Relieving stress at Westside Rifle & Pistol Range.   (Photo: Courtesy of Westside Rifle & Pistol Range)

• Westside Rifle & Pistol Range

  20 W. 20th St., nr. Fifth Ave.; 212-929-7287

  A small sign outside an unassuming Flatiron office building is the lone indication that ammo is flying in the basement. To blast some caps at Manhattan’s only shooting range, first-timers need to call ahead to schedule a mandatory training session and provide information for a criminal-background check. For $65, an NRA-certified instructor imparts the basics of loading and operating a firearm safely, and sets you up with a box of 50 bullets and a weapon at the range. Then you unload on a paper target. It won’t magically reconstitute your 401(k), but the reassuring bang and recoil provide their own kind of stress relief.

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From the 2009 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine