The Gun Store

[dorminWS]

2900 E Tropicana Ave, Las Vegas, NV

Saw the billboard inviting me to try out an automatic weapon on the way in from the airport. At first opportunity, dropped the wife off at a mall and checked it out. The cheapest “package” they had happened to be $119.95 to fire 1 stick mag full through an M-40 WWII German “grease-gun-style 9mm submachine gun, 2 stick mags full through a .45 cal. Thompson submachine gun, and 2 extended mags full through a 1911 pistol. The deal included 3 free targets, the ammo, and a free t-shirt. Since I’ve got a Thompson semi-auto replica, I was very curious to fire an auto version. Besides that, I hate to blow money on shooting under those circumstances. It ain't like I don't have my own guns, you know? They had a menu that went up to $900-plus; and if you wantred to turn loose of enough of that nasty ole yankee money, you could fire automatic AKs, SAWS, and lots of other really cool stuff . The Range was pretty shabby, and seemed to me to be a little shy of 25 yards. It was VEGAS, OK? So (A) it was overpriced, and (B) there were good-lookin’, top-heavy gals in tight t-shirts all over the place.

The gun store wasn’t anything much to write home about. They did have a “Ma Deuce” on display and for sale for $11,999 or something pretty close to that. It all felt really “touristy” and artificial – not like taking off to the woods to go shoot – if that makes any sense at all. I didn’t care much for being required to wear wrap-around safety glasses over my polycarbonate glasses. I couldn’t half see; but rules is rules. The other thing care much for was being lectured as if I was 4 years old by some 22-year-old kid with spiked hair on how to handle a firearm. If I’d drawn one of those good-lookin’, top-heavy gals in tight t-shirts it prob’ly wouldn’t have bothered me none.

The M-40 was a sweet gun. Smooth, and not much muzzle rise. Worthy of German engineering and design prowess. The Thompson did have some muzzle rise to contend with, but it was very manageable in 8-10 shot busts. The 1911 was a Springfield Armory. I’m not sure what version it was, but it had the SA crossed cannons logo on the grips, so it wasn’t the GI .45 version like mine (which has “US” on the grips) that I said on another post was the crummiest 1911 I own. I stand by that assessment of that SA 1911. But to those who said on that thread that they had SA1911s that were good guns, I gotta tell you the SA1911 I fired that day was a very nice pistol. Just as good as a colt, IMHO. I’ll keep my SA GI.45 version because I guess it’s close to the original 1911 (and it’ll make me appreciate the rest of them), but I’m adding a higher-end SA version to my “someday” list. In fact, I did it on the spot out there in Las Vegas. I’m thinkin’ the Range Officer.

So, I got to shoot to full-autos. I learnt the whole truth about SA 1911s. And I spent less than SWMBO (that’s She Who Must Be Obeyed) did at the mall, or would have at the Casino. But boys, it was a ROUGH weekend.

[Jakeiscrazy]

Interesting business, I bet they bring in the big bucks.