butt spike

Meanwhile, the men in the middle and rear pushed those in front, while simultaneously providing cover from javelins and arrows with their raised pikes and stabbing fallen adversaries with the butt spikes.

2002, Robert L. O'Connell, Soul of the Sword: An Illustrated History of Weaponry and Warfare from Prehistory to the Present:

(historical, weaponry) A small blade or spike on the rear end of a spear, used as a counterbalance and as a backup if the spear broke.


IWB

(firearms) Initialism of inside the waistband.


SLAM

en-noun

SLAM (countable and uncountable, plural SLAMs)

supersonic low altitude missile
supersonic low altitude missile#English

(military, aviation, weaponry) Acronym of supersonic low altitude missile.

stand-off land attack missile
stand-off land attack missile#English

(military, aviation, weaponry) Acronym of stand-off land attack missile.


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

cocoa powder (usually uncountable, plural cocoa powders)

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

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


boltface

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


percussion lock

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.


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.


calibered

(firearms, in combination) Having the specified caliber.


unsafetied

(firearms) On which the safety mechanism is not engaged.


mouse gun

(firearms, colloquial) A pocket pistol, especially one of a particularly small caliber.


mustard seed

mustard seed (countable and uncountable, plural mustard seeds)

Being myself much given to the collection of birds for scientific purposes, a line of operation, requiring, in most cases, the finest shot that can be procured, I use mustard seed habitually, and have learned, incidentally as it were, its efficacy when directed against birds which, it might be thought, could not be brought down with it.

1873 November 22, Dr. Elliott Coues, U. S. A., “Use of Small Shot”, in The American Sportsman, volume 3, number 8, West Meriden, Conn., page 117:

“ […] Much as I hated to do it, while that sow was chasing after him, I let him have it in the stern with a light load of mustard-seed shot. That combination worked!” […] The mustard-seed shot he mentions are No. 12's and the load was extremely light.

1972 May, Robert Halverson, “Punishment …Or Reward?”, in Field & Stream, volume 77, number 1, page 223:

Hmmmm... you suppose if you miss, you might blow a 1+1/2" hole anyway, with that rig? :) Even #9? 22rf shot (mustard seed) is supposed to be #12, not sure what that would do either. :/

2007 June 6, alv...@example.com, “Re: the downside”, in rec.knives (Usenet):

(firearms, also attributively) Small lead shot, usually of size No. 12, used for shooting birds and other animals at close range.


M4 (countable and uncountable, plural M4s)

Alternative form: M-4

(firearms) Ellipsis of M4 carbine, a military assault rifle.


spring searcher

spring searcher (plural spring searchers)

(firearms) A pronged tool to search for defects in the bore of a gun.


butt pad

(firearms) A piece of padding placed on the butt of a gun for comfort and to absorb recoil.


safety lock

(firearms) A lock with some device for preventing accidental firing of the weapon.


crowbill

crowbills (plural)
crow-bill (alternative)

From crow (“bird of the genus Corvus”) + bill (“beak of a bird”). Sense 1 (“kind of forceps”) is probably from its appearance, while sense 2 (“type of poleaxe”) is a calque of French bec de corbin (literally “crow or raven's beak”).

calque

(weaponry, historical) Synonym of bec de corbin (“poleaxe with a modified hammerhead and a spike mounted on the top of the pole”).


proof mark

(firearms) A mark stamped on a gun to show that it has been tested successfully.


decocker

(firearms) A device in certain firearms that uncocks the weapon.


zip gun

As pertaining to my idea of zip guns, we didn't use the old type of zip gun any more because they were too dangerous. That was just a pipe and a piece of wood and nail and rubber band.

1968, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Government Operations. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Riots, Civil and Criminal Disorders:

The simplest zip gun seen by the author was a metal tube in which a .22 Magnum cartridge was inserted. It was fired by striking the protruding base of the cartridge with a hammer.

1998, Vincent J.M. DiMaio, Gunshot Wounds, page 282:

During the interview, Flaco whips out a zip gun he's hidden beneath his testicles during the pat-down search prior to transfer to GID, and presents it to Detective Rydell.

