I've always considered "Pistols" either the original single shots (where the term came into being) or anything that does not contain a revolving cylinder. To me, a Revolver is NOT a pistol.
Anyone have any strong opinions on this or have any links to historical articles defining the terms as separate or the same? Of course to the general, non gun loving public and press, they are used interchangeably.
We have periodically had this discussion several times in the 16 years since I've been here. A revolver is not a pistol. A pistol is a handgun whose chamber is part of its barrel. A revolver, has revolving chambers within a rotating cylinder, which is separate from the barrel.
Yes, early on, when folks were struggling for a term to apply to the revolver, it was sometimes referred to as a "revolving pistol," but that's limited to that early phase when firearm terminology was just incorporating the new concept, and it was pretty quickly dropped in favor of two distinct handgun subcategories, revolver and pistol.
