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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''"*(loud gun cock)* Now doesn't that just torque your jaws? I love that. You know [[Lampshade Hanging|like in the movies]], just as the good guy is about to kill the bad guy, he cocks his gun. [[Fridge Logic|Now why didn't he have it cocked?]] Because that sound is '''scary'''. It's [[Rule of Cool|cool]], isn't it?"''
|'''The Caller''', '''''[[Phone Booth (film)|Phone Booth]]'''''}}
The dramatic gun cock is employed when a character is up to some interrogation work while holding a gun to someone's head. The subject of the investigation is invited to divulge some critical information. The subject refuses or spouts an insult.
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Here comes the dramatic gun cock. The interrogator pulls back the hammer of the revolver or automatic (or racks the slide if the automatic has no hammer), then resumes pointing the gun to the subject's head. Usually, this is enough to thoroughly spook the subject into full disclosure. Technically this can be done with the pump of a shotgun too, but is somehow less ass-bustingly terrifying.
In other situations, the dramatic gun cock serves to announce a character's presence, or (especially when taking place off-camera) to indicate that the tables have turned in some way. This is a [[Click. "Hello."]], and often occurs in conjunction with a [[My Name Is Inigo Montoya]] moment.
Bonus points if the gun [[Ray Gun|doesn't actually fire a projectile]].
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{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* Taken to the extreme in ''[[Gundam Wing]]'', where the mere fact of rising a gun makes an audible, intimidating sound.
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* ''[[Gunslinger Girl]]''. Cyborg girl Petra pointedly cocks her submachine gun when someone makes a snide comment about her handler Sandro, [[More Than Mind Control|whom she is infatuated with]]. Afterwards Sandro warns her against drawing her firearm simply because she is angry.
== Comic Books ==
* In ''Nightwing: Year One'', Nightwing stops a group of carjackers, one of whom decides to be cool. He then mercilessly lampshades this by asking if the crook had seen that on TV, points out that he's just ejected a perfectly good round, and then continues to cock the gun until he's effectively disarmed. There's a reason they call him the Boy Wonder.
* ''SWORD'': The conflict between dramatic necessity and the practicalities of technology is beautifully lampshaded in the [[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]] spin-off.
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* Mocked in Kevin Smith's ''[[The Green Hornet]]'':
{{quote|'''Green Hornet''': I mean, I like drama as much as the next guy, obviously, but who the hell points an ''un''-cocked gun at somebody?}}
* In ''Secret Warriors'', Nick Fury has just told his men that they are going after their former comrades-in-arms. Dum Dum objects: 'But Nick, what will you feel when you shoot a friend!?' Fury answers with a
* In ''[[Preacher (Comic Book)|Preacher]]'', Frankie gives a nice little demonstration of the
{{quote|"Click clack... clack click."}}
== Films ==
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* ''[[Stargate (film)|Stargate]]'': A fairly [[Egregious]] example comes from the movie. During the scene where the commando team is investigating the temple, they cock their guns absolutely every time they hear a noise. Considering this is maybe a ten man team and there are maybe twenty gun-cocks per startling noise, this may be the result of a [[Incredibly Lame Pun|trigger-happy]] foley artist.
* In ''[[Sudden Impact]]'' there's one of these in what seems like every scene/in which [[Dirty Harry]] brandishes his gun.
* In ''[[Lethal Weapon 3]]'' the Dramatic Gun Cock is used for interrogation. One of the good guys wants to know where a submachine gun is coming from, and to extract this information from a baddie he proceeds to cock said submachine gun and point it at his head. In the same movie, later on, the two main characters are about to start shooting up the baddies' main hideout. They get their weapons, ready themselves... only to hear a Dramatic Gun Cock from behind them. They start to raise their hands, but it turns out it's another good guy (
* Used in both ''[[The Boondock Saints]]'' films: the McManus brothers hold their pistols to the back of their victim's head, and recite their family prayer before firing, such that the prayer ends like this: "''In nomine patris, et filii''..." CLICK "...''et spiritus sancti.''" BLAM.
