What the fuck? I got him, didn’t I? Maybe he’s stunned?
– Peter Paul “Paulie Walnuts” Gualtieri in The Sopranos #3.11 “Pine Barrens” (2001)
I love The Sopranos (1999-2007); it is simply one of the best telly series ever. I have already looked at a shootout in the first season. Here is another one from the third season, set 20 years ago, examined using GURPS Tactical Shooting.
I will take a closer look at the attempted execution of Russian mobster Valery in the Pine Barrens in New Jersey, to see how it would play out in GURPS terms. Watch just the scene here (the action starts at 2:41).
Stop reading if you want to avoid SPOILERS.
Round per Round
Prelude: Di Meo Family capo Peter Paul “Paulie Walnuts” Gualtieri and soldato Christopher “Chris” Moltisanti have driven out to the Pine Barrens in New Jersey in January, 2001. They have Russian mobster Valery in the boot of Gualtieri’s 1997 Cadillac DeVille sedan (p. B464), in the mistaken belief that they had earlier killed him during a ruckus. Instead of having to bury his body, they now have to execute him first. So they are marching him deeper into the woods, pistols and shovel in hand. Gualtieri spent 4 years in the US Army during the 1960s, which would make service in the Vietnam War likely, but as it is never mentioned he probably did not see combat. Troops in the Signal Corps back then received little training in handgun use anyway. Moltisanti has no formal training and by the looks of it adheres to the “Gangsta” style of shooting (Tactical Shooting, pp. 32-33). Valery, although “now he is tragic figure,” is a veteran of the OMON special operations units (GURPS Special Ops, p. 46) of the Russian interior ministry who saw extensive combat during the 1990s and is reported to have killed 16 enemy combatants.
The often flashy and over-styled Gualtieri is armed with a remarkably no-nonsense Glock 19 semiautomatic pistol in 9×19mm Parabellum (GURPS High-Tech, pp. 100-101). Moltisanti carries a Colt Government-type semiautomatic pistol in .45 ACP (High-Tech, p. 98) [the muzzle looks more like a 9×19mm version, typical for filming since 9×19mm blanks are cheaper and easier to work with, but I will assume here that it has the original chambering.] Moltisanti carries it in “Condition Two,” round chambered but uncocked (Tactical Shooting, p. 8). This is a safe way to carry but clearly a bad choice when you are threatening someone, since you are not ready to fire … He has loaded it with at least eight rounds (Shots 7+1 or 8+1 with a TL8 magazine), as his pistol does not lock open after the seventh shot. He does carry a spare magazine, since he later fires four shots bagging a deer. (“If we were trying we wouldn’t have come close.”)
Presently they have reached a suitable spot and force Valery to dig his own grave. Waiting for his moment, Valery uses the shovel to hit Moltisanti in the head and Gualtieri in the groin. He drops the shovel and takes off. Gualtieri and Moltisanti recover quickly, get up, and start after him. I will assume here that Moltisanti cocks the hammer of his pistol in the brief moment in which we do not see him …
1st Second: At his turn, Valery takes a Move manoeuvre to run away. The GM rules that the ankle-deep snow and uneven ground (Bad Footing) means that all three have to make a DX roll every turn while running to avoid tripping or slipping. At his turn, Moltisanti takes a Move and Attack manoeuvre running and firing one one-handed (Tactical Shooting, p. 11) unsighted shot (Tactical Shooting, p. 13): -4 (Range) -2 (Move and Attack) = -6 to Guns (Pistol). Not surprisingly, he misses. At his turn, Gualtieri takes a Move manoeuvre.
2nd Second: All three take Move manoeuvres.
3rd Second: All three take Move manoeuvres.
4th Second: At his turn, Valery takes a Move manoeuvre. At his turn, Moltisanti takes a Move and Attack manoeuvre running and firing one one-handed unsighted shot: -4 (Range) -2 (Move and Attack) = -6 to Guns (Pistol). He misses. At his turn, Gualtieri takes a Move manoeuvre.
5th Second: Valery takes a Move manoeuvre. Moltisanti takes a Move manoeuvre running. He fails the DX roll and trips, falling down. As he does, he also fails a Guns (Pistol) roll which the GM requires in order to check whether Moltisanti remembered to keep the finger off the trigger [we can clearly see earlier that he does not]. This results in an unintentional discharge as Moltisanti goes down. Gualtieri takes a Move manoeuvre.
6th Second: Valery takes a Move manoeuvre. Moltisanti takes a Change Posture manoeuvre to get from prone to kneeling, yelling “Fuck!” Gualtieri takes a Move manoeuvre.
