History Main / DramaticAmmoDepletion

->'''Joel:''' ''[aims revolver and pulls trigger]'' *click* Shit!\\

This can represent the shooter's recklessness, especially if they've been shooting wildly & destroying all sorts of items & scenery in their efforts to kill the hero without paying any attention to the state of their firearm. However, this is not a case of RecklessGunUsage used by people unfamiliar with firearms, but about characters that are. This is a nice aversion of BottomlessMagazines. This isn't to be confused with WheresTheKaboom, as that is for explosive devices, while this is specifically for guns.

* The first episode of ''Anime/SherlockHound'' by [=TMS=] Entertainment has the villain attempt to shoot an escaping captive who's trying to clamber around the outside of the villain's hideout. However, the revolver used was taken from a mook who'd shot away the door to the escapee's room, leaving no unused cartridges in the cylinder. The villain conks the mook with the useless firearm in frustration.
* In ''Literature/SwordArtOnlineAlternativeGunGaleOnline'', Eva has LLENN pinned on the ground and shoots at her point blank, but several shots end up hitting her [[PocketProtector scan terminal]] which is an Immortal Object. LLENN then moves her head out of the way of several headshots, before Eva realizes she's run out of bullets.

* In ''ComicBook/VForVendetta'', [[DomesticAbuser Richard Almond]], the head of the local SecretPolice, terrorizes his wife Rosemary one night with a revolver, acting as though he's going to kill her. At the end, he shows her that the gun wasn't loaded, but he tells her that one day soon, it will be loaded. A few minutes later he gets a call with a tip on where V will be and immediately rushes to the scene. Almond arrives in time to get the drop on V, stands across a hallway with his gun pointed at V, and pulls the trigger... only for it to click harmlessly and Almond realizes [[OhCrap with horror]] that he forgot to load it before running out the door. V promptly kills him.

-->-BANG click click-\\

-BANG-\\

* Double-subverted in ''Fanfic/AzumangaRoyale'', where Chiyo did make a point of counting how many rounds she fired from her six-shooter. Too bad she didn't check how many it contained in the first place when it was issued to her...

* ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6'' has a variation. The climax has Yokai angrily lashing out at Hiro and Baymax with arms of [[{{Nanomachines}} microbots]], he finally gets ahold of them, prepares for the final strike... [[spoiler: and fails because he hasn't noticed the stray microbots getting sucked up into [[HoistByHisOwnPetard his own]] CoolGate, leaving him with barely enough to stay in the air]].

* In ''Film/{{Commando}}'', during a fight Duke (the big black Green Beret) has Matrix dead to rights with a revolver aimed directly at his head and after a PreMortemOneLiner pulls the trigger only for a loud "click" to occur and he realizes [[OhCrap he's out of rounds]]. Matrix promptly finishes him by impaling him on a handy bit of broken furniture.

* ''Film/Deadpool2016'': During a shootout on a highway, one of the bad guys starts shooting at Deadpool with their rifle after he peeks his head out from behind a car. He shoots at him all the way until he runs up to Deadpool afterwards and takes aim, only to discover that he emptied his clip on the car. Deadpool points out his stupidity [[BoomHeadshot and promptly shoots him in the head]]. PlayedForLaughs, as Deadpool's healing factor means that having any bullets wouldn't make much of a difference.
-->'''Deadpool:''' Someone's not counting.

* ''Film/{{Logan}}'': Will Munson shoots X-24 with a shotgun several times until he is knocked out. Will then blames Logan for X-24's attack and tries to shoot him, but the shotgun is empty.

** ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' mixes this with BottomlessMagazines: During his escape from Dr. Erskine's lab, HYDRA spy Heinz Kruger fires a total of 14 shots, including 9 during the street chase, from a gun that holds only 8 rounds. Finally Kruger resorts to taking a boy hostage to draw Rogers into the open so he can get a clear shot, but just as he does, his gun clicks empty.
** ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'': In the final moments of his fight against Thanos, Tony's arc reactor begins running out of nanites and he has to shift his armor from limb to limb to both protect himself and continue his attack.

