Guns Are Back in the News: Here's a Handy Guide

EDITOR & PUBLISHER ^ | May 14, 2007 | Chuck Klein

[neverdem]

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Guns Are Back in the News: Here's a Handy Guide
In the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre, a new wave of gun control debate and legal measures will remain in the news for months. But sloppiness is a warm gun: It would be nice if the press at least got its technical terminology right in covering the developments.

By Chuck Klein

(May 14, 2007) -- In the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre, a new wave of gun control debate and legal measures will remain in the news for months. It would be a good idea for the press to at least get its technical terminology right in covering the developments.

My field of expertise is firearms and I am constantly amazed at the lack of knowledge and/or research (laziness?) that some writers exhibit when writing about guns or the use thereof.

For example, one noted author penned, “&helliphe grabbed the 30.06 rifle&hellip.” The thirty-ought-six is probably the most well know cartridge in the world. However, it is displayed as .30-06. The “.30” is the caliber or bore diameter of the barrel. The “06” refers to the year (1906) when the cartridge was accepted by and for the U.S. Military. This same author, when describing a group men in the early 1970s had one of them shooting a Glock pistol. Glock didn’t make handguns until the 1980s.

Some other the most egregious errors found in news media stories, articles and books include:

“The gun used was a Colt automatic.” (Did the writer mean machinegun or the more common SEMI-automatic pistol? Colt has made both).

“He took out his pistol, opened the cylinder&hellip.” (Pistols don’t have cylinders – only revolvers do.)

“The killer placed a fresh bullet into his gun.” (I think he means, cartridge.)

Below are some Firearm Related Terms that might help when editing a piece that includes reference to firearms:

ACTION: Moveable mechanical parts of a firearm.

BALLISTICS: Science of the characteristics of projectiles in motion.

BARREL: Part of the firearm through which the discharged bullet passes moving from breach to muzzle.

BORE: The inside of the barrel through which the discharged bullet passes. Size is determined by measuring the distance between the lands of a rifled barrel or maximum inside diameter of a smoothbore (shotgun) barrel .

BREECH: Rear portion of the barrel which includes the chamber.

BULLET: (aka PROJECTILE) The missile only. The part of the cartridge that separates, exits from the muzzle and impacts on the target.

CARTRIDGE: A complete unit of ammunition which is comprised of the cartridge case, primer, propellant, and bullet - a loaded round of ammunition.

CALIBER: Refers to a weapon's (land or grove) or bullet's diametrical size - usually expressed in thousands of an inch or metric equivalent. Sometimes includes other information to indicated powder charge (e.g., .38-40) or year of adoption (e.g., .30-06) or special designation (e.g., .38 Special).

CENTERFIRE: Cartridge case which contains its primer in the rear center portion. Usually reloadable. A firearm designed to fire centerfire ammunition.

CHAMBER: Inside portion of the breech formed to accommodate the cartridge.

CLIP: Device to hold cartridges for insertion into a magazine. See "MAGAZINE"

CYLINDER: Revolving mechanical part of a revolver which houses multiple chambers.

DEADLY FORCE: See "LETHAL FORCE"

DOUBLE ACTION: (DA) Function of trigger pull that requires two actions to discharge a weapon. The first action is the compressing of the hammer/firing pin (main) spring by physically moving the trigger rearward. The second action is the continued rearward movement of the trigger to the point of causing the release of the hammer/firing pin.

FIREARM: Any weapon from which a projectile(s) is discharged by means of a rapidly burning or exploding propellant.

FRAME: The non-moveable mechanical portion of a weapon into or upon which all other parts are attached.

GRIP: See "STOCK"

HAMMER: Moveable mechanical part of the action which, when released, drives the firing pin into the primer.

HANDGUN: A firearm (revolver or pistol) designed to be operated with one hand and without the aid of extraneous support.

INSTINCT COMBAT SHOOTING: The act of operating a HANDGUN by focusing on the target and instinctively coordinating the hand and mind to cause the HANDGUN to discharge at a time and point that ensures interception of the target with the projectile. Method developed by and term coined by Police Firearms Instructor CHUCK KLEIN.

INSTINCT SHOOTING: (a.k.a. point shooting) Focusing on the target and instinctively shooting any long gun without the aid or use of mechanical sights.

MAGAZINE: Removable part of a pistol which holds cartridges in such a way as to facilitate the chambering of these cartridges during operational functioning.

MUZZLE: The end of the barrel from which the discharged projectile exits.

PISTOL: aka: Autoloader, auto pistol, semi-auto. Any self-loading handgun that is not a revolver. Usually incorporates the chamber as part of the barrel. Requires the manually pulling and releasing of the trigger for each shot. After each shot the recoil "automatically" pushes the slide rearward, ejecting the spent cartridge, cocking the hammer/firing pin and, on the return forward movement, striping a fresh cartridge from the magazine for insertion into the chamber. This action/reaction does not disengage the sear, which can only be done by releasing the trigger.

