# Automatic Weapon Rental in Las Vegas **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 8, 2008, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/automatic-weapon-rental-in-las-vegas/440561 "2008-03-08T03:57:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2008, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/automatic-weapon-rental-in-las-vegas/440561/21 "2008-03-14T22:33:42Z")
[QUOTE=bouv] Well, I know that the Mythbusters, on several occasions, have rented large weapons that civilians can’t own in CA (including a mini-gun (and why is it a mini-gun? Looks pretty big to me)) So clearly there is somewhere out west that one can do this. [/QUOTE] It’s a "mini"gun compared to the original M61 Vulcan which is a 20mm cannon (the minigun fires 7.62mm rifle rounds): [http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/equip/m61pod.jpg](http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/equip/m61pod.jpg) [https://armamentsales.sslpowered.com/photos/displayimage.php?album=15&pos=8](https://armamentsales.sslpowered.com/photos/displayimage.php?album=15&pos=8) ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2008, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/automatic-weapon-rental-in-las-vegas/440561/22 "2008-03-15T16:54:45Z")
I’ve done the Gun Store thing too, I did the AK, my girlfriend did the MP5 and my buddy did the Uzi. Total time from start to finish was about 30 minutes, with maybe 8 minutes of that being shooting time. Cost me $100 and I thought I was worth it. Don’t know that I’d do it again, as \*\*Stranger \*\* mentioned it’s actually kind of underwhelming but if you don’t mind the cash it’s a bit of a hoot. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2008, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/automatic-weapon-rental-in-las-vegas/440561/23 "2008-03-17T14:03:50Z")
[QUOTE=Martini Enfield] Because you live somewhere like Australia where AK-47s are illegal and shooting one isn’t something you can do at home? [/QUOTE] So you go into this place and shoot it there, as I made clear in my first post that I saw no problem with. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2008, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/automatic-weapon-rental-in-las-vegas/440561/24 "2008-03-17T20:00:45Z")
[QUOTE=Valgard] It’s a "mini"gun compared to the original M61 Vulcan which is a 20mm cannon (the minigun fires 7.62mm rifle rounds): [http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/equip/m61pod.jpg](http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/equip/m61pod.jpg) [https://armamentsales.sslpowered.com/photos/displayimage.php?album=15&pos=8](https://armamentsales.sslpowered.com/photos/displayimage.php?album=15&pos=8) [/QUOTE] Nothing much to add, just using this as an excuse to link to a cool video [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5\_as\_iy\_tw](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5_as_iy_tw) ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2008, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/automatic-weapon-rental-in-las-vegas/440561/25 "2008-03-17T21:54:08Z")
[QUOTE=Gala Matrix Fire] I had been under the impression that he fired an AK47 there, but research shows that they don’t let you fire AK47s or M16s, but they let you fire UZIs. I’m sure there’s some sort of logical reason for that. [/QUOTE] Many indoor ranges are designed with backstops that are only rated to stop handgun rounds. The Uzi is a submachine gun chambered in 9mm Parabellum (a handgun round) while the M-16 and AK-47 are rifles firing rifle rounds. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2008, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/automatic-weapon-rental-in-las-vegas/440561/26 "2008-03-17T21:58:04Z")
[QUOTE=Lizard] Many indoor ranges are designed with backstops that are only rated to stop handgun rounds. The Uzi is a submachine gun chambered in 9mm Parabellum (a handgun round) while the M-16 and AK-47 are rifles firing rifle rounds. [/QUOTE] The Gun Store seems to get around that by using [frangible ammunition](http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/frangible.htm) and I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the power charges in the rounds they use are reduced to the minimum needed to cycle the action reliably on the guns. ---
**Author:** ![Vorpal\_Blade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/9de0a6/32.png) [@Vorpal\_Blade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vorpal_Blade)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2008, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/automatic-weapon-rental-in-las-vegas/440561/27 "2008-03-18T16:48:31Z")
“Bullseye” in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has (don’t know if they still do) rented automatic firearms. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/automatic-weapon-rental-in-las-vegas/440561.md?page=1)