The finger gun is a hand gesture in which the subject uses their hand to mimic a handgun

Handgun

A handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from long guns such as rifles and shotguns ....

, raising their thumb above their fist to act as a hammer

Hammer (firearm)

thumb|150px|Hammer with an integral [[firing pin]] on a [[S&W Model 13]] revolver The hammer of a firearm was given its name for both resemblance and functional similarity to the common tool...

, and one or two fingers extended perpendicular to it acting as a barrel

Gun barrel

A gun barrel is the tube, usually metal, through which a controlled explosion or rapid expansion of gases are released in order to propel a projectile out of the end at a high velocity....

. The middle finger can also act as the trigger finger.

It is also sometimes used by placing the "gun" to the side of one's own head or under the chin, as if committing suicide, to indicate a strong desire to be put out of one's misery, either from boredom or exasperation. In addition, it can also be used as a way to say an awkward "hey" or "what's up" to friends or acquaintances.

Children and teenagers have occasionally been punished or removed from school for making the gesture. In some cases this was because authority figures interpreted it as a signal for threatening real violence, while in others they interpreted it as unacceptably supportive of gun violence in general. These have often been labeled "ridiculous" by some commentators.

In 2006, Fahim Ahmad

Fahim Ahmad

Fahim Ahmad is one of people convicted in the 2006 Toronto terrorism case. He was a ringleader in the group. He was 21 years old at the time of arrest, and married with two children.-Life:...

 allegedly made the gesture when speaking about the possibility of Canadian Security Intelligence Service

Canadian Security Intelligence Service

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service is Canada's national intelligence service. It is responsible for collecting, analyzing, reporting and disseminating intelligence on threats to Canada's national security, and conducting operations, covert and overt, within Canada and abroad.Its...

 agents ever coming to his apartment, which was used as evidence of his conspiracy to commit terrorism

Terrorism

Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...

 by a police informant.

In sports

Fans of Texas Tech University

Texas Tech University

Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the...

 use a form of this hand gesture with fingers always pointed upward, called "Guns up

Guns up

Guns Up is the slogan and hand signal of Texas Tech University. It is used by students and alumni as a greeting. It is also used as a victory sign during athletic events.-The gesture:...

." The idea is that the Red Raiders

Texas Tech Red Raiders

The Texas Tech Red Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University . The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders; however, the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raiders" name. The university's athletic program fields teams in 15 varsity sports and 30 club sports...

, as the university's sports teams are called, will shoot down their opponents. The Guns Up sign is the widely recognized greeting of one Red Raider to another. It is also the sign of victory displayed by the crowd at every athletic event.

The gesture, performed with both hands, was a signature of professional wrestler

Professional wrestling

Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...

 Mick Foley

Mick Foley

Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, author, comedian, actor, voice actor and former color commentator. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA. He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he...

 while he was in his "Cactus Jack" persona, as well as the The Motor City Machineguns.

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 pitcher Pascual Pérez

Pascual Pérez (baseball)

Pascual Gross Perez was a right-handed baseball pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves, Montreal Expos, and New York Yankees....

 would often draw criticism and ire from his opponents, as he would mimic "shooting" them with finger-guns during games.

In popular culture

In the climax scene of 1976 film Taxi Driver

Taxi Driver

Taxi Driver is a 1976 American drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. The film is set in New York City, soon after the Vietnam War. The film stars Robert De Niro and features Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel, and Cybill Shepherd. The film was nominated for four Academy...

 directed by Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese

Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...

 the heavily wounded protagonist Travis Bickle

Travis Bickle

Travis Bickle is a fictional character from the 1976 film Taxi Driver, played by Robert De Niro. He is widely considered one of the most iconic characters in film history, and De Niro earned an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of him....

 (played by Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...

) after a gunfight in a brothel, surrounded by the police forces attempts several times to fire a bullet into his own head from under his chin, but all his weapons are out of ammunition, so he instead resigns himself to resting on a sofa and when a police officer approaches him he ″shoots″ himself several times in the left forehead using the finger gun gesture.

An advertisement for the Xbox 360

Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...

, which featured an impromptu mass finger-gun battle by people in a subway station was later banned from syndication.

In the South Park

South Park

South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...

 episode Something You Can Do with Your Finger

Something You Can Do with Your Finger

"Something You Can Do with Your Finger" is the eight episode of the fourth season of the animated television series South Park, and the 56th episode of the series overall...

, the boys believe that the gesture is called "fingerbang"

Fingering (sexual act)

Fingering is the manual manipulation of the clitoris, vulva, vagina, or anus for the purpose of sexual arousal and stimulation. It may constitute the entire sexual encounter or it may be part of mutual masturbation, foreplay or other sexual activities. To "finger oneself" is to masturbate in this...

.

On the January 13, 2009, episode of "Late Show With David Letterman", comedian Jimmie Walker

Jimmie Walker

James Carter "Jimmie" Walker is an American actor and stand-up comedian, known for portraying J. J. Evans on the television series Good Times, which ran from 1974 to 1979...

 claimed that the general manager of a Best Western hotel in Seattle, Washington, asked him to leave because the staff had felt threatened by his inadvertent use of the finger-gun gesture at the registration desk.

