Power Trip
Machine Guns Are Coming to a Bar Near You
Technology once reserved for law enforcement is turning bars and nightclubs into virtual shooting ranges
David Mayancela aimed his gun at a man holding a woman hostage. The woman, dressed for work in slacks and a white blouse, was clearly terrified as she cowered near an elevator in the lobby of an office building. The assailant had grabbed her from behind, and was holding a gun to her head.
Mayancela fired, and the gunman’s head exploded in a haze of blood. Mayancela laughed and put down his glass of cranberry juice and seltzer.
This episode took place on a recent Friday night at a bar near Manhattan’s West Side Highway. Inside, a gun simulator called Modern Round uses filmed live actors and technology once reserved for the military and police for one of a growing number of simulators being marketed to civilians. For anywhere between $20 and $55 an hour, people can try their hand at scenarios ranging from hostage crises to zombie takeovers. But despite their growing popularity, the simulators are also garnering criticism from gun control advocates, who say their realism promotes violence.
“The weight, the trigger pull, the graphics — everything is like…
