Great Gun Stuff Blog

[ I am pleased to present this guest post written by Matt Groom.]

For many of us, our window to the world of guns is books, magazines, and the internet. Unfortunately, when you see a word or a name that you aren’t familiar with, you tend to do what you learned to do in school, sound it out in your head. This has lead to a plethora of often mispronounced words and names in the firearms community, and it makes us all look like rubes. I would like to point out some often heard examples along with the proper enunciation of each. Please note that I am neither German nor Scandinavian and I speak no languages other than American English, but I have asked and been corrected by people who do speak these languages.

Heckler & Koch

Probably one of the most well-know arms companies in the world is known by its initials because nobody seems to know how to pronounce the last names of its founders. And everybody says their marketing department is SO great...

How most people say it: Heck-ler and C-au-k like “Cock”, or Coach, or KA-t-ch (?)

How it’s actually pronounced: “Heck-ler and Coke” Example: “Well, I’ll have a coke, then.”

Why is it mispronounced? “Cock” would be a very appropriate name for a gun company “Cock your hammer!” or “Those guys at H&K are a bunch of… Germans.”

Krag-Jorgensen

America’s first military repeater is also the most mispronounced of all service rifle names. No less and authority than the late great Col. Jeff Cooper corrected me on the proper way to say this name, and ultimately, he was incorrect.

How most people say it: Ker-Ag ,or Ker-egg Jor-gen-son

How it’s actually pronounced: Kr-Ah-g (like “Frog”) Yor-gen-sen.

Why is it mispronounced? A popular ballad during the Spanish-American War and the Pilipino Insurrection had a refrain that went “Underneath our starry flag, civilize ‘em with a Krag!” which certainly had a better ring to it than “If you want to eat a frog, do not shoot him with a Krag”. The proper enunciation may have been intentionally bastardized for pop-culture.

Makers of everything from Weed whackers to Motorcycles to full-auto military rifles, this name seems to dumbfound even the people who sell them. A Swede who was a former employee of the firm in the 1960’s told me how to say it.

How most people say it: Husk-a-varn-a, Husk-Q-var-na

How you’re supposed to say it: Who-sk-Var-na

Why is it mispronounced? It’s Swedish.

These Serbian makers of high quality ammunition available at bargain basement prices have rapidly earned popularity in the US. After being sold for a number of years under different names by different distributors, they are now selling ammo under their own name and confusing many people with their Balkan-esque spelling.

How most people say it: Pervy Party-san

How you’re supposed to say it: PR-iv-A Part-iZ-on

Why is it mispronounced? Triple Consonants don’t make a whole hell of a lot of sense to most English speakers.

I have it on good authority that these are correct, but nobody’s perfect. There are lots more of these, but we’ll save those for another post. Let’s hear some suggestions for gun related names and words that are often mispronounced or which are confusing in the comments!

UPDATE:

Roy recorded himself pronouncing Heckler & Koch, Walther, Sauer, Luger, Mauser, Blaser, Weihrauch and Schmeisser.

Stefan recorded himself saying Anschütz, Heckler & Koch, Mauser, Sauer, Steyr Mannlicher, Walther and Weihrauch.

The Automag was a revolutionary pistol when it was invented. It is recoil operated and uses rotating bolt similar to the AR-15. Despite the gun being a commercial failure (it cost far more to make than the sale price), it was the inspiration for the Desert Eagle and the Wildey autoloader pistols.

The original Automag which chambered the .44 AMP. From Gunbroker.

Jeff Cooper attributed the design to gunsmith Max Gera, although his name did not appear on the final patent. After a falling out with the boss he sold his share of the company and, after a brief stint at Charter Arms, fell off the face of the Earth. Even his daughter had no idea where he was until earlier this year, after three decades in obscurity, when he contacted the author of a book about the AutoMag. Max was interview in April and it is a fascinating read ...

First, who is Max Gera ? In the March 1970 issue of Guns & Ammo magazine, Jeff Cooper twice credits Max Gera as the designer of the Auto Mag and refers to him as Auto Mag Corp.'s Design and Engineering Manager. Max was also named as co-inventor of the Auto Mag on the first patent application which was later abandoned. Max's name didn't appear on the final patent.

In October of 1970, Max sold off his interests in the Auto Mag and left Harry Sanford.

After Auto Mag Corp. declared bankruptcy in May of 1972, Max was blamed by some for causing Auto Mag to fail. These were mostly just rumors. However in a letter to Deputy Ed Lippert in July of 1972, Jeff Cooper of Guns & Ammo explained why Auto Mag Corp. went bankrupt. The letter blamed Max and typified the type of rumors that were flying around at the time. Max has asked me to remove this letter from this work as it is inflammatory, libelous and damaging to my reputation.

The above photo is of an AutoMag that was auctioned off earlier this year by the son of Harry Sanford, who owned the company that made the pistol. He claimed to be the brains behind the operation and that Max was just the machinist. His son obviously also thinks so. From the auction ...

You guys that have been watching these AutoMag auctions and have probably been wondering when will it end. Well, it does with this one...with the exception of one gun which we are trying to get from a family member that may never show up. This is the last AutoMag from the Harry W. Sanford estate.

The guy that read Col. Coopers article in 1958 about a .44 magnum rimless cartridge. In the 60's, as I was a kid, I hung out with Max Gera. He had some thoughts on my Dad's idea of an M-16 rotating bolt magazine pistol in .44 Mag. He started some machining on a crude milling machine and I was there when he shot his first shot in a hole in the back of my Dad's gun shop. They were on there way.

Max had different ideas. He was bought out and my Dad brought some partners in. It was some wild times. Every gun guru in the world was flying in to see this new pistol. The first AutoMag rolled off the production line about two years behind schedule. They were beautiful -- all hand-machined and fitted. They were the best AutoMags ever to be made.

So who really designed it? I think we will never really know. There seems to be much evidence that Max was the designer, but in business rarely does the brains really get the credit, usually it is the guy who paid the bills ... or at least that is my experience.

By the way, that pistol was auctioned off for over $6000! Some more photos of it ...

Many thanks to Ken for the link.