Price of firearms in Thailand

[Led Lolly Yellow Lolly]

Without going into details, I want to make it clear I hate guns and I don't want to carry one. However, I've found myself in a position of risk in a relatively remote and potentially unsafe location and I'm pretty vulnerable in case of lunatic or criminal assault (plenty of lunatics and druggies around my neck of the woods). I'm also in a position of authority in a business highly vulnerable to intruders, so the company has decided to put me through the process of concealed carry certification and I'm in the market for a gun. I'm not in the slightest bit interested to read any comments from pacifists or tree huggers, nor am I interested in comments about the law, I know the law well and I couldn't give a $#!^ what you think about guns. . .

 

What I AM interested in is anyone with experience buying. I know guns are very expensive in Thailand, but this is an irrelevance to me, there is no price that can be put on my life or that of my loved ones. I've got my eye on a Walther PPK/S calibered in .380. Anyone know the price in Thailand and availability?

Edited December 20, 2018 by NilSS

[jackdd]

If you want to know the price for anything in Thailand you Google for "name ราคา" (ราคา = price), then usually something shows up.

It seems for weapons you don't really find prices, but the guys talking in another forum say something like 80-90k, so you have an idea.

Now you just have to ask a few shops if anybody has this model, it's unlikely that anybody here ever got this exact model.

 

But i would recommend that you either move to a safer place so that you don't need a gun, or if that's really not possible then get a security guy or two.

[grollies]

We are also in a remote location with a reasonably high-value busines and wifey decided to buy a S&W .38

 

Complete waste of money IMHO.

 

The security guard idea is good, especially for a hotel business like yours.

Edited December 20, 2018 by grollies

[grollies]

Anyway, why do you need a concealed-carry permit on your private hotel grounds? Just curious.

[Bang Bang]

Hmm. So you get your gun and end up in a situation where you shoot and kill a Thai. Consequences:

 

(a) Add 100k bribes to stay out of a holding cell, where you would be a farang Thai-killer with a bunch of Thai criminals, and then, possibly, a court where, again, you're a farang Thai-killer facing up to a Thai judge.

 

(b) You've just seriously seriously pissed off the

9 hours ago, NilSS said:

plenty of lunatics and druggies around my neck of the woods

(btw, druggies means drug mafia too). And they'll want and find a way to get revenge on you and/or your loved ones because there're 24 hrs. each day, every day, and your guard will lower sometime.

 

And it's not (a) or (b). It's both. Think about this before you get to Rambo mode.  

 

9 hours ago, NilSS said:

there is no price that can be put on my life or that of my loved ones

Right, and no job worth it. Quit, move.

[Led Lolly Yellow Lolly]

Moving is not an option, I'm married to the business and we're not about to walk away from what is a very successful enterprise. As I said, I'm not here to be lectured, I'm mature enough to know that a gun is a weapon of last resort.

 

 

[observer90210]

Try your local police department supplier or ask a senior police officer at your police station where to get a gun that is legal and clean.

 

But sorry, I would also recommend either a blank gun that shoots mace or a flashball type anti riot gun that is non lethal.

Edited December 20, 2018 by observer90210

[Spidey]

Just now, NilSS said:

Moving is not an option, I'm married to the business and we're not about to walk away from what is a very successful enterprise. As I said, I'm not here to be lectured, I'm mature enough to know that a gun is a weapon of last resort.

 

 

Why not employ an armed security guard?

[Tweedle dee]

At least this breaks the usual mold of topics here, got my beer and popcorn  handy for tonight . 

Edited December 20, 2018 by Tweedle dee
typo

[grollies]

11 hours ago, NilSS said:

the company has decided to put me through the process of concealed carry certification and I'm in the market for a gun.

The 'company' being the wife then?

[Led Lolly Yellow Lolly]

Negative, we both work for the same company, how we met. The head office is in Bangkok. We manage the north, and we're not far from the border with Burma. I'm just not interested is reading cheap one liners, so zip it or I'll pop a cap in yo ass MoFo, with my new piece. I'll hold it sideways as I shoot, like a gentleman of colour.

Edited December 20, 2018 by NilSS

[Led Lolly Yellow Lolly]

1 hour ago, Spidey said:

Why not employ an armed security guard?

I can imagine it now. "Mr Bad Guy, please stand still and don't do anything, while I call for my armed guard"

[Led Lolly Yellow Lolly]

4 hours ago, grollies said:

Anyway, why do you need a concealed-carry permit on your private hotel grounds? Just curious.

One of my counterparts elsewhere in the country, female, carries a little .22 pea shooter in her handbag. One day she strayed off the reserve a few hundred yards and someone saw an opportunity to make money. She was arrested and it cost her 50K to clear up. I'm not about to make that mistake.

Edited December 20, 2018 by NilSS

[grollies]

33 minutes ago, NilSS said:

Negative, we both work for the same company, how we met. The head office is in Bangkok. We manage the north, and we're not far from the border with Burma. I'm just not interested is reading cheap one liners, so zip it or I'll pop a cap in yo ass MoFo, with my new piece. I'll hold it sideways as I shoot, like a gentleman of colour.