. “Oh, so we got annuduh tough guy here,” he said, pulling out a gun from his leather jacket. It looked like a real gun, but who knew, maybe it was zip gun.

2012, Arnold Silveri, Turning the Corner on Life, page 59:

(firearms) A crude homemade weapon that fires a projectile.


buttplate

(firearms) The plate affixed to the rear end of a rifle stock.


bunny buster

(Australia, informal, firearms) a firearm, or type of ammunition, intended for rabbit shooting.


junk gun

Saturday-night special
Saturday-night special#English

(US, firearms, slang) Synonym of Saturday-night special.


baton round

(firearms) Any of various generally non-lethal projectiles made of plastic, rubber, wood, etc.


patch box

patch boxes (plural)
patch-box (alternative)
patchbox (alternative)

(firearms) A lidded container fitted to a gun to hold the cloth patches used when shooting round shot.


mag dump

mag dumps (plural)
magdump (alternative)

(firearms, slang) The act of firing at a target continuously or repeatedly until the magazine of ammunition is empty.

The act of firing an entire magazine-full of ammunition from a fully-automatic weapon in a single burst.


mag dump

en-verb

mag dump (third-person singular simple present mag dumps, present participle mag dumping, simple past and past participle mag dumped)

mag dumps (present singular third-person)
mag dumping (participle present)
mag dumped (participle past)
mag dumped (past)
magdump (alternative)

(firearms, slang, intransitive) To perform a mag dump.


JHP

jacketed hollow point
jacketed hollow point#English

(firearms) Abbreviation of jacketed hollow point.


FMJ

full metal jacket
full metal jacket#English

(firearms) Abbreviation of full metal jacket.


wire gun

Guns were in rapid transit from Windsor, Portsmouth, Aldershot, Woolwich - even from the north; among others, long wire guns of ninety-five tons from Woolwich.

1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 126:

(weaponry) A former type of canon the construction of which included an internal layer of wire windings.


rearsight

(firearms) A sight at the rear of a weapon.


fascine knife

From fascine + knife, from one use of such knives which was to cut wood for fascines and gabions (“cylindrical wicker baskets or cages filled with earth or stones and used in fortifications, etc.”).

2000 Canteens. 600 Camp Kettles. 200 Fascine Knives. […] It is to be presumed the troops will be provided with these articles.

1779 March 2 (date written), George Washington, “To Major General Nathanael Greene”, in John C[lement] Fitzpatrick, editor, The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources 1745–1799 […], volume 14 (January 12, 1779 – May 5, 1779), Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, published August 1956, →OCLC, page 178:

The [artillery] men have a short rifle and bayonet, and carry also a fascine knife; 10 rounds of ammunition in the pouch.

[1876], W[illiam] S[mith] Cooke, compiler, “Servia”, in The Ottoman Empire and its Tributary States (Excepting Egypt), with a Sketch of Greece, London: W[illiam] Clowes and Son, […], →OCLC, page 162:

The private should have a side arm of the following description: A short sword, about 20 inches long and 2½ inches wide at the grip; the blade to be ground sharp on one side and provided with saw teeth on the other; have a brass guard and buckhorn grip, and to be carried in a leather scabbard on a frog and common black belt. This is called in Europe a fascine knife, and a very useful implement it is in camp and on the field.

1888 September 29, “Toujours Pret” [pseudonym], “The Hospital Corps [letter to the editor]”, in The United States Army and Navy Journal, and Gazette of the Regular and Volunteer Forces, volume XXVI, number 5 (number 1316 overall), New York, N.Y.: [Army and Navy Journal, Inc.], →OCLC, page 93, column 3:

Verily the man must feel as though he were in a dream; only a short time before, at a shoemaker's ordinary work, the knocking of his hammer mingling with the sighs of a sick wife, and now, fascine knife on hip, helmet on closely cropped head, officers' commands in ear, crowds of people, drums, music, and the shrill whistle of the locomotive!—to march far away to Bohemia; […]

1889, Cornelia McFadden, chapter V, in The Seamstress of Stettin, Cincinnati, Oh.: Curtis & Jennings; New York, N.Y.: Eaton & Mains, →OCLC, pages 141–142:

[I]f he were furnished with a hundred natives—whom he would get from the population on the coast—supplied with axes and fascine-knives, he would undertake to lead a caravan of beasts of burden to the Kenia without any delay worth mentioning.

