Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Of all the ranges in town, I like the
Gun Store
(2900 E. Tropicana Ave.;
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702/454
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1110; www.thegunstorelasvegas.com; daily 9am-6:30pm; AE, DC, MC,
V)
most, because it uses frangible ammunition, which has less of a chance of
ricocheting back on you (it breaks up on contact) and is better for the environ-
ment, as it contains no lead. There are 15 lanes here, each of which allows the
shooter 15 yards to the target. To shoot a machine gun costs $25 to $45 for 50
shots (depending on the ammo and gun you choose; larger bullets are more
expensive). For a regular handgun, you'll pay about $36 for 50 shots. The store
will also provide you with a teacher, protection for the eyes and ears, and a target,
at no extra cost. And if you seem drunk, happily, they're going to turn you away,
so if you're thinking of this activity for a bachelor party, go earlier rather than later.
And go on weekdays if you can, as sometimes there can be a wait of up to 30 min-
utes to shoot on weekends.
Tip:
Visit the website and print out one of their $5 discount coupons before
arriving. The Gun Store also has frequent promotions such as “Ladies Free on
Tuesdays,” so check the site for those as well.
TWO UNUSUAL TOURS
Though it seems like everything that's not nailed down gets imploded here, the
past is not dead in Vegas. In some ways it's just as compelling as anything on the
Strip or off. The following insider's tours explore the area's colorful, controversial,
sometimes extremely dark, history.
In the 1950s, the mushroom cloud blossoming just beyond the city's skyline
was as much an iconic Vegas image as that of the Rat Pack or a showgirl in heels.
The source of those explosions, the Nevada Testing Site, then known as the
Nevada Proving Ground, became instantly famous, with Huntley and Brinkley
doing live broadcasts from the site, clouds thrusting up behind them. From the
mid-'60s to the '90s, it was a magnet for protesters worried about nuclear prolif-
eration, who camped heroically for days on end in the blazing heat just outside
the gates of the site.
In all that time, the site was a world unto itself, a closed-off place open only
to the workers cleared to serve here and some in the political world. Though the
ground shook in Vegas and piercing white lights struck the sky, no outsiders were
allowed to tour until the late '70s, when finally the gates were opened . . . a small
crack.
But if you can make your way into that crack and catch one of these
once-
monthly tours
(
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702/295
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0944; www.nv.doe.gov/nts/tours.htm; tours are free),
you're in for an exhausting but brain-expanding day, when you'll meet a number
of workers who were at the site during its heyday; see with your own eyes the
shocking power of nuclear energy; and join the small club of people who have ever
gotten onto the grounds of this Rhode Island-sized patch of desert that is
arguably one of the most important scientific landmarks in the country.
After a short introduction at the Atomic Museum, you'll be bused a little over
an hour to the site and undergo fairly elaborate security procedures. Then for the
rest of the day you'll drive around the site, debarking occasionally to stare down
the lip of a crater created by a bomb or at a steel bridge meant to mimic an urban
