The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 4 letter word BEAR ARMS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
B
E
A
R
A
R
M
S
More clues leading to the result BEAR ARMS
- Accept members carry weapons
- Serve in uniform: short sleeves will do, we hear
- Members chasing large mammal carry weapons
- Be a soldier without sleeves, do we hear?
- Stand on branches? Americans do so, rightly
- Be prepared to shoot transport members
- Carry weapons with sleeves rolled up, we hear
- Grizzly members prepare for fight?
- Carry weapons to support members
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "B/e /prepared to shoot" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case b/e /prepared to shoot = bear arms.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.