* Taken to the extreme by Magneto in the ''[[X-Men (film)|X-Men]]'' movie, when, after yanking all the cops' guns out of their hands and pointing them at their owners' heads, he cocks every one at once.
* The ''[[Terminator (franchise)|Terminator]]'' franchise:
** Sarah Connor does this several times in succession in ''[[Terminator]] 2'', blasting the T-1000 with a SWAT-issue shotgun and interjecting each shot with a forceful, one-armed pump, but this is because the shotgun used is a Remington Model 870 pump-action shotgun and it has to be pumped for each shot. (The one-armed pump is also [[Justified Trope|justified]] because Sarah got stabbed in her other arm by the T-1000 moments before.)
** The T-800 itself in the same film dramatically cocking his shotgun, a Remington Model 1887, which is a lever action weapon, one-handed by swirling the gun 360 degrees around on his finger, by the firing guard. Doing so with a factory production gun would result in broken fingers, as the
** In the first film, Reese does one after [[Sawed-Off Shotgun|sawing off the stock & barrel of his shotgun]]. He pumps the shotgun three times: Once when he cuts the barrel off, once when he wakes up from his dream, and once in Tech Noir before he starts blasting. It would seem that he pointlessly ejected two good shells, or he was walking around with it empty and was, ahem, pumping it for fun. Or he had the chamber empty for safety reasons. A good precaution if you have nightmares that make you rack the action of your shotgun.
** There was another one in Tech Noir. Right before he attempts to shoot Sarah Connor, the Terminator cocks the pistol.
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* The finale of ''[[American Gangster]]'' has Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) do this ''every single time'' he runs into someone. This works out to racking a shotgun with 4+1 capacity seven times.
* The second ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]'' when Elizabeth threatens Cutler Beckett, she makes a point of pulling the hammer back on her pistol so that he'll know she means business. The first film, toward the beginning, had Jack Sparrow cock his gun while threatening Will in the smithy. The badass effect was mitigated by his frustrated "''Please'' move!" and then soundly destroyed when the smith conked him over the head from behind.
* ''[[Code of Silence]]'': In this [[Chuck Norris]] action thriller, two thugs try to rob a bar. Only when
* ''[[The Mask (film)|The Mask]]'': The record for most
* ''[[Ghostbusters]]'': Done with [[Energy Weapons]] in the climax. Having reached the [[Big Bad]], the team [[Power Walk|confidently stride up to her seat of power]] and go through their proton packs' startup sequence slowly and methodically, which includes ''two'' versions of the gun cock: the simultaneous, distinctive whine of the particle throwers as they're powered on, and the mechanical extension of the wands at their business end.
{{quote|"Let's show this prehistoric bitch how we do things downtown!"}}
* Backfires on Buffalo Bill in ''[[The Silence of the Lambs]]''. When he's in the completely pitch black room with his night vision goggles, Agent Starling has no idea where he is, until he cocks his gun, at which point, she immediately aims and shoots him. Shoulda cocked it ahead of time, or simply pulled the trigger.
* ''[[
* In ''[[A Fistful of Dynamite]]'' John Mallory issues one of these {{spoiler|before blowing away his former friend-turned-informant Sean Nolan}} with a shotgun.
* When Laurence Fishburne's character in ''[[Event Horizon]]'' acquires a revolver-style bolt gun, he produces not one, but four extremely satisfying gun cocking sounds: He inserts the drum, spins it, snaps the back of the gun shut and then cocks it with a sound more appropriate for a small cannon.
* Done briefly in ''[[District 9]]'', as one of Koobus' mercenaries is pointing out that {{spoiler|they were ordered not to use live ammunition in bringing Wikus down after Koobus himself announces that's exactly what they're going to do.}} And how does our good Colonel respond? While staring blankly and apathetically at his visibly concerned subordinate, no less, with the pistol being held off-camera at the time. He was actually in the process of loading his pistol as the merc spoke, so it's a matter of timing, and on that note it's hardly noticeable.
