Tactical Shooting: Predator

Contact!

‒ Mac Eliot in Predator (1987)

John McTiernan’s Predator (1987) is a superb classic that combines science fiction, horror, and military action. While Predator fulfils many action movie tropes and is hence overall better suited to GURPS Gun Fu, some details merit discussion in context with GURPS Tactical Shooting. The team’s response to the first sighting of the Predator is almost a textbook counterattack manoeuvre (Tactical Shooting, p. 22) following the advice in the US Army’s field manual FM 90-5 Jungle Operations (1982): “Once contact with the enemy is made, the unit’s first action is to build up a large volume of fire.”

I have previously outlined the arms of Dutch’s Rescue Team in my article “Modern Firepower at the Movies”  (Pyramid #2, 11-APR-2008). To recap, Major Alan “Dutch” Schaefer has a Colt M16A1 assault rifle in 5.56×45mm NATO (GURPS High-Tech, p. 117) with 30-round magazine and Colt M203 underbarrel grenade launcher in 40×46mmSR NATO (High-Tech, p. 142); Lieutenant Billy Sole a Colt M16A1 assault rifle with 30-round magazine and modified Mossberg Model 500ATP6 pump-action shotgun in 12-gauge 3” (Gun Fu, p. 38) under the barrel; Sergeant Blain Cooper a GE M134 minigun in 7.62×51mm NATO (High-Tech, pp. 135-136, but with RoF 20!) called “Ol’ Painless,” with M60 forearm, sling (High-Tech, p. 154), and 550-round M23 helicopter ammunition box on an ALICE LC-2 backpack frame (High-Tech, p. 55); Sergeant Mac Eliot a Saco M60E3 machine gun in 7.62×51mm NATO (High-Tech, p. 134) with a 200-round belt in a belt box; Sergeant Jorge “Poncho” Ramírez an H&K MP5A3 submachine gun in 9×19mm Parabellum (High-Tech, p. 123) with 30-round magazine and sling and a custom 6-shot revolver grenade launcher prop that is probably supposed to stand in for the Milkor MGL in 40×46mmSR NATO (High-Tech, p. 143); and CIA Agent Colonel Al Dillon an H&K MP5A3 submachine gun with 30-round magazine.

Watch just the scene here (the action starts at 0:54). Stop reading if you want to avoid SPOILERS.

Round per Round

Prelude: Cooper has just been killed by the Predator with a plasma bolt from his plasmacaster (a blaster pistol, GURPS Ultra-Tech, p. 123, on a shoulder servomount, Ultra-Tech, p. 151). Eliot arrives and makes his Per roll, seeing the Predator despite his Cloaking Force Screen (Ultra-Tech, pp. 191-192), the latter giving -6 to Vision rolls (Ultra-Tech, p. 100).

1st Second: At his turn, Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires (Tactical Shooting, pp. 12-13) a two-handed (Tactical Shooting, pp. 11-12) unsighted (Tactical Shooting, p. 13) 10-round burst from his Saco M60E3 machine gun, shouting “Contact!”; -4 (range) -6 (vision) +2 (rapid fire) = -8 to Guns (Machine Gun). He is able to start firing because his machine gun is in Condition One (Tactical Shooting, p. 8) and flipping off the safety is a free action for a familiar user (High-Tech, p. 80). He makes his roll and hits the Predator with one shot. A roll on the Humanoid Hit Location Table (p. B552) yields a hit in the left leg, for 7d-1 pi (24 points average) damage. At his turn, the Predator takes a Move manoeuvre and runs away.

2nd Second: At his turn, Eliot takes a Move and Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 10-round burst while taking four steps to his left; -5 (range) -6 (vision) +2 (rapid fire) -6 (bulk) = -15 to Guns (Machine Gun). He fails his roll and hits nothing. At his turn, the Predator takes a Move manoeuvre and runs away.

3rd Second: At his turn, Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 10-round burst; -5 (range) -6 (vision) +2 (rapid fire) = -9 to Guns (Machine Gun). He fails his roll and hits nothing. At his turn, the Predator takes a Move manoeuvre and runs away.

4th Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 10-round burst, shouting “Uaah!”; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +2 (rapid fire) = -13 to Guns (Machine Gun). He hits nothing. [At this point, Eliot is essentially shooting at nothing. Why does he continue to fire? Two answers. He may believe, not entirely unreasonably, that he might still hit the Predator if he just sprays the countryside with enough rounds. He does not know that the Predator usually not only moves laterally, but vertically. The other thing is his state of mind. Eliot has probably simply lost it, having failed a Fright Check (p. B360).]

5th Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 10-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +2 (rapid fire) = -13 to Guns (Machine Gun). He hits nothing.