1891, Theodor Hertzka, chapter II, in Arthur Ransom, transl., Freeland: A Social Anticipation, London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC, book I, page 10:

Sappeur sections carry in addition a mattock or a pick apiece, and each ammunition carrier also carries a pick, a fascine knife, or a saw.

1911, [William] Balck, “The Formal Tactics of Infantry”, in Walter Krueger, transl., Tactics […], 4th edition, volumes I (Introduction and Formal Tactics of Infantry), Fort Leavenworth, Kan.: United States Cavalry Association, →OCLC, footnote ‡, page 39:

Later, some military fascine knives were made with saw-toothed backs, notably the Prussian M1810, M1841 and M1855 Faschinenmesser. Fascine knives were widely issued to engineers, pioneers and foot-artillerymen; smaller numbers were issued to other arms as circumstances dictated.

2021, Bill Harriman, “Development: Blades for Firearms”, in Martin Pegler, editor, The Bayonet (Weapon; 78), Oxford, Oxfordshire: Osprey Publishing, →ISBN, page 28:

(military, weaponry, historical) A large, heavy knife or short sword used by 17th- to 19th-century artillery and infantry soldiers as a sidearm and a tool for cutting fascines (“cylindrical bundles of small sticks of wood, used for strengthening purposes”) and other things.

hukari

large, heavy knife or short sword formerly used by artillery and infantry soldiers as a sidearm and tool

砲兵刀 (ほうへいとう, hōhei gatana, literally “artilleryman’s knife”)


Beretta

The officer fired his Beretta at the protesters.

The gun turned out to be an empty, dirty Beretta nine millimeter.

1993, Octavia E. Butler, Parable of the Sower, HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP (2019), page 221:

(firearms) A firearm (especially a handgun) made by the Beretta company.


wire cartridge

When we arrived at the knoll, after having crossed the frozen bog, I took on account of the considerable distance at which the bird would have to be shot at, if he, as we supposed, would settle in the top of the fir tree the shot out of my gun, and loaded again with a wire cartridge.

1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 89:

(firearms) An early type of shotgun cartridge that had wire lining in the case to assist concentrating the shot.


overpenetrate

overpenetrate (third-person singular simple present overpenetrates, present participle overpenetrating, simple past and past participle overpenetrated)

overpenetrates (present singular third-person)
overpenetrating (participle present)
overpenetrated (participle past)
overpenetrated (past)

(intransitive, transitive, weaponry, of a bullet or other projectile) To pass completely through a target and out the other side, potentially striking another person or object located further downrange.


police special

(US, firearms, historical) A pistol manufactured for police use.


police positive

en-noun

police positive (plural police positives)

(US, firearms, historical) Synonym of police special (“pistol manufactured for police use”).


well-served

en-adj

well-served (comparative more well-served, superlative most well-served)

more well-served (comparative)
most well-served (superlative)

(military, weaponry) (of a gun, artillery, etc.) Operated well.


depriming

(firearms) The action of the verb to deprime; the removal of primer from cartridge


deprimed

(firearms) Pertaining to a cartridge missing is priming/primer


CQBW

(military, weaponry) Abbreviation of close quarters battle weapon.


breech face

(firearms) The area around the firing pin, which is situated against the head of the cartridge.


MCLOS

manual command to line of sight
w:manual command to line of sight

(military, weaponry) Initialism of manual command to line of sight, a method of missile guidance requiring that the operator manually steer the missile onto the target.


à rouet

The earliest pistols were made with wheels (à rouet), and the barrel did not measure more than a foot in length.