* ''[[Star Trek:
* ''[[The Matrix]]'' : This trope appears in all three films in the series:
** In the original, there's a moment of incompetence from the SWAT team when our heroes fall into the basement - the SWAT team runs into position and simultaneously cock their guns before opening fire. Seconds later, the SWAT team turns on their laser sights ''after'' Apoc throws a smoke grenade. (Oddly, when the first SWAT member realizes that the heroes are in the wetwall and summarily unloads a magazine into it, he does ''not'' do a dramatic gun cock.)
** That said, the original also gets bonus points for [[Click. "Hello."]]:
{{quote|'''Agent Brown''': "Only human."
'''Trinity''': *cocks pistol* "[[Dodge This]]."
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* Averted in the Michael Mann movie ''[[Heat]]'', where the detectives pull back the slide just enough to verify there's a round in the chamber.
* In the final scene of ''[[Natural Born Killers]]'', a shotgun is pumped multiple times without ejecting a shell.
* ''[[The Longest Day]]'': A rare example of a
* In the ''[[Wild Wild West (film)|Wild Wild West]]'' movie, when West realizes that the President is not who he appears to be, he points a gun to his head:
{{quote|'''West''': Who are you, mister?
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{{quote|'''Marcellus''': ''CHACK-CHACK'' "Step aside, Butch."}}
* In ''[[The Avengers]]'', the trailer's [[Establishing Character Moment]] for Hawkeye (he was a cameo in ''[[Thor]]'' is him ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOrNdBpGMv8 cocking his bow]''.
* In ''[[Black Hawk Down]]'', one of the Rangers is shot and killed while manning the [[
* During the opening battle in ''[[Red Tails]]'', a waist gunner on a B-17 is shown racking the charging handle on his machine gun at one point. It serves more to show the grim determination of the bomber crews than it does to precede any badassery, given how [[Point Defenseless|ineffective their defense proves to be]].
== Literature ==
* In ''[[The Curious Case of Sid Finch]]'', the title character (a skilled human parrot, among other talents) tries to scare a burglar by imitating the sound of a taxicab. He later wishes he had thought to make the sound of a rifle bolt being drawn back.
* Backfires pretty badly on the protagonist of Richard K. Morgan's ''[[Market Forces]]''. Holding some thugs at bay with a shotgun, he pumps it in attempt to intimidate them... and the gun, having been previously damaged, conspicuously fails to chamber another round, thus rendering him visibly defenseless.
* Lampshaded in one of the ''Track'' novels by Jerry Ahern (a gun writer and action-adventure novelist). Track's [[Action Girlfriend]] takes out her pistol, and Track thinks to himself that in the movies she'd pull back the slide dramatically. Of course she doesn't do this as a round is already chambered.
* Invoked and explored by [[Terry Pratchett]] in ''[[Nation]]'', in which the dramatic cocking of a gun is referred to as "the two-pound noise." As the ship's cook explained "Because when a man hears that in the dark, he loses two pounds of... [[Bring My Brown Pants|weight]], quickly.
* Parodied in ''[[
* Backfires on the antagonist in Patricia Cornwell's ''Hornet's Nest'', when he {{spoiler|cocks his AR-15 twice, jamming the bolt open and preventing it from firing. This mistake costs him his life.}}
* A character in Tim Powers' ''Expiration Date'' is taught to rack a pistol every time she draws it, partly to ensure that there's a round chambered and partly for the
* Played with in Rudyard Kipling's
* In ''[[The Road]]'' by [[Cormac McCarthy]], [[No Name Given|
* Jack Bauer did this on ''[[24]]''; as Lauren Proctor was getting ready to exit the room, Jack cocked his gun and told her he was more dangerous than he seemed because he'd killed two people since midnight last night.▼
▲== Live Action TV ==
▲* Jack Bauer did this on [[24]]; as Lauren Proctor was getting ready to exit the room, Jack cocked his gun and told her he was more dangerous than he seemed because he'd killed two people since midnight last night.
