How to pronounce gun and ammunition names properly?

Daniel is right about the SIg two-twenty, but if you go in and ask for .45 ammo, the clerk will probably ask if you mean "forty-five ACP" or "Forty-Five Long Colt."

The .357 Magnum is pronounced as Three-Fifty-Seven Magnum.

As a rule of thumb, you generally pronounce cartridge names in that manner, such as .32 ACP= Thirty-two ACP, or .44-40 Winchester Centerfire being pronounced as "Forty- Four-Forty WCF" or just "Forty-Four-Forty" and cartridges such as the .22-250 and .257 Weatherby Magnum being pronounced as "Twenty-Two-Two-Fifty" and "Two-Fifty-Seven Weatherby".

If you need ammo for a 9 mm pistol, things get a little trickier because there are three common 9mm cartridges. The one that is most popular these days and was a major police cartridge is the 9 mm Parabellun, also known as 9 mm Luger and 9x19mm NATO (Nine by-nineteen NATO). All three names refer to the same cartridge, and in all probability if you go into a store and ask for 9mm ammo you will be handed a box marked in one of those three ways. To be specific ask for "9 millimeter Parabellum" or "9 millimeter Luger" If you have a Makarov pistol you need to specify "9 millimeter Makarov." And the cartridge generally known as .380 ACP (Three-Eighty ACP) is known on the European Market as 9 mm Short, 9 mm Browning Short, 9 mm Browning, 9 mm Kurz, 9 mm Corto, and 9x17mm (Nint by Sevanteen). The vast majority of American made ammo is marked as .380 ACP, but if you get some European made ammo with one of the other markings, it will fit your pistol just fine.

Metric designated ammunition is a little different. For example the highly popular 7.62x39 Soviet cartridge is pronounced "Seven-point-Six-two by Thirty-Nine Soviet," or just "Seven-Point-Six-Two Soviet." Don't just ask for "Seven-point-Six-Two Russian" ammo because that is a different cartridge altogether. The "Seven-point-Six-Two Russian" cartridge is the 7.62x54mmR(immed) Russian and is a near duplicate or the .30-'06 Springfield cartridge (called "Thirty-Ought-Six")

So you can use as a rule of thumb that with metric designated cartridges, speak the individual numbers, including decimal points, for the first part of part of the number and call the whole number of the last set of numbers, such as "Seven-point-Six-Two by Fifty-Four Russian. And for inch designated cartridges call them as whole numbers such as "Three-Fifty Seven Magnum," "Three-Thirty-Eight Winchester," or "forty-Four-Forty Winchester."

Does that make the situation perfectly muddy? I know it is tough for beginners to learn the lingo of the long time gun cranks, but it can be a fun learning experience. If you say something that draws a blank, don't be afraid to explain and ask for the proper terminology. Most gun cranks enjoy helping new shooters learn their way around the gun culture.

Doc