Photo by May Zhou/China Daily

In China, civilians aren't allowed to possess firearms. But in the US, the Second Amendment allows it, and at a shooting range in Texas,Chinese Americans tell of their like for guns — and for some, their need, May Zhou reports from Houston.

It's a hot and humid Saturday morning in July at the American Shooting Centers, the largest outdoor gun range in Houston.

The heat didn't stop a group of Chinese from gathering at the range to practice, to learn and to share their interest and, for some, their love for guns.

Some are experienced gun shooters, such as Zhou Jianhang, who works in the petroleum industry.

"I have been shooting for more than 10 years now, and I am also a casual gun collector," said Zhou. He brought to the range a modern AR short-barrel rifle as well as a M1 Garand, a US military rifle used in World War II.

There were novices, such as Candy Xu: "This is the second time I have come to a gun range, I just got started." She was learning how to shoot a pistol.

Also at the range, a young couple from China visiting friends in Houston. "This is a man's game, it feels so thrilling," said the husband, Chen Jun, who was firing a pistol while his wife, Yu Min, stayed behind him covering her ears.

With the exception of the visiting couple, the Chinese at the range belong to the Houston Asian Network of Gun Owners (HANGO), an organization formed through the popular Chinese social media website Wechat.

According to Joy Fang, a financial analyst and one of the administrative officers at HANGO, due to the limit of 500 members per Wechat group, HANGO consists of a few other groups to include all interested parties. "We probably have 700 to 800 people in total, discounting some overlaps in the groups," said Fang.

Photo by May Zhou/China Daily

New gun policy

HANGO was started last summer by Nancy Bo, owner of a data analysis company. "Last year, when Texas' gun policy was changed from concealed handgun license (CHL) to license to carry (LTC), many people panicked and worried about open-carry guns in public places," she said.

Bo wanted to calm down her Chinese colleagues, and invited a gun instructor to put on a seminar about gun knowledge and safety for them. In the past year, HANGO has held four such seminars with lectures by gun instructors, police officers and experienced gun owners such as Zhou.

Some of the Chinese at the range own guns.

For Zhou, guns have been an obsession since he was a child.

"I have always liked guns but never had the opportunity to fire one when I grew up in China. When I first came to the US, I had the misconception that only US citizens could buy guns," he said.

When he realized that he could own a gun before becoming a US citizen, Zhou started going to gun ranges and collecting guns. He also tried hunting deer, boar and goose.

In the past decade, Zhou has collected historical guns used by the militaries of the US, the Soviet Union, Germany and China during World War WII. As an engineer, Zhou said he's interested in mechanical devices.