporterizes, present participle sporterizing, simple past and past participle sporterized)

sporterizes (present singular third-person)
sporterizing (participle present)
sporterized (participle past)
sporterized (past)

(transitive, firearms) To modify (a firearm) so that it is suitable for sporting use.


arquebusade

en-noun

arquebusade (countable and uncountable, plural arquebusades)

From French arquebusade (“shot of an arquebus”); eau d'arquebusade, a vulnerary for gunshot wounds.

bor

The AQUA VULNERATA, arquebusade water, is prepared from numerous aromatics[…]

1809, Bartholomew Parr, The London Medical Dictionary:

A distilled water from a variety of aromatic plants, such as rosemary, millefoil, etc., originally used as a vulnerary in gunshot wounds.


frizel

To this succeeded the Snaplance ^([sic]), in which a motion was given to the dog, or cock, and a movable plate of steel, called the frizel, or hammer, was placed vertically above the pan to receive the action of the flint.

1832, The Edinburgh Encyclopaedia, volume 10, page 164:

(firearms, historical) A movable furrowed piece of steel struck by the flint, to throw sparks into the pan, in an early form of flintlock.


snaphance

Dutch snaphaan (“a gun”), originally, the snapping cock of a gun. See snap and hen.

A spring lock for discharging a firearm.


switchy

Yeah, this shit gettin wicked now
Hit his ass with the switchy now
My net worth 'bout a ticket now
I ain't never put my glizzy down

2023 September 18, “It’s Nothing / Spiritual Outro” (track 15, 0:20 from the start), in Summrs (lyrics), What We Didn’t Have:

(slang, African-American Vernacular) A Glock switch.


seven-shooter

(colloquial, dated) A revolver which holds seven cartridges.


express rifle

First applied to hunting rifles and ammunition beginning in the mid 19th century, to indicate a rifle or ammunition capable of higher than typical velocities.

Any of various rifles that propel the bullet at high velocity to maximize point-blank range.


snap cap

1187. B. Lilly. Improvements in the construction of "snap caps" or "nipple protectors" for firearms. Dated May 12, 1863.

1863 December 18, The Mechanics' Magazine, page 889:

Snap caps are dummies (no powder, no primer, no projectile) shaped like the ammunition for a particular gun. They're supposed to provide something for the firing pin to hit during dryfiring, so the gun's lockwork doesn't have to absorb this impact. It's a fine idea, but not all snap caps are made right.

2012, Silvio Calabi, The Gun Book for Boys:

However, it does no harm (and may prevent damage) to use snap caps - dummy rounds which are inserted into the chamber to soften the impact of the firing pin.

2014, MAssad Ayoob, Gun Safety in the Home, page 124:

(firearms) A dummy round of ammunition used to check ammo feed and other mechanical problems.


JSP

(firearms) Initialism of jacketed soft point (bullet), a type of lead bullet with a partial metal jacket, where the tip leaves the core exposed without jacketing.


dog

en-noun

dog (countable and uncountable, plural dogs)

Australian Kriol: dog

Bislama: dog

Gullah: dog

Sranan Tongo: dagu

Tok Pisin: dok

Torres Strait Creole: dog

desc

→ American Sign Language: Kop@Inside-PalmForward 1o@Inside

→ Dutch: dog

→ Esperanto: dogo

Ido: dogo

→ French: dogue

→ German: Dogge

→ Italian: dogo

→ English: dogo

→ Portuguese: dogue

→ Russian: дог (dog)

→ Spanish: dogo

→ Volapük: dog, doeg

Inherited from Middle English dogge (akin to Scots dug), from Old English dogga, docga, of uncertain origin.
The original meaning seems to have been a common dog, as opposed to a well-bred one, or something like 'cur', and perhaps later came to be used for stocky dogs. Possibly a pet-form diminutive with suffix -ga (compare frocga (“frog”), *picga (“pig”)), appended to a base *dog-, *doc- of unclear origin and meaning. One possibility is Old English dox (“dark, swarthy”) (compare frocga from frox). Another proposal is that it derives from Proto-West Germanic *dugan (“to be suitable”), the origin of Old English dugan (“to be good, worthy, useful”), English dow, Dutch deugen, German taugen. The theory goes that it could have been an epithet for dogs, commonly used by children, meaning "good/useful animal". Another is that it is related to *docce (“stock, muscle”), from Proto-West Germanic *dokkā (“round mass, ball, muscle, doll”), whence English dock (“stumpy tail”).
In 14th-century England, hound (from Old English hund) was the general word for all domestic canines, and dog referred to a subtype resembling the modern mastiff and bulldog. By the 16th century, dog had become the general word, and hound had begun to refer only to breeds used for hunting. In the 16th century, the word dog was adopted by several continental European languages as their word for mastiff.
Despite similarities in forms and meaning, not related to Mbabaram dog.

