Only in America – at Machine Guns Vegas, civilians can walk in off the street and fire automatic weapons.By JASON BECK
THE happiest place on Earth is in a squat, dark building in an industrial area off the Las Vegas strip.
It’s a purely American mix of nightclub and war movie, in which international tourists and locals alike can unleash their inner Rambo.
Machine Guns Vegas (MGV) has been open for a little over three months, offering a wide range of machine guns, semi-automatics, shotguns and pistols to the discerning guest.
There’s an old shooter’s formula that says the maximum amount of gunpowder, burnt in the shortest possible time, equals the greatest level of happiness.
And so it is at MGV, where you can be spraying lead downrange within about half an hour of walking into the building – as long as you’re not drunk, pregnant or crazy.
Well, two out of three ain’t bad.
In Australia, it’s an experience largely denied to those outside the military. Not so in the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
All the old favourites are here – the venerable WWII Thompson sub machine-gun, the Heckler and Koch MP5 so beloved of the SAS, the M4 assault rifle and the venerable Uzi.
Try the “full auto” package – a snip for eight machine guns and 300 rounds of ammunition, for a cool US$499.
And the targets? Shoot a terrorist, Osama bin Laden, a hijacker, an alien, a zombie, a nazi zombie … even a killer clown.
“That guy’s wearing way too much make-up … let’s have a little fun,” the range master says, eyeing the clown target suspiciously.
My finger squeezes the trigger, the butt pounds my shoulder, gunsmoke fills the air … and the clown’s laughing days are over.
Only in America.
Slick advertising and a bleeding-edge cool look put MGV in a whole new category in the Vegas gun marketplace.
The new facility unashamedly targets the complete novice, so shooters fire under close range master supervision and after safety briefings.
Almost without exception, range masters are ex-military, and extremely experienced with firearms.
Following the nightclub lounge theme, there is firearm décor, a private lounge for celebrities, and a VIP range in addition to the standard indoor range.
But the real attraction here is the guns – between 40 and 60 of them at any time, lovingly tended by two in-house armourers.
Hostesses with fake guns and tactical gear will guide you through the menu on an ipad, and help calibrate your firearm needs. You’ll be paged when your guns are ready.
While the principal market is Californians, tourists from countries with tough gun laws have also been a strong part of the clientele – including “Brits by the truckload.”
These visitors are currently shooting a combined total of about 58,000 rounds of ammunition at the facility each and every week.
Famous for gambling and girls, discerning customers can now add “guns” to the Las Vegas list.
The author attended Machine Guns Vegas as a guest of MGV.
