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.


halfcock

half cock (alternative)
half-cock (alternative)

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

en-verb

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)
half cock (alternative)
half-cock (alternative)

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


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.


backbore

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.


stub twist

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


proof charge

Thus the proof-shot with proof-charge may in reality be proving the gun less faithfully than its first service-charge and service-shot,—a mode of proof-practice for heavy artillery very different from that imposed for safety on every fowling-piece.

1862, Edward Pellew Halsted, The Armstrong Gun. A Rejoinder to the Letter of Sir W. Armstrong, page 37:

The late Ordnance Select Committee therefore, after having obtained particulars of proof of guns in nearly all theother countries in Europe, came to the conclusion that the proof should be based on the highest charge which the gun will fire on service, and recommended the following proof which was approved in July 1864 and remains still in force, viz., two rounds of 1 1/4 the highest service (battering) charge, and service projectiles; but, in consequence of the results obtained in recent trials with Pebblepowder, experiments are being carried on to determine the future proof charge.

1872, Francis Sadleir Stoney, Charles Jones, A Text-book of the Construction and Manufacture of the Rifled Ordnance in the British Service, page 112:

Amd. the official "Extracts of Artillery Proceedings" tell us, 4:3:72, tha the Superintendent, Royal Gun Factories, "proposes tha the proof charge for the 12-inch gun of 35-tons shall be 115 lbs.

1873, W. Dawson, “Powder Pressures in the First 35-Ton Gun”, in Journal of the Royal United Service Institution, volume 17, number 70, page 4:

In case barrels sent for proof for the use of nitro powders are intended by the senders to sheet charges of powder or shot greater than the ordinary service charges of the like respective bores set forth in Scale 6, in the said Schedule, then the quantities of powder and shot so intended to be used shall be declared in wwriting, and a proof charge proportionate thereto shall be used.

(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.


boxlock

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


lockwork

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


lockplate

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


ribauldequin

/ɹɪˈbəʊdɪkɪn/

ribauldequin

synonym of organ gun — see also organ gun


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.


déculassement

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.


underhammer

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

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


gun furniture

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


RIS

RISs (plural)
R.I.S. (alternative)
R. I. S. (alternative)

rail interface system
w:rail interface system

rail integration system
w:rail integration system

(firearms) Initialism of rail interface system or initialism of rail integration system.


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)
limpwrist (alternative)

(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 rearward and causing the recoil spring to absorb too little energy from the slide for the action to cycle properly.


unsight

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.


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.


long rifle

long rifles (plural)
longrifle (alternative)

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


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

en-noun

wildcat cartridge (plural wildcat cartridges)

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


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.


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


Tokarev

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

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


scrub gun

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


bump stock

bump stocks (plural)
bumpstock (alternative)
bump-stock (alternative)

(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.


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.


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 firearm chambered for a .22-caliber rimfire cartridge.


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

en-noun

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.


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.


rearsight

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


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.


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”)


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


breech face

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


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


shell casing

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


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.


priming wire

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


paper cartridge

paper cartridge (plural paper cartridges)

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


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.


recoil spring

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


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.


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.