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| - This is the most self-inflicted adrenaline I've felt since bungee jumping.
First, let me say that guns scare the crap out of me. I don't even like being near a police officer with a holstered weapon... so walking into a shop full of assault rifles is like my adult version of a horror movie. Still, I was with 5 other guys who were up for the adventure, so I got hold of my nerves and jumped into the breach.
We paid $110 each for some version of a party package that gave each of us the chance to shoot (a) a clip full on each of 4 different machine guns and (b) 2 rounds from a 50 caliber desert eagle handgun. For all those boys (and girls) out there who grew up with plastic guns or even shooting a rifle out somewhere at a range, it's fair to say that this is in a whole different league.
For the machine guns, we chose the Uzi, Mac-10, M-5 and Grease Gun. The M-5 and Grease Gun were scarily easy and accurate to shoot, whereas the Uzi and Mac-10 felt a bit more wild but were fun just because they show up so often in the gangster movies.
The Desert Eagle handgun was intense. I'm not a big guy, so this thing felt like I could barely hang onto it. Still, we were able to shoot it with remarkable accuracy and the whole thing just served as a good reminder that it's awfully easy to kill people with guns.
Let me also give credit where it's due to the guys who run this place. When I first heard about shooting machine guns in Vegas, I started to imagine a bunch of drunk guys all standing next to one another with loaded weapons and well, the potential for very bad things. That is not what really happens here. On the Saturday we were in, the Center was staffed by four very friendly but experienced ex-servicemen who make it clear that they have been around the block a few times. Out on the range, we were only with our 6 friends and we were accompanied by two staff members, one of whom is assigned to each weapon. They also stand right behind the the active weapon with a hand up, in a gesture that's comforting to both the shooter and those around him.
I think it would be easy and probably natural for the staff here to look down on us yuppie types from NY and SF, but we never felt that. To me that in itself was impressive.
And last but not least, Dave, the guy who I'd guess to be the owner, regaled us with his personal stories shooting each of these weapons in active duty (e.g., "Oh, you think that 50 caliber is loud in there? One time I was being chased down an alleyway in Sierra Leone when...")
In any event, this is a fantastic option for those looking to branch beyond the casino while in Vegas. So head on in and hear the rest of Dave's stories for yourself.
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