proper gun babble

Tomay toe, tauh mah tow, what's in a name anyway? Below is a brief list of commonly mispronounced names and terminology. It is not a big deal, but with a short read, you can at least sound like you know what you are talking about.

Walther Arms

Walther is best known for the secret agent man James Bond Walther PPK. So how do you say it? In German, "W" sounds like "V" and "th" sounds like "t". However, it is common for English speakers not familiar with German phonology to pronounce the "W" and "th" in the usual English manner. Pronounce Walther: "Val" as in Valley - then "ter" as in Walter. In Germany, they say "Valter". In America we lack the German accent, so "Walter" is acceptable.

Fiocchi Ammunition

Fiocchi Munizioni (Fiocchi Ammunition) is one of Italy's largest and oldest manufacturers of ammunition. The Company's headquarters and main production plant are in Via Santa Barbara in Lecco, Italy. Founded by Giulio Fiocchi in 1876, the proper pronunciation of Giulio's last name is "fee-yo-key".

Magazine | Clip

This is a very common mistake amongst new firearms enthusiasts, media, and just everyday Joes. There is a difference between a magazine and a clip. Lets start by defining a magazine.

A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device within or attached to a repeating firearm.  The magazine functions by moving the cartridges stored in the magazine into a position where they may be loaded into the chamber by the action of the firearm.

A clip is a device that is used to store multiple rounds of ammunition together as a unit, ready for insertion into the magazine or cylinder of a firearm. This speeds up the process of loading and reloading the firearm as several rounds can be loaded at once, rather than one round being loaded at a time.

Sellier & Bellot

Sellier & Bellot founded in August 5, 1825 by a French merchant called Louis Sellier. Shortly after Sellier was joined by his Jean Maria Nicolaus Bellot. Today the ammunition manufacturer is situated in Vlašim, Czech Republic. The correct pronunciation is "sell-yay" and "bell-owe". Of course simply asking for "S & B" would also be understood.

Heckler & Koch

Heckler & Koch is a German company founded by engineers Edmund Heckler, Theodor Koch, and Alex Seidel in 1949 from the remnants of the Mauser company. Without trying to properly harness the German accent, it is pronounced "Heck-ler" & "Coke", more commonly just "HK".

High Capacity Magazine

< --- To the left is a picture of a Glock 17. This is a 9mm with a standard ammunition capacity of 17 rounds. That's right standard capacity, as designed by the manufacturer. Notice how the magazine fits perfectly into the gun it was designed for. That is because the standard capacity for this pistol is 17 rounds. Anything above 17 rounds would be considered a high capacity magazine. Anything below would be considered reduced capacity.

< --- Now lets look at the picture below it. This is a Glock 17 with a high capacity magazine. Notice how the magazine does not fit into the mag well? It protrudes out the bottom. This is because this magazine was designed to increase the standard capacity of 17 rounds to 33 rounds, thus a high capacity magazine.

Do not be fooled by the media in California. 10 rounds is not standard capacity for most pistols, it is actually reduced capacity. Standard capacity is what the firearm was designed for, and in most 9mm compact pistols 15 or more. "High capacity magazines" contain more rounds than what was standard for that firearm.

Hoppes 9

In 1903 Frank Hoppe mixed up nine chemicals to create the the gun solution/oil we now know, and love, as Hoppe's 9. The correct pronunciation of Frank Hoppe's last name is "Hoppy", thus "Hoppy's" number 9.

Leupold Optics

Leupold & Stevens, Inc. is a manufacturer of telescopic sights, red dot sights, spotting scopes, and binoculars located in Beaverton, Oregon, United States. The company, started in 1907, is family owned and has been run by five generations of the family. The German name Leupold is properly pronounced "Loo-pold".

454 Casull

The 454 Casull is a firearm cartridge, developed in 1957 by Dick Casull and Jack Fulmer. And man oh man, what a development it is. I have heard many variations of the pronunciation. The proper way to say Casull is "Kuh-Sool". There is also a .38 Casull and .353 Casull that are lesser known cartridges.

Howa Rifles

Howa is known internationally for their production of military and civilian firearms. Howa rifles are available in the U.S. from Legacy Sports International. Howa is based in Japan and properly pronounced "hoe-uh".

Carbine

A carbine (from French carabine), is a long arm similar to, but shorter than a rifle or musket. Many carbines are shortened versions of full rifles, firing the same ammunition at a lower velocity due to a shorter barrel length. The proper pronunciation is "car-bean", as in "don't eat burritos in the car because beans make you fart".

Saiga Semi Automatic Rifles

The Saiga Semi-Automatic Rifles are a family of Russian semi-automatic rifles manufactured by Izhmash, who also manufacture the original AK-series assault rifles and SVD sniper rifles. The Saiga rifles are a sporter version of the AK-series rifles, and are marketed for hunting and civilian use. These are very popular ak vaiants as they are made using all new parts. This makes a better, tighter AK. The proper way to say Saiga is as follows. Sai = sigh. Ga = guh as in Gus. Sigh-Guh, Syga, Saiga.

Mosin Nagant

The Russian Mosin–Nagant is a bolt-action, internal magazine-fed, military rifle invented under the government commission by Russian and Belgian inventors, and used by the armed forces of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and various other nations. They are common rifles today and can be had for a song and a dance. The correct way to say Mosin Nagant is, "mow-sin" (like mow the lawn) nah-gone".  The "T" is silent.

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