Gun Terminology:
A Guide to Concealed Carry Language

Being a responsible gun owner means knowing the language. It’s vital that you know gun terminology and common phrases used to describe firearms and the laws that apply to them.

Carry Types

Concealed Carry
Open Carry
Methods of Carry

Self-Defense Terms

Castle Doctrine
Duty to Retreat
Stand Your Ground

Types of Licensing and Gun Permitting Policies

Shall Issue
May Issue
Constitutional Carry/Unrestricted/Permitless Carry
Non-Issuing

General Terms

Any Other Weapon (AOW)
Brandishing
Bump Fire/Bump Stock
Class III License
Cock
Crimp Jump
Duty to Inform
Federal Firearms License (FFL)
Form 4473
Gun Show Loophole
High-Capacity Magazine
Laws, Rules and Regulations
Military Surplus (MilSurp)
National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)
Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)
Preemption
Reciprocity
Red Flag Law
Right to Carry
Second Amendment (2A)
Slamfire
Straw Purchase
Taser
Trigger Discipline
Zamak

Types of Firearms

1911 Pistol
AR-15
AR Pistol
Autoloading Firearms Operating Systems

Curio and Relic (C&R)
Double-Action (DA)/Single-Action (SA)
Hammer Fired/Striker Fired
Handgun
J-Frame/K-Frame/L-Frame Revolvers
Pistol
Pistol-Grip Firearm
Revolver
Semi-Automatic/Fully Automatic/Single Shot
Short-Barreled Rifle (SBR)
Snub-Nosed Revolver
Title I/Title II Firearms

Firearms Accessories

Holsters/Types of Holsters/Kydex

Kydex
Pistol Brace
Quick-Loading Ammunition Devices

Snap Caps
Suppressor/Suppressor-Height Sights
Trigger Shoe

Parts of Firearms

Barrel/Barrel Crown
Binary Trigger
Bore
Bump Stock
Chamber
Clip
Cylinder
Dust Cover
En Bloc Clip
Ejection Port
Ejector
Extractor
Flash Suppressor
Frame
Grip
Grip Safety
Hammer
Magazines/Types of Magazines

Magazine Catch
Magazine (Mag) Well
Manual Safety
Muzzle
Revolver Loading Mechanisms

Sear
Single-Stage/Two-Stage Trigger
Slide
Slide Catch
Striker
Trigger
Trigger Guard
Ventilated (Vent) Rib

Decoding Ammunition Boxes

Armor-Piercing Ammunition
+P and +P+
Ball
Berdan-Primed/Boxer-Primed Ammunition
Bimetal Ammunition
Bonded-Jacket Hollow-Point (BJHP)
Bullet
Caliber
Cartridge
Case
Charge
Corrosive/Non-Corrosive Ammunition
Enclosed Base (EB)
Full Metal Jacket (FMJ)
Foot Pounds Energy (FPE)
Feet Per Second (FPS)
Frangible Bullets
Gauge
Grain
Green-Tip Ammunition
Hardened Lead
Hollow-Point
Jacketed Hollow-Point (JHP)
Low Flash
Low Recoil/Managed Recoil
Long Rifle (LR)
Lead Round Nose (LRN)
Round
Semi-Jacketed Hollow-Point (SJHP)
Semi-Jacketed Soft-Point (SJSP)
Special (SPL)
Semi-Wadcutter (SWC)
Semi-Wadcutter Hollow-Point (SWHP)
Truncated Cone (TC)
Total Metal Jacket (TMJ)
Wadcutter (WC)
Winchester Magnum Rimfire (WMR)

Stay Informed, Stay Safe

As a USCCA Member or email subscriber, you can count on us to keep you informed with the latest on these topics and much more.

Stay Informed, Stay Safe

As a USCCA Member or email subscriber, you can count on us to keep you informed with the latest on these topics and much more.
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