Weapon, gun or tool?

[Rastoff]

This forum has a unique clientele. It's visited by everyone from collectors to precision shooters to self-defense/tactical shooters. There are two things we all have in common; S&W and shooting.

When I was on active duty we were trained to call our rifles weapons. When growing up we just called them guns (I didn't get one until I was 22). Now that I teach self-defense I prefer to say that I'm the weapon and the gun is just a tool. There's a long explanation for that.

What do you call the firearm(s) you enjoy?

[Doug627]

They are firearms. Weapon has a bad connotation. It puts non-firearm people off and makes then defensive.

[arjay]

I call them guns

[GaryS]

When I took the NRA instructor course we were taught to avoid using "weapon". I usually use the term "firearm" and occasionally "gun".

I agree with you that it is the intent that mames a firearm a "weapon". Or a bag of kitty litter, for that matter.

[coltle6920]

I own firearms...

I also own a shovel.The shovel is a tool.It can also be a weapon.Alas,it can never be a firearm!

You can't be a weapon because a weapon is useless without some outside force acting on it.

[vt_shooter]

I'll refer to what I own as a gun, or a revolver, or a rifle, etc, but never a weapon, because I've never used any of them as a weapon, just like I've never used any of my kitchen knives as a weapon.

[Rustyt1953]

Call them what you want....they won't come.

[arjay]

This is why you can't sleep,a gawdawful amount of riffing going on in there

[kwselke]

It depends on the use. If used to attack it is a weapon. If used in simple target practice it is a firearm. If used to tack in the holiday lights on the second floor it is a tool. Whatever you want to call the machines that project metals at high velocities, they can be used for good as well as bad. What they are called... depends.

[GKC]

A weapon by any other name shoots just as well.

What's in a name? Nothing, except perhaps in the military ("this is my rifle, this is my gun.") Sometimes we get all tangled up with semantics (is a revolver a pistol?) and PC-mantics. Do we really think it will make a difference to the police or a jury if we are involved in a SD/HD scenario, and we say we used a weapon or a gun?

You could get technical, and argue that while all guns are weapons, not all weapons are guns. And so on...

[SC_Mike]

The ones I carry I consider tools. The ones I mainly leave in the safe I call my babies.

[chud333]

Originally Posted by Rastoff

Now that I teach self-defense I prefer to say that I'm the weapon and the gun is just a tool.

Stop it....Yer' killing me.

Before you taught self-defense what were you?



Chuck

[Watchdog]

I don't believe it matters a bit what you call the thing.

[Rastoff]

Originally Posted by chud333

Before you taught self-defense what were you?

Life is a process of learning. We all start out infinitely ignorant. As we grow we learn. As we learn, we shape how we live our lives and how we interact with the world around us.

When I was younger I didn't understand the power of words, written or spoken. Now that I'm older, I've learned that they can kill. There is much to be said for how what we say affects how we act.

[DeathGrip]

revolver, rifle, pistol, shotgun.

Dang it, I said gun.

[DeathGrip]

You dang sure didn't want me to say "Shotty" did you?

[g-dad]

Originally Posted by Doug627

They are firearms. Weapon has a bad connotation. It puts non-firearm people off and makes then defensive.

This is also my thought on the subject.^^^^

[snubbyfan]

Originally Posted by DeathGrip

revolver, rifle, pistol, shotgun.

Dang it, I said gun.

What he said.

[vigil617]

Originally Posted by Doug627

They are firearms. Weapon has a bad connotation. It puts non-firearm people off and makes then defensive.

Not that I particularly care what puts non-firearm people off, I call 'em guns. If I want to be more specific, I say pistols or revolvers.

[Mule Packer]

A gun is a firearm.

A hammer is a tool.

My whole body is a weapon.

[GKC]

Originally Posted by Rastoff

When I was younger I didn't understand the power of words, written or spoken. Now that I'm older, I've learned that they can kill.

I dunno...if someone is kicking in my front door, I'm not going to read to them.

[Rastoff]

Originally Posted by DeathGrip

You dang sure didn't want me to say "Shotty" did you?

You know, I really don't care. Some get all bent out of shape when guys use non-standard terms like shotty or gat. I'm not one of them.

[GKC]

Originally Posted by Rastoff

You know, I really don't care. Some get all bent out of shape when guys use non-standard terms like shotty or gat. I'm not one of them.

Yeah...it's not like they call a magazine a clip, for goodness' sake!

[DeathGrip]

Originally Posted by Rastoff

You know, I really don't care. Some get all bent out of shape when guys use non-standard terms like shotty or gat. I'm not one of them.

Me neither.

[Protected One]

Most often I use the term "firearm", but occasionally may say gun or handgun.

[ben_g1]

My drill Sargent (bless his little soul) taught me the difference between a weapon and a gun.

[vonn]

Doesn't matter what you call them,I know what they are the minute I see them. Never met one I didn't like.

[susieqz]

i guess i'm the odd person here. i call mine weapons.
i kill things with them.

[wwit]

I call mine firearms. That goes for my CCW as well. Good habit I guess. Less threatening to non-gun people. But that said, I cant think of a time where I started a conversation with a non-gun person about guns. I also don't advertise that I CCW.

Yesterday I attended a local NRA Pistol Basics Phase2 course. I lady student called them weapons at some point. This raised the NRA Instructor to a different level of intensity. He calmly and not so subtly corrected her mistake. He did so not to embarrass the woman or belittle her and then made a bit of a joke on it to lighten the mood. Then explained his view on the word "weapon" and why its not a good substitute for Gun or Firearm.

[Rustyt1953]

Originally Posted by GKC

Yeah...it's not like they call a magazine a clip, for goodness' sake!

Allow me:

[vonn]

Some people just make a joke out of anything!

