I've watched a LOT of gun cam footage, read more about the subject than I care to admit, and our gunnery is NOT too "easy". Lusche is spot on when he points out that real pilots had vastly less gunnery practice than a guy who has been playing a few months, much less a vet.
Examples: Several of Bob Johnson's kills literally *exploded* to little bits when he hosed them down with 8 .50s. IIRC, it was at Y29 that P-51D pilot shot a 190 in a turn with a deflection shot. The range was so close that the guns in each wing (3 .50s) hit each wing of the 190. Being hosed down by these 3 .50s apiece caused *both* wings to break and fold up over the canopy, like "a carrier plane".
Saxman: For offline practice, I turn my lethality down to .0001% sometimes. A few .50 pings to the nose of any plane *still*gets the oil/rad, even though otherwise you can hose it down from here till Christmas with 30MMs at those settings and not break off any flying surfaces. Interesting aye?