Originally Posted by
Bullcamp82834
My simple country lingo calls any handgun I'm carrying "my pistol".
When I'm big game hunting it's "my rifle" I'm carrying.
If I'm hunting birds I tote "my shotgun".
Back when I was a firearms instructor in law enforcement I used the word "weapon" a lot. Don't have much need for that word anymore.
In the military, I was compelled to call an M16 a 'weapon', whether I like it or not, but calling an M60 a "gun" was acceptable. Being a civilian now, I no longer have any use for playing that jazz. I was never fond of the military and I try to forget it as much as possible. I am a total civilian now and my semantics bare witness to that as well.
Once the listener or reader understands what kind of gun I am talking about in a conversation be it a rifle, revolver, self-loading handgun, machine gun, paint gun, air gun, BB gun, staple gun, shotgun or muzzleloader, the term GUN is used by me from then on.
It is a very simple word to say and type and I like the sound of this three-letter word like Johnny Carson was fond of the word HAT.