# Do gangsters and thugs etc. commonly take target practice? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 31, 2022, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-gangsters-and-thugs-etc-commonly-take-target-practice/958684 "2022-01-31T14:53:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2022, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-gangsters-and-thugs-etc-commonly-take-target-practice/958684/41 "2022-02-01T05:35:57Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > I would say that one should not look to Hollywood to get _any_ of their information about guns, shooting, cops, gangsters and thugs, who/what/when/where/how often, etc. Unfortunately, people be people, and all. Keanu Reeves and some other actors do practice for realism. [https://www.mensjournal.com/health-fitness/watch-keanu-reeves-real-life-john-wick-during-tactical-firearms-training/](https://www.mensjournal.com/health-fitness/watch-keanu-reeves-real-life-john-wick-during-tactical-firearms-training/) Then there’s this guy, Florida Man. > **[Driver Opens Fire at Another Car On I-95 In Miami (From 2022)](https://jalopnik.com/driver-opens-fire-at-another-car-on-i-95-in-miami-1848446264)** > > No one was harmed in a road rage incident that left two vehicles riddled with bullet holes ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2022, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-gangsters-and-thugs-etc-commonly-take-target-practice/958684/42 "2022-02-01T07:05:50Z")
Pro tip: Roll your window down first. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2022, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-gangsters-and-thugs-etc-commonly-take-target-practice/958684/43 "2022-02-01T07:20:28Z")
I remember reading in a number of Mafia books they would have dedicated dudes (aka Hitmen) who were the one who did the vast majority of shootings/assassinations since they knew both how to shoot and also how to get the hell out of dodge after they shot (which is the second most important thing to do in a hit) The mafia also didn’t really have problems hiring “outside help” or having someone who was barely connected to them to do the hits, for both deniability but also because it’s easier to pay someone to do a hit rather than train one of your own guys to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2022, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-gangsters-and-thugs-etc-commonly-take-target-practice/958684/44 "2022-02-01T07:35:48Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Roll your window down first. If you like to drive-by from an antique vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpacemanSpiff_II)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2022, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-gangsters-and-thugs-etc-commonly-take-target-practice/958684/45 "2022-02-01T15:13:44Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > If you like to drive-by from an antique vehicle. Q: What makes the following sound “Clip-clop, clip-clop, bang bang, clip-clop …”? A: An Amish drive-by shooting. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2022, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-gangsters-and-thugs-etc-commonly-take-target-practice/958684/46 "2022-02-01T15:31:03Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Pro tip: Roll your window down first. Geeze that guy was a fucking doofus. Omitting for a minute the whole “firing on strangers macho criminal assault”, he’s terrible at this shooting thing. Partial gangsta grip, firing through windows, emptying the clip, no aim, just “spray and pray”. He should be locked up just for being too stupid to live. Plus, the cops let him go! I repeat: The cops LET HIM GO! Yeah Floriduh! ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2022, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-gangsters-and-thugs-etc-commonly-take-target-practice/958684/47 "2022-02-01T17:12:47Z")
No aim? _No aim?_ He put bullet holes in his own windshield. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2022, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-gangsters-and-thugs-etc-commonly-take-target-practice/958684/48 "2022-02-01T17:13:40Z")
Your windows don’t come down? 😛 or you don;t dial your phone? 😀 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2022, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-gangsters-and-thugs-etc-commonly-take-target-practice/958684/49 "2022-02-01T17:18:10Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Your windows don’t come down? Indeed, my late model Jeep Wrangler does not have power windows. When I drive my gf’s car I have to figure out how to put the windows down. I’ll sit there for a minute locking/unlocking various doors. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2022, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-gangsters-and-thugs-etc-commonly-take-target-practice/958684/50 "2022-02-01T17:26:24Z")
