Gun Speak

I took a communications class this week, and one of the topics was terminology and acronyms. It occurred to me that when I started shooting seriously, I had to ask a lot of questions. So many terms to learn! As we become more comfortable with the sport, we tend to lapse into gun speak, but imagine your non-shooting friends trying to understand the following statements;

·         I took my .45 1911 and did chase the rabbit.

·         My AR-15 eats .223.

·         I have a 17 a 19 and a 16, all 9s.

·         I got a new SA/DA.

·         My friend took his .40 to IDPA last weekend.

Odds are you understood those. But just imagine a newbie?  The interpretations could be quite interesting. When I teach students who are new to shooting, I am careful to explain terms and acronyms. When we are talking to non-shooters, or around non or new shooters, let’s remember to explain terms so they are included, not left out. Make them welcome in the conversation and maybe they will be more comfortable taking the next step and taking that first shot?

Safe Shooting.