hond

morally reprehensible person — see also scoundrel

it is easy to find a stick to beat a dog

on the Internet nobody knows you're a dog

the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

(firearms, archaic) A cock, as of a gun.


shooting glasses

(firearms) A type of impact-resistant eyewear worn by shooters to prevent injury due to a cartridge or gun malfunction blowing hot gas or metal particles into the shooter's face.


forend

(firearms) Part of a rifle, underneath the barrel, where it is supported by the hand.


gunbelt

A belt incorporating a holster for a gun.


organ gun

/ˌɔːɡ(ə)n ˈɡʌn/

/ˌɔɹɡ(ə)n ˈɡʌn/

From organ + gun. The multiple barrels of the device were thought to resemble the pipes of a pipe organ.

The attempts to re-invest the artillery with its one-time superiority were directed in two channels: one aimed at perfecting shrapnel, which had been rather neglected up to this time (England, Prussia, Austria), while the other resurrected the mediaeval idea of the "barrel-organ gun," with a view of assembling a number of rifle barrels and of combining thereby the accuracy of the small arm with the moral effect of canister.

1911, William Balck, “VI. Machine Guns”, in Tactics, Volume 1: Introduction and Formal Tactics of Infantry, page 259:

(firearms, historical) A large, portable firearm normally supported by wheels, in which bullets may be fired from a row of several tubes in succession; it was chiefly used from the 14th to the 17th century.

Bellifortis
Giuseppe Marco Fieschi
Konrad Keyser
Louis Philippe I
Musée des Archives Nationales

арга́н

portable firearm in which bullets may be fired from a row of several tubes in succession


(firearms, informal) The .22 Long Rifle calibre.

(firearms, informal) A firearm chambered in that calibre.


zamboorak

A light swivelling gun, traditionally mounted on, and fired from, the back of a camel


Lewis gun

(historical) A light machine gun adopted by Belgium and the UK before World War I and widely used.


Peabody action

Named after the inventor, Henry O. Peabody of Boston, Massachusetts.

(firearms, historical) An early form of breechloading firearm action, where the heavy breechblock tilted downwards across a bolt mounted in the rear of the breechblock, operated by a lever under the rifle.


Bell shot

After Walter "Karamojo" Bell, a Scottish big game hunter.

(hunting, firearms) A shot at an animal's head taken diagonally from behind.


paper hunting

(firearms, informal, sometimes derogatory) target shooting


Broomhandle Mauser

en-noun

Broomhandle Mauser (plural Broomhandle Mausers)

(firearms, informal) The Mauser C96 pistol.


saddle carbine

(firearms) a short carbine intended for use on horseback, typically with a very short barrel and a saddle ring.


gun sock

(firearms) A long tubular cloth covering, sealed at one end, used to provide basic protection for a firearm.


bore sight

(firearms) An optical device, mounted on or near the end of a firearm's barrel, used to align the sights with the bore.

(firearms) A dummy cartridge containing a small battery-operated laser, used to align the sights.


bore sight

en-verb

bore sight (third-person singular simple present bore sights, present participle bore sighting, simple past and past participle bore sighted)

bore sights (present singular third-person)
bore sighting (participle present)
bore sighted (participle past)
bore sighted (past)

(firearms) To align the sights and aiming point of a firearm using a bore sight optical tool.


vest buster

Yet, according to data published by the company, the gun press, and the federal government, it appears that the .500 Smith & Wesson Magnum is plainly capable of defeating the highest level of police body armor worn in all but SWAT-type situations. It is a vest buster.

2004, Violence Policy Center, Vest Buster: The .500 Smith & Wesson Magnum—The Gun Industry’s Latest Challenge to Law Enforcement Body Armor:

Joby nodded, “I'll wait,” and offered his support—two live rounds of 9mm Black Talon ammunition. “Vest busters,” in case the cops harassed him.

2008, Kerrie Droban, Running with the Devil: The True Story of the ATF's Infiltration of the Hells Angels, page 121:

for, among other things, improving regulations to combat “straw purchases,” better regulating how weapons that are particularly attractive to criminal groups (such as “vest-buster” […]

2011, Clare Ribando Seelke, “Merida Initiative for Mexico and Central America: Funding and Policy Issues”, in Current Politics and Economics of the United States, Canada and Mexico, volume 13, number 4:

A related design and marketing innovation has been the sale to civilians of “vest busters,” handguns specifically designed to penetrate body armor.