* In ''Film/TheMatrix'', [[BigBad Agent Smith]] and [[TheHero Neo]] have a shootout in a subway. They eventually end up on the ground with each of them holding their pistols at the other's head. They in turn point out that the other's gun is empty. They switch to GoodOldFisticuffs.

* ''Film/SteelRain''. A North Korean agent tries to [[TheCoup assassinate Kim Jong Un]] while a loyal agent tries to protect him. There's a GunKata scene and the assassin tries to shoot the figure lying on a hospital gurney, only to find he's used his last bullet. He tries to grab a scalpel only to be tackled by the loyal agent. But then he's able to get hold of the other agent's gun and fires the last bullet into the patient...only to pull back the sheet and discover he's shot a [[SleepingDummy corpse that's been left there as a decoy]]. South Korean special forces then burst into the room. Having failed his mission, the assassin releases the slide to [[SuicideByCop make it look like the pistol is loaded and turns to face them]]...
* ''Film/SundownTheVampireInRetreat:'' Mardulak beats and wounds the villain in a QuickDraw fight, only to be out of bullets when he tries to finish him off with another shot.
* ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' has a heroic example. Sarah Connor keeps blasting the T-1000 with a shotgun, pushing it towards the edge of a ledge above a pool of molten metal. However just as the T-1000 is about to fall off, Sarah runs out of ammo. The T-1000 [[HealingFactor heals up his wounds]] and [[EvilGloating starts taunting Sarah]], before the T-800 [[BigDamnHeroes arrives and blows it off the edge using a grenade launcher]].

* ''Film/ThorRagnarok'': Skurge battles Hela's undead army with two machine guns. The bullets easily destroy the zombies, but the guns eventually click empty. He uses the guns as clubs against the rest.

* ''Literature/BlackHouse'': Near the end of the book, during the press conference to honor the four heroes that stopped [[BigBad the Fisherman]], Wanda Kinderling (a woman whose husband, Thornberg, went to prison for murder thanks to protagonist Jack Sawyer) decides to use this opportunity to kill Jack (since she firmly believes her husband was innocent and Jack framed him). While Jack and his friends are on the stage, she draws a gun and shoots Jack Sawyer multiple times, then shouts "See you in hell Hollywood", and aims the gun at her head... only to realize that, in her eagerness, she emptied the gun, leaving no bullet for herself.

* ''Series/AgentsOfShield'': In "Code Yellow", Deke tries to be intimidating by shooting Jaco after he emptied the clip on an unconscious Pax.
* ''Series/AshVsEvilDead'': Pablo confronts Kelly [[DemonicPossession (who's possessed by a demon)]] at the high school dance, but can't bring himself to shoot her. She steals his gun and has no problem firing several shots at Pablo instead that all miss. Just when she has him cornered, the gun has run out of bullets.
* ''Series/AlteredCarbon'', In the episode "The Wrong Man" during a ElevatorActionSequence the Ghostwalker shoots at Ortega but her cop partner Abboud manages to [[TakingTheBullet dive into the line of fire]] to save her. At first it looks like Ortega's death is only delayed but the subsequent clicking of the Ghostwalker's gun makes it clear that he used his last bullet for the shot, allowing Ortega to survive the attack. Watch the scene [[https://youtu.be/aeyHttOw2uo?t=100 here]].

* ''Series/CowboyBebop2021''. A variation when Spike is fighting hitman Gunther who empties his pistol, goes to reload only for Spike to grab his wrist to stop him inserting the magazine.
* ''Series/Daredevil2015'': In the season 3 finale, Dex runs out of ammo as he attacks Fisk's wedding reception. He aims his gun at Agent Hattley, who begs him to spare her, but his gun clicks empty when he pulls the trigger. So he throws the gun at her instead, knocking her out.
* ''Series/TheUmbrellaAcademy2019'': In the season 1 episode "The Day that Wasn't", the Handler tries to shoot Five to stop him from [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong changing the past]], but Five uses his powers to dodge every shot. When the Handler can finally get a clear shot at him, it turns out she already used up her last bullet.