1875, P. L. Jacob ·, The Arts in the Middle Ages, and at the Period of the Renaissance, page 104:

Soon the petronel was replaced by the arquebuse à rouet, and a little later on by the wheel-lock pistol, which was first used by the German cavalry at the battle of St. Quentin, in 1557.

1937, Franklin Henry Hooper, The Encyclopædia Britannica - Volume 5, page 69:

In 1639–42, the average value of an arquebus à rouet was 80 livres; flintlock muskets were valued at 6 livres.

2008, David Hackett Fischer, Champlain's Dream, page 617:

(firearms, historical) Having a small wheel fixed to the pan of firelocks for discharging them.


greataxe

greataxes (plural)
greatax (alternative)
great-ax (alternative)
great-axe (alternative)

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

From great + axe. Probably modeled on greatsword, greathelm, etc.

The Saint-Commander rested his famous greataxe against his chair. Gil recalled its name, Red Pilgrim.

1979, Brian Daley, The Starfollowers of Coramonde, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 48:

Dragon King Greataxe can be buffed by spells and consumables, while the Dragon Greatsword cannot.

2020 July 23, Corvo Attano, EdgeOfDreams, “Dragon king greataxe or Dragon greatsword?”, in reddit.com:

Last few days I played outpost rush or wars, the team with the most hammers + greataxes just wins.

2021 November 16, Leandermann, “PvP is only the highest number of greataxe + hammer wins”, in reddit.com:

(rare, video games, fantasy, weaponry) A giant axe; a broadaxe.


thermobaric weapon

en-noun

thermobaric weapon (plural thermobaric weapons)

From being a weapon which produces heat (“thermo-”) and pressure (“baric”).

(weaponry) A weapon of a class of bombs, which causes a large explosion, with effects similar to a nuclear blast, by having an explosion, flash of heat, shockwave, producing a vacuum, and vacuum collapse pressure wave. Typically produced by aerosolizing a fuel throughout the air, and setting it alight, producing a detonation, that consumes all the oxygen in the region.


greatbow

greatbows (plural)
great bow (alternative)
great-bow (alternative)

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

He hooked the tip of his own greatbow under the door’s hasp, muttered som thing under his breath and pulled, hard. Nothing happened. Again, and again nothing.

1981, Peter Morwood, The Warlord's Domain, DAW, →ISBN, page 84:

You can turtle with a crossbow but you're wide open after every shot. Greatbows have knockdown but you're superslow.

2021 April 12, the_3rdist, “What is your all time favourite themed runs?”, in reddit.com:

Maybe samurai would give you a head start for a greatbow build.

2022 February 14, ytinifniozob, Zamoku, “Greatbows”, in reddit.com:

(rare, science fiction, video games, weaponry, fantasy) A giant bow; a longbow.


loitering munition

loitering munition (plural loitering munitions)

loitering munitions (plural)
loiter munition (alternative)

Coordinate term: homing munition

Loitering munitions can circle overhead for extended periods of time, searching for potential targets over a wide area and, once they find one, destroy it. Unlike homing munitions, loitering munitions do not require precise intelligence on enemy targets before launch.

2018, Paul Scharre, chapter 3, in Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War, W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN:

She noted that the report stated the Kargu-2 and “other loitering munitions” attacked convoys and retreating fighters. Loitering munitions, which are simpler autonomous weapons that are designed to hover on their own in an area before crashing into a target, have been used in several other conflicts, Ms. Franke said.

2021 June 3, Maria Cramer, quoting Ulrike Franke, “A.I. Drone May Have Acted on Its Own in Attacking Fighters, U.N. Says”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(military, weaponry) A munition, often a UAV, that waits passively around the target area and attacks only once a target is located.


Nordenfelt gun

Named after the Swedish steel producer and banker Thorsten Nordenfelt, who funded its development.

(firearms, historical) A kind of organ gun having a row of up to twelve barrels, and fired by pulling a lever back and forth, with ammunition fed by gravity through a chute for each barrel.


vent-piece

(firearms) In a breechloading firearm, a vertical sliding block with a conical plug on its front surface to seal the firing chamber and close the breech.


forward assist

(firearms) A button on certain rifles that pushes the bolt carrier forward, ensuring that the bolt is locked.