2013, Tom Diaz, The Last Gun: How Changes in the Gun Industry are Killing Americans and what it Will Take to Stop it, page 166:

After the vest-buster big boomers came out and appeared on the scene in Seattle, Jax bought the forty-four.

2016, Melanie Thompson, The Virgin Shifter:

(firearms) A handgun or cartridge that can fully penetrate a contemporary bulletproof vest.


slugthrower

He had been pulling the trigger of his slugthrower all this time, but now the firing pin clicked at last upon an empty firing chamber.

1965 December, Gordon R. Dickson, “Warrior”, in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, volume 76, →ISSN, page 71:

Each had a holstered sidearm: slugthrower, not stunner.

1978, Poul Anderson, The Avatar, New York: Berkley, →ISBN, →OL, page 162:

From the confident manner with which she held her long-barreled slugthrower, Mirina guessed that some of the medals were for marksmanship.

1996, Jody Lynn Nye, The Ship Errant, Baen, →ISBN, →OL, page 65:

(science fiction) A firearm that fires bullets.


halfcock

This was bad both for the alibi reshoots it caused and subsequent delays in a match, but if the hammer fell to halfcock enough times, the half-cock notch would mar the sear tip, adversely affecting trigger pull.

2010, Patrick Sweeney, 1911 The First 100 Years: The First 100 Years:

(firearms) The position when the cock of a gun is at the first notch.


halfcock

halfcock (third-person singular simple present halfcocks, present participle halfcocking, simple past and past participle halfcocked)

halfcocks (present singular third-person)
halfcocking (participle present)
halfcocked (participle past)
halfcocked (past)

(firearms) To set the cock of a firearm at the first notch.


Very pistol

Named after Edward Wilson Very, a 19th-century US naval officer.

A single-shot breech-loading snub-nosed flare gun.


fowling piece

"Dear Grandfather———" his lordship began with a very grave face, and was certainly on the point of making a confession, but his servant, entering with a variety of fowling-pieces, sent for his choice from my lord, together with a shot-bag, jacket, &c.;...

1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XLIV, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 266:

What could I do? My useless fowling-piece was in my hand. What help could I get from that? I looked desperately round for some rock or tree[.]

1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:

A light gun with smooth bore, adapted for the use of small shot in killing birds or small animals.


Enfield

From Old English Ēana (given name) or ēan (“lamb”) + feld (“field”).

A town in Hartford County, Connecticut; named for the town in England.

Penobscot County
Penobscot County#English

A locale in the United States.
A town in Penobscot County, Maine.

census-designated place
census-designated place

A town, village, and census-designated place in Grafton County, New Hampshire; named for the town in Connecticut.

A locale in the United States.
A town in Tompkins County, New York.


poacher's gun

(firearms) A small-bore shotgun hidden in a walking cane.


selective fire

(firearms) The ability to choose whether a weapon fires automatically or semi-automatically.


shotshell

en-noun

shotshell (countable and uncountable, plural shotshells)

(uncountable) Handgun and rifle cartridges loaded with lead shot canisters instead of bullets, intended for pest control.


backbore

en-verb

backbore (third-person singular simple present backbores, present participle backboring, simple past and past participle backbored)

backbores (present singular third-person)
backboring (participle present)
backbored (participle past)
backbored (past)

(firearms, transitive) To modify (a weapon's barrel) so as to increase the bore diameter.


foregrip

(firearms) A pistol grip-type forestock on the front of a firearm that improves handling characteristics, counters the effects of recoil, and is cooler to the touch than a standard forestock.


forestock

karera

part of a firearm under and supporting the barrel


rebounding lock

en-noun

rebounding lock (plural rebounding locks)

(firearms) A lock in which the hammer rebounds to half cock after striking the cap or primer.


gunloon

From gun + loon (“crazy or deranged person”).

Of course, to a gunloon, freedom is _defined_ by gun ownership.

1996 July 1, rafe b., “Re: Rpt on San Jose City Council Mtg 6/18 PM”, in talk.politics.libertarian (Usenet):

Allowing pilots to carry guns is so insane and stupid that only a gunloon would support it.

