+1 "I agree" - typically used in reference to a previous posting.
+P, +P+ A headstamp marking that refers to a cartridge being loaded to higher-than-standard pressures for its caliber in order to produce higher velocity. The +P+ designation is not currently used by the SAAMI, but is used by some manufacturers to designate loads that exceed the +P SAAMI specification.
- - - - - -
AD Acidental Discharge - An unexpected and undesirable discharge of a firearm caused by circumstances beyond the control of the participant(s) such as a mechanical failure or parts breakage. There are very, very few firearms related "accidents" and if the "4 Rules" are followed there will hopefully be no injury. See ND (Negligent Discharge).
ACP Automatic Colt Pistol (as in .380 ACP, .45 ACP, etc.)
Action The working mechanism of a firearm. Various types exist, including single-shots, multi-barrels, revolvers, slide-action or pump-actions, lever-actions, bolt-actions, semi-automatics and automatics
ACOG Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight (for US military M-16 and M-4 rifles)
AFAIK As Far As I Know
AG Attorney General
AOW Any Other Weapon
AR Assault Rifle - typically used to refer to the AR-15 or AK-47 lines of firearms.
AWB Assault Weapons Ban
- - - - - -
BATF or BATFE Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
BBL (or bbl) Short-hand for barrel
BCG Bolt Carrier Group (houses bolt and firing pin in AR-15 type rifles)
BCI Bureau of Criminal Investigation - the division of Utah government that handles concealed firearm permits.
BG Bad Guy
BO Barack Obama
BUG "Back Up Gun" - Back up guns are usually of a smaller size and smaller caliber than the main carry gun but do not have to be.
BUIS BackUp Iron Sight (typically for AR-15 platforms)
- - - - - -
CC Concealed Carry
CCL Concealed Carry License
CCP Concealed Carry Permit
CCW Carrying a Concealed Weapon
CFP Concealed Firearm Permit (e.g., Utah)
CHL Concealed Handgun License (e.g., Texas, New Mexico)
CHP Concealed Handgun Permit
Clip A device which holds ammunition but which cannot, by itself, feed that ammunition so that it can be driven into a firearm's chamber by a slide or a bolt. Typically seen clips are "stripper clips", "moon clips", and the 8-round clip for the M1 Garand rifle. See also: "Magazine".
CMP Civilian Marksmanship Program
COF Course Of Fire (as in a training exercise)
CPL Concealed Pistol License (e.g., Washington State, Michigan)
CQB Close Quarters Battle
CWL Concealed Weapons License
CWP Concealed Weapon Permit (e.g., Arizona)
- - - - - -
DA Double Action - refers to the action of a weapon (usually a handgun) that cycles the hammer (or other firing mechanism) from a "rest" position through the point at which it fires the cartridge in the weapon by merely pulling the trigger. See also SA (Single Action)
DAO Double Action Only - Refers to a weapon's action that requires pulling the trigger to engage the hammer or striker. The hammer or striker of a DAO weapon cannot be manually cocked except by pulling the trigger.
DPF Deadly Physical Force
- - - - - -
EDC Every Day Carry
EFMJ Expanding Full Metal Jacket - a patented round manufactured by Federal that uses a skived full metal jacket bullet with a plug of silicone forward of the lead core. This design allows an FMJ bullet to expand its diameter on impact, similar to what a hollowpoint bullet would do under favorable circumstances.
- - - - - -
FCG Fire Control Group (trigger/hammer/safety, typically for AR-15 platforms)
FFL Federal Firearm License - one of several classes of license established by the Gun Control Act of 1968 regulating the manufacture, sale and shipment of firearms and ammunition
FMJ Full Metal Jacket or Fully Metal Jacketed - a military type bullet designed not to expand; it is generally shunned for defensive use due to its potential for excessive penetration. FMJ bullets are often used for training as they are usually less costly than jacketed hollowpoint bullets.
FOPA Firearm Owners Protection Act (1986) - a federal law which
FPE Foot-Pounds of Energy - the common units of measurement in the U.S. for the energy that a bullet carries. Some people believe that 500 FPE is a critical level of energy for a handgun round to have a high likelihood of producing rapid incapacitation.
