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shooting iron

noun Informal.
  1. a firearm, especially a pistol or revolver.
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Origin of shooting iron

An Americanism dating back to 1780–90
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for shooting iron

Historical Examples

  • I asked him if he used the shooting-iron to keep his landlord in order.

    Ireland as It Is

    Robert John Buckley (AKA R.J.B.)

  • You're very plucky, all because your mate has got a shooting-iron.

  • But first I want that shooting-iron; it might go off by accident and hurt some one badly.'

  • The actual fact was that, although every man of us had some sort of a "shooting-iron," they were not formidable.

    Crossing the Plains, Days of '57

    William Audley Maxwell

  • Then, as Purdee's laughter still jarred the air, he drew a "shooting-iron" from his pocket.

    The Riddle Of The Rocks

    Charles Egbert Craddock (AKA Mary Noailles Murfree)

British Dictionary definitions for shooting iron

shooting iron

noun
  1. US slang a firearm, esp a pistol
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012