6th Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 10-round burst, shouting “Motherfucker!”; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +2 (rapid fire) = -13 to Guns (Machine Gun). He hits nothing.

7th to 9th Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 10-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +2 (rapid fire) = -13 to Guns (Machine Gun). He hits nothing.

10th Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 10-round burst, shouting “Uaaaah!”; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +2 (rapid fire) = -13 to Guns (Machine Gun). He hits nothing.

11th to 13th Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 10-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +2 (rapid fire) = -13 to Guns (Machine Gun). He hits nothing.

14th Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 10-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +2 (rapid fire) = -13 to Guns (Machine Gun). He hits nothing. [The gun is empty after this in the movie, but Eliot carries a 200-round belt for the M60E3 and later states that he “capped-off 200 rounds,” meaning he must fire for another six seconds. The movie presumably cut this short in order to involve the other characters and to get on with the action.]

15th to 19th Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 10-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +2 (rapid fire) = -13 to Guns (Machine Gun). He hits nothing.

20th Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 10-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +2 (rapid fire) = -13 to Guns (Machine Gun). He hits nothing. The gun clicks empty.

21st Second: Eliot takes a Ready manoeuvre and drops the machine gun.

22nd Second: Eliot takes a Ready manoeuvre and takes off his field cap. [Why? This makes no sense. However, it is exactly the kind of stupid thing people do under stress, sometimes even highly trained ones.]

23rd Second: Eliot takes a Ready manoeuvre and picks up the GE M134 minigun lying on top of Cooper’s body. Blain had taken the minigun’s safety off shortly before he was killed, meaning it is in Condition Zero (Tactical Shooting, p. 8) when Eliot picks it up and he can fire immediately.

24th Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 14-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +3 (rapid fire) = -12 to Gunner (Machine Gun). He hits nothing. [Although the gun has a fixed RoF 20!, like all rotary guns it has a spin-up time to reach full RoF.]

25th to 29th Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 20-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +4 (rapid fire) = -11 to Gunner (Machine Gun). He hits nothing.

30th Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 20-round burst, shouting “Fucker!”; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +4 (rapid fire) = -11 to Gunner (Machine Gun). He hits nothing. Schaefer takes a Move manoeuvre and arrives on the clearing.

31st Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 20-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +4 (rapid fire) = -11 to Gunner (Machine Gun). He fails his roll and hits nothing. Schaefer takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 6-round burst from his Colt M16A1 assault rifle; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +1 (rapid fire) = -14 to Guns (Rifle). He hits nothing.

32nd Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 20-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +4 (rapid fire) = -11 to Gunner (Machine Gun). He fails his roll and hits nothing. Schaefer takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 13-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +3 (rapid fire) = -12 to Guns (Rifle). He hits nothing.

33rd Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 20-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +4 (rapid fire) = -13 to Gunner (Machine Gun). He hits nothing. Schaefer takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 13-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +3 (rapid fire) = -12 to Guns (Rifle). He hits nothing. Ramírez takes a Move manoeuvre and arrives on the clearing.

34th Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 20-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +4 (rapid fire) = -11 to Gunner (Machine Gun). He hits nothing. Schaefer takes a Ready manoeuvre and ejects the empty magazine. [On the screen, Schaefer reloads only once, and at a later time in the sequence, but this must be assumed to be a Continuity and Editing issue. However, it could also be an indication for the Infinite Ammunition (Quasi-Realistic Ammo) perk (Gun Fu, pp. 19-20).] Ramírez takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a one-handed (Tactical Shooting, p. 13) unsighted 13-round burst from his H&K MP5A3 submachine gun; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +3 (rapid fire) = -12 to Guns (SMG). He hits nothing.

35th Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 20-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +4 (rapid fire) = -11 to Gunner (Machine Gun). He hits nothing. Schaefer takes a Ready manoeuvre and retrieves a fresh magazine. Ramírez takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a one-handed unsighted 13-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +3 (rapid fire) = -12 to Guns (SMG). He hits nothing.

36th Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 20-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +4 (rapid fire) = -11 to Gunner (Machine Gun). He hits nothing. Schaefer takes a Ready manoeuvre and inserts the fresh magazine and slaps the bolt release. Ramírez takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a one-handed unsighted 6-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +1 (rapid fire) = -14 to Guns (SMG). He hits nothing.

37th Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 20-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +4 (rapid fire) = -11 to Gunner (Machine Gun). He hits nothing. Schaefer takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 13-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +3 (rapid fire) = -12 to Guns (Rifle). He hits nothing. Ramírez takes a Ready manoeuvre, dropping his submachine gun and transferring the revolver grenade launcher from his left hand into his right hand. [This is not shown.] Sole takes a Move manoeuvre and arrives on the clearing.

