Do you call firearms 'weapons?'

[usui]

How about "Line-of-sight hole-punch" ??

[dfxjedi]

It kind of bugs me when people call firearms/guns 'weapons.' I believe this is just one of those little things that solidifies in people's minds that firearms are solely tools of violence.

When it comes to the word 'weapon' I don't believe there is any object in the world that is a weapon. I believe that a weapon is a state of an object and any object has the potential to become a weapon, but nothing is inherently so.

I use a knife as a tool to cut meat until someone attacks me. Now it's a stabbing device.

I use a baseball bat to play baseball until someone attacks me. Now it's a blunt object.

I use a gun for fun and target practice until someone attacks me. Now it's a high-velocity projectile launcher.

What say you fellow Calgunners?

I view firearms as weapons but i rarely ever call them that,i usually only call them firearms or guns.

[rugershooter]

It kind of bugs me when people call firearms/guns 'weapons.' I believe this is just one of those little things that solidifies in people's minds that firearms are solely tools of violence.

When it comes to the word 'weapon' I don't believe there is any object in the world that is a weapon. I believe that a weapon is a state of an object and any object has the potential to become a weapon, but nothing is inherently so.

I use a knife as a tool to cut meat until someone attacks me. Now it's a stabbing device.

I use a baseball bat to play baseball until someone attacks me. Now it's a blunt object.

I use a gun for fun and target practice until someone attacks me. Now it's a high-velocity projectile launcher.

What say you fellow Calgunners?

The only firearms I call weapons are weapons, meaning they were designed as weapons as opposed to sporting firearms. My SKS was designed for shooting people so it's a weapon. My NEF 20 ga., on the other hand, was designed as a sport shotgun and therefore isn't a weapon unless I use it as a weapon. But in that case it's no different than using a baseball bat or heavy lamp as a weapon, it would be more of an improvised weapon. Essentially, if it was designed to shoot people with (sks, m1, etc.) and/or intended (self defense, but hope to never actually use it) to shoot people with, then it's a weapon. Using any other firearm to shoot someone with would make it an improvised weapon.

[oni.dori]

In all honesty, it really depends on the context I am referring to them in, just like the multitude of other synonymous nouns you can use to describe them with.

[C.W.M.V.]

I imagine it differs between civvies and military...

Bingo. Always either a rifle or pistol but usually weapon.
I cannot physically bring myself to actually say the word gun, I feel as wrong as two boys screwing even thinking about saying the word. I can type it, just cant say it!
I don't understand why people would want to mince around though and try to use PC terms. These are killing devices, they have little purpose other than to kill. You can say for defense, or protection, etc but the end state is that you point it at something and pull the trigger in an attempt to cause it to stop living. Be that a deer or a man, its still a killing tool. Hence weapon. Theres nothing wrong with that, its just alot of responsibility as we all know.

[aklon]

Aside from military personel and police, it sounds pretentious coming from anyone else. I get the feeling I'm dealing with some sort of malignant Walter Mitty type.

[rugershooter]

Aside from military personel and police, it sounds pretentious coming from anyone else. I get the feeling I'm dealing with some sort of malignant Walter Mitty type.

Why? The objects I call "weapons"- whether they're guns or knives- are indeed weapons and were bought with the intention of using those specific objects if I ever need a weapon rather than using a baseball bat or pen. To be more specific, several of the firearms I own were bought with the specific purpose of being used as weapons if I ever need to use weapons; those are the guns I'm going to grab for SD instead of my sporting or hunting guns. Do you own any firearms that you bought primarily for self defense? Maybe a nightstand pistol? If so it's not pretentious to call that firearm a weapon.

When used in the wrong context it could sound pretentious, such as calling all firearms weapons, regardless of who says it. But when used in the right context, such as calling my defensive firearms weapons, there's nothing pretentious about it. "Weapon" is a subset of the "firearm/gun" group, just as "car" or "truck" are subsets of the "motor vehicle" group.

[Markus]

I call my guns guns and my knives knives. Calling something a weapon is all about intent. Just like that motor vehicle you have can also be a weapon but its not a weapon until you use it thusly(at least IMHO).