* Invoked in ''Radio/TheGoonShow'' episode "Six Charlies in Search of an Author":

* ''TabletopGame/D20Modern''[='s=] Cinematic Ammo Rules did not have you track individual bullets. Instead, whenever you rolled a "1" on your die, you missed because you were out of ammo and needed to use your next action to reload.
* ''[[TabletopGame/FengShui Feng Shui 2]]'' foregoes the ammo tracking of the original game in favor of more dramatic ammunition rules. After the first sequence of any fight where you're blasting off with guns, you have to make a Reload Check based on the Reload Value of your current weapon for every attack you make with it until you fail. Failure on the Reload Check means you've run out of ammo and need to reload, and once you've reloaded, you don't have to reload again until the same shot on the next sequence. Autofire adds more damage to your weapon at the cost of accuracy if you add three or more points of damage (which is added as a penalty to your Guns AV), and at the cost of having to make a Reload Check immediately after your fusillade, with your extra damage added to the Reload Value, for this and every subsequent attack you make with it, even if you're blasting off on the first sequence.

'''Player Character:''' ''[[[KnuckleCracking Crack his knuckles]]]'' [[IronicEcho Goodbye, bitch]].

* In ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange'''s second episode, there's a scene where Chloe practises with a gun she stole from her stepfather in the junkyard. She hands the gun to Max to try when Frank (a drug dealer who Chloe owes a lot of money to) shows up and begins threatening the girls with a knife, causing Max to point the gun at him (giving the player a choice of whether or not to shoot at him). If you decide to shoot, it will turn out that Chloe had already used up all the bullets (but the fact Max was willing to pull the trigger is enough to scare Frank off and impress Chloe).

** {{Exploited|Trope}} in the first game: While Joel [[spoiler: or Ellie]] will start panicking if you run out of ammunition, it's possible to make other hunters try to come closer to you if they hear the clicking of an empty gun. Cue Ellie tossing a brick at them and giving you the opportunity to close in for a FinishingMove.

* In the ''VideoGame/Payday2'' "Deathwish" trailer, an elite Bulldozer has gunned down 3 of the 4 heisters and was caught in the middle of reloading by Chains. Chains nods and slowly takes aim at the Bulldozer, only to hear that his gun is empty too before the two race to reload their weapons first.

* In ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'': "[=Robocop=] VS Terminator": Terminator starts firing at [=Robocop=] with a powerful shotgun repeatedly as he approaches. When he finally aims the killing shot at his head, he's out of shells. [=Robocop=] responds with this.
-->'''[=Robocop=]:''' 9 shots: you're out.
* ''WebAnimation/NomadOfNowhere'': In the 4th episode, the Nomad is cornered by the travelling circus' cow girl. She fires several shots at him from her revolvers while he distracts her with [[PieInTheFace cream pies]]. Once he runs out, he's cornered and she aims both of her pistols at him and pulls the triggers...only to find out her revolvers are out of ammo. Nomad then uses his [[AnimateInanimateObject magic]] [[ItMakesSenseInContext to cause the rest of her bullets to run away]].

[[folder:Web Comics]]

--->'''Blank:''' Huh... I guess ninja ''can'' run out of throwing stars after all.

* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'': Duke Nukem chases down the Planeteers after they steal a vital part from his stolen air conditioner factory, firing at them multiple times. He wrecks their ride and prepares to blast them, only to discover that he used up all his energy during the chase.

* ''WesternAnimation/LoveDeathAndRobots'': In the episode "Sucker of Souls", Flynn's gun runs out of ammo while he's fighting Dracula. Not that the gun was really helping.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In "All Singing, All Dancing", Snake, while on the run from the cops, breaks into the Simpsons' house with the intent to kill them. He aims his shotgun at Homer and fires, but he's out of ammo. It's then PlayedForLaughs somewhat, as he methodically aims and fires at each of the other Simpsons in turn, as if the result will somehow change.

