Chiang Mai (Northern Thailand) Tourist Guide


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Chiang Mai Shooting Club and ATV Park
Man About Town GOES BALLISTIC!!

Text & Images : Colin Hinshelwood

Bang on!

Local adventurer and fearless frolicker, Colin Hinshelwood takes to the shooting range this month. In these dangerous days of terrorism and civil strife, he is arming himself against any rogue elements that might try to impede his - and Charlton Heston's - constitutional rights.

Lo behold the cat burglar that tries to invade his home!

Whitewater rafting, paragliding, microlight flying, paintball, bungee jumping, hot air ballooning, rock climbing; there's no challenge too daunting for CMTG's Man About Town. He even survived the teeming masses of this winter's Royal Flora Ratchapruek.

Next month, our Man About Town will bring you his very own Chiang Mai Pub Crawl, a daring delve into the not-so-naughty nightlife in the city center.

If you would like our Man about Town to visit your club or facility, or if you know of any new and exciting adventures to be had in or around Chiang Mai, write and tell him at: hinsh@cpamedia.com.

A Brief History of Firearms

Although Stone Age man had discovered that flint could be used to ignite a fire, it didn't occur to us until the 16th century that this very same process could be used to fire a weapon. Of course the Chinese have records of mixing charcoal, sulphur and manure into gunpowder during the first Han Dynasty (206 B.C. - 220 A.D.), but their energies mainly went into the delight of fireworks rather than killing people with this knowledge.

Since the first flintlock musket, guns have gone through a series of significant modifications and continue to do so up to this present day. Many would argue that Europeans could never have colonized the rest of the world without that one technological advantage - firearms. You might also argue that no other invention has caused so much death in the history of mankind.

Samuel Colt invented the first pistol with a revolving cylinder. The cylinder could contain up to six bullets and its innovative cocking device caused the cylinder to revolve after firing each bullet. Colt patented the first `revolver' in 1836.

The first breech-loading rifle was invented by a Scotsman, Captain Patrick Ferguson in 1776. The Ferguson Rifle proved a decisive factor in the American Revolutionary War the very next year.

Perhaps the most revolutionary invention of its day was the Gatling Gun, patented in 1861; a six-barreled weapon capable of firing an incredible 200 rounds per minute.

John Moses Browning was the prolific gun designer who introduced the Winchester rifle, the pump shotgun and the Colt 45 automatic. During the Second World War, the Germans unleashed the first modern assault rifle, the Sturmgewehr. Not to be outdone, the U.S. military went into overdrive to develop its own assault rifle, resulting in the M-16, which was first used in the US-Vietnam War. The M-16 is now the most widespread assault weapon in the world and is carried by Thai soldiers. Most conflicts in the world are glowing examples of military influence in each region, with U.S.-made M-16s, Russian Kalashnikovs (especially the AK-47), and Israeli UZIs being the most traded weapons everywhere from Afghanistan to Somalia to Cambodia to Colombia.

Make My Day!

The first time you shoot a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum the blast makes you jump off the ground. Your arm is thrust skywards from the recoil of the gun and your nerves frazzle for a few moments.

You realize that you are not Dirty Harry after all. (More like Harry Meets Sally!)

However, with some gentle instruction and a few more rounds, you start getting better. You are now hitting the target, squeezing the trigger slowly instead of jerking it, and you are not dancing in the air in the wake of your own smoke.

The Shooting Club on the Chiang Mai - Mae Rim Road has been open now for 8 years under the guidance of the Third Development Battalion, a branch of the Thai armed forces. Two years ago they expanded the facility to include an ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) circuit as well.

Visitors are invited to select a pistol or a rifle and fire at 10-meter targets and 20 meter `Iron Maidens'.

Instruction is included in the price and guests are given eye shields and ear muffs to buffer the heart-stopping crack of the shots. All the instructors are experienced soldiers and speak reasonable English. Instructors will also show you how to attach the safety lock and get maximum results from the firing range by standing correctly and holding the gun effectively to shoot straight.

There is a good collection of pistols available for beginners. The Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum weighs in at over one kilo and packs quite a kick. Also from the U.S.A. is the Colt 45, the weapon of choice for the Thai armed forces. It is more modern and slightly lighter. The Thai police carry Austrian-made Glock 34 pistols, much lighter and easier to control.

The Shooting Club also stocks Rugars and Browning pistols, also U.S. issued.

Shooting Club manager, Khun Oh estimates that most visitors have never fired a gun before. However few are disappointed:

"Excellent. Very exciting!" enthused Lucas, a 19-year old student from Brazil.

"I was scared at first," admitted Yasunari Nakamura from Akashi. "You don't see guns in Japan and I had no idea how to shoot. But it was good fun."

Now, many of us have never fired a gun before; some people have never even seen a real gun and the thought of being around live ammunition might make the skin crawl. In many ways that's part of the excitement of the sport. You don't have to be a card-carrying mercenary to get a kick out of this activity. Whether you conjure fantasies of preparing yourself for some apocalyptic showdown with Doomsday or you simply want to experience something new and challenging in your life, the Shooting Club is an exhilarating day out.

All Terrain Vehicles

ATV-driving is a popular new pastime that is fun for all the family. Kids will especially enjoy the chance to drive these compact mean machines, which are safe and easy to control.

ATVs are built like small beach buggies, but clutch and acceleration are controlled by hand, just like a motorbike. Speeds are not excessive and the vehicles have a very low center of gravity, so there is little chance of flipping over.

The ATV Park has two circuits, one for beginners and another classified as `challenging'. Both circuits are two kilometers of dirt track, knotted with troughs and small hillocks. Tires act as buffers at tight corners.

You might never get the chance to drive Formula One, but everyone can enact their private Michael Schumacher dreams for just one day here in Chiang Mai.

Shooting Club and ATV Park

Address

Tel/ Fax: 053-112095; 08-9435-2940 www.shootingclub.in.th

Email: tanpairoh@yahoo.com

Open every day (including public holidays): 8:30am - 6:00pm

Price List

Pistols 30 bullets B 1,700

Long Rifles 50 bullets B 1,700

Shotguns 10 bullets B 1,700

*All prices are inclusive of instruction, ear muffs and eye goggles

* Memberships available: B 2,000 per year; prices 50% thereafter.

ATVs