In the anime Yu Yu Hakusho, main character Yusuke Urameshi's signature technique involves using the finger gun pose, followed by shouting "Spirit Gun" which discharges a bolt of spiritual energy from the tip of the extended finger gun gesture. Similarly, in the anime Cowboy Bebop

Cowboy Bebop

is a critically acclaimed and award-winning 1998 Japanese anime series directed by Shinichirō Watanabe, written by Keiko Nobumoto, and produced by Sunrise. Its 26 episodes comprise a complete storyline: set in 2071, the series follows the adventures, misadventures and tragedies of five bounty...

, main character Spike Spiegel

Spike Spiegel

is the protagonist of the anime and manga series Cowboy Bebop. He won first place in the male character category of the Anime Grand Prix in 1998 and 1999.-Background:Spike is a fictional bounty hunter who was born on Mars, June 26, 2044...

 is seen using the finger gun gesture, always followed with him saying "Bang."

In the videogame Team Fortress 2

Team Fortress 2

Team Fortress 2 is a free-to-play team-based first-person shooter multiplayer video game developed by Valve Corporation. A sequel to the original mod Team Fortress based on the Quake engine, it was first released as part of the video game compilation The Orange Box on October 10, 2007 for Windows...

, the Heavy character can taunt

Taunt

A taunt is a battle cry, a method in hand-to-hand combat, sarcastic remark, or insult intended to demoralize the recipient, or to anger them and encourage reactionary behaviors without thinking. Taunting can exist as a form of social competition to gain control of the target's cultural capital...

 his opponents by mockingly making the finger gun gesture and pretenting to shoot with a shout of "Pow! Ha ha!"; as an easter egg

Easter egg (media)

Image:Carl Oswald Rostosky - Zwei Kaninchen und ein Igel 1861.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Example of Easter egg hidden within imagerect 467 383 539 434 desc none...

, the taunt deals lethal damage to any opponent within range, causing a humorous and humiliating death.

In the TV show Heroes

Heroes (TV series)

Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...

, a minor character named Trevor Zeitlan has an ability that allows him to blast things with invisible bursts of energy using the finger-gun gesture. Also, Elle Bishop

Elle Bishop

Eleanor Zoe Bishop, mostly known as Elle, is a fictional character on the NBC series Heroes. She is portrayed by Kristen Bell. Elle appeared as one of the new characters introduced in Season Two and according to contract, would continue on the series for at least 13 episodes into Season Three.Elle...

 uses the finger-gun to shoot a bolt of electricity in one episode, though her lightning is typically launched from the palm of her hand.

In a well-known scene from the film Gran Torino, the main character makes the finger-gun gesture at a car, to which its passenger responds with the middle finger

Finger (gesture)

In Western culture, the finger , also known as the middle finger, is an obscene hand gesture, often meaning the phrases "fuck off" , "fuck you" or "up yours"...

.

In an episode of season six of The Office, Pam Halpert, Andy Bernard

Andy Bernard

Andrew "Andy" Baines Bernard is a fictional character from the U.S. television series The Office. The character is highly insecure, yet egotistical, constantly mentioning his education at Cornell University...

, Dwight Schrute

Dwight Schrute

Dwight Kurt Schrute III is a character on NBC's The Office portrayed by Rainn Wilson. He originally exactly resembled Gareth Keenan from the original UK version of The Office. Dwight is the top salesman and former acting manager for the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company and has won numerous awards for...

, and Michael Scott

Michael Scott (The Office)

Michael Gary Scott is a fictional character on NBC's The Office, portrayed by Steve Carell, and based on David Brent from the original British version. Michael, the central character of the series, was the manager of the Scranton branch of paper and printer distribution company Dunder Mifflin Inc...

 hold each other at finger-gunpoint as the climax to a role playing game that the entire office had been participating in. The scene ends with Pam leaving to go home, and Michael, Dwight, and Andy finger-shooting each other to death.

In the movie Crank

Crank (film)

Crank is a 2006 American comedy movie, written and directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, and starring Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Efren Ramirez, and Dwight Yoakam...

, the protagonist Chev Chelios threatens several armed gang members with the gesture, then 'shoots' one, who is promptly shot with a silenced pistol by a rival gang. The sequel also includes a similar scene.

In a cutscene from the 2008 videogame Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

is a video game developed by Kojima Productions for the PlayStation 3 console. The game was directed by Hideo Kojima and made its worldwide release on June 12, 2008, ten years after the release of Metal Gear Solid and twenty years after the North American release of Metal Gear.Guns of the Patriots...

, antagonist Liquid Ocelot, after gaining control of the SOP system, points a finger gun at two helicopters, and then his own head, and shouts "Bang!" to shut the helicopters and SOP down, and then kills the soldiers by pretend-shooting them while his FROGS actually shot them.

There is also an Finger Gun iPhone app available to simulate the action of shooting someone with a finger gun called "Finger Gun."