* ''[[CSI: Miami]]'' did this twice.
** A whole subplot was built out of this when someone pointed a gun at the back of Calleigh Duquesne's head and cocked it. She spent the rest of the episode listening to gun-cocks until she was able to successfully identify the type of weapon pointed at her.
** When Horatio Caine had an enemy literally under his foot, he cocked his gun while pointing it at his face and said "your move."
* One storyline on ''[[Miami Vice]]'' has Crockett suffering partial amnesia. He forgets he's really a cop and falls into his undercover persona of a facilitator of drug deals. While in this state he shoots his partner Tubbs, [[Disney Death|apparently killing him.]] Of course Tubbs turns out to have been wearing a [[Bulletproof Vest]]. After that Crockett's [[Amnesiac Dissonance|memory begins to return]]. Guilt-ridden, he makes his way to the police station. He walks into the squadroom and stops. His fellow officers, believing him to have turned rogue, draw and cock their weapons in succession. CLICK. CLICK. CLICK. CLICK.
* ''[[Firefly (TV series)|Firefly]]'':
** Jayne seems to speak almost entirely in dramatic gun cocks.
** Mal also seems fond of doing it at times, either to make a point (such as in the "[[Big Damn Heroes]]" scene in "Safe") or as a way of saying "Cut the bullshit" if someone is trying to con him. It's particularly noticeable in his interactions with Saffron.
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** Many of the weapons in Firefly have, in place of a dramatic gun cock, a dramatic electrical whine (regardless of if the weapon appears to be purely conventionally mechanical or not.)
** The interrogation aspect is inverted in [[The Movie]], where Mal is trying to talk down River in [[Ax Crazy]] mode as she has a pistol pointed at his face.
{{quote|'''Mal:''' I've staked my crew's life on the theory that you're a person, actual and whole, and if I'm wrong, [[Kill Me Now or Forever Stay Your Hand|you'd best shoot me now]]-- *
* Inverted in ''[[The Sarah Connor Chronicles]]'', where John has to quietly and carefully pump a shotgun while Cromartie is walking around his house. The not-so-dramatic noise nearly reveals to Cromartie where John is hiding.
** Another time, Cameron is seen simply ''moving'' a Glock in a threatening manner, and you hear a loud "click". Note that she never moves her thumb, and even if she did, Glocks are hammerless guns, meaning there is nothing to cock, short of using your other hand to pull the slide back and chamber a new round, thereby either wasting a bullet, or showing that the gun was completely harmless before.
* Locke uses the gun cock to get Ben to reveal information in the ''[[Lost]]'' episode "Confirmed Dead". Kate uses it in "Not in Portland" to get Aldo to tell her Karl's whereabouts.
* In the original-series ''[[Star Trek: The
* On ''[[Angel]]'', when the titular character is about to shoot Faith point-blank with a shotgun, he delivers his little speech, then dramatically pumps the shotgun. Then he does it again. And again. Only once all of the shells have been ejected does Faith kick it away and resume fisticuffs.
** Yeah, just count how many times that shotgun was fired and then had shells ejected. Someone on the production team wasn't keeping close count.
** Also done with those pistol crossbows the Fang Gang carry, though it's not quite clear what they're supposed to be cocking.
* From ''[[What It's Like Being Alone]]'':
{{quote|"What happened to my booze? Did I black out and join AA?" ''(
* Blatantly overused in ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'', where you know someone is going to cock their gun only after pointing it at someone for ten seconds. The only exception is Noah Bennet.
* While not a firearm, ''[[Stargate SG-1]]''{{'}}s version of the
** As with the staff weapons, the 'TEEE-UNG' sound of a zat being activated definitely qualifies.
** And of course, the 'FWOOOAAAEEE' sound of Ronon's gun powering up in ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]''. And, to a lesser extent, Teyla cocking her P90 upon realizing she can't buy more time when she was being forced to execute Sheppard by a not-quite-herself Weir.