Fully automatic weapons such as machine guns or submachine guns will continue to fire until either the trigger is released or the magazine is emptied.

POINT BLANK RANGE: Distance so close that appreciable projectile deviation of line of flight is negligible.

POINT SHOOTING: See "INSTINCT SHOOTING".

PRIMER: Detonating mixture structured to ignite propellant when struck a sharp blow as from a firing pin.

RECOIL: The kinetic energy reaction of the expanding burning propellant as it pushes the projectile through the bore. This is also evidenced by the rearward thrust of the weapon against the shooters hand/body.

REVOLVER: A multi-shot handgun, utilizing a revolving cylinder as a cartridge receptacle.

RIFLING: Parallel spiral groves cut into the bore to impart spin on the projectile. This spin aids in stabilizing the bullet in flight which greatly improves accuracy. This rifling so marks the bullet as it passes through the bore. These engravings (fingerprints) are unique to that particular bore and bullet.

RIMFIRE: Cartridge case which contains its primer in the rear rim portion. A firearm designed to fire rimfire ammunition. Not reloadable. .22 LR (Long Rifle); .22 Short; and .22 Long are all rimfire cartridges and are of the most common and oldest cartridges in current use. Rifles, pistols and revolvers have all been chambered for this round of ammunition.

SAFETY: Any device or mechanism which locks or blocks the trigger, hammer and/or sear to prevent unintentional discharge.

SEAR: Mechanical part of the action of a firearm which functions between the trigger and the hammer; acts as a release when the trigger is fully depressed.

SEMI-AUTOMATIC: See "PISTOL"

SHOTGUN: A shoulder fired long-gun with a smooth (not rifled) barrel. Shotgun size and power are designated by Gauge – not by caliber (see Sidebar). Some shotgun types are: SxS (Side by side – a double barrel shotgun with the barrels arranged side by side); O/U (Over/Under – a double barrel shotgun with the barrels arranged one on top of the other); Pump action (One must operate the pump to expel fired shells, load a fresh shell from the magazine and cock the hammer/firing pin); Auto-loading (The force of firing a shell ejects the spent shell and “automatically” recharges the chamber with a fresh shell from the magazine while cocking the hammer/firing pin) Bolt action (a bolt is used to extract, charge the chamber and cock the hammer/firing pin).

SINGLE ACTION: Only one action is required to fire the weapon such as moving the trigger rearward to release the hammer/firing pin.

SLIDE: On semi-automatic or automatic weapons, the movable mechanical device which functions to extract spent cases and insert loaded cartridges.

SNUB-NOSE: Slang term usually meaning any short barreled revolver.

STOCK: Portion of the weapon which is held in the hand.

TACHYINTERVAL: Time-deception phenomena. A condition that occurs when, under extreme stress, events appear to happen in slow motion. Events, of course, do not slow down but, the mind seems to speed up due to the brains ability to digest information much faster than the body can act/react. Many people who have been in serious auto accidents or gun fights have experienced this condition.

TRAJECTORY: The parabolical path of a projectile in flight from muzzle to impact.

TRIGGER: Moveable mechanical device designed to be operated by the index finger for double action or single action mode depending on type of firearm.

TUNNEL-VISION: Peripheral-optic distortion/dysfunction phenomena. A condition that can occur during high concentration where one see (is aware of) only the center of his/hers attention. This temporary occurrence renders the victim oblivious to surrounding events.

SOME COMMON HANDGUN CALIBERS:

.22 Long Rifle (.22LR) This is a rimfire cartridge and has been very popular for over 100 years.
.25 ACP (ACP means, Automatic Colt Pistol)
.380 Automatic (Popular self-defense pistol round)
9mm (Once popular police cartridge, especially in Europe)
.38 Special (Early police revolver cartridge – still popular in snub-nose revolvers)
.357 Magnum (Popular revolver cartridge for police and self-protection)
.40 Caliber (Popular modern police pistol cartridge)
.44 Magnum (Powerful hunting and self-defense round)
.45 ACP Old (1911) and still popular police and self-defense pistol round)

SOME COMMON RIFLE CALIBERS:

.223 (aka 5.56mm. Cartridge designed for the M-16 – and other – military semi-auto and full-auto rifles)
.270 Winchester (Popular hunting cartridge)
.30-06 (Originally a military cartridge – now a very popular hunting round)
.308 Winchester (aka 7.62 NATO. A military round and one of the most accurate high power hunting and target rounds)
.30-30 (Most popular deer hunting cartridge)
.470 Nitro Express (early “elephant” cartridge usually found in SxS double barreled rifles)
.458 Winchester Magnum. (Very powerful hunting cartridge – used for big game)

COMMON SHOT GUN GAUGES:

12 Gauge (.729 bore diameter)
16 Ga. (.662)
20 Ga (.615)
28 Ga (.550)
.410 (.410) Called the Four-Ten, it is actually about a 67 Gauge, but has always been referred to as the four-ten.

