All of us who have actually fired a gun IN REAL LIFE.. ..And you other guys can come too.

[Hobbs]

I went to Florida from my native England earlier this summer and went down to a range one day because i'd decided that i'd like to experience what firing a real gun is like. I fired a Glock 22, S&WVE40 and a Taurus "The Judge" with .410 shells.

It was a lot more fun than I had expected for something so simple as plinking metal at sheets of paper and I find I can empathise a lot more now with those Americans who are "pro-Gun". I cant say it's affected my outlook on guns in video games one bit though.

 

[GenericAmerican]

I love mah guns, I have fired all of these.

Spoiler

Spoiler

And it is soooooo much better than any video game out there. My father has an Ak-47, i need to get a picture of that.

 

[jcm0791]

I have fired a rifles (when I was young) and a hand gun (more recently), Both were on ranges. I enjoyed the rifle, it was probably a 22 and I was 10 or 12. I did not enjoy the hand gun, it was a crappy 9mm range demo unit (don't ask me what make). The hand gun may have been more fun if it had not been so sticky (at least once or twice per clip).

It did teach me something ... if someone, who has not fired a gun very much, is shooting at you ...

... stand still they probably won't hit you, it is nowhere near as easy as it looks. What I do recall was the sudden violence of each shot ... it was ... disconcerning.

To me, that has caused a rather large disconnect between real and virtual guns.

In the real world:
Would I use a gun to defend myself? ... you bet!
Would I be much of a danger to anyone? ... probably not.

 

[BonsaiK]

How have your experiences with firearms affected you firing a gun in a video game?

Hasn't really. They're very different.

The emphasis on headshots in videogames annoys me though. I don't like shooting a guy with 10 shots to the chest and he's still walking around, yet one shot clips the edge of a steel helmet and it's a kill. I don't care what fucking gun it is, more than one hit to the body and you're going down, or you're at least walking funny.

The early Rainbow 6 games simulated that well actually. Take a hit and all of a sudden you're limping around for the rest of the round, made co-op and adversarial multiplayer brilliantly tense. Pity Ubi had to then go and dumb down every aspect of that series to all hell for Lockdown/Vegas, but then if there's one thing Ubi are good at it's not caring about what their fans want out of their games...

 

[MikailCaboose]

Oh, and I tend to wait until most of my magazine is empty before I reload, instead of the usual "fire one bullet then reload your M16" or whatever gun your using.

I'm just used to that from my Battlefield games, although, I have fired a rifle before, it's not really often at all. *shrugs*

 

[MagicMouse]

I have a stone wall by my house that I usually set up targets to shoot. I mainly do it just for fun. And it is fun.

As for how it effected my game experience, I find myself anticipating the recoil a bit more, but not much else. Oh, and I tend to wait until most of my magazine is empty before I reload, instead of the usual "fire one bullet then reload your M16" or whatever gun your using.

^^ Shoot towards rocks is a BAD idea. Trust me, I have seen some pretty close ricochets.

@OP: Having experience with guns in real life, I am kind of picky about them in games. I hate it when guns of the same caliber do different damage, sound wimpy, or lack recoil.(I'm looking at you MW2)

 

[XT inc]

The two never cross paths gaming and shooting are so far apart. The noise is done wrong for every game out there, Hell crack off a 12 gauge in the woods and your ears will ring none of this non stop barrage of firing off heavy shells and then a second later you are trying to hear enemy foot steps. hip fire is nonsense, you would just miss a hell of alot, unless you had a visible laser sight on it that was actually calibrated.

I cant even imagine how to accuratly portray fire arms in games to the player. I mean the mental trauma alone of dodging bullets on the common man. after being deafened by his weapon, would be quite discombobulating.

 

[Nieroshai]

Handling a gun is nothing like in a game. A lot more skill is involved in just hitting a stationary target, let alone a moving one. That and video games aren't in binocular vision like real life.

 

[Bruin]

Fired a shotgun, few rifles...

Didn't see the appeal in it. Explosives are more so my thing. I like watching them go "Boom" instead of "rat-tat-tat".

But anyway, it's not as if firing a gun's a life changing experience. I didn't think it was all that entertaining, honestly. I can see how being able to extinguish life would be pretty fun for the right person but it's not my cup of tea.

 

[meowchef]

I own a Beretta Cx4 Storm .40. Great fun.

 

[Irridium]

Oh, and I tend to wait until most of my magazine is empty before I reload, instead of the usual "fire one bullet then reload your M16" or whatever gun your using.

I'm just used to that from my Battlefield games, although, I have fired a rifle before, it's not really often at all. *shrugs*

Yeah, its because of those games as well. But both kind of solidify it.

I have a stone wall by my house that I usually set up targets to shoot. I mainly do it just for fun. And it is fun.

As for how it effected my game experience, I find myself anticipating the recoil a bit more, but not much else. Oh, and I tend to wait until most of my magazine is empty before I reload, instead of the usual "fire one bullet then reload your M16" or whatever gun your using.