38th Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 20-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +4 (rapid fire) = -11 to Gunner (Machine Gun). He hits nothing. Schaefer takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 13-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +3 (rapid fire) = -12 to Guns (Rifle). He hits nothing. Ramírez takes a Ready manoeuvre to change his grip on the revolver grenade launcher to a two-handed stance. [This is not shown.] Sole takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 13-round burst from his Colt M16A1 assault rifle; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +3 (rapid fire) = -12 to Guns (Rifle). He hits nothing.

39th Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 20-round burst, shouting “Uaaaah!”; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +4 (rapid fire) = -11 to Gunner (Machine Gun). He hits nothing. Schaefer takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 6-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +1 (rapid fire) = -14 to Guns (Rifle). He hits nothing. Ramírez takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires one two-handed unsighted shot from his revolver grenade launcher; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) = -15 to Guns (GL). He hits nothing. Sole takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 13-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +3 (rapid fire) = -12 to Guns (Rifle). He hits nothing.

40th Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 20-round burst, shouting “Uaah! Fucker!”; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +4 (rapid fire) = -11 to Gunner (Machine Gun). He hits nothing. Schaefer takes a Ready manoeuvre and ejects the empty magazine. Ramírez takes a Do Nothing manoeuvre. Sole takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 6-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +1 (rapid fire) = -14 to Guns (Rifle). He hits nothing.

41st Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 20-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +4 (rapid fire) = -11 to Gunner (Machine Gun). He hits nothing. Schaefer takes a Ready manoeuvre and retrieves a fresh magazine. Ramírez takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires one two-handed unsighted shot from his revolver grenade launcher; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) = -15 to Guns (GL). He hits nothing. Sole takes a Ready manoeuvre and ejects the empty magazine. Dillon and María take a Move manoeuvre and arrive on the clearing.

42nd Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 20-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +4 (rapid fire) = -11 to Gunner (Machine Gun). He hits nothing. Schaefer takes a Ready manoeuvre and inserts the fresh magazine and slaps the bolt release, chambering a round. Ramírez takes a Do Nothing manoeuvre. Sole takes a Ready manoeuvre and retrieves a fresh magazine. Dillon takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 13-round burst from his H&K MP5A3 submachine gun; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +3 (rapid fire) = -12 to Guns (SMG). He hits nothing. María takes a Do Nothing manoeuvre.

43rd Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 20-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +4 (rapid fire) = -11 to Gunner (Machine Gun). He hits nothing. Schaefer takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 13-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +3 (rapid fire) = -12 to Guns (Rifle). He hits nothing. Ramírez takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires one two-handed unsighted shot from his revolver grenade launcher; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) = -15 to Guns (GL). He hits nothing. [On the screen, Ramírez fires only three times rather than six times, but this must be seen as a concession to the fact that he receives less screen time than the other characters. It is unlikely that he stands around doing nothing whenever he is not visible.] Sole takes a Ready manoeuvre and inserts the fresh magazine and hits the bolt release, chambering a round. Dillon takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 13-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +3 (rapid fire) = -12 to Guns (SMG). He hits nothing. María takes a Do Nothing manoeuvre.

44th Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 20-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +4 (rapid fire) = -11 to Gunner (Machine Gun). He hits nothing. Schaefer takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 13-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +3 (rapid fire) = -12 to Guns (Rifle). He hits nothing. Ramírez takes a Do Nothing manoeuvre. Sole takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 13-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +3 (rapid fire) = -12 to Guns (Rifle). He hits nothing. Dillon takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 6-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +1 (rapid fire) = -14 to Guns (SMG). He hits nothing. María takes a Do Nothing manoeuvre.

45th Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 20-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +4 (rapid fire) = -11 to Gunner (Machine Gun). He hits nothing. Schaefer takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 6-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +1 (rapid fire) = -14 to Guns (Rifle). He hits nothing. Ramírez takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires one two-handed unsighted shot from his revolver grenade launcher; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) = -15 to Guns (GL). He hits nothing. Sole takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 13-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +3 (rapid fire) = -12 to Guns (Rifle). He hits nothing. Dillon takes a Ready manoeuvre and ejects the empty magazine. María takes a Do Nothing manoeuvre.

46th Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 20-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +4 (rapid fire) = -11 to Gunner (Machine Gun). He hits nothing. Schaefer takes a Ready manoeuvre and ejects the empty magazine. Ramírez takes a Do Nothing manoeuvre. Sole takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 6-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +1 (rapid fire) = -14 to Guns (Rifle). He hits nothing. Dillon takes a Ready manoeuvre and locks back the bolt handle. María takes a Do Nothing manoeuvre.

