Hi,
In the Dutch language people tend to use both 'revolver' and 'pistool' when referring to handguns. Usually not taking into account which is which, so I'm not surprised this happened in the German language as well.
In German the handgun (automatic, flint, revolving, etc..) is referred to as 'pistole' by default, with the exception that the selfloaders were called 'Selbstlade pistole' to separate them from the rest. Since this description doesn't work well in daily use (too long) I wouldn't be surprised if people switched to another 'popular'(english/trench 1914ish) description of the handgun. Borrowing 'popular' words from other languages is not uncommon.
(jeep, tank, jerrycan are still perfectly acceptable dutch words)
