Tourists Get Fired Up by Lethal Weapons at L.A. Gun Ranges

The young couple dreamed of doing three things when they left Japan for their honeymoon in Los Angeles. They wanted to see the homes of movie stars. They wanted to visit Universal Studios.

And they wanted to blast gaping holes in a life-size target with a 9-millimeter Beretta--just like the one Mel Gibson used in “Lethal Weapon.”

The newlyweds, Kazuhiko Yoshida, a printer from Yokohama, and his wife, Hiroko, had such a good time at a Downtown gun range that they plan to go back for another night of shooting before they return home. On their next visit, they may sample an even more lethal weapon and go for the “Rambo” experience, they said. They plan to slip a 20-bullet clip into an assault rifle and see how fast they can obliterate a target.

“This has been the most exciting thing we have done on our visit,” Yoshida said, whipping off his protective ear guards and massaging a sore right hand. “I think we have had an authentic Los Angeles experience.”

Visits to gun ranges are obligatory for many Japanese tourists in Los Angeles. Because guns are prohibited in Japan, shooting takes on the attraction of an illicit experience, said Masahiro Isogawa, director of the tour company L.A. Fun. The Japanese are fascinated by American movies and television shows, he said, many of which glorify the gun.

“They see ‘Miami Vice’ on television and ‘Lethal Weapon’ and ‘Die Hard’ in the movies,” Isogawa said. “When they come to America, they want to shoot guns just like the movie stars.”

A smattering of tourists from Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand wander into Los Angeles’ shooting ranges, but the vast majority are Japanese, range owners say. So many tour groups now visit ranges that some have hired Japanese-speaking gun instructors.

Hiro Uchida teaches the rudiments of target shooting at the Downtown L.A. Gun Club to more than 10 Japanese tour groups each day. Although these tourists have never fired a gun before, and most have never even seen a gun, many are quite specific in their choice of weaponry, Uchida said.

Some request the Glock 17 because that is what Bruce Willis used in “Die Hard.” Others want to try the Walther PPK pistol, because that is what James Bond always packed. But the most popular gun among tourists is a .44-magnum Smith and Wesson with the 8 3/8-inch barrel.

Many Japanese tourists who cannot speak English walk up to the display case, say “Dirty Harry,” and point to the biggest revolver on the rack.

On a recent Friday night, the L.A. Gun Club was filled with six Japanese tour groups. At one corner of the range, schoolgirls on a Southern California tour were lined up, aiming their .38s. One girl, barely 5 feet tall, fired her gun and was so surprised by the bang that she let out a blood-curdling scream.

Another group of schoolgirls was blasting away, when one paused to ask her tour guide a question. She whirled around, gun in hand, the barrel only a few feet from a group of bystanders. They hit the deck and remained on their stomachs until the tour guide grabbed the gun away from her.

At the other end of the range, an instructor was showing a group of Japanese businessmen how to handle a .44-magnum and a .45-semiautomatic, the gun Steven Seagal used in “Under Siege.” The men smoked nervously and seemed afraid to pick up the guns. Some shook so badly that they could barely pull the trigger. But after a few minutes, they became mesmerized by the shooting and fired round after round, pausing only to take pictures of each other brandishing the .44 and squinting and scowling like Clint Eastwood.

“When I arrived in Los Angeles I told my tour guide to take me to the shooting range,” said Yukihiro Ikeda, a supermarket wholesaler. “Disneyland does not interest me--we have one in Toyko. But shooting a gun is something I could only do in America.”

Tourists spent their days touring Magic Mountain, Rodeo Drive and Knott’s Berry Farm. But they wanted to hit the shooting range, tour operators said, as soon as the sun went down.

“I don’t want to be out on the streets at night in Los Angeles--it’s too dangerous,” said Miyuki Kawamura, a secretary who is touring California with friends. “But here I feel safe.”

After the tourists shoot about 50 rounds each, they finish the experience by grabbing menacing-looking assault rifles and posing for group pictures.

Before heading back to their hotels, they carefully wrap their bullet-riddled targets and handfuls of empty shell casings--the most treasured souvenirs from their visit to Los Angeles.