[FreedomPoster]

I don't know the answer to your question, but this belongs on the thread.

[tet68]

The gangster grip is only good for spraying bullets as the recoil moves the point of impact from side to side.

[Retrofitted]

As you found out, mostly it's down to Hollywood and gang culture, so I went after the Hollywood angle because I remember seeing it in some gun-fu movies in the 80s. So...

ChatGPT's response:

The exact first movie to show the sideways pistol grip is difficult to pinpoint, but one of the earliest and most influential films to popularize this grip was John Woo's "A Better Tomorrow" (1986). This Hong Kong action film featured stylized gunplay and introduced the concept of "gun-fu," where characters often held guns sideways during shootouts. The film's influence, especially on action cinema, helped spread the use of the sideways grip in other movies.

However, in American cinema, the sideways grip became widely recognized in the 1990s, particularly in films depicting urban gang life. "Menace II Society" (1993) and "Boyz n the Hood" (1991) are notable examples that brought this grip into the mainstream, associating it with gang culture and street violence.

These films were instrumental in embedding the sideways grip into popular culture, where it became synonymous with a certain "tough guy" image, even though it was more a stylistic choice than a practical one."

[Reno89519]

It is a common, simple shooting method in low light. Consider that it is easier to aim down the side corner of the barrel than trying to align the sights. And in close self-defense ranges, it it more than accurate enough.

[Clay Moore]

How to shoot gangsta style

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo23qjWav0Q

LOL!!

[Paal Gulli]

It originated on a move set (I forget which one) because the Valedictorian on the right got fed up with being pelted by the casings being ejected from the gun of the Valedictorian to his left. So the Valedictorian on the left canted his gun to the left, causing the empties to be ejected straight up.

Problem solved.

[struggle]

The fact that most gang gunfights are ambushes by cowards, but when shot at, then run like cowards so the gangster grip is natural.

[bakeneko]

Shooting a .45 acp one handed, it can help if you tilt the gun slightly (30-35 degrees).

This tilt attempts to align with the way your elbow will bend under recoil.

[alexander_busek]

How long before these "gangstas" starting holding their firearms UPSIDE DOWN?

Regards,

[fso301]

I too have been puzzled by the side grip.

Movies make it seem amateurish but when you watch interviews with former SpecOp's operators, they generally mimic a side hold when describing situations they were in.

[wardaddy]

It’s stupid movie and video nonsense like baggy pants and Ebonics

Read accounts from all major law abiding shooters from history

Don’t panic shoot

Aim or point well like Hickock if you have that talent

Be aware so you’re prepared to shoot first or respond quickly and deadly

Shoot for center mass not the head like Hollywood And don’t be above shooting his horse out from under him or her in their day

But most of all be as calm as you can and hope the other guy isn’t

You pull your gun in a threat you have to make a quick decision whether or not to kill

[Falcon4.0]

It seems to me that it is used to counter misses from heavy squeeze trigger pull.
A heavy squeeze with a standard pull will cause the wrist to twist and because a body is not as wide as is tall,
just slight twist will cause a miss.
Hold it gangsta, and a heavy squeeze will just hit high.

[old school]

Show me ANY firearms training regimen which teaches that.

[nonliberal]

I call it “Full Homey.”

[Spktyr]

This grip has arisen several times in media, but the story I was told in Hollywood in the 90s about the rise of the grip at that time was that a film producer who was going to shoot a gangster film went to the range to see how guns were shot. They encountered an IPSC shooter who was partially disabled and was not able to hold their pistol vertically and was therefore shooting with the pistol at a horizontal angle. The producer thought that was cool and put it in that movie and others.

[Rappini]

The reason for the side grip is because that’s how it comes out of the box.
Gangs haven’t figured that out yet.

[SamAdams76]