* During the final shootout scene of ''Film/TheCrow'', one of Top Dollar's henchmen ends up running out of ammunition in front of Eric's face before he gets walloped and shot himself. Normally since Eric has NighInvulnerability thanks to the crow, such a thing wouldn't have mattered anyway, but this power has been negated due to [[spoiler:Top Dollar shooting the crow]].

** In the trailer for ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII'', the antagonist has a revolver & pulls it out when she has one of the protagonists cornered. She hears noises coming from the forest & fires a few shots. When the other protagonist tries to attack her, she fires again but misses as the first protagonist grabs her and pins her down. She tries to fire at the first protagonist, but the revolver is out of ammo.

* In ''Series/AlteredCarbon'' episode "The Wrong Man", during the ElevatorActionSequence the Ghostwalker shoots at Ortega but Abboud manages to [[TakingTheBullet dive into the line of fire]] to save Ortega. First it looks like Ortega's death is only delayed but the subsequent clicking of the Ghostwalker's gun makes it clear that he used his last bullet for the shot, allowing Ortega to survive the attack. Watch the scene [[https://youtu.be/aeyHttOw2uo?t=100 here]].

* In ''Film/TheKiller'', Ah Jong tells Fung Sei that he always saves the last bullet, either for himself or for his enemy. Following the shootout where he says this, he racks back the slide to eject the round still in the chamber in order to show Fung Sei that he wasn't bluffing. Much later, Fung Sei has a shootout with Wong Hoi and his men to try to get the money from him on Ah Jong's behalf, but unfortunately, he runs out of bullets just before he's able to kill Wong Hoi himself. It does not end well for Fung Sei.

* ''Film/BackToTheFuture'': After one of the Libyan terrorists guns down Doc Brown, they try to shoot Marty next, only for their gun to not fire. It's not clear whether the gun jammed, was out of ammo, or both.

* In ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnlineAlternativeGunGaleOnline'', Eva has LLENN pinned on the ground and shoots at her point blank, but several shots end up hitting her [[PocketProtector scan terminal]] which is an Immortal Object. LLENN then moves her head out of the way of several headshots, before Eva realizes she's run out of bullets.

** ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'': When being chased by the newly empowered Steve Rogers, the Hydra spy Heinz Kruger keeps firing his gun, but Rogers dodges every shot. Eventually, Kruger resorts to taking a boy hostage to force Rogers to stand still long enough so he can get a clear shot, but just as he does, his gun clicks empty.

* ''Manga/ChainsawMan'': In the manga, the gun Kobeni takes from Samurai Sword only had two rounds left, [[UseTheirOwnWeaponAgainstThem which she empties into him]]. She then dry-fires while pointing at Sawatari, forcing Kobeni to use Denji's transformed body as a BulletproofHumanShield against the return fire. (In the anime, the gun doesn't run out and they keep exchanging fire as Sawatari flees.)

* ''Manga/ChainsawMan'': The gun Kobeni takes from Samurai Sword only had two rounds left, [[UseTheirOwnWeaponAgainstThem which she empties into him]]. She then dry-fires while pointing at Sawatari, forcing Kobeni to use Denji's transformed body as a BulletproofHumanShield against the return fire.

* ''Film/JudgeDredd'': Dredd's EvilTwin manages to line a point-blank shot on Dredd himself, only for the stolen Lawgiver to announce it's out of lethal ammo. Dredd wrestles the guns out of him and switches to signal flares before shooting back.

* ''Manga/ChainsawMan'': The gun Kobeni takes from Samurai Sword only had two rounds left, [[UseTheirOwnWeaponAgainstThem which she empties into him]]. She then dry-fires while pointing at Sawatari, forcing her to use Denji's transformed body as a BulletproofHumanShield against the return fire.

* ''Manga/ChainsawMan'': The gun Kobeni takes from Samurai Sword only had two rounds left, which she empties into him. She then dry-fires while pointing at Sawatari, forcing her to use Denji's transformed body as a BulletproofHumanShield against the return fire.