How to talk Firearms without looking like a right Goose

There is this thing, where some folk will try to talk the talk of the folk they're around on a subject they're not really up to speed on. Its then that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing or perhaps the perception you have enough knowledge leads you onto being viewed as a right pretentious nong.

If you're learning about firearms tell the firearms person you're talking to you're learning about firearms. Honesty goes a long way...who knew?

But here's some useful dot points...

1. Weapons. They're not weapons, they're firearms or guns. A weapon is something you use to threaten, injure or kill another person. A weapon is an object of intent. Target shooters, sporting shooters, clay target shooters...they use firearms not weapons. Soon as you use the word weapon in relation to the use by a sporting shooter, a primary producer or a recreational hunter, you've lost them and you've attained idiot status. Never call them weapons unless you're talking about killing people.
2. Rifles & Shotguns. 2 different things, neither is the other. Shotguns fire "shot" or small lead balls sometimes a solid slug. The balls have measurements and each is designed for slightly different purposes.
   Rifles fire a projectile, that's the lead bit on the end of the bullet. The word rifle comes from the fact a rifle barrel has "rifling" or a twisting lathed in set of grooves that make the project twist & spin & therefore make it much more stable in flight. Shotguns do not have rifling. The rifle's "rate of twist" refers to how many inches in length it takes for the rifling to do a full revolution, it varies depending on the rifle the calibre etc.
3. Sniper rifle. Bit of a twisted term. Really isn't a true "sniper" only rifle. Snipers in WW1 etc were marksmen who cold hit a target from a longer distance. In those days & even during the second world war it wasn't uncommon for some marksmen to use civilian hunting rifles. You really should not call any rifle a "sniper" rifle unless the owner & user is a "sniper" who legally shoots people from a long distance...police military. Any person calling themselves a sniper when they're a member of the public would be consider by most sporting shooters to be a right royal idiot & probably should play golf only.
4. Assault rifle. Again a bit of odd one. Unless you're going into battle you have a gun, not a battle rifle. In quite a few countries hunters use semi automatic centrefire rifles for hunting. In fact the AR-15 in civilian hands is often referred to as being a "semi auto sporting rifle". They can be used for hunting and are used I a number of competitive shooting sporters in many overseas countries. In Australia they're Cat D firearms which means a special "Ag permit" is required for vermin control or in the case of W.A. completely prohibited unless you're Police, Military.
5. Speaking "assault rifles" quite a few people think the "AR" in AR-15 (or AR-10) stands for Assault rifle. It doesn't it stands for "Armalite Rifle" the predominant producer of the AR-15 at one time, it was their model designation for that particular semi automatic and it stuck.
6. Appearance laws. There's a section in the (Aust states) firearm's legislation that says police can ban a firearm because it merely has the "appearance" of being military. It has caused some bolt action firearms being banned. Oddly you can buy a Remington 700 in any calibre you like and you'll be legal, but drop the barrel & trigger action into a black stock with picatinny rail for mounting accessories & a pistol grip you'll have a hard time getting it licenced in some states. Why? Apparently it looks more dangerous. Appearance laws are also odd in that they rely on subjective approach. Notable example of a dumb result of subjective judgement was the eastern states police commissioner holding up a black firearm that was seized that he stated was an "automatic of some sort". It was of course a bolt action rifle. Idiot level high.
7. Silencers - If you want to look smart don't call them silencers because well they don't silence like in the movies. Most people in firearms call them suppressors or moderators, some still call them silencers but less and less these days. Slang term is a "can".
   Supposedly invented by the same person who invented the car muffler. True or not, the concept is identical. It lessons the noise and if you have a suppressor that reduces you're shot noise to below 140dB you have a shot (due to the long barrel & forward projection of the sound) that is safe without hearing protection.
   Reject Hollywood. they do not work of revolvers as they have a gap between the cylinder & the forcing cone. Work better in semi Auto rifles but work extremely well in bolt action rifles. 100% legal with no fuss in NZ and some countries there are areas where you MUST use them. Why they're not used in all rifles ranges I'll never know.
   They have disadvantages, they need to be properly cleaned regularly & they can reduce the muzzle velocity a little (the power of the bullet).
   They are illegal in Australia although I'm told there is provision in Victorian regulations to allow them with a permit. I'd imagine if that's the case its a difficult permit to get. Yes they'd be fairly easy to make, but few if any firearms owners would make one as it means big fins possible jail time and complete loss of licence.
   Where they really come into their own is hunting. It allows the hunter to hunt without ear muffs and having full situational awareness for dangerous prey like pigs and still being about to take the shot without damage.
8. Odd banned guns. Remington make several pump action rifles. One is a .223 the other a .308.
   In WA you'll have to own 2000+ acres or permission from the land owner of 2000+ acres to own one in .308. The .223 would be easy to get without 2000 acres but its Cat D, completely banned in WA unlike other states. Why?
   The manufacturer decided to make the firearm more affordable by using existing designs for a the magazine. It uses a magazine that will fit the Cat D AR-15.
   That's it. No other reason than the shape of the magazine. You can get the more powerful .308 pump action with a 10 shot magazine, but it doesn't fit the AR anything.
9. WA is by far the dearest state in Australia to pay firearms licencing. How dear?
   Imagine this scenario. You've never had a firearms licence. You apply for your licence, you end up paying for 5 years of licencing and say on year 2 or 3 you apply for an additional firearm. How much in Government fees will you have forked out?
   In WA $780 but just across the border into the Northern Territory under $150.
   No one in WA Licencing can explain why & no one in the NT wants to comment at all.
10. Rapid Fire. Term used in the Adler debacle. Its a relative term and not terribly useful. Certainly is a highly twistable notion. For example if you put the 5 shot Lever Action up against the double barrel shotgun here's the result.
    
    2 shots the double barrel wins because most double barrels can fire 2 shots at once.
    5 shots the lever action is faster.
    10 shots its toss of the coin but if its an under/over shotgun with shell ejectors then the double barrel wins every time.
    
    The whole claim gets weirder though when you consider most semi auto shot guns only hold 5 rounds, but you can have 5 speed loaders hanging off your belt.
11. High Capacity Magazine - Very odd term that makes firearms owner scratch their head. Think about it what exactly is "high capacity"? But before you answer with what you think is the answer let us know what low capacity, medium capacity and normal capacity is. With some firearms wrongly called high capacity when they only hold 8 you wonder about other firearms that hold 6, 8 or 10 quite legally are. Its a term used to demonise more often than not perhaps
12. "No one needs guns" is an interesting claim. No one needs cars that go 200km/h but here we are. Interesting how there's a meme getting around showing the armed guards taking in the voting slips for the Brownlow in a locked box with the caption "Can't defend your family with a firearm but armed guards are needed to carry voting slips for the Brownlow" - Tis an odd world. Firearms are used for sport & carrying out business for some people controlling vermin or recreational hunting. Bit like saying "Don't want a SSM don't get one" - Don't want a gun don't get one, or go out with hunters or pest controllers nor visit a gun range. Fact is less than 3% of all firearms used in crime are stolen or sourced from lawful owners. Most are home made or smuggled into the country.