FPS Feet Per Second - the common units for expressing bullet velocity in the U.S. For comparison, the speed of sound is usually slightly less than 1,100 FPS
FSB Front Sight Base (triangle-shaped front sight with integral gas block for AR-15 platforms)
FTE Failure to Extract - or - Failure to Eject
- - - - - -
GAP Glock Automatic Pistol (designator for a type of cartridge) NOTE: This term was first introduced for the .45 GAP round. This is a .45 caliber cartridge that is shorter than the more common .45 ACP. It was originally developed by Glock for their Model 37. The .45 GAP cartridge cannot be fired in most guns chambered for .45 ACP cartridges.
GB GunBroker.com - a web based auction site for firearms and accessories
Getting Made or Got Made Describes the act of somebody noticing your concealed firearm. For example,
"I was getting nachos at Walmart and got made by the guy behind me in line."
- - - - - -
Heller A reference to the D.C. vs. Dick Heller Supreme Court decision regarding second amendment rights.
HP Hollow Point (bullet)
HR or HB House of Representatives or House Bill. Typically used to designate a congressional law originating from the House of Representatives (e.g., H.R. 6691 or HB195)
HTH Hope That Helps
- - - - - -
IANAL I Am Not A Lawyer (typically used by non-lawyers when someone asks for legal advice)
IIRC If I Recall Correctly
IWB Inside the Waist Band - a holster design parameter
IM Instant Message (or sometimes refers to Private Message functionality of this forum)
IMHO In My Humble Opinion
IRL In Real Life
- - - - - -
J/K or JK Just Kidding
JSP Jacketed soft-point - a type of bullet generally better suited for hunting than for self-defense; it will generally require a long barrel and a "magnum" cartridge to generate enough velocity to achieve expansion out of a handgun
JHP Jacketed Hollowpoint - a type of bullet with a jacket around the bullet and a hollow cavity at the nose of the bullet, generally favored for defensive use. A JHP bullet is usually designed to expand, expending energy more quickly and limiting its penetration in a live target.
- - - - - -
KaBoom Violent (explosive) failure of a firearm - caused by problems such as out-of-battery firing, bore obstructions, etc. A "kaboom" usually destroys parts of the firearm.
KB or kb See KaBoom above.
- - - - - -
LEO Law Enforcement Officer
LGS Local Gun Store
LHP Lead Hollowpoint - an unjacketed lead bullet with a hollow cavity in the nose to enhance expansion; for many years the FBI successfully used a +P .38 Special round with a 158 gr. LHP bullet
LOL Laughing out loud
LTCF License to Carry Firearms (Pennsylvania) - required to carry a concealed handgun in public, open or concealed carry in a vehicle, and to open or concealed carry within the City of Philadelphia.
- - - - - -
Magazine A device that holds ammunition for a firearm and also provides the hardware (typically a spring and a follower) to feed the ammunition so that it can be driven into the firearm's chamber by a slide or a bolt. See also: "Clip".
MIM Metal Injection Molding - a process of molding a metal part from powdered metal.
MOA Minute Of Angle - a measure of angular displacement equal to 1/60 of one degree, usually used when discussing group sizes - 1 MOA is roughly 1" at 100 yds.
- - - - - -
ND Negligent Discharge - A discharge of a firearm involving blameworthy carelessness. A negligent discharge of a firearm can be a chargeable offense in court. See also AD (Accidental Discharge).
Newbie One who is new to a topic and doesn't have much knowledge of it
NICS National Instant Criminal Background Check System - the system established as part of the Brady Act to check for disqualifying information that would prevent legal transfer of a firearm to a person.
NM or NVM Never Mind
NOOB See "Newbie" above
NRA National Rifle Association (website)
NSFW Not Safe For Work - a post containing content potentially unsuitable for viewing at work, e.g., pictures of scantily clad women.
- - - - - -
OC Open Carry
OT Off Topic - refers to a post or thread that is not related to the current topic or forum.
OP Original Post or Original Poster - used in reference to the first post in a forum topic/thread or it's author.
OWB Outside the Waist Band - a holster design parameter
- - - - - -
PD Police Department - or - Personal Defense
PM Private Message (within a forum, as opposed to external Instant Messaging)
POA Point Of Aim - the point at which your gun sights are pointing.
