History Main / PistolWhipping

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[[folder:FanWorks]]

You may be asking, WhyDontYouJustShootHim As Elliot Stabler of ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' once answered, "Where'd the fun be in that?" Alternately, the weapon's wielder will be locked in close combat or will be out of ammunition, forcing them to literally use the only weapon they've got on hand. It also serves as a quick option to incapacitate a person without killing him, since pistol-whipping is ''slightly'' less likely to be lethal than shooting the guy.

* In ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'', Cassie's X-Ray move consists of a GroinAttack, then this trope with both her pistols to both opponents' temples, followed by firing both in his/her face.

* ''Machinima/TeamServiceAnnouncement'': The RED Heavy defeats a Brass Beast-armed BLU Heavy in ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bmK9K5wPyQ Unlockable Weapons]]'' this way... by the expedient of holding his 150-kilogram minigun by its barrel and beating BLU Heavy into the ground with it like a club before the [[MightyGlacier notoriously sluggish]] Brass Beast can fire.

* As a derivative of the ''Halo'' games, ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' features this in many forms, all nonlethal. Often it works as a one-hit knockout ('Ow, the back of my head!'), but sometimes not, as when Tex tries to do this with a guard (and then resorts to more..and then starts just shooting him..).

* In ''Literature/JohnDiesAtTheEnd'', Dave relays events relayed from him by John. John, at one point, claims he "dick-whipped" a guy with a gun, which Dave isn't sure whether to interpret as John whacking him in the 'nads with the gun or pistol-whipping him with the gun in the same way he would whack him with his dick.

* ''Film/HardTimes'' starring Creator/CharlesBronson has his character, a bare-knuckle boxer named Chaney, demonstrate "more than one way" to use a gun to a sleazy bar owner who bullied him and his manager out of their fight money before. Way one: shoot the place silly. Way two: whack said owner on the noggin'.

** Creator/RobertRedford's character is incapacitated this way not once, but twice by one of the BigBad's {{Mook}}s. Nicely tied in near the end when, rather than simply shooting said mook in the face, Redford's character sneers sarcastically and knocks the guy out with another bad guy's gun in a fit of vengeance.

** Longarms, of course, could have their barrels swung from shoulder-arms to stooge-skull whenever precision marching turns imprecise ...

* The ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' DLC Honest Hearts introduces "Joshua Graham's Pistol Whippin' .45", a unique version of the unique .45 pistol designed so it appears that said character uses his signature weapon as a melee weapon. Not obtainable by the player without console commands.

* Awesomely subverted in ''VideoGame/{{The Punisher|THQ}}'' video game in which the Punisher prepares to pistol whip a mook but shoots him instead as said mook recoils in expectation of the gun strike.

* When in ground combat, you have three attacks with a weapon. The primary, a secondary, and a tertiary. The tertiary is meant for up-close use, and generally has a range of two metres. If you're using a longarm, it's likely delivered with the stock of said longarm.

** Which is ironic because in RealLife Earp was infamous for pistol-whipping miscreants as a lawman. See also movies like ''Film/{{Tombstone}}'' and the bio epic ''Film/WyattEarp''.

* The ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'' games give all Gunner weapons (that is, [[{{BFG}} Bowguns]] and Bows) a weak melee attack. Emphasis on '''weak'''; usually it's wise to not even bother with these attacks, except if you want to {{Cherry Tap|ping}} your enemies to death.

* In ''VidoeGame/PapersPlease'', if you press the Detain button on an entrant (whose discrepancies have caused the button to appear, such as forged documents or hidden contraband) and they refuse to leave with the guards, one of the guards will hit the entrant with the butt of their rifle, knocking the entrant unconscious before hauling them out of the booth.

* ''VideoGame/Doom2016'' turns this into a full-on game mechanic. Pressing the melee homes in on an enemy in range and causes the slayer to whack them with any of their equipped guns, even the massive rocket launcher, chaingun, and ''{{BFG}}''. Taken ''Main/UpToEleven'' when you stagger an enemy, causing the melee to instead become a violent glory kill. This is dropped in ''Videogame/DoomEternal'', where the default melee animation is a punch.

* Most of the Bounty Hunters in ''VideoGame/HuntShowdown'' have this as an option when an enemy gets too close for comfort. Hilariously when using it with the Sawed-off Romero 77, has them grabbing the barrel and using it as an improvised hammer with the butt of the pistol grip being the hammer head. And to put this trope UpToEleven, some of the firearms in the game have variants that are specifically made to be ''better'' for melee combat.

* During the [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII battle for Berlin]], Soviet soldier Vataman tuned this UpToEleven by bludgeoning ten German soldiers to death in a close-quarter battle with a ''panzerfaust'', wielding the thing [[https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/469797327442996058/77992EBA2AE3D27A2366F3629DA72F2C0787FB3E/ like a two-handed mace.]]

* ''VideoGame/Wasteland'' refers to this in the manual as a reminder to watch your ammo. Interestingly, the game does notice if you're using an empty gun to attack, and treats it as a melee attack doing better damage than your bare fist.

** Ray Liotta's character whips the hell out of his girlfriend's neighbor early in the movie in response to her story that he sexually assaulted her. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI-VY5cC2jk Ouch.]] After receiving the bloody gun to hide, his girlfriend admits that [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys the whole thing turned her on]].

* In ''Film/{{Destroyer}}'', Erin uses her pistol to [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique beat information out of [=DiFranco=]]], and later uses it to subdue Petra, knocking out several of her teeth in the process.

* In the ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'' games, most enemies with a gun will attempt to whack Ratchet with their weapon when he gets too close.

* The early ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' games have this as your QuickMelee option; ''[[VideoGame/ModernWarfare Call of Duty 4]]'' switched out for a knife. The enemies, however, will try to bash you with their guns if you get too close, and each swing they take at you takes away about half of your health, which if you are careless at close range, a single rifle butt strike can send you back to the previous checkpoint.

* ''VideoGame/{{GoldenEye|1997}}'' for the same system. The 'punching' aspect for Bond, James Bond turns into 'Hit them with the sniper rifle' once said gun is obtained. Very delicate instrument for smacking in skulls...