Confused by all the acronyms

[baldeagle]

I'm a newbie (just joined) trying to learn the ropes.

When I was in the Navy I earned my marksman medal with a long gun but couldn't shoot worth a hoot with a .45. I hunted with a Wingmaster 870 and an old .22 bolt action single shot rifle for a long time when I was younger. (I still have the .22, but I sold the Wingmaster, something I regret.) Now that I'm old and worn out, I'm getting my CHL (take the class on Saturday) and trying to understand handguns and ammo better. Is there a place one can go to learn about all the acronyms that get slung around? I just now figured out what FMJ and JHP mean, and now I've stumbled across LCN and LWCS. Most of the sites seem to assume this knowledge, but for an old guy like me who hasn't been around guns in a while, it's like a foreign language.

Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

[USA1]

First of all..Thank you for your service.
Second, welcome to the forum.

Edited to add..See my next post for list.

[Teamless]

Cant help with the 2 that you stated, but others you will see
IWB - Inside Waistband
OWB - Outside Waistband
GG - Good Guy
BG - Bad Guy

of course there are a lot more, and others will post those
there are a bunch that I haven't figured out yet either LOL

[USA1]

Here you go...

ACOG Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight
ACP Automatic Colt Pistol
AD Accidental Discharge
AE Action Express
AF Alternative Force
AFAIK As Far as I Know
AOP Assault on Principal [exec protection]
AOW Any Other Weapon [zip guns, other non-standard small-bore firearms]
AP Armor Piercing
API Armor Piercing, Incendiary
APT Armor Piercing, Tracer
ATM At The Moment
AWB Assault Weapons Ban (part of the 1994 Crime Bill) [legislation]
BAR Browning Automatic Rifle
BC Ballistic Coeffecient
BG Bad Guy
BHP Browning Hi-Power
BMG Browning Machine Gun
BOHICA Bend Over, Here It Comes Again
BTT Back To Top
BTW By The Way
CC Concealed Carry
CCH Concealed Carry Handgun
CCL Concealed Carry Licence
CCW Concealed Carry Weapon (license)
CHL Concealed Handgun License
CPL Concealed Pistol Licence
CIAO This is not an acronym. It's Italian for "bye."
COM Center Of Mass
CONUS CONtinental United States
CQB Close-Quarters Battle
CQC Close-Quarters Combat
CRISAT Cooperative Research Into Small Arms Technology
CRS Can't remember squat (stuff ....... etc!)
CWP Concealed Weapon permit
DA Double Action
DAO Double Action Only
DARFC Duck And Run For Cover
DD Destructive Device (generally bombs and large-bore weapons)
DOA Dead On Arrival [police]
DPS Department of Public Safety (most states have them)
DRT Daed Right There
EDC Every Day Carry
EDP Emotionally Disturbed Person [NYPD]
EIN Employer Identification Number
EO Executive Order
FFL Federal Firearms License(e)
FOPA Firearm Owners Protection Act (of 1986) [legislation]
FTE Failure to Extract/Eject
FTF Failure to Feed
FTF Failure to Fire
FTF Face to Face (selling)
FWIW For What It's Worth
GAP Glock Automatic Pistol
GCA Gun Control Act (of 1968) [legislation]
GD&R Grin, Duck, & Run
GG Good Guy
HD Home Defense
HDC Home Defense Carbine
HMG Heavy Machine Gun
HSP Highly Sensitive Person/People
IANAL I Am Not A Lawyer
IFF Identification - Friend or Foe
IIRC If I Remember Correctly
IDLE International Date Line East
IDLW International Date Line West
IMO In My Opinion
IMHO In My Humble Opinion
IMNSHO In My Not So Humble Opinion
IWB Inside the WaistBand
JBT Jack Booted Thug
JMB John Moses Browning
JMHO Just My Humble Opinion
KYPD Keep Your Powder Dry
LDA Light Double Action
LE Law Enforcement
LEA Law Enforcement Agency
LEO Law Enforcement Officer/Official
LLEA Local Law Enforcement Agency
LMG Light Machine Gun
LOS Line Of Sight
LTCF Licence to carry firearms
MIM Metal Injection Molding
MOA Minutes Of Angle (angular measurement, 1/60 of a °, 360° in a circle)
MOB Middle Of Back
NAP Non-Aggression Principle (and criticism)
ND Negligent Discharge
NFA National Firearms Act (of 1934) [legislation]
NIB New In Box
NIMBY Not in My Back Yard
NWO New World Order
OMO Only My Opinion
OODA (Loop) - Observe, Orientate, Decide, Act
OOTB Out Of The Box
OT Off-Topic
OTOH On The Other Hand
OWB Outside the WaistBand
PASGT Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops
PBR Point Blank Range
PDW Personal Defense Weapon
PHB Pointy-Haired Boss (Dilbert reference, a boss without a clue)
POA Point Of Aim
POI Point Of Impact
POTUS President Of The United States
POV Point of View
PT Physical Training
PTL&PTA Praise The Lord & Pass The Ammunition
RKBA Right to Keep and Bear Arms
SA Single Action
SAK Swiss Army Knife
SCOTUS Supreme Court Of The United States
SA Single Action
SA Situational Awareness
SLR Self-Loading Rifle
SMLE Short Magazine Lee Enfield
SMG Sub Machine Gun
SOB Small Of Back
SOCOM Special Operations COMmand
SOT Special Occupational Tax license (administered by the BATFE)
SWAT Special Weapons And Tactics
SxS Side by Side (i.e. a shotgun)
TEOTWAWKI The End Of The World As We Know It
TID Tax ID number
TTIWWP This Thread is Worthless Without Pictures
WCF Winchester Center Fire
WYSIWYG What You See is What You Get
YMMV Your Mileage May Vary
YRMV Your Results May Vary

