Hold your handgun sideways ?

i dont believe there is any logical reasoning behind it other than they dont understand how guns work and they think it makes them cool

Anything is plausible I guess

Ok, so maybe you should retitle your thread...

To,
OK, I admit I tried to 'gangster' shoot my gun..
Oh, and it isn't accurate at all, funny sight thingy's make the bullet work too well.

Try something:

recline the seat in your car to the point where your head is shielded by the B pillar. Then try to point your pistol out of both of the front windows with either hand. Next, try to hold you gun above head height while trying to blindly aim at a target at eye level. Both of them are easier to do with your elbow elevated and the natural rotation turns your wrist sideways.

Sounds like your friend fancies himself an expert on things pertaining to gangsta and homeboy behavior. Looks like he might have simply tried to figure out why and how these things have come to pass, ignoring that rational thought and logic have no place in the behavior of the persons in question.

The only legitimate use of a cant is for firing from behind a ballistic shield.

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A slight cant is also a useful technique when firing one-handed in a dynamic situation, while moving, engaging multiple targets in a hurry, etc. It is taught a lot in "practial" hangunning competition and some defensive shooting. Of course, this isn't the "gangsta" model at all, but just enough cant for a more natural one-handed stance while still maintaining a clear sight picture.

I was told...

...that the reason gangsters hold their gun sideways is that when shooting rapid fire during a driveby shooting or shooting up a crowd, the recoil distributes the successive shots laterally, i.e. more hits. As opposed to having the recoil direct most of the shots above the heads of their likely victoms, which would probably be the case with unexperienced rapid shooting.

This explaination also seems plausible to me.

shooting rapid fire during a drive-by shooting or shooting up a crowd, the recoil distributes the successive shots laterally, i.e. more hits. As opposed to having the recoil direct most of the shots above the heads of their likely victims, which would probably be the case with inexperienced rapid shooting.

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This is the explanation that I have heard. It actually makes logical sense in that scenario.

I know that some police officers are trained to hold their firearm slightly sideways, almost at a 45 degree angle, in some situations. I don't know the reasoning behind this, but I've heard it from a few different officers.

...and don't forget to put your gun in a walmart bag




no shell casings left at the scene

Well, duh. Holding the pistol sideways is only for a "kill shot". ("Date Night" reference.)

-Matt

"that the reason gangsters hold their gun sideways is that when shooting rapid fire during a driveby shooting or shooting up a crowd, the recoil distributes the successive shots laterally"

I'm pretty sure that even if you hold it sideways that the gun would recoil vertically.

I always figured they did it just to be different from The Man.

I don't know the reasoning behind this, but I've heard it from a few different officers.

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Several possible reasons, one is, if you are fireing "from retention" (meaning point shooting with the gun held very close to the torso/chest, as you would fire into an attacker who was grappling with you) then rolling the gun slightly OUTWARD can help keep the slide from hitting you in the chest and/or fouling in your clothes/vest causing a malfunction. (Some interesting stuff here: http://www.shootingillustrated.com/Expert_Advice/Drills/unusual practice.html)

The more common reason is that rolling the gun slightly inward (right if shooting left-handed, left if shooting right handed) puts the arm bones in a more natural position (picture a boxer with his "dukes up") and gives you a bit more control when firing rapidly, one-handed. If you watch USPSA or IDPA shooters running one-hand strings, you'll see this done almost universally: "Locked down" (clenched) upper body muscles, non-shooting hand curled/tucked tight against the chest, gun rolled slightly inward toward the body centerline.

Again, though ... this has even less to do with why Gangstas do it than do concerns over where their brass ends up.

More like some ''Homeboy'' with a busted extractor or ejector on his pistol figured out that gravity would help the case roll out so he could continue to use his busted ass gun, and all his buddies copied him, thinking it looked ''cool''...

You guys just don't understand cool.

Said stance occurs completely naturally when you are using your other hand to hold up your pants................


Isher

The hot brass idea sounded good. In a group, people CAN shoot better if they don't have to duck hot brass. It sounds reasonable to me.

My pet theory on this is that it comes from movies. The directors had actors hold their prop pistols sideways in order to capture their whole face on the screen along with the gun. If the handgun is held properly, the barrel blocks off the actor's mouth and nose when aiming at the camera. Tilt it sideways and both the gun and the face are framed nicely.

It spread into the real world of gangsters from there. It has nothing to do with practical requirements, and everything to do with looking scary.

I know that some police officers are trained to hold their firearm slightly sideways, almost at a 45 degree angle, in some situations. I don't know the reasoning behind this, but I've heard it from a few different officers.

Click to expand...

The reasoning behind it is when shooting at night or up real close and not having time to aim you shoot instinctively. Point with your finger at something. Your hand will naturally cant. Therefore when you are shooting one handed like that its more like pointing and you will be more accurate.

It worked for me and all the other BLET students in my class.

I'll hold my handgun with a slight cant when shooting or dryfiring around cover while practicing. Just enough to angle it around cover while I'm shooting but I've never actually shot while holding it sideways.

We were taught the cant in my POST Academy for one-handed shooting to help control recoil because your wrist was in a more natural position.

I was always under the impression that the sideways gun thing started in Hollywood, as it allowed the directors to get both the actor's face and the gun in the same frontal shot, then this "technique" spread out to street criminals as more and more of them saw movies depicting it.