Talk:List of gun abbreviations

Non-English Abbreviations

I'm glad this page is up and running, but since this is an English wiki, would it be possible to include translations for the non-English abbreviations on this list? I doubt many of us know all the languages enough to decipher the non-English abbreviations mentioned in this list.--Mazryonh 15:28, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

I also don't know the Russian and Chinese ones and will be putting the English translation of them soon.--SB2296 16:11, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

Discarded Abbreviations

This will list those discarded abbreviations or those considered inappropriate for posterity or until someone higher up decides they belong anyhow. I contributed one below:

• EMAC: Used to denote any ranged weapon that accelerates its (usually inert and relying solely on its high kinetic energy to deal damage) ammunition via Electromagnetic Acceleration, to distinguish it from weapons that use chemical explosives to propel ammunition as conventional firearms do. Thus, EMAC weapons are not strictly firearms per se. The term is usually associated with railguns and coilguns. Man-portable versions are commonly called EMAC guns, while vehicle-mounted versions are called EMAC cannons. "EMAC Rifle" is technically inappropriate, since this class of ranged weaponry does not require rifling of any sort in its barrel, but is often used to denote any man-portable two-handed EMAC weapon.

I'll admit it was a bit verbose, but EMAC weapons are not fictional anymore--they do exist, albeit in prototypical form, in the US military R&D, and I thought this kind of abbreviation would be a quick way to denote weapons of this type (as well as explaining what they are and how they are different from conventional firearms) in entries on this wiki. Some entries that feature EMAC weapons include Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, STALKER, and Eraser. That's why I thought this abbreviation was important enough to include. --Mazryonh 15:28, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

• Removed it since this is a list of real appreviations, not ones we feel like making up. As far as I'm aware EMAC isn't a term used to describe magnetic accelerators. Also, the first railgun design was patented over a hundred years ago, the Germans tested a weaponised design in WW2, and any university engineering faculty can build a working railgun. They certainly don't just exist in military R&D (also, the research ones include prototypes by private companies: one's BAE Systems). Really, we need to add a seperate list of gun terminology if we want something like that (which would also let us define terms like clip and chaingun for the non-gunny reader's education), not just try to shoehorn it into a list of abbreviations it doesn't belong in. Evil Tim 09:40, 22 April 2011 (CDT)

Sure, if you feel that way. I myself felt that EMAC was a term that could easily encompass the various slugthrowing electromagnetic weaponry on this website, without having to quibble and argue about whether or not the weapon(s) in question are of the railgun or coilgun type. For example, the "Gauss Rifle" in Crysis is modelled like a Railgun, but its name implies it is of the coilgun type (Gauss guns actually use the coilgun principle). Using the EMAC terminology would avert that kind of debate since both Coilguns and Railguns rely on Electromagnetic Acceleration to cause damage. And before you tell me that Particle Beams are Electromagnetic Acceleration weapons too (just using subatomic particles or ions instead of macroscopic projectiles), those count as Directed Energy Weapons and not Kinetic-Energy weapons. I think the admins should determine whether such an article encompassing this kind of general information would belong in the G.I. section. --Mazryonh 22:27, 24 April 2011 (CDT)

Yeah, but I don't really like the precident of being able to put made-up terms on the page, even with the best of intentions. An article about terms would be a good idea, but it would probably take a lot of writing; I might bring it up on the forum at some stage now I can post there. I could probably port over that list of gun accessories I wrote for TVTropes to here with some work to fix up the tone, too. Hell of a lot of effort that thing was. Evil Tim 05:00, 25 April 2011 (CDT)

PDW

I was going to try to add descriptions to some of the terms here, looked at that one, and realise I don't really know an exact definition for it. As far as I know, the term "PDW" was invented purely to market a version of the MP5K, and doesn't really have any fixed meaning other than "call your SMG this if you want it to sound cool" and some mumbling about proprietary rounds that makes no sense since the original was a 9x19mm Para and the Jatimatic has been marketed as a PDW too. Evil Tim 07:52, 25 May 2011 (CDT)

SPORTS

I'm a bit curious, what does the SPORTS acronym apply to? I googled it and found it related to clearing a stoppage..? I'm still not quite clear on it. An explanation would be very appreciated. -Sentient6 20:19, 27 November 2011 (CST)

Specifically the AR series rifles, but it actually does work with any rifle that has a removable magazine and a forward assist or (direct) bolt handle (such as AK, M14, etc). Its pretty much the rifle equivalent of TRB (Tap, Rack, Bang).-Ranger01 06:26, 28 November 2011 (CST)

It means Slap the magazine to check it is inserted properly, Pull the bolt handle, Observe what is inside the chamber and check it is clear, Release the cocking handle, Tap either the forward assist or the bolt handle to check it is fully forward, Squeeze the trigger (I always thought it was just Shoot, but much the same). --commando552 08:25, 28 November 2011 (CST)

Thanks for the explanation! -Sentient6 11:05, 28 November 2011 (CST)

XSMG

I was going to add this since it was applied to the TDI Vector, but I can only come up with "eXtreme SMG" or "ask TDI." :P Evil Tim (talk) 08:48, 11 November 2017 (EST)

I think it just stood for eXperimental SubMachine Gun didn't it? I believe that this was just the name for the prototype Kriss guns (top image on the main page for it), when they publicly "unveiled" the finished version at the 2008 Shot Show I think that is when they started calling it the Vector. --commando552 (talk) 17:42, 11 November 2017 (EST)

AR?

Doesn't it just stand for "Armalite", not "Armalite Rifle"? 9, 13, and 17 weren't rifles at all. --VladVladson (talk) 23:10, 22 March 2021 (EDT)

Yeah, AR mean "Armalite". The myth of it meaning "Armalite Rifle" or "Assault Rifle" was spread by American media outlets. --JackalUnderscore (talk) 16:26, 16 July 2021 (EDT)

OTs

What does OTs mean? As in OTs-14 Groza --JackalUnderscore (talk) 16:28, 16 July 2021 (EDT)

It is from "Obrazets TsKIB SOO", which I think translates roughly to "Model of the Central Design and Research Bureau of Sporting and Hunting Arms" which is then followed by a number. --commando552 (talk) 17:55, 16 July 2021 (EDT)