2003 September 20, Siva, “Re: Pilot to passengers - I'm armed & drunk”, in alt.politics (Usenet):

The problem is that these NRA gunloons don't believe that they also have the *duty* to own them *responsibly.*

2010 December 3, Fred, “Re: Thrill Killer -- NRA buttfuck rightards on National Geographic”, in alt.atheism (Usenet):

(US, slang, derogatory) A person obsessed with owning guns; a zealous supporter of the right to bear arms.


star gauge

A long rod, with adjustable points projecting radially at its end, for measuring the size of different parts of the bore of a gun.


stub twist

(firearms) Material for a gun barrel, made of a spirally welded ribbon of steel and stub iron combined.


proof charge

(firearms) A charge of powder and ball, greater than the service charge, fired in an arm, as a gun or cannon, to test its strength.


gaining twist

(firearms) In rifled firearms, a twist of the grooves, which increases regularly from the breech to the muzzle.


poodle shooter

Key's in the ignition and I've got this damn "poodle-shooter" on you.

2007, Stephen Hunter, Point of Impact, page 287:

Nice little "poodle shooter" you got there, vampire.

2008, J.R. Ward, The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide, page 291:

(derogatory, slang) A carbine that discharges the 5.56 millimetre calibre cartridge.


firepan

A pan for holding or conveying fire, especially (firearms) the receptacle for the priming of a gun.


leaf sight

A hinged sight on a firearm, which can be raised or folded down.


horse pistol

Above the chimney were sundry villainous old guns, and a couple of horse-pistols: and, by way of ornament, three gaudily-painted cainsters disposed along its ledge.

1847, Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights, section I:

From time to time he pulled the trigger of the horse-pistol; from time to time he rested the butt on his ledge and rammed a charge home.

1926, Ford Madox Ford, A Man Could Stand Up— (Parade's End), Penguin, published 2012, page 559:

A type of large pistol carried on the pommel of a saddle while riding.


lockwork

(firearms) The assembly forming the firing mechanism of a gun.


lockplate

(firearms) The plate that covers the lockwork of a gun.


boxlock

(firearms) A style of double-barrelled shotgun with concealed, self-cocking hammers that use a break-open action.


fireworthiness

The state, condition, or quality of being fireworthy.


fireworthy

en-adj

fireworthy (comparative more fireworthy, superlative most fireworthy)

more fireworthy (comparative)
most fireworthy (superlative)

In re-adjusting it a second time the stock was not in perfect apposition, and the wiseacre, whose business it was to render the weapon fireworthy, observing this defect, sought to remedy it by striking the butt end sharply upon the ground.

1845, New York Journal of Medicine and the Collateral Sciences:

(of a firearms) Worthy or capable of firing; able to be fired; combustible.


ribauldequin

/ɹɪˈbəʊdɪkɪn/

ribauldequin

synonym of organ gun — see also organ gun


rechamber

en-verb

rechamber (third-person singular simple present rechambers, present participle rechambering, simple past and past participle rechambered)

rechambers (present singular third-person)
rechambering (participle present)
rechambered (participle past)
rechambered (past)

To rebore or alter the chamber of (a firearm).


recoil pad

(firearms) A soft rubber (or similar) attachment added to the butt of a long firearm to absorb some of the recoil.


cup discharger

(firearms) A cup-shaped bracket, mounted on the end of a rifle barrel, used to propel hand grenades.


safetied

He looked at his guys; nervous and fingering their safetied weapons. One of them hunched over and vomited

2014, The Twilight of Liberty, page 205:

Others had unloaded and permanently safetied weapons on their arms. Thanks to nanobot enhancements, others were now extraordinarily powerful

(firearms) On which the safety mechanism is engaged.


thunder-stick

Alternative spelling of thunderstick (referring to a firearm).


fire-stick

A troop of soldiers, armed with fire-sticks, entered the valley.

I knocked the man down, and he ran into the woods, leaving his fire-stick on the ground.

"Arna means by the fire-stick a gun," explained Sa'-zada.

1904, W.A. Fraser, “The Narrative of Buffalo and Bison”, in Metropolitan, volume 20, number 11, pages 195–196:

A gun or cannon, especially a rifle. Originally used by or ascribed to members of non-European cultures or anthropomorphized animals describing firearms.


déculassement

en-noun

déculassement (countable and uncountable, plural déculassements)

(firearms) An accidental blowing off of, or other serious damage to, the breechblock of a gun.

(firearms) The removal of the breechblock for the purpose of disabling the gun.


trap shooting

The sport of shooting at pigeons liberated, or glass balls or clay pigeons launched into the air, from a trap.


elephant gun

Lord John was standing at gaze with his finger on the trigger of his elephant-gun, his eager hunter's soul shining from his fierce eyes.