^^ Shoot towards rocks is a BAD idea. Trust me, I have seen some pretty close ricochets.

I know, which is why I now have a wooden target set up. And behind it is a big hill. Vermont does have its perks, few as those may be...

 

[Something Amyss]

I never cross the two. Of course, I don't hunt or anything, I mostly shoot targets and skeet because I have a friend with a membership to the local range. I do treat guns with respect, and I never point a weapon at something I wouldn't want to put a nice hole in.

I don't know. I grew up with guns with virtually no physics, need for care, etc. in video games. It's a totally different experience. In games I'm careless and dangerous and if these games had real-world issues I'd be in jail for murdering half the population--if they took me alive.

 

[TheMann]

Oh jeez I've fired too many types of firearms to even remember. I own four, but am saving up for a fifth. I really want an M4 style AR-15, but you can buy them in pieces and easily assemble one yourself. A bunch of different companies make the AR-15 model, and the parts are all mil-spec making them interchangeable.

So a short list of guns I can remember using: Walther P99 .40, Glock 22 .40, Glock 21 .45, Colt Python .357 Mag., Czech VZ-24 8mm Mauser, M1 Garand .30-06, Norinco UCN-1201 pump action 12 GA., Mossberg 590A 12 GA pump action, Reminton 870 12 GA. Pump action, Beretta auto-loading 20 GA., Remington 1100 Auto-Loading 12 GA., some weird bolt action shotgun, Sig P226 9mm, Some .45LC revolver, Ruger Mini-14 5.56mm, Ruger 10-22 .22, Some .45LC level action rifle, a Sierra Special .22 revolver, a Marlin bolt action .22 (first gun I ever used), some random 9mm, Mosin-Nagant 7.62x54mm, Lee Enfield .303, Springfield XD .40 compact, Springfield XD .40 full size, Springfield Pennsylvania Rifle replica black powder muzzle loader, Marlin pump action .22 rifle, Kel-Tec SU-16C 5.56mm, Beretta M-9 9mm, M-16A2 5.56mm annnd I that's what I remember.

Yes, I'm a gun nut and most of my friends are too, so I get to use a wide variety. And yes, video games are very unrealistic when it comes to the ease of handle and using a firearm. Guns are heavy, it takes a ton of practice in order to be proficiently accurate with them, and the recoil is never well portrayed.

The M-16A2 is the only fully-automatic weapon I've used (technically 3-round burst), and that was during my military service. Controlling a fully automatic firearm is difficulty x10.

 

[The_Chief]

i fired a crossbow. does that count?

 

[Zykon TheLich]

Contrary to popular belief some firearms are legal in the UK, so although my experience is very limited I have fired a Lee Enfield .303 and a couple of .12 guages a webley revolver, a Baretta of some sort (the last 2 were before Dunblane) and on a school trip to Byelorussia an AK of some type.

Doesn't really affect my thoughts on computer games although I will always pick up a .303 in WWII games if available, but that's more due to me liking the weapon for being the classic british rifle than having fired one.

 

[Michael Logan]

I once fired a AK4, In my opinion it wasnt anything special firing a real gun, however I do enjoy paintball on occasion.

 

[the_pleasure_is_mine]

Wait, overarm? Hang on...

*tries to imagine cocking overarm*

Wait, I can't see what you mean by that.

EDIT: I have held an Accuracy International Rifle before (British standard sniper rifle, was bloody heavy), but obviously didn't fire it.

Imagine you're gripping the lever, palm facing down, elbow above the height of your hand, so you have to pull with the triceps.

Under arm is gripping the lever, palm facing up, elbow below the height of your hand, meaning you pull with your biceps.

 

[CouchCommando]

Gotta admit skeet shooting is fun.

 

[Tdc2182]

Have my experiences firing a gun in a video game ever came across in real life?

No, not at all. Its kind of scary to think that people believe there is some sort of connection with games and firing in real life.

 

[Ultimatecalibur]

Wait, overarm? Hang on...

*tries to imagine cocking overarm*

Wait, I can't see what you mean by that.

EDIT: I have held an Accuracy International Rifle before (British standard sniper rifle, was bloody heavy), but obviously didn't fire it.

Imagine you're gripping the lever, palm facing down, elbow above the height of your hand, so you have to pull with the triceps.

Under arm is gripping the lever, palm facing up, elbow below the height of your hand, meaning you pull with your biceps.

I think I can explain why your trainers were getting on you over the way you were cocking your weapon.

Overarm cocking the way you describe it creates a larger silhouette in other words a larger target. If you were being trained for combat or were being taught by someone who trains, trained or was trained for combat was trained for combat shooting, the mentality is that keeping a person alive is more important than temporary comfort.

I'm ex-military and I have noticed how my familiarity with the various weapons influences how I use them.

I definitely don't spray and pray with weapons with high RoF anymore.