English

Alternative forms

• shooting-iron

Noun

shooting iron ‎(plural shooting irons)

1. (chiefly US, idiomatic, dated) A firearm, especially a handgun.
   • 1895, G. A. Henty, In the Heart Of The Rockies, ch. 15:

     "It ain't the rifle, Harry," Sam said good-temperedly; "it is the eye that is wrong, not the shooting-iron."

   • 1900, Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim, ch. 25:

     Look like a fool walking about with an empty shooting-iron in my hand.

   • 1943 June 14, Cheap Firepower:June,

     The U.S. Army's newest war tool, the M-3 submachine gun, unveiled last week. . . . a stark, crude, unlovely shooting iron.

References

• shooting iron at OneLook Dictionary Search