POI Point Of Impact - the point at which your bullet strikes a target
POTUS President Of The United States
- - - - - -
RCO Rifle Combat Optic (optical sight for US military M-16 and M-4 rifles)
RDS Red Dot Sight - such as Aimpoint, C-More, Trijicon RMR, and others
ROFL Rolling on the floor laughing
- - - - - -
SA Single Action - as opposed to double action (DA). A Single Action firearm requires manual cocking of a hammer before the trigger can release the hammer to fire the cartridge. Manual cocking may be accomplished by manually pulling the hammer back or, in the case of single-action automatic weapons, by cycling the slide (which would also cycle a fresh round into the chamber).
SBR Short-Barreled Rifle - a rifle with a barrel less than 16 inches in length and/or an overall length of less than 26 inches.
SCOTUS Supreme Court of The United States
SD Self Defense
S.H.T.F. [Stuff] Hits The Fan - things going seriously wrong (e.g., world-wide war, mayhem, alien/zombie attacks, etc.) - generally used to describe an event that affects society as a whole negatively for some period of time.
SOB Small of Back - a type of holster design
SPF Sold Pending Funding
SPL Special - as in .38 Special.
- - - - - -
WTB Wanted To Buy
WTS Want To Sell
WTT Want To Trade
WWB Winchester White Box - budget-priced ammunition, made by Winchester and sold in relatively plain white boxes. Commonly purchased at Walmart. Generally considered to be reliable general purpose TARGET/RANGE ammo but not recommended for self-defense purposes.
- - - - - -
YMMV Your Mileage May Vary
NOTE: If you have any additional abbreviations to add, please PM Skip Douglas (SkipD) with the information and it will be added to the list.
+P, +P+ A headstamp marking that refers to a cartridge being loaded to higher-than-standard pressures for its caliber in order to produce higher velocity. The +P+ designation is not currently used by the SAAMI, but is used by some manufacturers to designate loads that exceed the +P SAAMI specification.
- NOTE: +P ammunition MUST NEVER BE USED in the Ruger LCP. Using +P ammunition can AND HAS caused the LCP barrel to rupture (explode as in a "kaboom") and this is extremely dangerous.
- - - - - -
AD Acidental Discharge - An unexpected and undesirable discharge of a firearm caused by circumstances beyond the control of the participant(s) such as a mechanical failure or parts breakage. There are very, very few firearms related "accidents" and if the "4 Rules" are followed there will hopefully be no injury. See ND (Negligent Discharge).
ACP Automatic Colt Pistol (as in .380 ACP, .45 ACP, etc.)
Action The working mechanism of a firearm. Various types exist, including single-shots, multi-barrels, revolvers, slide-action or pump-actions, lever-actions, bolt-actions, semi-automatics and automatics
ACOG Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight (for US military M-16 and M-4 rifles)
AFAIK As Far As I Know
AG Attorney General
AOW Any Other Weapon
AR Assault Rifle - typically used to refer to the AR-15 or AK-47 lines of firearms.
AWB Assault Weapons Ban
- - - - - -
BATF or BATFE Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
BBL (or bbl) Short-hand for barrel
BCG Bolt Carrier Group (houses bolt and firing pin in AR-15 type rifles)
BCI Bureau of Criminal Investigation - the division of Utah government that handles concealed firearm permits.
BG Bad Guy
BO Barack Obama
BUG "Back Up Gun" - Back up guns are usually of a smaller size and smaller caliber than the main carry gun but do not have to be.
BUIS BackUp Iron Sight (typically for AR-15 platforms)
- - - - - -
CC Concealed Carry
CCL Concealed Carry License
CCP Concealed Carry Permit
CCW Carrying a Concealed Weapon
CFP Concealed Firearm Permit (e.g., Utah)
CHL Concealed Handgun License (e.g., Texas, New Mexico)
CHP Concealed Handgun Permit
Clip A device which holds ammunition but which cannot, by itself, feed that ammunition so that it can be driven into a firearm's chamber by a slide or a bolt. Typically seen clips are "stripper clips", "moon clips", and the 8-round clip for the M1 Garand rifle. See also: "Magazine".
