Air rifle or air gun?

[Powderfinger]

FWIW, my feeling is that it's now obsolete to draw a distinction between rifles and smoothbored long guns. All shoulder-mounted long guns are rifles and if you need to talk about the bore, you could add 'rifled' or 'smoothbore'.

This is the common understanding and we should be happy simply with pistols and rifles to describe the outward appearance. Plus carbine and long-barrelled pistol perhaps if you want to be more precise.

Yes. This seems a sensible way of using terminology.

[walnutfarmmick]

I don’t remember the context now but someone took me to task on here a few years ago for use of the word ‘weapon’. I try to say exactly what I mean but there aren’t a great number of alternatives and it is sloppy writing to use the same expression repeatedly. I considered myself vindicated when I dipped into ‘ Gas, Air and Spring guns of the World ‘ to find Mr. Smith used that very word in the introduction.

‘ Rifle’ is possibly imprecise.
‘ Firearm ‘ is even further from the truth.
‘ Long gun ‘ seems clumsy.
‘ Airgun ‘ is adequate but, to me, has connotations of Diana Model 1s.

So, where does that leave us? IMD may be assumed ( on here, at least ) to stand for Improved Model D and Mk II Service for Webley’s finest but anything else needs to be a specific.

Where’s Suzy Dent when I need her?
ATB, Mick