PHASR

From the fictional Star Trek weapon technology, the phaser.

Coordinate term: TASER

(weaponry) Acronym of personnel halting and stimulation response, a non-lethal laser weapon technology that causes temporary blindness.


Glock switch

(firearms) A device which modifies the firing system of a Glock-pattern pistol by bypassing the semiautomatic catch, which enables fully automatic fire.


auto sear

Coordinate term: bump stock

(firearms) A device which allows for a closed-bolt self-loading firearm to reliably function in fully automatic fire by preventing the hammer or striker from falling until the bolt is fully in battery.


surgical strike

surgical strike (plural surgical strikes)

Kennedy at the time was greatly concerned over reports that the Chinese Communists were secretly conducting nuclear explosions at Lop Nor in Northwest China—a sure indication they were working on atomic weapons. This was the period when Moscow and Peking were still close to each other, otherwise it might have been possible for the United States to devise a way to neutralize Peking's nuclear potential at an early stage. At their meeting Kennedy asked Chen many questions about Lop Nor. Could he have been thinking of a preventive surgical strike?

1983, James C. H. Shen, “Rejoining the Government”, in Robert Myers, editor, The U.S. & Free China: How the U.S. Sold Out Its Ally, Washington, D.C.: Acropolis Books Ltd., →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 39:

Months later, Modi ordered a surgical strike on alleged insurgents inside Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, and vowed to isolate Islamabad diplomatically.

2017 August 10, Ashok Sharma, “AP Explains: 70 years of India-Pakistan tensions unresolved”, in AP News, archived from the original on 2022-10-02:

(military, weaponry) A military attack of closely-controlled scope on a highly specific target.


flash pan

flash pans (plural)
flashpan (alternative)

(firearms) A small receptacle for priming powder, found next to the touch hole on muzzleloading guns.


choke tube

(firearms) An internally tapering metal cylinder attached to the muzzle of a shotgun, designed to constrict the spreading pattern of the shot pellets.


uncockable

(rail transport, firearms, rare) Not able to be cocked.


cockable

(rail transport, firearms, rare) Able to be cocked.


terzetta

(firearms, historical) An old Italian flintlock pistol.


ammunitional

[…] the manufacturer's potential liability in this type of situation have emphasized the highly dangerous nature of the product involved, such as ammunitional or inflammable substances.

1960, Louis R. Frumer, Melvin I. Friedman, Products Liability:

To assist action one must give ammunitional specifics to those about to fight.

1972, Carolyn Clugston Leopold, Carolyn Leopold Michaels, School Libraries Worth Their Keep: A Philosophy Plus Tricks, Metuchen, N.J. : Scarecrow Press:

(firearms) Of or relating to ammunition.


cyclic rate

cyclic rate (countable and uncountable, plural cyclic rates)

(firearms) The rate at which an automatic firearm will fire if its firing mechanism is held down, causing the delay between successive shots to be the time needed for the firearm's action to cycle.


cowboy load

cowboy action shooting
cowboy action shooting

(firearms) An underpowered load used in cowboy action shooting.


musket ball

Archaeologists excavating the site of Coleshill Manor in Warwickshire have uncovered the foundations of a medieval gatehouse, on which are around 200 marks and indentations from pistol and musket balls. A further 40 musket balls were removed from nearby soil, where the moat would have been located.

2023 February 8, “HS2 archaeologists uncover evidence of early Civil War skirmish”, in RAIL, number 976, page 24:

(firearms, historical) A spherical projectile suitable for firing from a musket.


scope bite

(firearms) Injury during recoil as the scope hits one's face.


Pedersen device

Pedersen device (plural Pedersen devices)

Developed by John Pedersen (arms designer).

(firearms) An experimental weapon attachment for the M1903 Springfield bolt action rifle that allowed it to fire a .30 caliber (7.62 mm) pistol-type cartridge in semi-automatic mode.


drum magazine

(firearms) A high-capacity cylindrical magazine for firearms, storing rounds of ammunition in a central spiral.


