Well I was in Vegas this weekend for a stag party, and a bunch of us thought it would be cool to go to the gun store there where you can rent machineguns etc to try out on the range. We're all Canucks so the govt won't let us play with cool bang-bangs in case we might leave them where little jimmy might get ahold of and blast his sister inadvertantly.
So, the 5 of us who went go in and after signing our life away stating we won't sue if something goes amiss, we're selecting some pistolas to warm up on. Since there was a group we could get several and swap em around. I picked the SigSauer P229 .40 S&W, someone liked the look of a Glock 17, another fellow got a Baretta PX4 "Storm" and finally the groom to be chose the venerable colt 1911 .45.
In to the range we trooped, and the fellow working there obviously loves his job almost as much as he loves his guns. He gave us an entertaining and informative run through of range safety, the do's and don'ts of holding the pistol (watch the slide doesnt catch on your hand!) and gave a demo with a shot from each of the guns. After the quick run-through, we were a-shootin.
Now, this was the first time I'd ever shot a firearm (again, canuck and not living on a farm) so it was quite the unique experience. Thanks to the hours and hours of FPS training, I already knew how to line up the sights properly, and within no time I was putting holes thru saddam's (my target was of everyone's favorite deposed dictator) jaunty black beret. The Sig was a really nice firing gun, no issues there. I switched off to the Glock 17, which I think is too damn light. Seems like a girly gun to me. 9mm shells are a bit smaller than the .40 too. After that I tried out the Baretta PX4 Storm, also 9mm. This has a really nice ergonomic feel for it, and felt more substantial than the glock. Finally, the 1911. Wowsers, that gun is kick ass. The .45 bullets make the .40 look puny. You fire it and a spurt of flame about 2' long shoots out the front. The smoke alarm in the room kept beeping after I fired a few rounds through that.
After we were all done shooting the pistols, we trooped back out to select our machineguns.. Now, they have an M249 SAW there that I was sorely tempted to try. However, they were charging $40 for a belt of 25 shots. Ouch. I got to see someone else firing it though, and it took him all of about 15 seconds to go through and I know he was trying to pace himself. If you just held it down, 2 seconds max. Not really worth it! Instead I chose the M4, with 50 rounds. After a bit of instruction with a different fellow, I had the butt of the gun nestled in my shoulder and was ready to let rip. One thing I was not prepared for was the violence with which the spent shell casings eject and fly all over the damn place. Add to the fact that you are in a range with a wall right next to you, and a lot of those fly back right at you. Not a big deal, but it sort of adds to the intensity of the situation. Anyway, after squeezing off a few short bursts, I let er rip with about 10 shots. There isn't much recoil, but wow, it was pretty crazy. I was trying to squint down the peep sights while squeezing the trigger, and the gun pulls noticeably up and to the right. The smell of burnt gunpowder really assails your nostrils, and the brass shells flying everywhere add to the mayhem. I couldn't stop grinning!
After the M4, I got on the AK-101. I liked the M4, but I *loved* the AK-101.. The sights just seemed easier, it fit my size better (I'm a tall dude) and it just felt totally comfortable. I managed to get quite a respectable grouping in my target in a burst, and just chewed away with it for the rest of the rounds.. It seemed so solid and well put together, even compared to the M4 which I felt had a bit of a plasticy feel, especially the front furniture. The AK-101 uses plastic in the furniture too but it must be some kind of composite thing because it did not feel cheap or breakable.
Finally, my other compadres were giving the old-school thompson submachinegun a try too. I didn't try that one out, but it sure looked cool. Made much bigger holes than the AK or M4 with its .45 bullets. But as we all know, the range or accuracy wouldn't be the same..
One other weapon I was really intrigued to try was the FN FiveseveN. I was suprised they would have one of these military-grade pistols there, but hey, this is vegas. Unfortunately, due to the somewhat oddball and therefore rare ammo (5.7x28mm) they were charging $20 for 10 shots. Too rich for my blood! I asked the guy what that shoots like and he said "like a bb gun with a 4 foot flame coming out the front". That description was cool enough for me!
Well that is my quickie review of the gun store in las vegas, I recommend trying it out if you are in town and live someplace where you wouldn't be able to fire a machinegun, or handguns for that matter. They had a nice selection of weaponry you could try out, and while it wasn't the cheapest (I spent about 75 bucks there or so), it was definitely an experience.
