Though sometimes used to refer to any
gun, the original reason for the term "yeet
cannon" was the idea of throwing the
gun itself (that is to say, yeeting it). As a result, most "yeet cannons" are unreliable guns, the sort that would be prone to failure and require that it be physically thrown (yeeted) at a threat in a last-
ditch effort.
This term can then be broadened to any sort of failure-prone firearms situation, such as a cheap mag or rounds. Either of these would also lead to a possible operation error that would require a quick-thinking firearm enthusiast yeet their chosen missile launcher at someone (or something).
While the Hi-Point pistol with the official name "Yeet
Cannon" is an enjoyable meme, an example of a real manufacturer that might frequently be accused of producing "yeet cannons" would be Taurus, whose pistols have a reputation for failure (at the time of this writing, Taurus has released a few pistols suggested to be higher-quality than previous models, so in the future they may be
clean of this association). Another example of a "Yeet
Cannon" would be a disposable improvised firearm, also known as a zipgun (heavily illegal to create pretty much anywhere). The "four winds shotgun" made out of a simple metal tube and a cap/nail would be an example of an improvised yeet
cannon.
In any case, despite this origin, you are quite liable to hear any ol' weapon referred to as a yeet
cannon, right up to a Vulkan
cannon.
