"Bar" gun -- (not "bear" gun, although I know that the word "bear" is often pronounced "bar" in the South as in "there I was at the convenience store with a Nehi soda and a Moonpie when a big ole black bar ambled into the store and eyed my Moonpie")
A bar gun is what one carries into bars in rough neighborhoods -- it must be concealable, desirable calibers are .25 ACP or .32 ACP since the bar gun is for "display" to a perceived threat, must be very shiny, with either faux ivory or mother of pearl grips, and able to withstand spilled beer and cheap lipstick, and it is imperative that a bar gun cost less than $200. Bar guns are not intended for actual use but are intended for "flashing" to a potential rival for the affections of the blonde at the end of the bar -- flashing will establish that you are a sophisticated "ladie's man" as you sip your Courvoisier cognac.
Tradition in most drinking establishments is that bar guns should have unreliable safety's -- this enhances the "display" or "flashing" experience if the bar gun accidentally discharges into the floor or into the big mirror behind the bartender. Given the penchant for unreliable safety's, this is why desired bar guns are in .25 or .32 caliber -- in the event that one accidentally discharges one's bar gun into one's crotch, the damage inflicted is much less than if one were carrying a .38 +P or .44 Special.