A large-calibre firearm capable of killing an elephant or other big game.


underhammer

(firearms) A firing mechanism where the hammer is mounted under the frame, behind the barrels, and forward of the trigger.


Nitro Express

From the cordite propellant used, which is composed of nitrocellulose and nitroglycerine, and express, due to the higher velocities available with cordite compared to black powder.

A large-calibre cartridge with adequate ballistics to kill big game.


parabellum

For Latin parā bellum (“furnish war”), from the Latin adage sī vīs pācem, parā bellum (“if you want peace, prepare for war”).

A type of cartridge used in some handguns.


gun furniture

(firearms, obsolete) The trigger, trigger plate, its guard, and (when present) the heel plate to the stock.


RIS

rail interface system
rail interface system#English

(firearms) Abbreviation of rail interface system.


ammosexual

Ammosexuals are very protective of their fetish, and attack even the slightest gun safety measure on the grounds that they interfere with their pleasure.

2014 June 5, GOP_Decline_and_Fall [username], “Re: Forget gun control: New plan is to stop mass shootings”, in alt.politics.liberalism (Usenet):

With the infestation of guns and ammosexuals the USA has, you might just kill yourselves off. The Wild West folks had nothing compared to what the ammosexuals are carrying round everywhere. What could possibly go wrong?

2015 July 14, A [username], “Re: St Louis black alderman begs thugs to stop shooting each”, in soc.retirement (Usenet):

It's about sticking it to the ammosexuals or the bleeding hearts or whomever.

2015, Martin Forstrom, "Ditch your guns to prevent suicides", The Wildcat (Arizona University), Volume 109, Issue 27, 28 October 2015 - 29 October 2015, page 9

(slang, derogatory) A person obsessed with owning guns; a zealous supporter of the right to bear arms.


limp-wrist

en-verb

limp-wrist (third-person singular simple present limp-wrists, present participle limp-wristing, simple past and past participle limp-wristed)

limp-wrists (present singular third-person)
limp-wristing (participle present)
limp-wristed (participle past)
limp-wristed (past)

(firearms) To hold a handgun with an insufficiently-firm-and-stiff grip while firing, allowing recoil to move the frame of the gun too far rearwards and causing the recoil spring to absorb too little energy from the slide for the action to cycle properly.


progun

en-adj

progun (comparative more progun, superlative most progun)

more progun (comparative)
most progun (superlative)

Under the pro-gun leadership of Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves (R), the state Senate also approved several other NRA-supported bills this week.

2014, NRA Institute for Legal Action, "Mississippi: Senate Committee Passes Comprehensive Pro-Gun Legislation"

(politics) Supportive of gun rights, especially supportive of more expansive gun rights or strongly opposed to greater gun control.


ammo belt

(informal) A strip used to hold bullets, sometimes connected to some firearms.


rapid fire pistol

en-noun

rapid fire pistol (plural rapid fire pistols)

An Olympic shooting event, competed at 25 meter range.


open carry

Coordinate term: concealed carry

In most places, open carry is relatively uncommon compared to lawful concealed carry. Open carry has long been a norm in Arizona, and open carry advocates in many other states today are seeking to renormalize the practice.

2018, Nicholas J. Johnson, David B. Kopel, George A. Mocsary, Michael P. O'Shea, Firearms Law and the Second Amendment: Regulation, Rights, and Policy, 2nd edition, Wolters Kluwer, →ISBN, page 736:

Open-carry laws, it’s often noted, wouldn’t allow Black people to wander through the supermarket with huge guns slung over them and the confidence they could impose on others this way; […]

2022 May 30, Rebecca Solnit, “US mass shootings will continue until the majority can overrule the minority”, in The Guardian:

(chiefly US) The practice of openly carrying a firearm in public.


unsight

en-verb

unsight (third-person singular simple present unsights, present participle unsighting, simple past and past participle unsighted)

unsights (present singular third-person)
unsighting (participle present)
unsighted (participle past)
unsighted (past)

Just jeep as the Sten magazine emptied there came a single shot from the far end of the lane and in the same instant a bullet cracked over Butler's head.The jeep swung sharply to the right, unsighting him.


trap house

From trap (“vehicle or location used for drug exchange or manufacture”) + house.

compound

2010 October, United States Marine Corps F-35B West Coast Basing Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), Vol. I, page 141.
It was used to train aerial gunners in proper firing techniques by placing the gunner in a vehicle, which was driven around the track, while the gunner fired at targets launched from trap houses.