CMP Civilian Marksmanship Program
COF Course Of Fire (as in a training exercise)
CPL Concealed Pistol License (e.g., Washington State, Michigan)
CQB Close Quarters Battle
CWL Concealed Weapons License
CWP Concealed Weapon Permit (e.g., Arizona)
- - - - - -
DA Double Action - refers to the action of a weapon (usually a handgun) that cycles the hammer (or other firing mechanism) from a "rest" position through the point at which it fires the cartridge in the weapon by merely pulling the trigger. See also SA (Single Action)
DAO Double Action Only - Refers to a weapon's action that requires pulling the trigger to engage the hammer or striker. The hammer or striker of a DAO weapon cannot be manually cocked except by pulling the trigger.
DPF Deadly Physical Force
- - - - - -
EDC Every Day Carry
EFMJ Expanding Full Metal Jacket - a patented round manufactured by Federal that uses a skived full metal jacket bullet with a plug of silicone forward of the lead core. This design allows an FMJ bullet to expand its diameter on impact, similar to what a hollowpoint bullet would do under favorable circumstances.
- - - - - -
FCG Fire Control Group (trigger/hammer/safety, typically for AR-15 platforms)
FFL Federal Firearm License - one of several classes of license established by the Gun Control Act of 1968 regulating the manufacture, sale and shipment of firearms and ammunition
FMJ Full Metal Jacket or Fully Metal Jacketed - a military type bullet designed not to expand; it is generally shunned for defensive use due to its potential for excessive penetration. FMJ bullets are often used for training as they are usually less costly than jacketed hollowpoint bullets.
FOPA Firearm Owners Protection Act (1986) - a federal law which
- Made it legal to travel across jurisdictions with severe firearm restrictions with unloaded, secured firearms if possession is legal at both ends of the journey
- Eliminated record-keeping requirements for the sale of ammunition and components
- Removed the requirement for a Federal Firearm License to receive ammunition and components across state lines
- A last-minute amendment banned the sale of newly manufactured machine guns to anyone other than a government agency
FPE Foot-Pounds of Energy - the common units of measurement in the U.S. for the energy that a bullet carries. Some people believe that 500 FPE is a critical level of energy for a handgun round to have a high likelihood of producing rapid incapacitation.
FPS Feet Per Second - the common units for expressing bullet velocity in the U.S. For comparison, the speed of sound is usually slightly less than 1,100 FPS
FSB Front Sight Base (triangle-shaped front sight with integral gas block for AR-15 platforms)
FTE Failure to Extract - or - Failure to Eject
NOTE: This is a very ambiguous abbreviation and should not be used unless defined within a post.
Suggested alternatives: FTExtract or FTEject
FTF Failure To Feed - or - Failure To Fire NOTE: This is a very ambiguous abbreviation and should not be used unless defined within a post.
Suggested alternatives: FTFeed or FTFire
FWIW For What It's Worth- - - - - -
GAP Glock Automatic Pistol (designator for a type of cartridge) NOTE: This term was first introduced for the .45 GAP round. This is a .45 caliber cartridge that is shorter than the more common .45 ACP. It was originally developed by Glock for their Model 37. The .45 GAP cartridge cannot be fired in most guns chambered for .45 ACP cartridges.
GB GunBroker.com - a web based auction site for firearms and accessories
Getting Made or Got Made Describes the act of somebody noticing your concealed firearm. For example,
"I was getting nachos at Walmart and got made by the guy behind me in line."
- - - - - -
Heller A reference to the D.C. vs. Dick Heller Supreme Court decision regarding second amendment rights.
HP Hollow Point (bullet)
HR or HB House of Representatives or House Bill. Typically used to designate a congressional law originating from the House of Representatives (e.g., H.R. 6691 or HB195)
HTH Hope That Helps
- - - - - -
IANAL I Am Not A Lawyer (typically used by non-lawyers when someone asks for legal advice)
IIRC If I Recall Correctly
IWB Inside the Waist Band - a holster design parameter
IM Instant Message (or sometimes refers to Private Message functionality of this forum)
IMHO In My Humble Opinion
IRL In Real Life
- - - - - -
J/K or JK Just Kidding
JSP Jacketed soft-point - a type of bullet generally better suited for hunting than for self-defense; it will generally require a long barrel and a "magnum" cartridge to generate enough velocity to achieve expansion out of a handgun
JHP Jacketed Hollowpoint - a type of bullet with a jacket around the bullet and a hollow cavity at the nose of the bullet, generally favored for defensive use. A JHP bullet is usually designed to expand, expending energy more quickly and limiting its penetration in a live target.