BULLET ACRONYMS (Short List)
BBWC Bevel Base WadCutter [bullet design]
BT BoatTail [bullet design]
EFMJ Expanding Full Metal jacket [bullet design]
FMJ Full Metal Jacket [bullet design]
FP Flat Point [bullet design]
HBWC Hollow Base Wadcutter [bullet design]
HP Hollow Point [bullet design]
J Jacketed [bullet design]
JFP Jacketed Flat Point [bullet design]
JHC Jacketed Hollow Cavity [bullet design]
JHP Jacketed Hollow Point [bullet design]
L Lead [bullet design]
LRN Lead Round Nose [bullet design]
LSWC Lead Semi-WadCutter [bullet design]
LWC Lead WadCutter [bullet design]
RN Round Nose [bullet design]
SJ Semi-Jacketed [bullet design]
SJHP Semi-Jacketed Hollow Point [bullet design]
SP Soft Point [bullet design]
SWC Semi-WadCutter [bullet design]
TC Truncated Cone [bullet design]
TMJ Total Metal Jacket [bullet design]
WC WadCutter [bullet design

[SecedeTX]

I think one of the most important one is "IANAL"....could be misleading...

It is "I am not a Lawyer"

Call me captian obvious, but clarification of that one is important

[seniorshooteress]

Cant help with the 2 that you stated, but others you will see
IWB - Inside Waistband
OWB - Outside Waistband
GG - Good Guy
BG - Bad Guy

of course there are a lot more, and others will post those
there are a bunch that I haven't figured out yet either LOL

Really have to have your thinking cap on for some of these. I was stumped as to what LEO meant. Finally someone spelled it out: Law Enforcement Officer. I had mentioned there should be a sticky here with all the meanings and able to post to it when a new one pops up. I don't think some of these letters mean anything to anyone except to the one who posted it. But here are a few I have decifered:
OP = original poster
IMHO = in my humble opinion also IMO = in my opinion
IANAL = I am not a lawyer
CC = concealed carry
OC = open carry
that's all I can think of at this moment. Good luck with the ciferin' and welcome to the forum

[LarryH]

If you come across an acronym that's not on either of those lists, trying just googling it. That occasionally works.

[MoJo]

:shock:WOW! USA1 You done good! How long did that take to type?

[USA1]

:shock:WOW! USA1 You done good! How long did that take to type?

Copy and Paste...shhhh

[seniorshooteress]

Good list USA1

[USA1]

Good list USA1

Thank you, but I merely used the search feature.

[baldeagle]

Wow, USA1, that was a lot more than I asked for. Thanks for the info.

As for thanking me for my service, I never felt I did anything worth being thanked for. I felt it was my duty to serve, and I did. Others gave a lot more than I including my cousin, Donald, whose name is on the Wall.

[SQLGeek]

As for thanking me for my service, I never felt I did anything worth being thanked for. I felt it was my duty to serve, and I did.

And I thank you for it!

Another you will see in the for sale section is SPF - sold pending funds.

Welcome to the site!

[A-R]

Wow, USA1, that was a lot more than I asked for. Thanks for the info.

As for thanking me for my service, I never felt I did anything worth being thanked for. I felt it was my duty to serve, and I did. Others gave a lot more than I including my cousin, Donald, whose name is on the Wall.

Sir, you did your duty and that is more than many can say (myself included). As one who never served, I hold your service and that of your cousin in very high regard. Your service (and the service of countless others like you) is what allows the rest of us to live free.

Back to the OP (original post), that is a huge and extensive list USA1 found for you, but if you run across any others go ahead and post them here (with context too if possible) and we'll sleuth them out for you.

Good luck in your class. Don't worry about the shooting test, it's not horribly difficult. If you can point a pistol properly you should do fine. Pay particularly close attention to all the nitty-gritty details in class - where you can and cannot carry, when you can and cannot use force and deadly force etc. Bring any and all questions back here after class and someone will be happy to answer them for you.

And welcome aboard

[G26ster]

Wow, USA1, that was a lot more than I asked for. Thanks for the info.

As for thanking me for my service, I never felt I did anything worth being thanked for. I felt it was my duty to serve, and I did. Others gave a lot more than I including my cousin, Donald, whose name is on the Wall.

Regardless, thank you BOTH for your service. Makes me proud to hear folks speak of "duty" to serve.

As for your CHL class, you will get a copy of the Texas Concealed Handgun Laws at class, and/or in your DPS packet. READ IT cover to cover, and especially Chapter 2! Too many folks I know don't know the law as they should. Like austinrealtor said, bring your questions here. There is no better place to be informed than this fine forum.