Nothing like guns and ammo to spruce up those holiday pics. The Scottsdale Gun Club in Arizona is touting pictures with Santa Claus and a choice of machine guns. It costs just five to ten bucks to pose with the holly, jolly, Christmas man himself--plus some automatic weapons valued at a sixth of a mil.
The Arizona gun club's spokesperson says the photo opps has "been really fun" and claims "tremendous response from the community" -- a local one that apparently appreciates $170,000 in weaponry. The rep calls it a "unique" opportunity supposedly allowing families to handle weapons in a "safe, controlled environment." And crowds have been turning up.
Roughly 500 people showed for the first shoot the day after Black Friday on November 26 at Scottsdale Gun Club's holiday event featuring Santa and weaponry. Maybe the gun club didn't want to battle stores and potential shoppers on one of the largest shopping days of the year, a decision that seems to have worked out well with turnout.
The next "Santa and Machine Guns" event is arriving quickly -- on December 10, 2011. Families can choose from a range of firearms -- to pose with in addition to Santa himself -- including M60s, M249s, M240s or a modified AR-15. And they can participate with those traditional holiday props including antlers. The Scottsdale Gun Club swears its photo event isn't only for gun or weapon enthusiasts. That part may be a stretch: The club claims the Santa-plus-weaponry photo opps hold "a broader appeal from families to older people."