Highly Recommended!
So, the 5 of us who went go in and after signing our life away stating we won't sue if something goes amiss, we're selecting some pistolas to warm up on. Since there was a group we could get several and swap em around. I picked the SigSauer P229 .40 S&W, someone liked the look of a Glock 17, another fellow got a Baretta PX4 "Storm" and finally the groom to be chose the venerable colt 1911 .45.
In to the range we trooped, and the fellow working there obviously loves his job almost as much as he loves his guns. He gave us an entertaining and informative run through of range safety, the do's and don'ts of holding the pistol (watch the slide doesnt catch on your hand!) and gave a demo with a shot from each of the guns. After the quick run-through, we were a-shootin.
Now, this was the first time I'd ever shot a firearm (again, canuck and not living on a farm) so it was quite the unique experience. Thanks to the hours and hours of FPS training, I already knew how to line up the sights properly, and within no time I was putting holes thru saddam's (my target was of everyone's favorite deposed dictator) jaunty black beret. The Sig was a really nice firing gun, no issues there. I switched off to the Glock 17, which I think is too damn light. Seems like a girly gun to me. 9mm shells are a bit smaller than the .40 too. After that I tried out the Baretta PX4 Storm, also 9mm. This has a really nice ergonomic feel for it, and felt more substantial than the glock. Finally, the 1911. Wowsers, that gun is kick ass. The .45 bullets make the .40 look puny. You fire it and a spurt of flame about 2' long shoots out the front. The smoke alarm in the room kept beeping after I fired a few rounds through that.
After we were all done shooting the pistols, we trooped back out to select our machineguns.. Now, they have an M249 SAW there that I was sorely tempted to try. However, they were charging $40 for a belt of 25 shots. Ouch. I got to see someone else firing it though, and it took him all of about 15 seconds to go through and I know he was trying to pace himself. If you just held it down, 2 seconds max. Not really worth it! Instead I chose the M4, with 50 rounds. After a bit of instruction with a different fellow, I had the butt of the gun nestled in my shoulder and was ready to let rip. One thing I was not prepared for was the violence with which the spent shell casings eject and fly all over the damn place. Add to the fact that you are in a range with a wall right next to you, and a lot of those fly back right at you. Not a big deal, but it sort of adds to the intensity of the situation. Anyway, after squeezing off a few short bursts, I let er rip with about 10 shots. There isn't much recoil, but wow, it was pretty crazy. I was trying to squint down the peep sights while squeezing the trigger, and the gun pulls noticeably up and to the right. The smell of burnt gunpowder really assails your nostrils, and the brass shells flying everywhere add to the mayhem. I couldn't stop grinning!
After the M4, I got on the AK-101. I liked the M4, but I *loved* the AK-101.. The sights just seemed easier, it fit my size better (I'm a tall dude) and it just felt totally comfortable. I managed to get quite a respectable grouping in my target in a burst, and just chewed away with it for the rest of the rounds.. It seemed so solid and well put together, even compared to the M4 which I felt had a bit of a plasticy feel, especially the front furniture. The AK-101 uses plastic in the furniture too but it must be some kind of composite thing because it did not feel cheap or breakable.
Finally, my other compadres were giving the old-school thompson submachinegun a try too. I didn't try that one out, but it sure looked cool. Made much bigger holes than the AK or M4 with its .45 bullets. But as we all know, the range or accuracy wouldn't be the same..
One other weapon I was really intrigued to try was the FN FiveseveN. I was suprised they would have one of these military-grade pistols there, but hey, this is vegas. Unfortunately, due to the somewhat oddball and therefore rare ammo (5.7x28mm) they were charging $20 for 10 shots. Too rich for my blood! I asked the guy what that shoots like and he said "like a bb gun with a 4 foot flame coming out the front". That description was cool enough for me!
Well that is my quickie review of the gun store in las vegas, I recommend trying it out if you are in town and live someplace where you wouldn't be able to fire a machinegun, or handguns for that matter. They had a nice selection of weaponry you could try out, and while it wasn't the cheapest (I spent about 75 bucks there or so), it was definitely an experience.
Highly Recommended!
Last edited by priznat (2006-01-17 02:12:17)