Chicago piano

Thompson submachine gun
Thompson submachine gun

(slang, weaponry) The Thompson submachine gun.

(slang, military, weaponry) A 1.1-inch anti-aircraft gun.

(slang, military, weaponry) A multiple 2-pounder gun pom pom anti-aircraft gun.


snubnosed revolver

snubnosed revolver (plural snubnosed revolvers)

(firearms) A small, medium, or large frame revolver with a short barrel, generally less than four inches in length.


in battery

(firearms) Of a firearm, in the firing position after recovery from the recoil of a previous discharge.


pumpgun

(firearms, informal) A pump-action firearm.


magazine gun

(firearms) A type of portable firearm consisting of a chamber holding cartridges which are set into position for firing automatically.


junk wad

junk wad (countable and uncountable, plural junk wads)

(firearms) A plug made of oakum bound with spun yarn and designed to keep the powder and shot in place when loading a gun or cartridge.


flash-to-bang time

flash-to-bang time (countable and uncountable, plural flash-to-bang times)

(military, weaponry) The period of time between when light is first observed and when the sound of the (nuclear or other) detonation is heard.


multibarrels

His own [heart] was hammering like a minigun, multibarrels firing.


fully-automatic

Coordinate term: semi-automatic

(weaponry, firearms) That loads itself and fires continuously.


controlled variable time

controlled variable time (countable and uncountable, plural controlled variable times)

(military, weaponry) A type of artillery fuze that has a mechanical timer which activates the radar when it is near the target.


functioning time

functioning time (countable and uncountable, plural functioning times)

(military, weaponry) Of ordnance, the amount of time required for the fuze to detonate after impact or after a preset time.


pistolized

(chiefly Philippines, firearms) with shoulder stock removed and replaced with a pistol grip on a long gun (such as a shotgun or carbine)


superprojectile

superprojectiles (plural)
super-projectile (alternative)

He knew the cause—tons of khatonite were being turned out where only pounds had been required before—tons of high explosive that were to be transported in those dread superprojectiles to congested centres of population all over the world.

1932, Bob Olsen, Earl Repp, William Lemkin, Amazing Stories, page 698:

The six submarines, of a type now maneuvering off the coast, are shown surfaced off enemy coast line launching superprojectiles, guided from sub conning towers to targets as far as 500 miles inland.

1950, Donald Goldsmith, Los Angeles Times, Volume 69, page 3:

t. The comet or asteroid would part the - atmosphere like a superprojectile, leaving a hole through the air as wide as itself.

1985, Donald Goldsmith, Nemesis: The Death-Star and Other Theories of Mass Extinction, Walker, →ISBN, page 144:

Picture an onrushing comet or asteroid that approaches Earth at a relative velocity between 10 and 50 kilometers per second, so that the object arrives from the moon's distance in a matter of a few hours— not much of a warning even if anything were to done about it. The comet or asteroid would part the atmosphere like a superprojectile, leaving a hole through the air as wide as itself. Even though air rushes back into the hole at the speed of sound, it would taken tens of seconds for the hole to disappear.

1987, Thomas R. McDonough, Space: The Next Twenty-Five Years, Wiley, →ISBN, page 134:

(rare, firearms, physics) A superior projectile; a supershot.


heat-seeking

(military, weaponry) Of a missile or rocket, able to detect and follow the heat emitted by an aircraft engine or rocket.


range queen

(weaponry, uncommon) A gun which is shot, but only at a range in order to avoid damage.


blow forward

(firearms) A firearm action where the propellant gas pressure and the friction of the bullet traveling down the bore drag the whole gun barrel forward to facilitate the opening of the breech.


barleycorn sight

barleycorn sight (plural barleycorn sights)

(weaponry) A type of front sight of triangular appearance.


belt-fed

(weaponry) Supplied with ammunition by means of a belt.


ghost bullet

[…] not see them— ghost-bullets flying.

