Gun emoji
🔫 used to be a revolver. Since 2016–2018 it is a green water pistol everywhere, which changed how people use it. Copy it here.
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Why the gun emoji is a water pistol
🔫 has the Unicode name water pistol today, but it started life as pistol, and until 2016 every major platform drew it as a real handgun (Microsoft, for a while, drew a sci-fi ray gun). In August 2016 Apple replaced its revolver with a green-and-orange squirt gun in iOS 10. For two years the emoji meant different things on different phones — a joke about a water fight could arrive looking like a threat — until Google, Samsung, Twitter, Facebook and eventually Microsoft switched to toy designs in 2018. Unicode renamed the character to match.
The redesign changed how people use it. It now reads as playful: water fights, “shoot your shot”, finger-guns energy, a jokey “I’ll get you”. The literal firearm reading survives mainly in older screenshots and in fonts that never updated. Because the artwork has such a history, some people still avoid it entirely in anything that could be misread.
Compare the options
| Emoji | Name | Use it for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| water pistolU+1F52B | Water pistol; playful “shoot”, water fights | Some old fonts still show a real gun | |
| collisionU+1F4A5 | A bang, impact | See the mind blown guide | |
| bullseyeU+1F3AF | On target, a goal | Neutral | |
| bow and arrowU+1F3F9 | Bow and arrow; Cupid | See the bow emoji guide | |
| kitchen knifeU+1F52A | Kitchen knife; cooking, or a joke threat | Sharper tone than 🔫 |
The timeline
| When | What changed |
|---|---|
| 2010 | Pistol added to Unicode 6.0 as an emoji; drawn as a firearm by Apple, Google and others |
| August 2016 | Apple switches to a green water pistol in iOS 10 |
| 2016 | Microsoft, which had drawn a ray gun, moves to a revolver design |
| Early–mid 2018 | Twitter, Samsung, Google, Facebook and Microsoft all adopt toy water guns |
| Later | Unicode’s name for the character becomes “water pistol” |
Emoji with gun memes 🔫😂
The gun emoji 🔫 often appears in playful memes because it looks like a toy water pistol. A typical meme pairs it with a face emoji to soften the tone: 🥺🔫, 😳🔫, or 🤠🔫. The combination reads as “don’t make me use this” or “put the gun down” in a silly way.
In meme culture, 🔫 often appears in reaction images or captions like “me showing up to defend my favourite character” with the emoji held by a cartoon figure. The joke relies on the contrast between the toy-like design and the pretend aggression.
- 🔫😤 — “don’t test me”
- 🔫👀 — “I saw that”
- 🔫🐱 — a cat-with-gun meme format
Chat examples
Real messages with 🔫, and a reply that fits.
water fight Saturday 🔫💦
I’m in
🎯 nailed it
nice shot
🏹 archery class was fun
jealous
Questions people ask
Is there a real gun emoji?
Not any more on major platforms. 🔫 is drawn as a water pistol everywhere current, and its Unicode name is water pistol. Older devices may still show a firearm.
When did the gun emoji change to a water gun?
Apple changed it in August 2016; most other platforms followed in 2018.
What does 🔫 mean in a text?
Usually something playful: a water fight, “shoot your shot”, or a joke. Its old threatening reading has mostly faded.
Is there an emoji holding a gun?
There is no single emoji of a person holding a gun. You can place 🔫 next to a person or face emoji, like 🧑🔫 or 😠🔫, but the gun remains a separate character.
Is there a shotgun emoji?
No, there is no shotgun emoji in the standard set. The closest is the water pistol 🔫, which is the only gun-shaped emoji. Other weapons include 🏹 (bow and arrow) and 🔪 (kitchen knife).
Is there a pink gun emoji?
There is no pink gun emoji. You cannot change the colour of the emoji itself, but you can use text or other symbols to represent a pink gun.
About this guide
Written and maintained by the Emoji Directory editorial team, without ads or sponsorship. Meanings describe how the emoji is commonly used in public posts and messages, not an official definition. Names, code points, versions, keywords and translations come from the Unicode Emoji 18.0 and CLDR data; shortcodes from the gemoji project. Facts were checked against the sources listed above. Last reviewed . Spotted a mistake or a new usage? Tell us, or read how the directory is made.
