Firearm Nomenclature
- Thread starter jbtrucker
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LittleCooner
Member
Slang abounds in all parts of our American/English language. When what the last time you used a Xerox machine or listened to someone say they ran a copy on the Xerox machine (that was not a Xerox machine at all).
Jack Flash
Member
Don't you hate hearing someone say "crane" when they are clearly referencing the yoke? 
Lots of folks don't know the difference between a pistol and a revolver, although all of the manufacturers know.
Certainly one man's opinion . . .
Beating a dead horse........."Hand me that skill saw"(any circular saw) "Hand me that cresent wrench"(any adjustable wrench).......I still use clips in my auto pistols and I say "45 long colt"......I don't care what the grammer nazi's say...............
Vulcan Bob
Member
What drives me nuts is when gun show hosts and dang near everyone else including Lee Ermey (the gunny) calls a cartridge a bullet! These folk should know better. Call it a cartridge, round or ammo not a bullet. Rant over, out.
That's pretty good except......
......they have some of the 'clips' labeled as 'magazines
'.
......they have some of the 'clips' labeled as 'magazines
'.meaneyedcatz
Member
Not a big deal.
EVERYBODY calls something wrong sometimes. Even those who get bent out of shape when people call a gun part incorrect.
EVERYBODY calls something wrong sometimes. Even those who get bent out of shape when people call a gun part incorrect.
muddocktor
Member
Don't you hate hearing someone say "crane" when they are clearly referencing the yoke?
That doesn't bother me near as much as them calling it a "yolk"!
I didn't know that my revolvers were made with egg parts! 
tndrfttom
Member
For better or worse I think some terminology is changing over time. I was flabbergasted when I first heard an AR15’s buttstock, handguards and pistol grip referred to as “furniture”. To me “furniture” referred to the brass or iron mountings on a muzzleloader stock such as a trigger guard, butt plate, patch box or ramrod thimbles, etc. I guess I’ll eventually get over that changing terminology. What I don’t like hearing is firearms referred to as “Winnies” “Remmies” or Shotties” – that’s just wrong. The other thing that makes me shake my head is bullets being referred to as “tips”. Rant over.
Absalom
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
There are two different issues here.
Language is primarily a tool to convey meaning.
Wrong terminology is one thing. If you use a word which leads to other folks not getting or misunderstanding which part you are referring to, that is an objective issue which needs to be corrected.
Political correctness in nomenclature is an entirely different story. Whether you call it the crane or yoke depends largely on whether you're a Colt guy or a S&W guy, following the manufacturer's practice.
And just like whether you use grips or stocks, or talk about the clip or magazine of a semi-auto, or standard barrel vs. pencil barrel, or you insist on using antiquated terms like charge holes for the chambers of a revolver, if you know anything about guns, you know what is meant no matter which term is used, and there is no right or wrong.
Arguing about any of those is simply a way for old farts to pass time.
Language is primarily a tool to convey meaning.
Wrong terminology is one thing. If you use a word which leads to other folks not getting or misunderstanding which part you are referring to, that is an objective issue which needs to be corrected.
Political correctness in nomenclature is an entirely different story. Whether you call it the crane or yoke depends largely on whether you're a Colt guy or a S&W guy, following the manufacturer's practice.
And just like whether you use grips or stocks, or talk about the clip or magazine of a semi-auto, or standard barrel vs. pencil barrel, or you insist on using antiquated terms like charge holes for the chambers of a revolver, if you know anything about guns, you know what is meant no matter which term is used, and there is no right or wrong.
Arguing about any of those is simply a way for old farts to pass time.
codenamedave
Member
The term "pistol" is synonymous with "handgun", and has been since at least the flintlock era. Therefore, all revolvers are pistols, and some pistols are revolvers. If your argument is that common usage equals correct usage, then I'm going to direct you back to the clip-magazine thing.
Of course some of it is culture based.
Army clip:
Navy magazine:
But yeah, I'm usually with Absalom on this, I can figure out what you're trying to say & usually don't bother to debate the matter. If taken to task, however, I will try to bring some perspective on yo bad self.
I'll bet there's not one person on this forum that doesn't know what you're talking about if you say pistol or clip or magazine or bullet. Or auto or revolver for that matter. It's really a semi auto, but who says that in general conversation. If it's fully auto, I'm sure that is discussed at the beginning.
Lynyrd Skynyrd "Gimme back my Cartridges" wouldn't be the same.
By the way, how many ask for a cotton swab or a Q-Tip?
By the way, how many ask for a cotton swab or a Q-Tip?
Not as much as I hate hearing someone say "stocks" when they are referring to those handle thingies, sometimes called "grip panels" or even "grips."Don't you hate hearing someone say "crane" when they are clearly referencing the yoke?
bearman49709
Member
Well the revolver IS A PISTOL so tell me what the difference is.
There is at least one school of thought, including Merriam-Webster, that defines a pistol as a handheld firearm with a chamber integrated to the barrel. Webster also defines a pistol simply as a handheld firearm in the same book. Hence, the hullabaloo . . .
To me a revolver is a pistol. Samuel Colt agreed. I don't much mind about crane/yoke or grips/stocks, clips/magazine or 45 "long" Colt.
But for some reason referring to cartridges as bullets gets me. Calling a revolver a wheel gun, ah, ok, but a wheelie COME ON.
But for some reason referring to cartridges as bullets gets me. Calling a revolver a wheel gun, ah, ok, but a wheelie COME ON.
Okay, I'll admit it. The "clips" thing drives me crazy. 
It's not so much the term itself. In isolation, it is probably a perfectly fine word even if used incorrectly far more often than it is used correctly. It's more about who uses it most and how they use it in a sentence (or something approaching a sentence) that drives me batty.
Yes, I am a spelling, grammar, definitions, punctuation, capitalization and general English language Nazi... even if I barely passed my high school and college English classes and still make enough mistakes myself to fill a book.
The "clips" thing drives me crazy. It's not so much the term itself. In isolation, it is probably a perfectly fine word even if used incorrectly far more often than it is used correctly. It's more about who uses it most and how they use it in a sentence (or something approaching a sentence) that drives me batty. Yes, I am a spelling, grammar, definitions, punctuation, capitalization and general English language Nazi... even if I barely passed my high school and college English classes and still make enough mistakes myself to fill a book.
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