By Phil Eil
The Jackson Arms Shooting Range in South San Francisco has plenty of promotions. Mondays are Ladies Night (half-priced lane for ladies), Tuesdays are N.R.A. Night (half-priced lane for cardholders), Wednesdays are Law Enforcement Night (second shooter is free with a law enforcement I.D.), and Thursdays are Group Night (third shooter is free, free handgun rental). But while the perks for cops, ladies, groups, and gunsters are nice, the real reason to go to Jackson Arms isn’t their marketing scheme. It’s the noise. It’s loud in there -- terrifyingly, front-row-at-a-Van-Halen-concert loud. It’s so loud that when you step up to shoot, there’s no way anyone can hear what you’re saying.
Why does this matter?
Well, if shooting guns is fun (which, let me tell you, it is), shooting guns and saying movie lines is infinitely more fun. At Jackson Arms, for example, where the incessant thunder of handguns drowns out any incidental noise, you can trot out your Dirty Harry impression – “I know what you're thinking, ‘Did he fire six shots or only five?’ Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself.” – without anyone telling you to pipe down. You can do your best pre-execution Samuel L. – “AND YOU WILL KNOW MY NAME IS THE LORD WHEN I LAY MY VENGEANCE UPON THEE!!” – without causing a stir. Like singing in the car or dancing in your room, screaming “Maybe you can hand out yourself one of them first class tickets to the Resurrection!” while firing a semi-automatic provides the rare thrill of uninhibited self-expression that comes from being unobservable.
Jackson Arms is a fifteen-minute car ride from the city. Once you get there, $50 should cover necessities – guns, targets, ammo, eye/ear protection, lane rental – for you and a couple friends (lane maximum is three people). Lane rentals are by the hour, which will give you plenty of time to blast and boast your weekday woes away. Me, I got my money’s worth by firing a .44 magnum and shouting – in a nod to Val Kilmer’s Doc Holliday in Tombstone -- “You’re no daisy! You’re no daisy at all!”
Jackson Arms Indoor Shooting Range and Gun Shop
152 Utah, South San Francisco
(650) 588 – 1845
www.jacksonarms.com
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Comments (1)
Jackson Arms is great, great fun. And for novice shooters (which I am) it's not too intimidating and they have a basic gun safety/shooting skills class that comes packaged with a pistol rental, ammo, targets and lane time.
One thing that should be pointed out though, is that they do not rent firearms to individuals who come alone. This is apparently an anti-suicide measure based on past incidents (not sure if at Jackson itself). So come with a friend or two, or bring your own.
And I'll say also that even if you're generally creeped out by how gun-crazy America can be, and don't plan to ever own a firearm yourself, don't rule out going to Jackson and trying their Novice Shooter's Package. It's good to demystify firearms, while remembering how real and deadly they can be, and shooting them yourself is a quick way to do it. Lefties, liberals and progressives are especially encouraged to check it out!
Posted by Alex | July 30, 2008 11:57 PM