(gun sports, trap shooting) A small building from which targets are launched.

gun sports; trap shooting; gun sports; trap shooting


mare's leg

A lever-action rifle with a short buttstock and short barrel.


overpowder

[…] to allow for the extra space taken up by the special overpowder wad.

1908 July 11, “Rubber Sandwich Wads”, in Forest and Stream, volume 71, page 71:

A two part wad column for use in shotshells is provided which consist of an overpowder component comprising inner and outer concentric cylindrical walls attached to a skirted end plate […]

1971, Canada Patent Office, The Patent Office Record, Application No. 085,160:

On firing, some of the hot gases from burning powder were able to bypass the overpowder and filler wads and reach the shot charge.

2015, Vincent J.M. DiMaio, Gunshot Wounds: Practical Aspects of Firearms, Ballistics, and Forensic Techniques, Third Edition:

(firearms) Serving to hold in the gunpowder.


banana clip

It included 44 AK-47 rifles, and 260 large-capacity banana clips.

2006, Gideon Burrows, Kalashnikov AK47, page 45:

(firearms) A curved ammunition clip for the AK-47 assault rifle.


sporting clays

A sport where the player attempts to shoot clay pigeon targets at a series of stations along a course.


long rifle

(firearms) An American style of rifle with an unusually long barrel, used in hunting and warfare.


hush puppy

When we used it in our “hush puppy” against a sentry, the target was almost always hit only once, in the head.

Normally, they would have used the silenced .22 ‘Hush Puppy’ pistol to dispatch both the dog and the sentry, but this was an exercise.

2021, Christophe Downes, War Crimes for the Political Elite:

(military slang) A semiautomatic handgun fitted with a suppressor, used by special forces personnel to quietly take out guard dogs and sentries.


Colt

en-proper noun

Colt (countable and uncountable, plural Colts)

From colt, as a nickname or occupational name for someone who looked after horses and asses. The given name may also be short for Colton. The revolver is named after American inventor Samuel Colt (1814–1862).

named-after

A male given name transferred from the surname.

St. Francis County
St. Francis County#English

A town in St. Francis County, Arkansas, United States.

St. Tammany Parish
St. Tammany Parish#English

An unincorporated community in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States.


Colt

Only in it she held a derringer in her hand, not a Colt. But that look of disbelief on Leonard's face could not have been more real.

1993, Judith Pella, Frontier Lady (Lone Star Legacy Book #1), Baker Books, →ISBN:

He saw the shotgunner stagger into the lingering cloud of smoke. He jumped to his feet before the man could reload and charged toward him. The man dropped his shotgun and clawed for his pistol, a blueblack hole in his left leg, near the groin. John stopped and fired his Colt, aiming for the man's heart. But Luke's left leg gave way and tilted him sideways, so the bullet from John's gun struck his right shoulder, spun him like a top. His pistol slipped from his hand.

2007, Jory Sherman, The Savage Gun, Penguin, →ISBN:

His soldier's instinct had him dropping to the ground before he even thought of it, and Captain Hargreaves fired his Colt. The bullet zoomed over Butsko's head and whacked in the chest of the hapless soldier who'd been standing behind him. Butsko rolled over on the ground, stopped, and brought his rifle quickly to his shoulder as Captain Hargreaves fired again, his bullet burrowing in the muck six inches from Butsko's face. Butsko fired at Captain Hargreaves ...

2013, Len Levinson, River of Blood, →ISBN:

Clint snap-aimed and fired his Colt. The man's stetson whirled off his head. So did part of his skull. The second gunman bounced up and fired a shot at the Gunsmith. The bullet struck the dead flesh of Clint's cover. The Gunsmith fired back and saw a crimson spider appear at the man's shoulder. The gunman groaned and bolted for the side exit. Clint pointed his Colt and squeezed the trigger. The hammer struck the firing pin and drove it into an empty chamber.

2014, J.R. Roberts, Gundown in Paradise, →ISBN:

A revolver (gun) (from Colt's Manufacturing Company), associated especially but not exclusively with the American Wild West.


splatter-gun

Mr. Vee here has his Makarov and his Sicilian splatter-gun on the sling there, plus what, exactly, is that? Looks like an AK47 frame, but what the hell is that barrel?

2000, Harold Covington, Slow Coming Dark: A Novel of the Age of Clinton, →ISBN:

"That splatter-gun won't avail thee none, old man,” Bianca said.

2011, Rodolphus, The Wolf Doth Grin, →ISBN:

Fading in on the screech of a magnificently over-wrought electric guitar, the drums arrive like a splatter-gun, the riff chewed up and spat out without ceremony over six-and-a- half minutes of angry hell.