* On ''[[Top Gear]]''{{'}}s Polar Special, James May cocks his shotgun for the camera as he keeps watch while Jeremy Clarkson is enthroned on a portable toilet affixed to their truck's back bumper. Clarkson immediately calls out: "James, are you showing off, or are you actually looking for bears over there? Because I can't run"
* In [[David Tennant]]'s last episode as the Tenth Doctor in ''[[Doctor Who]]'', he acts particularly indecisive and [[I Just Shot Marvin in the Face|remarkably careless]] when deciding who to shoot... and seemingly re-cocks the gun every time he aims it at someone else. While he [[Doesn't Like Guns]] and might not know how they work, it's a revolver so that shouldn't even be possible.
** It gets worse. If you look close, you can see the way he's holding the gun he has the trigger pulled ''all the way''.
** New-''Who'' is ''severely'' overloaded with this trope. Pretty much every time anybody points a gun at anything, there is a
* Seems like Fiona does this with a shotgun every other week on ''[[Burn Notice]]''.
* Averted by Guerrero on ''[[Human Target]]'', who {{spoiler|shoots a client in the back without any warning at all after selling him info about Chance's first case}}. Made up for in spades in one scene of another episode, where the entire roomful of armed and unfriendly men cock and re-cock their weapons at every awkward pause in the conversation.
* Human PPGs in ''[[Babylon 5]]'' have a very distinctive capacitor charging whine when powering up. Hearing it usually means that some ass is about to be kicked.
** And much like in other examples, just about anything you do with a PPG makes it do its version of a
* Much like [[Firefly (TV series)|Jayne]], [[Adam Baldwin|John Casey]] in ''[[Chuck]]'' is fond of cocking guns for emphasis. As is everyone else in the show.
** Spoofed by Alexei Volkoff who admits it's useless, but loves the sound.
* Used before half the commercial breaks in ''[[Sons of Guns]]'' when a member of the crew test fires a recently
* Every time someone draws a weapon or points it at someone in ''[[Andromeda]]'' there's a "power up" sound, presumably the energy weapon equivalent of a gun cock. However, this doesn't seem to be the result of any action on the part of the person holding the gun. It [[Fan Wank|appears]] that [[Empathic Weapon|the guns themselves]] have a [[Genre Savvy|sense of drama]] and know when to make that sound.
* ''[[Sherlock]]'' pulls one off, beautifully.
{{quote|{{spoiler|'''Moriarty:'''}} No one ever gets to me. And no one ever will.
'''Sherlock:''' ''(click)'' I did. }}
* Any version of ''[[Law & Order]]'' will have the protagonist pull their weapon and cock it- what makes it odd is that they are all brandishing Glocks, which have no hammer to cock!
* The television adaptations of the ''[[Sharpe]]'' books are a bit prone to this. Made even worse by their use of flintlock muskets, pistols and rifles; generally these make only a pronounced "click" when pulled back to half-cock (safe position from which the pan may be primed), followed by another when pulled to full-cock. Trying to get a flintlock to make the characteristic set of three closely-spaced, sharp clicks the series uses is... not easy.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* In ''[[GURPS]] [[Discworld]] Also'', the type of repeating crossbow used in the swashbuckling seaports of the Brown Islands makes a distinctive "ka-chunk" sound when a bolt is released from the magazine. "Some users regard this as an essential feature."
* Spending a shot to do this with a shotgun (the "KA-CHINK!" rule) in ''[[Feng Shui]]'' gets you an extra damage point on your next attack with it.
* ''[[Spycraft]]'' gives pump-action shotgun owners a bonus on their Intimidate skill at the start of combat. Guess where it comes from.
* ''[[The World of Darkness]]'' actually gives you Intimidation bonuses for cocking a pump-action shotgun. Not so for any other type of gun, however, as they aren't nearly scary enough.
