Photo courtesy of Drive Tanks
Benjamin Franklin explained it in letter he penned in 1789. “Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency, but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Most of us survive April 15’s hyperventilation, but there are some things every shooter should consider doing before the Grim Reaper’s unavoidable entry, stage right. Here’s my short bucket list for gun owners.
You may need to down some Dramamine before you mount up for the Aegis Academy Aerial Shooting Experience. There are other companies out there that’ll take you aloft for trigger time from altitude, but ShootingIllustrated.com contributor David Bahde recommended this one heartily. After the aerial familiarization session, he wrote, “Once loaded up, the ride of my life began. The chopper lifted, flew sideways across the parking lot, turned 90 degrees on a dime, tilted forward and flew off. Passes were made with banking turns, flying low to the ground giving a feel for shooting on the move. Unlike the live-fire exercise, we were moving fast, pulling up as you approached the fire tower.”
Why wait for standard -issue angel wings when you have this kind of fun without a nagging toe tag flapping in the breeze?
Found Next to a Pile of Brass
If you, too, believe the Grim Reaper is making a big mistake bringing a sickle to your final gunfight, then Gunsite needs to be on your bucket list. There you’ll learn from the pros how to run that handgun—if you prefer he gets to bad-breath distance before you execute the failure drill—wield that shotgun or drop him at 1,000 meters. It’s a pick-your-poison nirvana for firearm enthusiasts before Valhalla, with an institutional knowledge on armed self-defense that stretches all the way back to 1976.
Channel Patton in Texas
Everything’s bigger in the Lone Star state, including the guns, at least at when you visit Drive Tanks. Get behind the wheel of a Sherman, Russian T-34, German Leopard 1A4 and more, touch off rounds, squash cars, unleash an M60 and move the goalposts for your next friend who claims he once had, “the most fun possible with your clothes on.” It’s your chance to relive the run to the Rhine.
Lead Launched in Vegas….
The next time a trip to Sin City is on your schedule, ditch the annoying din of the slots for the pleasant report of an M4, AK-47, Uzi, MP5, Kriss Victor, M1919 Browning and others by putting Machine Guns Vegas on your itinerary. Las Vegas’ “most popular shooting range” even offers special packages like SEAL Team 6, Femme Fatale, The SAS Experience and a Brass and [this is a family magazine so we’re paraphrasing] Curvaceous Tailbones Bachelor Party. Visit MachineGunsVegas.com to fulfill those dreams before your big sleep.
On the other side of the nation, there’s also a facility to rent machineguns in Florida and a whole need breed of ranges sweeping the nation.
Family Gathering
Sure, your range has an annual gathering of dozens of like-minded firearm enthusiasts. It’s a blast you look forward to all year long, but before your fat lady sings, turn things up exponentially checking off one or two items on this bucket list for gun owners.