2011, Malcom Dome, Mick Wall, Metallica: The Music and the Mayhem, →ISBN:

Foliar application with splatter-gun.

2013, Robert L Reid, The Manual of Australian Agriculture, →ISBN, page 377:

A shotgun, assault weapon, or other gun that repeatedly fires quickly and in an imprecise fashion.


suicide special

en-noun

suicide special (plural suicide specials)

Saturday-night special
Saturday-night special#English

(US, slang) Synonym of Saturday-night special (“an easily-obtained handgun”)


Rem

(Egyptian mythology) An Egyptian fish god who fertilized the land with his tears.


thirty-thirty

"What do you know about thirty-thirties?" "Huh, I know lots. My other pop was tellin' me you could git a man with a thirty a whole heap farther than you could with any ole forty-four or them guns. I shot heaps of rabbits with his."

1919, Hennry Herbert Knibbs, The Ridin' Kid from Powder River, page 16:

Now that the season has arrived in many parts of the country for the nimrods to load their trusty Thirty-Thirties and go forth in quest of the elusive deer, it seems an appropriate time to say a word about the skilleting of venison — which can be a pretty tough and dry proposition if not properly handled.

1960, The Cattleman, volume 47, page 46:

“I'll get one of those thirty-thirties out of the rack and slip her into the boat . Maybe we won't use it, and maybe we will . We might meet that Pirate Shark, you know!”

2014, Robert E. Howarad, The Pirate Story Megapack: 25 Classic and Modern Tales, page 2301:

(firearms) A thirty calibre firearm designed for cartridges that originally held thirty grains of smokeless powder.


wildcat cartridge

wildcat cartridge (plural wildcat cartridges)

(firearms) A cartridge modified from another calibre rather than being commercially produced.


wall hanger

In this case, the restoration is legitimate even though the gun will be a wall hanger and never be fired.

1982, John E. Traister, How to Buy and Sell Used Guns, page 153:

A firearm that does not function or is considered unsafe to shoot, usually an older firearm that appears antique or ornate in design, hung on the wall of a room as decoration.


Welrod

All clandestine equipment devised at Station IX in Welwyn Garden City had names starting with Wel, e.g. Welbike, Welman.

(firearms, historical) A British bolt-action, magazine-fed suppressed pistol devised during World War II.


sleeve gun

(historical) An experimental device developed for the British Army during World War II, essentially a noise-suppressed Welrod pistol minus the pistol grip.


telescopic sight

telescopic sight (plural telescopic sights)

A device used e.g. on a rifle in aiming a projectile, through which the person aiming looks at the intended target.


Tokarev

(firearms) A Soviet service pistol, the TT-33 and TT-30

(firearms) A handgun deriving from the TT-30 design pattern


Makarov

Borrowed from Russian Макаров (Makarov). A transliteration of the Russian surname Макаров (Makarov).

name translit

(firearms) A Soviet service pistol, the PM

A Soviet service pistol, the PM
A Soviet Cold-War era service pistol

(firearms) A handgun deriving from the PM design pattern


starter pistol

A handgun that fires blanks in order to start races.


Win

A diminutive of the female given name Winifred.


scrub gun

(Australia, firearms, informal) a short firearm, designed for use in dense foliage.


duelling pistol

en-noun

duelling pistol (plural duelling pistols)

a type of pistol that was manufactured in matching pairs to be used in a duel


bump stock

(firearms) An attachment on a gun used to make it fire repeatedly by using the gun's recoil to pull the trigger, modifying it to function in a similar way to a machine gun.


bumpfire

A method of firing semi-automatic firearms which uses recoil forces to "bump" the trigger finger, in order to significantly increase the cyclic rate.


I had hoped that he had a .38 on him but that wasn't the case.

2012, Arnie Greenberg, A Fine Conundrum: A 'Joey Fine' Mystery, page 165:

(firearms) A standard kind of firearm designed to fire bullets that are approximately 0.38 inch in diameter.


I would rather have a .22 than an axe or a club, that's for sure

2001, Chilco Choate, The Fire Still Burns: A Life of Trail Talk and Contrary Opinions, page 29:

(firearms) A standard kind of firearm designed to fire bullets that are approximately 0.22 inch in diameter.


He was wearing the normal jungle fatigues and had a .45 in a holster on his waist.

2013, T. Van Ewell, Recon Airplane Company: III Corps, Vietnam, page 182:

(firearms) A standard kind of firearm designed to fire bullets that are approximately 0.45 inch in diameter.


