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X Changes Water Pistol Emoji Back to a Normal Gun - Black Basin Outdoors
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X Changes Water Pistol Emoji Back to a Normal Gun

Author: Jack Collins | Publish Date: Jul 27, 2024

Firearm enthusiasts will be in for a pleasant surprise the next time they fire off a post on X. After years of using a water pistol emoji to represent all firearms, the social network switched to using a symbol depicting an actual gun. Now, online firearms advocates everywhere are celebrating the update.

The “gun” emoji on X has been updated. Instead of a water gun, it now depicts an M1911 pistol.

X Changes Water Pistol Emoji to Normal Gun

On July 17, 2024, an X employee @yacineMTB announced that the “gun emoji,” which had previously been changed to a water pistol, would be making its triumphant return. After posting that the update would only affect the web version of X, Elon Musk himself commented that the app would soon reflect the change.

The new emoji depicts a 1911, one of the most iconic handguns of all time.

For years, Twitter (before it rebranded as “X”) actually had a handgun emoji. However, that all changed in 2018. That year, Twitter changed the “pistol” emoji into a water gun, following the example set by Facebook. The emoji remained a water pistol for the next six years.

The Big Picture

We cover a lot of serious firearms-related topics at Southern Defense. But sometimes, we get to share some fun news. This is one of those times.

I should note that my friends and I have never stopped using the “water pistol” emoji to mean a real gun. We send it in group chats all the time whenever we’re trying to organize range days or other events.

Unfortunately, it looks like we’ll need to keep using the water pistol emoji for the time being. So far, X is the only platform that has changed the emoji back to an actual firearm. Since most of us use SMS or iMessage to communicate, we’re still slinging super soakers. Still, it’s nice to see that gun owners aren’t getting completely overwhelmed in the culture war.

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