- - - - - -
KaBoom Violent (explosive) failure of a firearm - caused by problems such as out-of-battery firing, bore obstructions, etc. A "kaboom" usually destroys parts of the firearm.
KB or kb See KaBoom above.
- - - - - -
LEO Law Enforcement Officer
LGS Local Gun Store
LHP Lead Hollowpoint - an unjacketed lead bullet with a hollow cavity in the nose to enhance expansion; for many years the FBI successfully used a +P .38 Special round with a 158 gr. LHP bullet
LOL Laughing out loud
LTCF License to Carry Firearms (Pennsylvania) - required to carry a concealed handgun in public, open or concealed carry in a vehicle, and to open or concealed carry within the City of Philadelphia.
- - - - - -
Magazine A device that holds ammunition for a firearm and also provides the hardware (typically a spring and a follower) to feed the ammunition so that it can be driven into the firearm's chamber by a slide or a bolt. See also: "Clip".
MIM Metal Injection Molding - a process of molding a metal part from powdered metal.
MOA Minute Of Angle - a measure of angular displacement equal to 1/60 of one degree, usually used when discussing group sizes - 1 MOA is roughly 1" at 100 yds.
- - - - - -
ND Negligent Discharge - A discharge of a firearm involving blameworthy carelessness. A negligent discharge of a firearm can be a chargeable offense in court. See also AD (Accidental Discharge).
Newbie One who is new to a topic and doesn't have much knowledge of it
NICS National Instant Criminal Background Check System - the system established as part of the Brady Act to check for disqualifying information that would prevent legal transfer of a firearm to a person.
NM or NVM Never Mind
NOOB See "Newbie" above
NRA National Rifle Association (website)
NSFW Not Safe For Work - a post containing content potentially unsuitable for viewing at work, e.g., pictures of scantily clad women.
- - - - - -
OC Open Carry
OT Off Topic - refers to a post or thread that is not related to the current topic or forum.
OP Original Post or Original Poster - used in reference to the first post in a forum topic/thread or it's author.
OWB Outside the Waist Band - a holster design parameter
- - - - - -
PD Police Department - or - Personal Defense
PM Private Message (within a forum, as opposed to external Instant Messaging)
POA Point Of Aim - the point at which your gun sights are pointing.
POI Point Of Impact - the point at which your bullet strikes a target
POTUS President Of The United States
- - - - - -
RCO Rifle Combat Optic (optical sight for US military M-16 and M-4 rifles)
RDS Red Dot Sight - such as Aimpoint, C-More, Trijicon RMR, and others
ROFL Rolling on the floor laughing
- - - - - -
SA Single Action - as opposed to double action (DA). A Single Action firearm requires manual cocking of a hammer before the trigger can release the hammer to fire the cartridge. Manual cocking may be accomplished by manually pulling the hammer back or, in the case of single-action automatic weapons, by cycling the slide (which would also cycle a fresh round into the chamber).
SBR Short-Barreled Rifle - a rifle with a barrel less than 16 inches in length and/or an overall length of less than 26 inches.
SCOTUS Supreme Court of The United States
SD Self Defense
S.H.T.F. [Stuff] Hits The Fan - things going seriously wrong (e.g., world-wide war, mayhem, alien/zombie attacks, etc.) - generally used to describe an event that affects society as a whole negatively for some period of time.
SOB Small of Back - a type of holster design
SPF Sold Pending Funding
SPL Special - as in .38 Special.
- - - - - -
WTB Wanted To Buy
WTS Want To Sell
WTT Want To Trade
WWB Winchester White Box - budget-priced ammunition, made by Winchester and sold in relatively plain white boxes. Commonly purchased at Walmart. Generally considered to be reliable general purpose TARGET/RANGE ammo but not recommended for self-defense purposes.
- - - - - -
YMMV Your Mileage May Vary
NOTE: If you have any additional abbreviations to add, please PM Skip Douglas (SkipD) with the information and it will be added to the list.