Why do rappers hold their gun to the side

The symbol of a gun behind held to the side in a threatening manner is iconic of many “gangster” groups existing throughout the world today, with a large number of aspiring music artists particularly in the rap genre taking on this image to establish themselves in the eyes of their followers. While this may seem to be a well-established trend amongst many individuals the fact of the matter is that is not in fact an effective way of utilizing a gun at all – in fact it is dangerous, inaccurate and otherwise un-recommended by any effective shooter in virtually any situation.

The popularity of the sideways gun hold can actually be tracked back to Hollywood, with the 1993 movie Menace II Society showing this grip in the opening scene and poularizing it with viewers at that time. Before then it appeared in a number of other movies as well, including the Clint Eastwood western “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly” – most likely to allow camera operators to get the best view of both the gun and the character’s face in the same frame without obstructing any views.

In terms of actual functionality the sideways grip both reduces overall accuracy and makes the weapon more dangerous to both innocent bystanders and the actual operator him or herself. With accuracy in mind the sideways angle makes the weapon extremely difficult to aim, causing the standard “iron sights” at the top of the gun normally used for aligning the aim to become effectively useless. This position, in turn, makes the gun a danger to all individuals who may be in front of it at the time (which isn’t necessary for most shooters in gun fights as studies show that roughly 60% of all modern-day gunfighters never aim while shooting). Interestingly enough, however, this hold IS used by law enforcement officers holding shields as the sideways aim actually allows them to have greater accuracy while behind a shield, bringing the sights into their line of sight better than if held regularly.

Additionally when this position is used with most semi-automatic pistols today the ejection chamber is located on the right side of the gun. If used by a right-handed wielder and rotated counter-clockwise the ejection chamber rotates upwards, ejecting hot bullet casings out of the weapon and many times directly at the face of the wielder – making it extremely dangerous for individuals to hold the gun like this for even the shooter unless they feel like dodging hit metal every time they take a shot.

The symbol of a gun behind held to the side in a threatening manner is iconic of many “gangster” groups existing throughout the world today, with a large number of aspiring music artists particularly in the rap genre taking on this image to establish themselves in the eyes of their followers. While this may seem to be a well-established trend amongst many individuals the fact of the matter is that is not in fact an effective way of utilizing a gun at all – in fact it is dangerous, inaccurate and otherwise un-recommended by any effective shooter in virtually any situation.

The popularity of the sideways gun hold can actually be tracked back to Hollywood, with the 1993 movie Menace II Society showing this grip in the opening scene and poularizing it with viewers at that time. Before then it appeared in a number of other movies as well, including the Clint Eastwood western “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly” – most likely to allow camera operators to get the best view of both the gun and the character’s face in the same frame without obstructing any views.

In terms of actual functionality the sideways grip both reduces overall accuracy and makes the weapon more dangerous to both innocent bystanders and the actual operator him or herself. With accuracy in mind the sideways angle makes the weapon extremely difficult to aim, causing the standard “iron sights” at the top of the gun normally used for aligning the aim to become effectively useless. This position, in turn, makes the gun a danger to all individuals who may be in front of it at the time (which isn’t necessary for most shooters in gun fights as studies show that roughly 60% of all modern-day gunfighters never aim while shooting). Interestingly enough, however, this hold IS used by law enforcement officers holding shields as the sideways aim actually allows them to have greater accuracy while behind a shield, bringing the sights into their line of sight better than if held regularly.

Additionally when this position is used with most semi-automatic pistols today the ejection chamber is located on the right side of the gun. If used by a right-handed wielder and rotated counter-clockwise the ejection chamber rotates upwards, ejecting hot bullet casings out of the weapon and many times directly at the face of the wielder – making it extremely dangerous for individuals to hold the gun like this for even the shooter unless they feel like dodging hit metal every time they take a shot.

Other articles you might be interested in: