My wife was a bit sleepless last night and was a bit unnerved to hear gunshots - 3 in all, in the Pracha Samphan Road area of Changklan. We are both pistol shooters so I have no doubt she is not mistaken about the sounds she heard. I blissfully slept through it all myself. She did not check the time but believes it to have been around 2am. Anyone else have any more information? We've only been in Thailand for about 9 weeks so this is a bit new for us here but we're not worried or unduly concerned since we moved here from Philippines where shootings in the night were not really uncommon....

At about that time last night I too thought I heard gun shots . I've never used a gun but I did think to myself was that gun shots? I live close to the army barracks so I was thinking it may have come from there. It is almost directly opposite the area that you thought it came from. When it's quiet at night that sort of sound will carry so maybe it was the same incident.

Sounds like it. Probably just a drunk soldier making a point. No reports of some heinous murder so far anyway... ;-)

I don't think gunshots are common here at all, but explosions of fireworks are. I was in the military long ago and I doubt if I could tell the difference, but I guess some people who handle guns a lot can.

I don't think gunshots are common here at all, but explosions of fireworks are. I was in the military long ago and I doubt if I could tell the difference, but I guess some people who handle guns a lot can.

Hmmm.... big difference between the two... unless the shots were fired from a black powder firearm.

Modern smokeless powder doesn't 'explode' the way the old black powder does, or the way fireworks do.

The new stuff is called 'progressive burning,' and produces far more gas than the black powder, and propels the bullet MUCH, MUCH faster.

An old mini-ball came out of the barrel at roughly 900 ft per second. Military and police 9mm rounds can travel 1,300-1,800 ft per second.

In fact, so fast that what you are usually hearing is the sound barrier cracking rather than the propellent exploding.

And THAT is the difference in the sounds; modern gunfire makes more of a sharp 'crack' while fireworks and black powder gunfire is more of a round 'boom!'