The car park at Phuket Shooting Range is dusty, which gets you in the cowboy spirit straight away. The long walls of the shooting range meet in the middle to an open archway. My father and I approached, hearing the odd gunshot, which while obvious, is still nerve-wracking. A nonchalant Thai national was sat behind a window pane just inside the walls. He pointed towards a list on the window that explained the cost of each weapon and how much ammunition comes with it. I went for the 22mm rifle, and Dad opted for the 45mm handgun, both coming with 10 bullets. The range is straight out of Lethal Weapon 3, paper targets on clips and trigger happy men wearing large ear muffs and goggles.
We were given a helper each and they took us on the 3 metre walk to the shooting range, how kind. We were then told to aim and fire at the target. After the first round they reloaded the weapon. We fired again. Then they said “You reload this time”. So we did. Then they smiled, and walked away. We came to the gun range in Phuket with a passport and a small amount of money, now we both had lethal weapons with 8 rounds of ammo each remaining. The guns weren’t tied down, there were no guards on the open archway and we could actually see the car park from where we were. A ten metre walk and we’d be on the open road, armed and dangerous.
Fortunately, we aren’t terrorists and both wanted to beat each other’s score on the day. Dad turned his hand to the side at one point and started unloading as if he were some sort of Mexican drug lord. Accuracy beats showmanship in this game though, and my score of 71 percent just bettered his 67. Everybody was very laid back at the range for saying how many strangers were carrying loaded weapons. It was nice not to be accosted about spending more money though, which is usually the case in Thailand.
Overall, Phuket Shooting Range is an enjoyable experience. It was a good bit of fun and I am glad I’ve done it. Having said that, shooting a gun isn’t nearly as exciting as it sounds, and I would question the value for money. I suppose for somebody like me it’s because guns aren’t common where I’m from that gives this some novelty.
Cost: 1,880 THB altogether.
Mueang Phuket District
Phuket
Thailand