1966, Victor Jeremy Jerome, The Paper Bridge, page 118:

[…] a 'ghost' bullet from a resisting gun strikes an innocent American tourist; a bomb explodes and the faces of four young school-girls smile defiantly at their Israeli jailer.

1970, The Arab World - Volume 16, page 2:

A shot screeched past her head from the west, like a ghost bullet seemingly shot from the large gap of El Capitan itself.

2005, Amy Lignor, The Heart of a Legend, page 6:

I planned to fire what are known as "ghost bullets” —ones that nobody at the intersection would even see or hear .

2024, Terry Hayes, The Year of the Locust, page 121:

(weaponry) A bullet that is shot by an unseen assailant or one that cannot be seen or heard when it is shot.

Let us assume that this 'ghost bullet' idea is correct. Let us write an equation which relates the distance the ordinary bullet travels with the direction of the recoil of the gun and the amount of recoil, assuming that a ghost bullet does travel off at some strange angle each time.

1964, Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, page 412:

And the ghost bullet allowed me to introduce new depths of police corruption.

2012, Douglas Corleone, Last Lawyer Standing, page 304:

In a later account of his attack in Jamaica, Brathwaite claims his assailants shot him with a "ghost bullet,” going so far as to narrate his own death in “I Cristobel Colon.”

2014, Anthony Reed, Freedom Time, page 224:

He didn't find anything on the bullet. Not a trace. A ghost bullet.

2018, Sarah J. Maas, Catwoman: Soulstealer, page 76:

(weaponry, ballistics) A bullet that cannot be found or that is untraceable through ballistic testing.


shell casing

(firearms) The container that holds the bullet, primer, and gunpowder in a cartridge.


green cross

(military, weaponry) A chemical warfare pulmonary agent used during World War I.


contact shot

(firearms, pathology) A gunshot executed in such a way that the muzzle of the firearm is in direct contact with a body at the moment of discharge.


double-A

(military, weaponry) Synonym of AA (“anti-aircraft”).


triple-A

(military, weaponry) Synonym of AAA (“anti-aircraft artillery”).


air defense

air defense (countable and uncountable, plural air defenses)

air defenses (plural)
air defence (alternative)

(military, weaponry) The use of systems, equipment, and personnel to prevent or reduce the impact of an attack by enemy aircraft or missiles.


priming wire

(firearms) A pointed wire used to pierce a cartridge before priming it by penetrating the vent of a firearm.


blasting cap

(weaponry) A small, metal tube or shell containing a detonating charge and is used to initiate the detonation of other explosives.


paper cartridge

paper cartridge (plural paper cartridges)

(firearms) A type of small arms ammunition used before the advent of the metallic cartridge.


APIT

(weaponry) Initialism of armor-piercing incendiary tracer.


hypercannon

hypercannons (plural)
hyper-cannon (alternative)

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

"You'll have to use the hypercannon", the professor answered.

1994, Dina Anastasio, Virtual Troopers: Virtual Reality Magician, Price Stern Sloan, →ISBN, page 136:

Notice that this law also states that we cannot hope to achieve superluminal (faster than light) speeds with a hypercannon mounted on a relativistic spaceship.

2005, John F. Hawley, Katherine A. Holcomb, Foundations of Modern Cosmology, OUP Oxford, →ISBN, page 193:

Once I realize what I am looking, I have some doubts that this hypercannon is going to be any use to us.

2014, Cynthia Green, Scott Green, GunKnight, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, →ISBN, page 237:

(science fiction, video games, rare, weaponry, fantasy) An extraordinarily powerful, superior cannon.


tap, rack, bang

"Still," Suit echoed. "The way she handles the gun jamming." Suit shook their head in admiration. "Tap, rack, bang, without hesitation. That's extraordinary retention."

