Young Guns: Inside America's Machine Gun Theme Park

KIDS as young as 13 can shoot military-grade firearms at America’s newest gun themed attraction

Scroll down for the full story

Videographer / Director: Steve Williams
Producer: Nick Johnson
Editor: Josh Douglas, Ian Phillips

Welcome: The entrance to Machine Gun America in Florida, USA

At Machine Gun America in Florida, USA, gun lovers are given full access to an arsenal of high calibre automatic weapons.

Famous firearms: Emily Undieme, 21, posing with M60 (left) and M41A pulse rifle from movie Aliens (right)

John Webster, 21, poses with an M60 machine gun ahead of hitting the target range

And for £66 and up, customers can spray submachine gun bullets at target posters of Osama Bin Laden.

Taking aim: Chief range safety officer Natasha Schweitzer at MGA training Samantha Poje how to shoot a Glock handgun

Even visitors with no prior weapons training are handed heavy weaponry such as the MP5, M4, and the Glock 17 to destroy targets.

Director of safety and training at the facility, Wes Doss, 50, said: “The experience here is right up there with what you would find on a thrill junkie’s bucket list.

Target practice: (Left to right) Samantha Poje, John Webster and Emily Undieme posing for a picture holding their shooting targets

“We’ve had a large number of UK families coming in to shoot as well as tourists from Brazil and Finland.

“Machine Gun America has a tremendous amount of potential - I believe it’s popularity is going to come from that natural curiosity that everyone has towards firearms.”

And one of the largest demographics frequenting Machine Gun America is young women.

Wes said: “The Diva package is probably one of the more popular packages.

Barrel of laughs: (Left to right) Samantha Poje holding M41A pulse rifle from movie Aliens, John Webster M-1 carbine and Emily Undieme an M60

“It’s designed for people, mainly women, who are not really comfortable with firearms yet.

“It includes some lighter recoiling firearms - one of the more dynamic firearms included in the package is a Heckler and Koch MP5.

“It’s a legendary sub machine gun that’s been used by counterterrorist forces and in motion pictures since the day it was created.”

Each visitor is paired up with a Range Safety Officer, who goes through intensive training before assisting visitors with the firearms.

Wes said: “They’re not just trained in house, but also NRA certified.

High calibre: Chief range safety officer Natasha Schweitzer training Samantha Poje how to shoot large rounds from an M4 carbine

“The officer immediately communicates with the client to find out what their experience is and what their comfort level is.

Hit and miss: Emily Undieme posing with a zombie target poster next to chief range safety officer Natasha Schweitzer

“Then they integrate them into a firearm that isn’t going to scare them and won’t be a shock to shoot.

However, anti-gun advocates say the extreme shooting range, located six miles away from Disney World, does not fit in with other family-friendly tourist attractions in Orlando.