47th Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 20-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +4 (rapid fire) = -11 to Gunner (Machine Gun). He hits nothing. Schaefer takes a Ready manoeuvre and retrieves a fresh magazine. Ramírez takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires one two-handed unsighted shot from his revolver grenade launcher; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) = -15 to Guns (GL). He hits nothing. Sole takes a Ready Change Grip manoeuvre to change grip and puts his right hand on the trigger of the underbarrel Mossberg Model 500ATP6 pump-action shotgun. [Sole is not actually seen firing the shotgun, but he can be heard pumping it at the end of the engagement. Presumably he fires it whenever he is not shown.] Dillon takes a Ready manoeuvre and retrieves a fresh magazine. María takes a Do Nothing manoeuvre.

48th Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 20-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +4 (rapid fire) = -11 to Gunner (Machine Gun). He hits nothing. Schaefer takes a Ready manoeuvre and inserts the fresh magazine and slaps the bolt release, chambering a round. Ramírez takes a Do Nothing manoeuvre. Sole takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires two two-handed unsighted shots from the underbarrel shotgun; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +4 (rapid fire) = -11 to Guns (Shotgun). He hits nothing. Dillon takes a Ready manoeuvre and inserts a fresh magazine. María takes a Do Nothing manoeuvre.

49th Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 20-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +4 (rapid fire) = -11 to Gunner (Machine Gun). He hits nothing. Schaefer takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 13-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +3 (rapid fire) = -12 to Guns (Rifle). He hits nothing. Ramírez takes a Do Nothing manoeuvre. Sole takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires two two-handed unsighted shots; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +2 (rapid fire) = -11 to Guns (Shotgun). He hits nothing. Dillon takes a Ready manoeuvre and slaps down on the bolt handle, chambering a round. María takes a Do Nothing manoeuvre.

50th Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and tries to hip-fire a two-handed unsighted 20-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +4 (rapid fire) = -11 to Gunner (Machine Gun). He hits nothing. Schaefer takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 13-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +3 (rapid fire) = -12 to Guns (Rifle). He hits nothing. Ramírez takes a Do Nothing manoeuvre. Sole takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires two two-handed unsighted shots; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +2 (rapid fire) = -11 to Guns (Shotgun). He hits nothing. Dillon takes an Attack manoeuvre and hip-fires a two-handed unsighted 13-round burst; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +3 (rapid fire) = -12 to Guns (SMG). He hits nothing. María takes a Do Nothing manoeuvre.

51st Second: Eliot takes an Attack manoeuvre and tries to hip-fire a two-handed unsighted 20-round burst, but his gun is empty after 16 shots; -5 (range) -10 (shooting blind) +4 (rapid fire) = -11 to Gunner (Machine Gun). He hits nothing. [Eliot has fired 550 rounds, the entire load carried in his M23 helicopter ammunition box.] The others take Do Nothing manoeuvres.

Conclusion

You cannot hit what you cannot see.

The fight is actually over after the first shots, which also happen to be the only ones to take any effect on the Predator. This does not mean that the team’s actions are completely stupid. They simply follow their Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that aims to overwhelm an attacker by withering counter-fire. Admittedly they would have had to advance towards the supposed attackers, but this could be explained by them seeing that there was no resistance.

A 200-round belt takes a long time to rattle off when all action is measured in seconds. A 550-round belt takes even longer … In most GURPS engagements, it is probably impossible to empty a belt-feed weapon. However, do note that the minigun in this scene has its natural RoF 100! rated down to RoF 20!

Realistically, this scene should be much shorter. While the SOPs of real units do suggest essentially blind fire at opponents who cannot be seen, such a counterattack would usually be over in a much shorter time; typical SOPs mandate emptying two assault rifle magazines or the equivalent. Standing in the open for a minute and expending all your ammunition is definitely against doctrine. In the film, that is an orgy of firepower and special effects, and therefore definitely germane, but it is not completely tactically sound … In the game, PCs ‒ especially ones with Tactics skill ‒ cannot be expected to act like this unless they have failed a Fright Check, and even then would probably stop shooting much earlier. After all, there is literally nothing to see or hit … Still, the concept of panic fire, present in games such as Call of Cthulhu, is something I want to address in more detail at some point.

In short, this is a movie scene, perhaps more obviously than some of my other examples. Even in a Gun Fu campaign, this would play out very differently. Nevertheless, the scene shows a reasonable attempt at a counterattack, and frankly any excuse to run a minigun dry on screen is a good one in my book …