== Video Games ==
* In the final prologue mission in ''[[Call of Duty
{{quote|'''Al-Asad:''' (Into camera) This is how it begins...''*Ka-Click, BLAM*''}}
** In ''[[Modern Warfare]] 2'', switching to a weapon's under-barrel shotgun attachment is always preceded with a
* Miranda Keyes gets [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YUyLyfGWcc a great one] in ''[[Halo 3]]''
{{quote|'''Soldier:''' Ma'am, squad leaders are requesting a rally point. Where should they go?
'''Keyes:''' ''*Ka-Click*'' To war. }}
* Averted in ''[[Halo: Reach]]''. Only the first time you draw your weapon, be it a pistol, an assault rifle, or anything in between, does your character cock it. [[The Dev Team Thinks of Everything|Every subsequent time]], or until you drop the weapon and pick it up again, you'll simply heft it to its ready position; the most action you'll take is flipping the safety off if necessary.
* Except for the sniper rifles, every time you switch guns in ''[[Counter-Strike]]'', your character automatically cocks the gun as soon as you select one.
* In
* Overplayed in ''[[Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty]]''. In an attempt to find the location of the C4 bombs along the complex, Raiden interrogates Fat Man. As Fat Man pushes a remote, Raiden cocks his gun and demands an explanation. He does this at least twice more.
* Both justified and subverted in ''[[Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater]]'':
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* At the end of the introductory highway stage in ''[[Mega Man X]]'', the sound of Zero's blaster charging up replaces the click.
* The title screen clip for ''[[Shadow the Hedgehog]]''. Not to mention the introductory [[Cutscene]] has Shadow ''[[Guns Do Not Work That Way|cocking an assault rifle]]''!
* With the
* You can cock your gun in battle in ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'' whenever you want.
* In ''[[Oddworld]]'', Sligs are armed with shotgun looking devices that fire full-auto from [[Bottomless Magazines]]. That said, they have an animation which is three quick gun-cocks - thus, it appears that the ''only'' reason they have the bottom part of their weapon is so it can make cocking noises.
* ''[[Left 4 Dead
{{quote|'''Coach:''' Barricade your homes...Avoid all contact with infected individuals...Wait for official instructions...*Laugh* Wait, my ass.
'''Eilis:''' Kill all sons-of-bitches. *Racks shotgun* That's my 'ficial instructions. }}
** In gameplay, switching to the pistol(s) in the first game causes the character to pull back the hammer(s). In the sequel, switching to any pistol, SMG, assault rifle, or auto-shotgun causes the character to pull back the slide or charging handle on the weapon in question.
* In ''[[Dungeon Fighter Online]]', the Gunner character class cocks his gun every 5 seconds when in town. [[Most Annoying Sound|There are usually at least ten of them.]]
* In ''[[Dynasty Wariors|Dynasty Wariors 7]]'', Guo Huai cocks his [[
== Web Comics ==
* ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]'': Can also happen with [[Energy Weapons]], such as Sergeant Schlock's Plasgun and its Ommminous Hummmm. "I like the soothing sounds I get from this one."
* ''[[Problem Sleuth]]'': '''[http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=4&p=001731 DING.]'''
* In a [[Mexican Standoff]] in ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'', everyone's guns makes a "CHAKAT!" noise when they point them at each other, [[Justified Trope|because]] the guns have a "[[Mexican Standoff]]" setting. As the standoff gets increasingly absurd, one character's [[An Axe to Grind|axes]] and another character's ''[[Giving Someone the Pointer Finger|fingers]]'' make the same
== Web Original ==
* Justified in ''[[Void Dogs]]'', with Cicada's [[Big Freaking Gun|GSMR]]. The gun fires self-propelled rocket rounds so there's no reason for it to cock, but it has a button that makes ominous, attention-grabbing noises so she can do this and [[Click. "Hello."]].
* Deconstructed in ''[[Cracked.com]]''{{'}}s ''[http://www.cracked.com/article_18576_5-ridiculous-gun-myths-everyone-believes-thanks-to-movies_p2.html 5 Ridiculous Gun Myths Everyone Believes Thanks to Movies]''.