With an attitude like that you shouldn't be anywhere near a firearm.

[Led Lolly Yellow Lolly]

I'm sorry, I thought you had a sense of humour. My mistake. 

[grollies]

5 minutes ago, NilSS said:

I'm sorry, I thought you had a sense of humour. My mistake. 

Depends what you find funny I suppose.

 

Crack that one-liner on your course see where it gets you.

[Led Lolly Yellow Lolly]

5 hours ago, jackdd said:

but the guys talking in another forum say something like 80-90k, so you have an idea.

 

I'd figured around 70 ~ 80 K, so I guess with application fees, gun marking fees, this that and the other, I'm looking at 100K. Do you hold a firearm? What about range fees/membership, ammunition etc etc?

[Nyezhov]

12 hours ago, NilSS said:

I've got my eye on a Walther PPK/S calibered in .380.

One of the WORST carry/self defense pistols you can get these days. Its nice to think you are James Bond, and its cool in the movies, but unless you have YEARS of handgun shooting you are only going to endanger yourself or others with one of those:

 

1. Anemic caliber, even with high performance rounds available probably only in the US.

2. Unless properly tuned, wont feed anything other than ball ammo

3. Poor trigger pull, obsolete design dating back to the 1920s.

4. Terrible sights.

 

All of the foregoing (except the caliber) can be overcome by a serious and experienced handgunner, which you clearly, based on your posts, are not.

 

Go get your concealed carry certification. Then go get some real training.  For most new shooters, however, I recommend a Glock 19, 3rd or 4th Generation, night sights with what they call the NY trigger (10lb). I suggest a minimum of 15,000 rounds down range before you carry. Make sure your trainer not only trains you on type 1 and 2 malfunctions, but also on type 3s. To save money, cheap ball can be used for your initial training, but you should at least shoot a solid 1,000 rounds of your carry load. The Federal 124 HST is a good load as is the Federal C9PB. After your initial training, have your pistol checked by a Glock Armorer and after that check, a few hundred rounds and you are good to go.

 

I would think that a new Glock here is about 50K. Ammo will probably cost you 50-100 baht a round so there will be a significant expense. I dont know what training costs here, I used to get $50 an hour in the states. Figure a good solid 40 hours of training for someone who knows nothing about guns.

 

Good luck, Cowboy.

Edited December 20, 2018 by Nyezhov

[grollies]

27 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

I would think that a new Glock here is about 50K. Ammo will probably cost you 50-100 baht a round so there will be a significant expense. I dont know what training costs here, I used to get $50 an hour in the states. Figure a good solid 40 hours of training for someone who knows nothing about guns.

It's ok, the company will be paying. His OP has more holes than a golf course.

 

Good post from you though.

[Led Lolly Yellow Lolly]

34 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

One of the WORST carry/self defense pistols you can get these days. Its nice to think you are James Bond, and its cool in the movies, but unless you have YEARS of handgun shooting you are only going to endanger yourself or others with one of those:

 

1. Anemic caliber, even with high performance rounds available probably only in the US.

2. Unless properly tuned, wont feed anything other than ball ammo

3. Poor trigger pull, obsolete design dating back to the 1920s.

4. Terrible sights.

 

All of the foregoing (except the caliber) can be overcome by a serious and experienced handgunner, which you clearly, based on your posts, are not.

 

Go get your concealed carry certification. Then go get some real training.  For most new shooters, however, I recommend a Glock 19, 3rd or 4th Generation, night sights with what they call the NY trigger (10lb). I suggest a minimum of 15,000 rounds down range before you carry. Make sure your trainer not only trains you on type 1 and 2 malfunctions, but also on type 3s. To save money, cheap ball can be used for your initial training, but you should at least shoot a solid 1,000 rounds of your carry load. The Federal 124 HST is a good load as is the Federal C9PB. After your initial training, have your pistol checked by a Glock Armorer and after that check, a few hundred rounds and you are good to go.

 

I would think that a new Glock here is about 50K. Ammo will probably cost you 50-100 baht a round so there will be a significant expense. I dont know what training costs here, I used to get $50 an hour in the states. Figure a good solid 40 hours of training for someone who knows nothing about guns.

 

Good luck, Cowboy.

Thanks for the input. I looked at the Glock, actually it was one of the first guns I looked at, but what I like about the Walther is the slender profile. I can't see the point of owning a gun if I leave it on my desk because I look like a dick head by carrying an obvious gun (really, IMO anyone that carries a gun on their belt looks like a dick head). I want the smallest gun I can get without it shooting peas.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 20, 2018 by NilSS

[maxpower]

Might be a better choice

 

[Nyezhov]

18 minutes ago, NilSS said:

Thanks for the input. I looked at the Glock, actually it was one of the first guns I looked at, but what I like about the Walther is the slender profile. I can't see the point of owning a gun if I leave it on my desk because I look like a dick head by carrying an obvious gun (really, IMO anyone that carries a gun on their belt looks like a dick head). I want the smallest gun I can get without it shooting peas.

