History Main / GangstaStyle

** Many mafia men back in the days of Prohibition would likewise turn their Thompsons sideways and allow the recoil of the gun to fan the bullet stream over their target. This actually made some sense, as the Thompson was very prone to barrel rise on full automatic due to the rate of fire, heavy cartridge, buttstock placed well below the line of the barrel, and heavy trigger pull.

** Many mafia men back in the days of Prohibition would likewise turn their Thompsons sideways and allow the recoil of the gun to fan the bullet stream over their target. This actually made some sense, as the Thompson was very prone to barrel rise on full automatic due to the rate of fire, heavy cartridge, wooden buttstock, and heavy trigger pull.

** In ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2019'', during night-time operations in both single and multi-player modes, the player will tilt his rifle 45 degrees instead of looking down the gun's optics. This is because the player is aiming instead with the mounted IR laser, as most optical attachments are not compatible with [=NVGs=]. Its two sequels expand on this to various degrees, ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfareII Modern Warfare II]]'' offering specific LaserSight options that are aimed like this in place of the standard sights and ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfareIII Modern Warfare III]]'' making this an inherent game mechanic with "Tac Stance", an inbetween sort of mode for any non-hybrid sight that's faster than proper aiming and more precise than hipfire.

* It's possible to fire some weapons (such as Mini Uzi) this way in the Wii version of ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty 4: VideoGame/ModernWarfare''.
** The special sniper rifle from ''Modern Warfare 3'''s "Eye of the Storm" mission can be fired in this manner if the player switches to using the red dot sight on it. Said sight is mounted 45 degrees on the ''left'' side of the barrel, though, so the gun is tilted in the opposite direction you'd expect, and not to the full 90 degrees either.
** In ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2019'', during night-time operations in both single and multi-player modes, the player will tilt his rifle 45 degrees instead of looking down the gun's optics. This is because the player is aiming instead with the mounted IR laser, as most optical attachments are not compatible with [=NVGs=].

* In ''VideoGame/{{Blood}} II'' the alternate fire for the single pistol fires the gun this way and increases the rate of fire. It's apparently an emergency mode to quickly empty the pistol into a close-range attacker. Notice how Caleb points the barrel downwards as he shoots.

* Chris-R does this in ''Film/TheRoom'', like any stereotypical Gangster.

* The guy in the front seat during a GanglandDriveBy would hold his weapon on its side so that the ejected casings wouldn't be propelled into the rear window - instead they would be ejected up onto or over the top of the car. Additionally, when using machine pistols or firing rapidly this compensates for muzzle rise and makes their spray pattern horizontal instead of vertical. More practical when you only have a second to aim at a moving target from a moving vehicle and don't give a damn about collateral damage.

* In ''SlayersXTerminalAftermathVenganceOfTheSlayer'', Zane alternates holding dual pistols sideways and upright.

* Blade in the ''Film/{{Blade}}'' movies and [[Series/{{Blade}} the short-lived TV series']] does this.

* ''Film/{{Copycat}}''. Detective MJ Monahan does this at one point during a training exercise, despite being a trained and experienced police officer who would know full well what a bad idea this is. This is not two seconds after advising her partner on how to aim for a perp's shoulder instead of the torso so as to merely wound instead of kill him, something else someone in her position would know is implausible.

* In ''Film/DateNight'', Phil (Creator/SteveCarell), already panicking at being held at gunpoint, really freaks out when it's turned on its side: "He's turning it sideways! Kill shot! That's a kill shot!"
* ''Film/{{Deadpool}}'' managed to fire his Desert Eagle this way at least once. Most memorably, when [[ImprobableAimingSkills he shot a hand grenade from the hand of the goon who was about to throw it.]]
* Subverted in the ''Film/DeathNote'' live-action film. Naomi Misora fires her gun sideways at [[spoiler: Shiori]] and manages to hit her (much to her shock and surprise). Shortly after, its revealed that [[spoiler: Naomi had been shooting with the intent to miss, and had only been successful because Light had dictated with the Death Note that Shiori would die of being shot, and that Naomi would fire warning shots and commit suicide out of horror for having killed someone]].

* ''Manga/TrinityBlood's'' second episode features Tres firing one of his guns held upside down, over his shoulder, in two directions at once, and yes, even this way. Of course, he is a combat android and can probably get away with that.

[[caption-width-right:350: On the right is the "logical conclusion"[[labelnote:*]]It may also not bring [[Manga/SoulEater Death The Kid]] to mind[[/labelnote]].]]