[Arik]

It's both. It's a gun but a gun is a tool. It's meant to do a certain job.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

[soFlaNative]

Smile and the world smiles with you...
Pistol, revolver, rifle, scatter gun.

[Big Cholla]

Originally Posted by Mule Packer

A gun is a firearm.

A hammer is a tool.

My whole body is a weapon.

The 'Chippendales' are advertising for a new member. Wow!!! With that body, You better get down here to Vegas and apply. :-)

[Big Cholla]

IMHO, anything man-made that can be used to further my goals, is a tool. Therefore, my handguns and rifles are 'tools' to me. I do not like the term "weapon" so I don't use it. On occasion, I use the word 'gun' to give a name to the thing I am working on. I like to be precise. I like 'rifle, shotgun, handgun, revolver, semi-auto' and several others that are descriptive. I wince when I see the slang terms thrown around and won't even elevate them a little bit by naming them again here. ......

[g8rb8]

Originally Posted by Rastoff

Weapon, gun or tool?

Therapy...

[shouldazagged]

The semantics don't trouble me. Mine are guns. Period.

Saves a lot of explanation. And potential confusion, in the very unlikely event that some nervous type spots that I'm carrying and yells, "My God, that old man has a weapon!"

[307-Niner]

What's in a name??

[Grayfox]

I prefer firearm, rifle, pistol, gun, etc.
Weapon has a negative connotation to it as if you think its only purpose is killing. I also think tool has become to mean almost the same thing. As in: I use this tool to kill.

However, I must admit that even after 40 years since I served, I sometimes slip back to my Army training and say weapon.

[Absalom]

The older I get, the less I care about my choice of words.

I use what sounds normal under the circumstances. If you are carefully picking your vocabulary to make points that no one but you is actually getting, like using firearm instead of gun, which would be totally lost on normal people, you're making your life too difficult.

And if you seriously don't get just how ridiculous the idea sounds that you might frighten non-gun people by referring to a gun as a weapon, you're spending too much time in the bubble; you need to get out more.

[pittpa]

On my bike, "what's in your fanny pack?" Me, "tools". Orin my jeans, "what's in your pocket?" Just happy to see you.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[retiredbadge8091]

Untold items can be classified as weapons. I own and shoot firearms which can be referred to as guns, but more specifically are either rifles, shotguns or handguns.

Here we most often refer to these firearms by make and model. If I mention how much I like the classic Model 28, your average hoplophobe wouldn't have a clue. But say you like to shoot .357 Magnums and they'll be convinced you're some sort of murderous sociopath. They'll also never understand that there is so much more to gun ownership, like shooting for recreation. They'll never understand collecting, studying the history and development of firearms, or shooting and reloading for the sheer fun of it.

It's really rather humorous, just how clueless the average anti-gun folks are.

[model70hunter]

My Rifles;
Deer Rifle, elk gun, Black rifle, squirrel gun. FN Mauser 300 Win Mag fun gun.

Shotguns;

Duck gun, quail gun, dove gun, pheasant gun. Sold my sporting clays, skeet and tap guns.

Hand guns;

Smith 357, Smith 44 Mag, Colt 45 (acp), Kimber 45 acp, K-22 Masterpiece, Ruger single six 22 is called Dad's old 22, Ruger Bearcat is called Wifes 22.

My stainless fighting knife is a weapon.
My other knives are tools that cut off hang nails, clean all the game mentioned above, open new fangled bullet proof plastic packages and was used to cut of strands of hair the beautician missed on one of the girls in a wedding.

On shottie, i.e. shotty, i.e. shotgun;

photos boris karloff as frankenstein - Google Search

He said shotty, yes he did , I'm gonna talk to him.

[GKC]

Originally Posted by Absalom

If you are carefully picking your vocabulary to make points that no one but you is actually getting, like using firearm instead of gun, which would be totally lost on normal people, you're making your life too difficult.

This is true...however, there are times when exact terminology can be important. For example, if a surgeon asks the scrub nurse for a specific instrument, that's important. Is it important on an internet forum? Not really. Sometimes, when you use inexact terminology in a community of people who do know the difference, some might think you don't know the difference, and some may not care. The interminable debate over magazine versus clip is an example. There really is a difference between a magazine and a clip...is that difference all that important? Not really, especially on an internet forum. Still, if you know the correct term, you should use it.

Throughout history, one of the hallmarks of professional knowledge is terminology. Part of the "secret" knowledge only revealed to members of a craft were the names of tools...as well, of course, as how to use them. This was one way to tell you belonged. Any discipline, body of knowledge, or profession even today has specific names of tools, parts, procedures, etc. It's not to exclude non-members, in fact that's much less so today, but primarily serves to be accurate and precise in the work.

[GKC]

Originally Posted by vonn

Some people just make a joke out of anything!

What can I say...God only gave me one talent, and being a smart aleck is it.

[Kernel Crittenden]

Gun. It's easiest to type.

[Rampo]

As the OP noted, while in the military we referred to our rifles as "weapons". I guess while they were being used to inflict harm or used for defense they were weapons. Handguns were referred to as "side arms", but I digress.
In the civilian sporting world I usually just use the term "rifle", or "handgun".

[RSBH44]

Originally Posted by DeathGrip

You dang sure didn't want me to say "Shotty" did you?

Oh heil NO !

[BAM-BAM]

Guns and/or firearms; like knives or bows & arrows ........ have many uses.......only one of which is to be used as a weapon.

[joeintexas]

I own guns. Have for over 50 years. Whatever anyone decides to call theirs I bet I can figure out what you're talking about. My dad who passed at age 97 was quite the outdoorsman, hunting every animal or bird on the North American continent, and he always called every "firearm" he owned a gun, he also called every magazine a clip. I never felt the need to try to correct him either!