an automatic term refering to a handgun

[Gunmaster45]

Or Steyr AUG as "Aug". Personally I think it sounds less professional to say the acronym as one word, with many exceptions. It's a gray area, some words just sound better split up, some don't.

[Yournamehere]

I find that the rule is generally, if the letters spell a pronouncable word, it's fair to say it. For example, B.A.R. Spells bar, sounds alright, M.A.C. spells Mac, sounds alright, etc. but two letter abbreviations or ones that have no vowels or something are stupid, like A.K., no one says "ack". Sounds dumb.

[Nyles]

Originally Posted by Excalibur

What about the FAL? I've seen a lot of docs that just spell it out, so do people just pronounce it as it is? A "Fal"

In the CF, we usually just say FN. Sometimes guys will say C1, but then it gets confused with the C1 SMG.

[MT2008]

Originally Posted by Excalibur

On a different note but similiar on weapons terms, the B.A.R. Is it so wrong to call it "Bar" as in the word it spells. I heard some people never call it that. Why is it such a problem? I mean it sounds like calling a BAR "bar" is almost as bad as calling the Desert Eagle a Deagle.

My grandfather is a vet and he pronounces the Browning Automatic Rifle in acronym form as "Bar". I've always been under the impression everyone else does, too?

Originally Posted by Excalibur

What about the FAL? I've seen a lot of docs that just spell it out, so do people just pronounce it as it is? A "Fal"

Most Americans seem to pronounce it as "Fal", but I've heard Brits pronounce it "F-A-L". I have no idea which is correct. Of course, the U.S. never adopted it, so it's kind of a moot point.

[Spartan198]

I've always pronounced BAR in acronym form (as I do the AUG), but occasionally I'll find myself pronouncing FAL in word form without realizing it, though I prefer to use the acronym form.

Blame TV for the latter. The first place I ever saw an FAL was in a movie, where it was never referred to by name. I first learned the name when I saw it on paper, so naturally I put the letters "FAL" together as the word "fal". I know better now, but I sometimes still call it in word form without realizing it (like I said above).