We were at the China North International Shooting Range, which is in the very outskirts of Northern Beijing, at a military base. The whole experience was quite surreal. You walk into a huge room with class cases covering all walls, chockablock full of weapons. Everything from pistols to grenade launchers, sniper rifles, semi-automatics and sub-machine guns. You then tell the attendant which weapons you wish to fire, and how many bullets per weapon you wish to purchase. The minimum is 10 bullets per weapon, and each bullet ranges from 3元 for a Communist pistol, and up to 80元 for the DSHK. You then proceed to the firing range and take a seat while the attendants organize your weapons.
For safety reasons, you have to be seated while firing, because the gun is literally bolted down to stop anyone being shot accidentally (or not, either way). The attendants (who didn't wear any ear protection, tisk tisk) then loaded the weapon for you, and off you go! I wasn't overly ready for the noise or the kick, and I missed my first shot, but I managed to hit the targets with my next nine shots (had my paper target been real, he would have been toast). There was eight of us there, so we had plenty of time to sit back and relax (they even provided nibbles and drinks). The DSHK was last, and it was certainly the fastest I have ever spent money in my life (I know, I know). Ten rounds was all over in less than 2 seconds, but I nearly managed to rattle off my seat in the process.
Unfortunately, you cannot take photos at the range, because it is a military base. But here are some pictures from the website:
(Window shopping)
(The DSHK)
(My souvenir)
We then returned back to Uni, where we all ate dinner, then went to Blablabar (the bar on campus) for a few drinks. Today I have woken up quite stiff and sore, with a fabulous vertical bruise just below my collarbone, but it was definitely worth it.
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