A handgun is “bang” for 9mm up, "pow’ for smaller. “Paw” or “boom” for shotguns. A high pitched “kich” or “psew” for high powered rifles.
Don’t forget Walter Mitty and his pokket-a pokket-a pokket-a.
That was the flame thrower/anesthetizer/submarine engines.
I can’t believe I am the first to post this: Bang Bang -My Baby Shot Me Down- Nancy Sinatra 1966 - YouTube
When I was a kid I used ‘dada-dada-dada’ for a machinegun, or else used my breath to ‘vibrate’ my tongue against my front teeth and roof of my mouth whilst making a tone. This produced something similar to the ‘dada-dada-dada’ sound, but ‘breathier’. I’d finish with an ‘-ow!’ I don’t remember how I imitated single gunshots. There was a much younger kid in the neighbourhood who imitated gunshots by saying ‘Pew!’ We thought he was weird.
Nowadays, having fired many guns, I say ‘pop’, which imitates the ‘sharp’ sound of a gunshot.
It’s been a long time since high school. :smack:
And German Schmeissers went “Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrp!”
And Japanese machine guns went “Takka! Takka!”
American rifles went “Pow!” or “Crack!”
German and Japanese rifles went “Krak!” (They had accents, I guess.)
It was Tommy guns that went “Budda!” Big .50 cals. went “Rat-tat-tat!”
And WWI machine guns went “Tok! Tok! Tok!”
This was in DC war comics, but I don’t think Sgt. Fury comics (Marvel) were much different.
Thisis the sort gun sound you’re thinking of, right? (click the white arrow to play)
In English it’s often written as **peow **or pyow.
The problem I have with pieu is that the eu sound is a small sound. If I heard that used in English, I would assume a small gun.