Don’t want to take a guided shooting range tour for $300 just to shoot 2 different machine guns? Here is a guide on how you do it by yourself!

First, in Kiev take the metro to the end stop of the red line, Lisova. From there, take any bus that goes to Brovary, for example number 403. Ask the bus driver to drop you off near Brovary-Avtoport, a trip which takes about 15 minutes and costs 5 UAH (0,3 EURO / 0,5 USD).

When the bus driver tells you this is your stop, pretty much outside of town, get off and find some people to ask where Avtoport or Sapsan is. Probably now you realize that you are in the totally wrong place. Find the guy Ivan who is in the middle of fixing his car and ask again where Sapsan is, near Chkalova street. Let him drive you there (about 10 minutes) for “gas money”, which equals about 20 UAH (1,3 EURO / 2 USD) because that is all the change you have in your wallet.

Now when you finally arrive find somebody who speaks a bit English at least and explain that you want to shoot guns. She will take your passport and give you a price list in exchange. Walk a few minutes to find the shooting teacher Georgi that will show you which guns are available and let you choose which ones to shoot and how many shots.

The price is about 15-20 UAH (1,3 EURO / 2 USD) per shot and 5 UAH per target used. No other extra costs is added like on some shooting ranges here which takes a fee for range hire, gun hire, instructor etc. Minimum shots per gun is 10 shots so for example 10 shots with a Kalashnikov (AK-47) is 10×15 = 150 UAH (10 EURO / 14 USD). For a complete price list, see www.sapsan.ua

When you return the price list, which now have notes on how much you were shooting it’s time to pay and get your passport back. Finally drink a coffee or beer at the shooting club and then walk away with a smile on your face some 500 meters to find a bus which will take you to Brovary center. Here you can visit the market or walk around for a while before heading back to Kiev the same way you came.

Total price: 10 shots with 5 weapons = 850 UAH (56 EURO / 77 USD) + 16 UAH transportation.

The trip to the shooting range takes about 1 hour and if you instead payed a travel guide to drive you it would be almost the same price as the shooting (650 UAH).

Side note: Here in Ukraine both men and women learned how to take Kalashnikovs apart and put them back together when they were kids, as part of their school education. Nowadays even the kids on the shooting range are more interested in their mobile phones than the weapons.