* Cavalry using flintlock pistols have been artistically depicted as firing their pistols in this trope's manner, (such as this one of [[https://collection.nam.ac.uk/images/960/141000-141999/141914.jpg a London and Westminster Light Horse Volunteer]] or [[https://www.warhistoryonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/64/2018/07/hussar_by_lev_kiel_1816-390x640.jpg another of the Pavlograd Hussar Regiment]]). This may have been because flintlock pistols were not very ergonomic so tilting it that way was easier to keep stable it on horseback, and it could have prevented misfires by keeping the powder and sparks in the proper spots of the mechanism...not to mention that one of the biggest reasons to not fire a modern pistol GangstaStyle, the sights on top of it for aiming, were not a feature of flintlock weaponry in their heyday.

* In ''VideoGame/SaintsRow1'', all gang members hold their handguns like this unless they're [[GunsAkimbo using two.]] In the sequels, everyone holds every gun upright at all times except for a few cutscenes when they're threatening someone.

* In ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' during the big shootout in ''Coming of the Fuzors'', Waspinator of all bots is going full gangsta with his gun held sideways. It's hilariously in-character, considering Waspinator's moronic SmallNameBigEgo antics and that he's doing this during what's otherwise framed as a western-style ShowdownAtHighNoon complete with ''tumbleweeds''. As if to illustrate the power of this trope, anyone who didn't know Waspinator was TheChewToy ComicRelief would [[https://i.imgur.com/2wxL7YT.png look at this scene and think he was the coolest bot in the series]].

[[CoolButInefficient Showy, flashy, and generally useless]] as a marksmanship technique. Normally, recoil lifts the barrel against gravity. When firing in this manner recoil pulls the gun sideways instead and tends to turn the shooter around in a circle. Additionally, it makes the sights much less useful. Worse, if the pistol is turned in this manner, its ejection port faces up, and the extractor isn't designed to work directly against gravity[[note]]If you're holding it with your right hand, that is. Gangsta Style with the left hand will have the ejection port facing the ground[[/note]]. Sideways recoil and improper extraction combined may make an ejected shell fly out at the wrong angle and hit you in the face, and also increases the chance (especially if you're wearing loose clothing) of getting a shell ejected into your clothes, which is actually not an unheard-of occurrence when firing ''normally''. Bear in mind that, depending on the ammunition and load, the shell can be hot enough to cause small burns on contact with the skin. Spent cartridges are also very likely to not be thrown clear, or even fall back into the port, either of which will jam the gun. All of which ''may'' be of some concern to a person who is in the middle of a gunfight.

* Lampshaded in Creator/WarrenEllis' ''[[ComicBook/UltimateMarvel Ultimate Extinction]]''. ComicBook/TheFalcon has an incredibly cool scene where he rains machine gun fire down on a ComicBook/SilverSurfer drone, and yet manages to miss every shot. Misty Knight then berates him by asking how the hell someone can miss while firing ''two guns''.

** Not shown is the character who's holding the gun upright as normal, but attempting to pull the trigger with his "[[Music/{{KISS}} Gene Simmons]]-like tongue".

* Death the Kid from ''Manga/SoulEater'' takes this trope to its logical extreme, holding GunsAkimbo ''upside down'', firing the weapons with ''his pinkies'' instead of the more conventional index fingers. He frequently uses them as [[PistolWhipping bludgeons]], making it visually evocative of DualTonfas.

* The famous [[CoolGuns/{{Handguns}} Mauser C96 'Broomhandle']] was only used as a service pistol by one nation: the Republic of China. During the Warlord Era, Yan Xishan's soldiers produced a copy, the Shanxi Type 17, in a much larger cartridge (.45 ACP, shared with the unlicensed Thompson submachine guns they also used at the time) and imported large numbers of the select-fire Mauser [=M712=] and its Spanish copies when they were invaded by Japan. Both weapons could only be effectively used firing sideways (in Gangsta Style), or else the huge recoil would spray the gun straight up (when held sideways the recoil would shift accordingly, which is actually highly effective as it can sweep a room out), or the already-fired cases would fall back into and jam the gun.

* A police officer in Missouri related that a gangsta took a shot at him with a [[RareGuns Calico M950]]. The [=M950=] has a 50-round magazine, but it also has idiot-proofing -- it ejects spent casings downwards, using gravity alone. The gun jammed on the first shot and the policeman tackled his assailant.

* Like so many other things here, [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki]] has [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Side_grip an article]] about this.

* ''Film/{{Deadpool}} managed to fire his Desert Eagle this way at least once. Most memorably, when [[ImprobableAimingSkills he shot a hand grenade from the hand of the goon who was about to throw it.]]