I call my rifle a rifle, but don' t think anything is wrong with it being called a weapon. I don' t think it' s possible or even advisable for hunters to " disconnect" themselves from the violence present in nature. Ever seen a predator take down it' s prey? Nothing tame about it. Nature is herself often violent and unforgiving. There are plenty of cases when guns are used in self-defense in nature (cougar, grizzlies, even elk or moose). To forget that or try to water it down is not something I would want to do. I just don' t think the term " weapon" is found by most people to be offensive when talking about any firearm, unless that person happens to be anti-gun to begin with, in which case it doesn' t matter how you try to sugar-coat it, they' re still gonna have a problem with it.