 

 

 

 

 

Where ya gonna carry it then? In your pocket? Too big. So you will have to be a <deleted> and carry it on your belt under a shirt. Even then its not suited as a self defense pistol. Its a Euro Police pistol from the 30s. Its an ornament. No offense Cowboy, but at 5 meters, in a stress situation, if I saw you with a PPK/S, I could tackle you even at my age after giving you the first shot, and you arent going to hit me. All you are doing is endangering yourself and others.

 

And its a pea shooter on top of it. If you want a pocket pistol, get a Seecamp 380 (cost you $1100 in the US with a waiting list) or a Ruger LCP 380. Back pocket, draw and shoot at center of mass at 2 meters. You arent going to do that with a Walther.

 

Before you go carrying a gun, learn how to shoot one. You arent going to learn with one of those. Especially with the cost of 380 ammo. Nor should you be carrying until you learn how to shoot. Thats pure negligence. Carrying a gun is a grave commitment, not a joke.

 

But hey, you like the slender profile. Dont say you werent warned.

 

 

[Led Lolly Yellow Lolly]

This is the input I was hoping for, thanks. I have no experience with firearms. BUT, I do want something concealable.

[Nyezhov]

1 minute ago, maxpower said:

Might be a better choice

 

Ah yes, a toy modeled after the 1911, the most famous pistol ever. One of my favs, and I could conceal one of those on a belt, like a <deleted>, and you would never know ????

 

Take it apart and put it together blindfolded too. 

[Nyezhov]

11 minutes ago, NilSS said:

This is the input I was hoping for, thanks. I have no experience with firearms. BUT, I do want something concealable.

No dude, you want something you can shoot. A lot. You shouldnt be concealing  anything until you know how to shoot.

 

Do you know that the Walther, in part because of its poor ergonomics (you have handled one, right?) has greater subjective recoil that the larger caliber Glock? Do you know why? Have you ever cleared a malfunction from any pistol? Do you know that the Walther, because of the slim profile, is a bitch to clear? Are you going to buy a stainless or a blue one? Walther made, Mahurin Made, Interarms or S&W contracted? Did you know they have a tendency to drop mags during shooting if they aren't held right? 

 

I could go on forever. Personally I have owned several Walthers and enjoyed playing with them, as an excersize in gun hobbying. But not for self defense.

Edited December 20, 2018 by Nyezhov

[Led Lolly Yellow Lolly]

I have large hands and even at my 40 something youthful age I'm having some issues with the bones. I was looking at stainless because of the hot environment and I sweat a lot, like anyone here. I also understand S&W have modified the design do counter slide bite. However, I'm sure open to better advice.

Edited December 20, 2018 by NilSS

[Led Lolly Yellow Lolly]

Oh by the way, I'm left handed.

[Nyezhov]

11 minutes ago, NilSS said:

Oh by the way, I'm left handed.

Is the pistol set up for lefties?

 

I think you know the answer.

 

Get a Glock.

[Bang Bang]

2 hours ago, Nyezhov said:

Where ya gonna carry it then? In your pocket? Too big. So you will have to be a <deleted> and carry it on your belt under a shirt. Even then its not suited as a self defense pistol. Its a Euro Police pistol from the 30s. Its an ornament. No offense Cowboy, but at 5 meters, in a stress situation, if I saw you with a PPK/S, I could tackle you even at my age after giving you the first shot, and you arent going to hit me. All you are doing is endangering yourself and others.

 

And its a pea shooter on top of it. If you want a pocket pistol, get a Seecamp 380 (cost you $1100 in the US with a waiting list) or a Ruger LCP 380. Back pocket, draw and shoot at center of mass at 2 meters. You arent going to do that with a Walther.

 

Before you go carrying a gun, learn how to shoot one. You arent going to learn with one of those. Especially with the cost of 380 ammo. Nor should you be carrying until you learn how to shoot. Thats pure negligence. Carrying a gun is a grave commitment, not a joke.

 

But hey, you like the slender profile. Dont say you werent warned.

 

 

Hey, Nyezhov, ole buddy you know you need a WP for tutoring lil Rambo here, even if it's on TV and free, right?

 

And when Rambo, all tutored up, gets confronted by a real thug with a real knife, comes over all panicky and trips up as he draws with his left hand ending up shooting his own right hand, causing aforementioned thug to take Rambo's wallet, his Ray-bans, his Glock and, as a memento for his lau dong buddies, Rambo's lightly-soiled pants, you're going to get sued by TI for acquiring a WP on false premises.

[Hummin]

A clock would be my first pick, but carry gun in Thailand? You said you know the law, so I guess, there is nothing I can say to change your mind. Get your gun, and go down the dirty road as many before you. If you feel you need a gun, move on to a new location. 

 

Or get a shrink to get control of the paranoia.