* Parodied in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBSi8qC0tFA this video].
* Somehow, Ruby manages to get one out of a ''pillow'' during a [[Pillow Fight]] in S1E19 of ''[[RWBY Chibi]]''.
== Western Animation ==
* ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]''
** Parodies: a hunter says something dramatic, and pumps his shotgun, visibly expelling a shell. Cletus the Yokel tries to copy him, and then he and the hunter start bickering about whether his comment added anything, and they ''keep'' expelling shells at the end of each sentence!
** While threatening Homer and Krusty with a revolver, a Mob boss cocks his gun, scaring Homer. After some patter, he cocks the gun again, eliciting the exact same response. In the DVD commentary, the writers mention that they thought it was hilarious that a gun gets more frightening the more often you cock it.
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{{quote|"Get ready for the most uncomfortable pillow fight of your life! (cocks his '''pillow''')}}
* After Bill, the fat neighbor on ''[[King of the Hill]]'', failed to kill himself, Dale, Hank, and Boomhaur started a suicide watch. Dale's turn involves him sitting on a chair with a shotgun watching Bill all day.
{{quote|'''Bill:'''
'''Dale:'''
* Parodied in ''[[The Emperor's
* Happens several times in ''[[Batman: The Animated Series]]''. The most notable is in the episode ''Almost Got 'Im'' when Batman {{spoiler|disguised as Killer Croc}} signals the ambush and a bar full of police officers all cock their guns and point them at the villains.
* This also happens to Batman in ''[[Batman: Mask of the Phantasm]]'' when Bullock and his SWAT team corner him on a roof.
* [[Daffy Duck]] in ''[[Looney Tunes|Aqua Duck]]'' as he forces the mouse to give back his gold nugget with his revolver.
== Real Life ==
* The reason the [https://web.archive.org/web/20110316194624/http://dailymobile.se/2009/03/15/iphone-shotgun-free-application-review/ shotgun app] exists.
* Almost all military units, the world over, keep a round chambered at all times while in the field. The only exception are peace-keeping forces, because the sight and sound of an entire squad cocking their weapons is usually enough to scare any would-be troublemakers back into line without the force having to resort to violence. Double-action handguns give you the best of both worlds. The Beretta 92FS handgun - the weapon of choice for [[John Woo]] and the US
** Handguns have three typical variations: Single-Action, Double-Action, and Double-Action Only.<ref>
* It's been said that if you must keep a gun in the house, a pump-action shotgun is a good choice for a number of reasons. First, the small pellets are unlikely to go though walls and reduces the chance of friendly fire, and secondly, the sound of loading a round in the chamber is VERY distinctive and lets the intruder know what is pointing at them. Note: just because the home owner has a pump shotgun, doesn't mean that they have bird shot loaded (small pellets, around BB sized), they may have buck shot (larger sized pellets) or a deer slug (a ''huge'' hunk of lead) [https://web.archive.org/web/20101231162604/http://www.hunter-ed.com/images/graphics/ammo_shot_sizes.gif actual sizes of pellets] Second note: Do not do this in real life: It incredibly dangerous to wait until you can see the intruder before loading a round in the chamber. If the intruder is armed you could end up dead before you can finish racking your gun. If you are in a situation where you need to be brandishing a gun both you and your weapon should be ready to shoot. An alternative is having a loaded and cocked gun, and giving an oral warning that you have a weapon.
* A common practice with vintage single-action revolvers and lever action rifles. There was nothing to prevent the firing pin from hitting the primer of a chambered cartridge if the weapon was dropped or the the hammer was bumped, so the normal carry state was hammer down on an empty chamber.
* One officer at least claimed to do this in a real manhunt. He was wielding a shotgun that was already primed to fire, but the suspect was hiding somewhere. The officer worked the slide (and ejected a round) to persuade the suspect to give up.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Guns and Gunplay Tropes]]
[[Category:Harbinger of Asskicking]]
[[Category:Kinetic Clicking]]
▲[[Category:Dramatic Gun Cock]]
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