Intro from Thailand

Introductions
16

For those who can afford it, shooting is popular here. Most tourist areas have gun ranges geared towards tourists.

Shopping areas in many Asian countries (Japan, Korea, Thailand, etc.) are divided into districts dedicated to specific wares. So, you find most camera stores within a few blocks of each other, most independent jewelry stores very close, etc., and gun stores are no different. Almost all of the firearms dealers in Bangkok are along two blocks of a single road. In a way, it’s kind of cool to be walking down a street passing 15 small shops in a row, all gun stores.

I was very impressed by the selection and how new everything was – Glocks, Kimbers, Springfield Armory, Smith & Wesson, Beretta, and similarly broad selections for rifles and shotguns.

However, getting a license in Thailand is not easy, and impossible for foreigners. Citizens have to apply through the local government listing the purpose (generally ‘sporting’), where the firearm will be stored, and, in general, only owners of property will be approved. This is a license to buy/own, not to carry. As far as I know, there are no carry permits in Thailand, but maybe there is a different section of the law or special allowances for former LE and military.

Collectors are the ones really screwed under the current law. A “collector” firearm has to be made inoperable (thereby destroying collector value) and the owner is prohibited from owning any ammunition for the inoperable firearms (absurd). The firearm then has to be permanently marked/etched as a collector firearm (further destroying the value). Most collectors just keep their firearms as ‘sporting.’ Again, I am sure there are ways to legally side-step much of this, but that is the written law.

Firearms are also considered a luxury, so there is a 200% tariff on all guns. Reloading is not done. As far as I have found out so far, it isn’t strictly prohibited, but I think they categorize it as manufacture and you need special permission. Regardless, I didn’t see any reloading supplies or information.

I love Thailand, but I can’t wait to get back to Texas.

14 Likes
17

Welcome! Glad you joined us here. There are plenty of 80%ers here on the forum as well as content creators. Look forward to your posts.

9 Likes
18

Welcome @TXGRunner

9 Likes
19

Welcome, this is a fairly diverse shooting disciplined group… I don’t think many here are long range shooters, could be wrong but I don’t see much talk about true long range work…
I’ve done a fair bit and certainly build rifles for that purpose so maybe I can help in any way I can, maybe you can teach as well?

9 Likes
20

I think Lonewolf is into longrange hunting. Then there were a few guys into Hi power type shooting but I cant remember who.

8 Likes
21

Also

9 Likes
22

Good to see! Those are fairly old, guess I’ll have to start replying to old stuff as well and see how it goes…:thinking:

10 Likes
23

Welcome @TXGRunner!
@NehBros makes a good point that there is some conversation around LR shooting but not much.my post above is pretty old and had no responses. But yes, I love LR shooting. Would love an AR platform chambered in .260Rem or something like that but in Australia semi-autos are ‘verboten’. I have a confirmed love affair with Tikka rifles and love taking them out to compete at medium and long distance. I shoot .223Rem and .280AI out of Tikka bolt guns.

I watch the web site for videos and don’t contribute as much because I don’t have much practical experience with semi-auto rifles. Will always chat LR shooting with anyone interested.

9 Likes
24

I’ve built several AR-10 types chambered in .308, .260 and 6.5 Creed… Most were very custom. Overall I’d have to go with the Creedmoor cartridge, I’ve had a slightly easier time making accurate loads with that compared to the .260.
I also am a fan of Tikka rifles, seems most accurate right out of the box rifle, they benefit greatly if there was more aftermarket parts.
How about if you removed the gas system on the AR, would that be allowed? Then you can change it back when you leave commiland!

9 Likes
25

@NehBros that’s really interesting about the 6.5CM being a better semiautomatic LR chambering. I suppose it’s another one in the pro’s column for that caliber. I have previously had the calibre and have the dies and brass for .260Rem.

About the idea of building a platform without the gas system…yeh that would get snagged by the ‘looks like therefore it is’ laws in most Australian states. Long story short…if you build an AR type or something similar in appearance there is a high chance the registry will jump on it and deem that it ‘sufficiently duplicates appearance of prohibited weapon’ and render them effectively banned. That’s the level of fuck-whittery deal with.

Happy to explain on a dedicated threading not detail the welcome thread for @TXGRunner.

6 Likes
26

Right on, talk with you over there.

6 Likes
27

One of my goals in returning is spending some time with my dad. He was a mechanical engineer, has a nice lathe, and has a really nice mill. While he used to shoot bullseye (service pistol) competitions in college, he hasn’t been into shooting in years. However, he loves machining projects. I figure working with him on some builds for myself and my nephews is a way we can spend more time together in whatever years remain available. I have a number of actions, barrels, and several projects already lined up.

I’ll be very grateful for this forum as an additional resource.

7 Likes
28

Wuss!:joy::rofl: no thread here is complete till it’s been slightly knocked off the rails, you’ve been here long enough to know the unwritten rules…

8 Likes
29

Not sure why they haven’t moved to Full30 (yet), but there are two channels on YT I really like (my favorite channels actually): Rex Reviews and Panhandle Precision. I suggest you check them out before the BigTech Stasi find them.

Rex has a Sniper 101 course which is incredibly thorough.

Panhandle Precision has some short reloading series. He was very big into the 260 Terminator (IIRC) which is an improved 260 Rem as I understand. Mostly, he is using bolt rifles he custom builds based on various actions.

Anyway, I found both of their videos very informative for LR shooting and reloading for LR precision.

6 Likes
30

Full30 is structuring and not placing new producers at the moment, its a slow and steady venture, but it is working towards letting the clutch out soon :slightly_smiling_face:

8 Likes
31

I read some about that, but I thought there might be some other restriction or challenge they have to work out.

When YT had one of the big purges (~March 2018 IIRC), scores of reloading channels were forced to pull their content (as did others). Many content producers switched to Full30 about that time (e.g. Small Arms Solutions, etc.), but I didn’t find a single reloading channel that moved. I know at least one came out with a DVD of their videos (Vaughn Precision), and several joined a site called The Reloader’s Network which did not originally have video capability.

I am sure Tim and the Full30 crew are being smart about it. This is not a cheap venture and one sure way to derail everything is to try to go too quickly. I’m not privy to everything that goes on in the backend, and there’s no reason I should be. I am grateful they were able to bring on folks like Small Arms Solutions who were deleted by YT entirely.

7 Likes
32

Okay fair call :joy:

7 Likes
33

Let’s see some rubber burn. :rofl:

7 Likes
34

Welcome from Cajunland. I loved my week of R&R in Bangkok in 1969. I’m sure it has changed just a bit since then. That Temple is the most incredible thing I have ever seen. The workmanship and detail are mind boggling. Of course, my mind is easy to boggle.

8 Likes
35

We’ve traveled quite extensively but we generally avoid places that refuse to allow the instruments for self defense.
Those places are considered uncivilized and tyrannical.
Not too much motivation to be there, especially with the cost of travel these days.
If the risk exceeds the attractions, never mind.

8 Likes