Weapons, Firearms or Guns in the UK ?

[saoir]

Hi,

Among the security community in London, say, would anyone know what language they would use in a discussion about weapons/gun/firearms ? Firearms seems such an Americanism.

[Solemn Spirit]

I have no official knowledge but I've very rarely heard people refer to them as firearms. Say they raid a house and find a cache there it's more commonly reported as a cache of guns or weapons than anything else.

From what I've seen the relevant officers are most commonly referred to as armed response officers too.

[Penforhire]

I seem to recall plenty of seemingly American "gun" terms used in the BBC TV series MI-5.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by saoir

Among the security community in London, say, would anyone know what language they would use in a discussion about weapons/gun/firearms ?

I'd guess English.

Ha. I crack me up.

[saoir]

I agree firearms is such an americanism ... but I am still unsure about weapons or guns ...

[Solemn Spirit]

I would guess it depends on who is speaking. The average person is more likely to use the term gun but stereotypical "gangsters" would use the term shooter

[saoir]

Originally Posted by Solemn Spirit

I would guess it depends on who is speaking. The average person is more likely to use the term gun but stereotypical "gangsters" would use the term shooter

Indeed. I was asking about the 'security community' though ..

[Solemn Spirit]

Then I would say you would be fine with gun

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Solemn Spirit

Then I would say you would be fine with gun

I unfortunately can't speak to anything in the UK, but I have some expertise on the matter in the US, and "gun" strikes me as remarkably imprecise and unprofessional. Certainly used casually, and also in the context of "He's got a gun!" or "Drop the gun!" but if two professionals were discussing the topic in a technical context, it sounds wrong to me.

But those Brits can be wacky, so I'm just kibitzing here.