Not sure if its the same scene you are thinking of or not, but I do seem to remember them plinking bottles by a creek using real guns at one point. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2022, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-gangsters-and-thugs-etc-commonly-take-target-practice/958684/51 "2022-02-01T17:35:39Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > No aim? _No aim?_ He put bullet holes in his own windshield. Lucky shot, judging by the skill set shown. I’m surprised he knew which end to point. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2022, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-gangsters-and-thugs-etc-commonly-take-target-practice/958684/52 "2022-02-02T00:00:33Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > One other thing they did was to take several different types of combination and key locks. IIRC, some were cable locks, some where gun safes. He brought one person up for each of the locks and gave them each the corresponding key or combination and told them that on the count of three, they each need to unlock their lock. When he got to ‘3’, him and the other teacher started banging on desks, flashing the classroom lights and generally making a lot of noise. It was probably a good 30 seconds before anyone got their lock opened. If they didn’t give the students a chance to play with the locks for a few minutes to familiarize themselves - figuring that if they owned said firearm and locking system they would have been slightly familiar with the operation of the locking system. Expecting them to open them instantly is an exercise in absurdity. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2022, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-gangsters-and-thugs-etc-commonly-take-target-practice/958684/53 "2022-02-02T01:42:40Z")
> [@SpacemanSpiff\_II](#): > > Q: What makes the following sound “Clip-clop, clip-clop, bang bang, clip-clop …”? > > A: An Amish drive-by shooting. Insert half a minute between the bangs for reloading the muzzle-loader. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2022, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-gangsters-and-thugs-etc-commonly-take-target-practice/958684/54 "2022-02-02T17:12:13Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > There’s a scene in _The Wire_ where some young “street soldiers” are mentored in shooting skills - I think they used Airsoft guns and/or paintballs - in an abandoned building. That show has a reputation as being meticulously researched and drawn from real life, so it seems plausible enough to have been a real scenario that they learned about. I am currently rewatching _The Wire_ and just started S4 the other night. There was a scene where Marlo Stanfield’s gang was down in a creek or something taking target practice at bottles and cans. Lester had a wire up on one of the gang member’s cell phone, and could barely hear the conversation for all the gunfire in the background. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2022, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-gangsters-and-thugs-etc-commonly-take-target-practice/958684/55 "2022-02-03T20:37:25Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Geeze that guy was a fucking doofus. Omitting for a minute the whole “firing on strangers macho criminal assault”, he’s terrible at this shooting thing. Partial gangsta grip, firing through windows, emptying the clip, no aim, just “spray and pray”. He should be locked up just for being too stupid to live. Plus, the cops let him go! I repeat: The cops LET HIM GO! Yeah Floriduh! It looks like he never shot before. Very poor control after each shot. Or that could be his weak hand. It’s eye opening how bad many people are trying to shoot from the weak hand. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2022, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-gangsters-and-thugs-etc-commonly-take-target-practice/958684/56 "2022-02-03T20:52:08Z")
One piece of “common wisdom” not sure how true is that most pistols have a very low likelihood of hitting anywhere close to where they were aimed beyond 50 feet - partly operator problems, but partly because pistols are difficult to aim and not very accurate. Is this somewhat true? OTOH, even Star Troopers equipped with recoilless laser rifles and presumably spending hours practicing every month cannot hit the broad side of a barn door. Their tie-fighter pilots are even worse shots, even with computer assist. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2022, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-gangsters-and-thugs-etc-commonly-take-target-practice/958684/57 "2022-02-03T21:06:56Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > One piece of “common wisdom” not sure how true is that most pistols have a very low likelihood of hitting anywhere close to where they were aimed beyond 50 feet - partly operator problems, but partly because pistols are difficult to aim and not very accurate. Is this somewhat true? Well, it’s a lot of factors - but a short barrel, especially on some of the smaller concealable pistols is huge factor in accuracy. Sight alignment is also harder on a short factor, and most people just flat out don’t bother - they treat it as point and click, with appropriate accuracy. I said this is a different forum, and it repeats my CCW instructor, don’t use a pistol if you’re 25 feet or more away, because at that range, you should be running away. 🙂 You aren’t going to hit them and they aren’t going to hit you, so why get involved? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-gangsters-and-thugs-etc-commonly-take-target-practice/958684.md?page=2)