IWB

(firearms) Initialism of inside the waistband.


nickelling

Further trials were carried out to establish their accuracy life and whether they developed any tendency to nickelling under Service conditions.

1962, Edmund George Barton Reynolds, The Lee-Enfield Rifle, page 158:

(firearms) The metallic fouling of a gun's bore with fragments of bullet casing.


cocoa powder

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-cocoa powder.wav

(firearms) A form of brown gunpowder, also known as brown powder.


S&W

Initialism of Smith & Wesson: an American manufacturer of firearms, ammunition and restraints founded in 1852.


benchrest

From bench + rest, since the gun is mounted on a rest placed on a table or bench.

(gun sports) A shooting sport in which very accurate and precise rifles are shot at paper targets.


LMG

light machine gun
light machine gun#English


rebarrel

en-verb

rebarrel (third-person singular simple present rebarrels, present participle rebarreling, simple past and past participle rebarreled)

rebarrels (present singular third-person)
rebarreling (participle present)
rebarreled (participle past)
rebarreled (past)

She plans to rebarrel the rifle, as it is not shooting straight.


case head

The part of a cartridge case opposite the bullet.


boltface

(firearms) The front surface of a bolt in a firearm or back of the firing chamber, against which the cartridge rests.


Initialism of ArmaLite Rifle, which was named after the company that originally designed the weapon.

An AR-15 once again made an appearance at a mass shooting, this time at a Parkland, Fla., high school on Wednesday. The suspect in the shooting, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, purchased the semiautomatic rifle about a year ago, according to a law enforcement official.

2018 February 16, Julie Vitkovskaya, Patrick Martin, “4 basic questions about the AR-15”, in The Washington Post:

Should We Be Forced to See Exactly What an AR-15 Does to a 10-Year-Old? [title]

2022 May 31, Susie Linfield, “Should We Be Forced to See Exactly What an AR-15 Does to a 10-Year-Old?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

In the past decade, semiautomatic rifles like the AR-15 have become the weapon of choice for young killers, and I needed to see what America was willing to put into the hands of teenagers in the name of freedom.

2023 March 27, Helen Lewis, “How Did America’s Weirdest, Most Freedom-Obsessed State Fall for an Authoritarian Governor?”, in The Atlantic:

(trademark) A lightweight, semi-automatic rifle, based on the original design of the ArmaLite AR-15.


percussion lock

en-noun

percussion lock (plural percussion locks)

(firearms) A kind of lock for a gun in which a hammer strikes upon a percussion cap on the nipple, igniting the charge.


signal pistol

A handgun designed to discharge an illumination flare.


percussion bullet

percussion bullet (plural percussion bullets)

(firearms) A bullet designed to explode on striking its target.


submissile

(firearms, military) A missile that detaches from a larger missile.


hand cannon

An early firearm requiring manual ignition through a touch hole.


ghost gun

From ghost + gun. Derived from the fact that these firearms are unserialized, difficult to trace, and often remain invisible to the tracking and regulation covering traditionally manufactured firearms. First use appears c. 2001 in Sunday People.

The two companies warrant attention because their marketing focuses “on the anonymous, untraceable nature of the guns they allow to be made — and the many examples of ghost guns used in crimes,” Adam Skaggs, chief counsel at the center, said in an email.

2017 November 27, Christina Caron, quoting Adam Skaggs, “‘Ghost Guns,’ Homemade and Untraceable, Face Growing Scrutiny”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

In New York, state lawmakers announced legislation on Monday that would require makers of ghost guns to have a gunsmith license and register the firearms.

2018 July 30, Tiffany Hsu, Alan Feuer, “A Rush to Block Downloadable Plans for 3-D Printed Guns”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

The suspects in New Jersey are accused of trying to sell several homemade AR-15 assault-style rifles that are known as ghost guns because they cannot be tracked.

2019 March 18, Nick Corasaniti, “The Target Was a Drug Ring. They Found ‘Ghost Guns.’”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

A gun without serial numbers that cannot be easily tracked, especially a homemade gun built with nonregistered, partially finished or 3D printed components.


brucky

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-brucky.wav


bruck back

Alternative spelling of bruckback (“shotgun”)


bruckback

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-bruckback.wav


counterrecoil

The carriage consists of recoil and counterrecoil mechanism.

Of or pertaining to opposition or counteracting of recoil in a gun.


.357 Magnum (a class of firearm cartridge).


calibered

(firearms, in combination) Having the specified caliber.


paltik

(Philippines) A crude homemade firearm, often made using scrap metal.


cartridge belt

A belt having pockets to store the cartridges for a firearm.