7th Second: Valery takes a Move manoeuvre. Moltisanti takes a Move manoeuvre to get from kneeling to running. Gualtieri takes a Move and Attack manoeuvre running and firing one one-handed unsighted shot: -5 (Range) -2 (Move and Attack) = -7 to Guns (Pistol). He misses.
8th Second: All three take Move manoeuvres.
9th Second: Valery takes a Move manoeuvre. Moltisanti takes a Move manoeuvre. Gualtieri takes a Move and Attack manoeuvre running and firing one one-handed unsighted shot: -5 (Range) -2 (Move and Attack) = -7 to Guns (Pistol). He misses.
10th Second: Valery takes a Move manoeuvre. Moltisanti takes a Move and Attack manoeuvre running and firing one one-handed unsighted shot: -5 (Range) -2 (Move and Attack) = -7 to Guns (Pistol). He misses. Gualtieri takes a Move manoeuvre.
11th Second: Valery takes a Move manoeuvre. Moltisanti takes a Move and Attack manoeuvre running and firing one one-handed unsighted shot: -5 (Range) -2 (Move and Attack) = -7 to Guns (Pistol). He misses. Gualtieri takes a Move and Attack manoeuvre running and firing one one-handed sighted shot: -5 (Range) -2 (Move and Attack) = -7 to Guns (Pistol). He misses.
12th Second: Valery takes a Move manoeuvre. Moltisanti takes a Move and Attack manoeuvre running and firing one one-handed unsighted shot: -5 (Range) -2 (Move and Attack) = -7 to Guns (Pistol). He misses. Gualtieri takes a Move and Attack manoeuvre running and firing one one-handed unsighted shot: -5 (Range) -2 (Move and Attack) = -7 to Guns (Pistol). He misses.
13th Second: Valery takes a Move manoeuvre. Moltisanti takes a Move and Attack manoeuvre running and firing one one-handed unsighted shot: -6 (Range) -2 (Move and Attack) = -8 to Guns (Pistol). He misses. Gualtieri takes a Move manoeuvre.
14th Second: Valery takes a Move manoeuvre. Moltisanti takes a Move manoeuvre. Gualtieri stops and takes an Aim manoeuvre.
15th Second: Valery takes a Move manoeuvre. Moltisanti takes a Move manoeuvre. Gualtieri takes an All-Out Attack (Determined) manoeuvre, firing one one-handed sighted shot (Tactical Shooting, p. 13): -6 (Range) +1 (Acc) +1 (All-Out Attack) = -4 to Guns (Pistol). He makes his roll and Valery is hit in the skull (p. B399) for four times (2d+1 pi – DR 2) damage after penetration (average 24 points); Valery is at -1×HP or less. Due to the major wound to the skull, he must make a HT-10 roll to avoid knockdown and a HT roll to avoid instant death (p. B419). Amazingly, he makes both rolls – his high HT was already on display in shaking off the head wound he sustained earlier as well as ignoring the cold.
Results
This is how a gunfight looks if you are not highly skilled. While both these men carry a sidearm on a daily basis, they never in all the shootings we witness over the course of the series display any particular degree of marksmanship or tactical savvy. They probably got their guns, shot them a couple times on an impromptu range and then considered themselves ready. Even if they acquired some points in Guns (Pistol) that way, shooting is a perishable skill (p. B294), which must be exercised regularly. These two clearly have not.
Note the pronounced difference between unsighted shooting and sighted shooting and taking time to aim. This is realistic and well captured both in this scene and by the GURPS rules.
Note the unintentional discharge. This is why professional shooters take the finger off the trigger whenever they do not want to shoot – “Jeff” Cooper’s famous Rule No.3. It takes constant reminding and ingrained training to do that, however, which again reinforces the importance of practice. Gualtieri later also trips and falls, and also has his finger on the trigger, but he manages to avoid an unintentional discharge.
Also check how they mostly keep their distance to avoid being disarmed, but then drop their guard as Valery starts shovelling – they should have taken extra care once they gave him a weapon but fell into their usual mode of bickering.
Finally, what happened to Valery? When he disappeared with Gualtieri and Moltisanti looking for him, the camera angle strongly implies that Valery climbed up a tree, shaking off his pursuers – although director “Steve” Buscemi claimed that was unintentional. It is also certain that Valery got as far as stealing Gualtieri’s Caddy. Did he survive the headshot? Sure, he might have, with proper medical attention. (“Fuckin’ Rasputin, this guy.”) However, considering that we never hear from him again, he probably did not.
Shooting Dice 