It gets the point across

Off balance, Gleason's arms pawed at the air, and then he fell. He hit the floor hard, and before he could stir, a shotgun muzzle was put against his throat by Shelley, who had not risen from the table. Gleason's flailing arms eased back to the floor and he lay still, his face a sickly yellow, for which Macon Fallon, an understanding man, blamed him not at all. A shotgun against the throat is a very persuasive argument.

(from Fallon, by Louis Lamour)