2015 March 25, thedeadlymoose, “The Seed of an Idea”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 2024-12-01:

(military, firearms) A technique for clearing a jam or misfire, consisting of applying pressure to the floor plate of the magazine to properly seat the magazine, manually cycling the action to eject an unfired round, and aiming and attempting to fire again.


tap, rack, bang

(military, firearms) To use the tap, rack, bang technique of clearing a jam or misfire.


droplock

(firearms) A variant of the boxlock having a removable lock.


artillery tube

(weaponry) A steel tube that propels shells containing explosives, chemicals, or submunitions.


base cap

(weaponry) The part of a weapon that is attached to the base end of the barrel or casing and holds a firing pin.


recoil spring

(firearms) A spring that absorbs the shock of a fired bullet and returns the firearm to its original position.


stunrod

Outside stood two tall men, anonymous in black shock armor, their stunrods loose in their hands.

2007, Kristin Landon, The Hidden Worlds, →ISBN, page 147:

They sentenced him to the Gate a little while after I moved over there, and, when he figured out I was there as well, he and his little band of delinquent Enforcers used their authority to make my life Hell. Any little thing, and at every petty little turn, if I did something he disapproved of, which was everything, he'd set his stunrod on low and hit me.

2016 July 8, Fey Truet, Altered World, →ISBN, unnumbered page:

She saw Ackerman's stunrod before she saw him.

2017 September 19, Ryan Graudin, Invictus, →ISBN, unnumbered page:

(science fiction, weaponry) A baton that delivers an electric shock upon striking someone or something.


heavy machine gun

heavy machine gun (plural heavy machine guns)

(firearms, military) A gun capable of heavy sustained fire.


jacketed soft point

jacketed soft point (plural jacketed soft points)

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


jacketed hollow point

jacketed hollow point (plural jacketed hollow points)

(firearms) A lead bullet with a metal jacket that surrounds the whole side, and a hollowed out or dented in front tip.


metal jacket

(firearms) The outer casing or covering of certain types of ammunition, specifically the casing that surrounds the lead or other core material.


full-metal-jacketed

(firearms) Of or pertaining to a full metal jacket.


single-shot

(firearms) Of a firearm: holding only a single round of ammunition, thus needing to be reloaded after each shot.


tracer round

(firearms, weaponry) A type of ammunition that contains a pyrotechnic compound that ignites upon firing, creating a visible trail of light or smoke, allowing the shooter to track the trajectory of their bullets.


menaulion

menaulion (plural menaulia or menaulions)

(weaponry, historical) A heavy spear with a length of 2.7 to 3.6 m, featuring a thick shaft


ox tongue spear

ox tongue spear (plural ox tongue spears)

(weaponry, historical) A type of broad-headed double-edged spear.


plançon à picot

(weaponry, historical) A type of infantry weapon constisting of a stout iron-shod baseball bat-like shaft with a steel spike attached on top.


green charge

green charge (countable and uncountable, plural green charges)

(firearms, historical) A mixture of ingredients used in gunpowder before it undergoes an intensive mixing in the incorporating mill.


Mississippi rifle

Mississippi rifle (plural Mississippi rifles)

Mexican-American War
Mexican-American War

(firearms, historical) The Model 1841 percussion rifle, a muzzleloading rifle used in the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War.


precocked

en-adj

precocked (comparative more precocked, superlative most precocked)

more precocked (comparative)
most precocked (superlative)

a trigger operably connected to said hammer to cause said hammer to return to its precocked position

1998 April 14, Michael D Jacobson, “5,739,461 LAUNCHER”, in OFFICIAL GAZETTE of the UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE, volume 1209, number 2, page 1537:

The longer (20 cm), precocked, 18-gauge biopsy gun is then introduced to the appropriate depth and multiple slender tissue cores are obtained for cytologic and histologic studies.

2006, Leopold G. Koss, Myron R. Melamed, editors, Koss' Diagnostic Cytology and Its Histopathologic Bases, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, page 1390:

The weapon is unloaded and precocked and given to the marksman in whatever stance is appropriate for the training, such as the prone or prone supported position.

2008, Audie G. Lewis, Career Progression Guide for Soldiers, Stackpole Books, page 24:

(firearms) Of a firearm, especially striker-fired, having its firing mechanism partially or fully cocked prior to pulling the trigger.