Yep, I'm feeling lucky

Samuel Foy unholsters his inner gunslinger in search of something uniquely American.

'Have you had anything to drink today?" Not what you expect to be asked at noon, especially in Las Vegas, where excessive consumption of alcohol isn't exactly discouraged.

But this was a gun club and while it might seem that everything in Vegas is served with a drink, I could hardly expect to be allowed to hold a gun in one hand while twirling a cocktail in the other.

I was outside The Gun Store, an indoor rifle range about 20 minutes by taxi from Vegas's main strip. I was there because, having spent the week in a city which copies the rest of the world's attractions, I wanted to experience something uniquely American. In other words, I wanted to shoot a ridiculously big gun.

"Have you ever shot a firearm?" the girl at the entrance asked. I wanted to say yes but I didn't think getting a black eye from the scope of my uncle's rifle when I was 10 really counted. On entering I was warned it could be "a little racist" inside. Apart from the guns hanging from the wall, The Gun Store looks like your average gymnasium. The staff walk with a swagger and share the same penchant for short-cropped haircuts - a throwback from their days in the military and law enforcement. Handgun rentals start at $US25 ($27), and machineguns at $US50. But I knew exactly what I wanted: Dirty Harry's weapon of choice, the .44 Magnum.

Choosing a target, I had the option of Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden or generic brands featuring an African-American, a Muslim, or a Mexican. Now the "racist" warning made sense, with individual races and religions identified by their headgear.

In the parlance of The Gun Store, it seems African-Americans all wear backwards caps, Muslims wear headscarfs and Mexicans wear beanies (OK, a beanie's not particularly suggestive but I think the bushy moustache made up for it).

Something told me Barack Obama would prove a sell-out target here but I just asked for the most popular and up popped Osama.