---

Chuck Klein is the author of many firearm related books, columns and articles, many of which may be found on his web site: www.chuckkleinauthor.com. This column is copyright by Chuck Klein 2007.

[Osage Orange]

That is cool....

I've never seen that type gun before.

[Inyo-Mono]

Here's all the proof I need: What the HE11 is a "horse pistol" if it ain't a revolver? A dragoon is a horse pistol and a horse pistol is a colt walker REVOLVER! Did a "pistolero" brandish a gaddam glock back in the wild west days?

I'm with you. Drives me crazy too. If one were to read any of the authentic, first hand accounts of the Old West, almost everyone called a revolver a "pistol." "I jerked my pistol and fired...," "...he grabbed a pistol and went after the man," etc., etc. Only in rare circumstances will you find someone from that period calling their piece a revolver.

I even have copies of old firearms catalogs from Colt and Remington with their revolvers listed under "Pistols." and I have always called my own revolvers pistols.

[neverdem]

Do you remember when Moynihan went crazy over “cop killer bullets.”

I had forgotten. Otherwise, he wasn't so bad as a dem, especially compared to the clowns NY has now.

[Blood of Tyrants]

A 458 Magnum is a popular round? I’ve never seen one in person.

[alarm rider]

7.62 X 54R. 1911A1. The best.

[Sir_Ed]

Heh heh heh, I’ll take one of those...a crew-served, belt-fed, water-cooled Colt Single Action Army!

Ed

[Hazcat]

Looks pretty good until he gets to the very last thing. The 410 shotgun. He states that it is also about 67 guage and of course at the top of his list is the 12 guage. This will cause some to think that the 410 is larger than the 12 guage.

[oyez]

I remember when they went crazy over the new "plastic" Glock. It couldn't be X-rayed or would it set off a metal detector.

If more people took more of an interest in firearms terminology and at least learn a little arms safety they would be a lot less apt to be a grabber.

[Hazcat]

Here ya go.

[Hazcat]

I was always taught that handguns and pistols were the generic terms. Revolver and semi=auto or machine pistol were specific.

[Fido969]

Don't blame me!

PISTOLS

When most people say "pistol" all they mean is "handgun." However, for some purposes--like the FBI Unform Crime Report system--the term is used to mean "semiautomatic handgun, which is often called an "automatic" even if it isn't really." However, a "machine" pistol is a fully automatic handgun, like the "UZI" you see in movies. The term may also be used to refer to anything--including a single-shot or breech (rear) loading handgun--other than a revolver, as the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) defines the term via the Code of Federal Regulations.

http://www.gunsandcrime.org/guntypes.html

[Fido969]

A pistol is defined by the ATF as having a chamber integral to, or permanently aligned with the barrel.

[Hazcat]

Like the ATF knows anything about firearms! (Not carpin’ at you, just stating a fact)

[TC Rider]

Where’s that picture of the cop-killer assault glock pistol with bayonnet when you need it?

Is that the ceramic model that passes through airport security?

[supercat]

A pistol is defined by the ATF as having a chamber integral to, or permanently aligned with the barrel.

Does a pistol necessarily contain exactly one barrel?

[supercat]

AUTOMATIC--Common term for a semi-automatic pistol. In other contexts, the terms "Semi-automatic", "Select-fire", "Fully automatic", or "Burst fire" should be used instead.

SEMI-AUTOMATIC--Refers to firearms in which a portion of the energy from each shot is used to prepare the next round for firing, but which requires the trigger to be released and re-pulled to actually fire the next shot.

SELECT-FIRE--Refers to a firearm in which a portion of the energy from each shot is used to prepare the next round for firing, which may be switched to either fire multiple shots if the trigger is pulled and held, or to require the trigger to be released and re-pulled as with a semi-automatic. All weapons which are designed to fire more than one shot per trigger pull, or which can easily be adapted to do so, have been banned from non-government ownership since 1986 (except for units owned by non-government people prior to that date) .

FULLY AUTOMATIC--A mode of operation in which a weapon will fire repeatedly if the trigger is pulled and held. See prohibition note under "Select fire".

BURST FIRE--A mode of operation which behaves similarly to fully automatic, except that a mechanism limits the number of shots per trigger pull to some number greater than one. Subject to the same prohibition as select-fire and fully-automatic firearms.

[mamelukesabre]

That’s not the official definition anymore.

[mamelukesabre]

Maybe we should be looking into this. There might be some sinister reason for the FBI/ATF in defining a pistol separate from a revolver.

[Fido969]

Like the ATF knows anything about firearms!

Well, yes, you have a point there. Last I heard, they were trying to call a shoelace a machine gun.

[T Wayne]

I have a friend that shoots one for fun.

To much pain for me.