The VICE Guide To TRAVEL: Sofia, Bulgaria
SOFIA THE PRINCESS
In 2004 Bulgaria was home to 269 registered gun shops and 67 shooting ranges, a staggering statistic considering there are only two in Manhattan. The biggest in Sofia is the VIP Arms and Shooting Complex.
I had spent the previous night watching Lethal Weapon, and was poised for action to shoot bad guys, or at least to do so in my imagination. In the VIP Complex are two shops selling weapons and accessories, a four-corridor shooting range and a restaurant for those who have worked up a gun-slinging appetite.
Who would be my brothers in arms at such a place? VIP's Kalin Dimitrov explained that self-defense is the number one reason Bulgarians own firearms. The second is sports and hunting.
Today, in Bulgaria there are more than 36.8 firearms per 100 people, a figure that is comparable with other Western European countries.
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Comment on the MOVIE:
3. Rest of the video - the gipsies, dead cars parks, Sunny Beach - these are real. But this has nothing to do with illegal weapons business.
4. I don't say there are no weapons sold illegally after the communist regime broke apart. But this video is a total hoax - just think logical and you will find it out yourself. It just doesn't make sense for someone to speak out such things to some people - if that was true, most probably these "professionals" would have died in a "car accident".
Comment on the MOVIE:
1. If you are selling warheads and you are construction investor you would like to be interviewed by some pseudo-journalists and you say them everything just like that (for pennies!)? That definitely makes sense for a formal military INTELLIGENCE person?
2. Yes, there was a military factory in Bulgaria - a lot of official AK47 and ammo for it has been manufactured here and exported to USSR. So these bullets "Made in Bulgaria" may have come from anywhere, right?
Comment on the DESCRIPTION ABOVE:
1. Yes, there are firearms sold at Bulgaria - as in any other country all over the world. And you need a license to obtain a firearm or even ammo - not like some (or all) states in USA, where you can be shot by anyone who bought a gun.
2. To have a ratio of firearms like Western Europe is nothing to be afraid of. To the best of my knowledge Western Europe is one of the safest places worldwide? So what's wrong here?
3. It is good that somebody went to VIP Complex - like anywhere else you can give several shots or practice, but what's the fuss about it? It is mostly visited by hunters. I am sure that in UK for example there are much more places like this?
4. It is not fair to compare Manhattan to a country - although the amount of people may be similar, the size of the area is totally different. And there is no hunting at Manhattan, I think? So not comparable in any way.