About 20 miles away from the ill-fated college campus, high up in the mountainous Virginia countryside, lies a shooting range cut into one of the state's thousands of pine forests. This is where locals flock to shoot an array of heavy weaponry that they can legally buy from any gun store in less than 10 minutes.

Blacksburg shooting range is not manned by any staff. Gun enthusiasts of any age can come any time and fire holes in the dirt at the range, which measures about half-a-mile in radius.

Barry Akers' two weapons are licensed. Barry learned to shoot when he was eight and thinks it's time his youngest daughter learned too. He is armed with a .22 hunting rifle with a telescopic lens. Barry is a nurse who shoots squirrels and rabbit for fun and wants to eventually bring Mackenzie hunting.

He offloads about 30 rounds to warm the weapon up and Mackenzie watches the smooth action of the rifle as the bullets tear into a paper target about 100 yards away. Like most little girls, she is shy and just smiles and nods her head when I ask her if she's excited.

"We'll give you a try now, " her father tells her but the gun stops firing and is jammed. Barry spends 10 minutes trying to clear the barrel but he can't.

Mackenzie is disappointed but her father comforts her and says they can go back and try again in a few days. This cheers her up and she smiles as Barry takes out his Smith and Wesson 38, the standard weapon of Irish detective gardai.

"The rifle is for sport but the Smith and Wesson is for self-defence, " he says.

"Are you going to let her have a go of that?" I ask. "She's a bit too small for it, " is the reply. "We'll come back with the rifle and she can use that. I want to pass the ability to shoot a weapon down to her."

Virginia has some of the most relaxed gun laws in the US. Weapons can be carried and do not even have to be concealed as long as they're registered and holstered.

The owner of the gun store in Roanoke where Cho bought the 9mm Glock pistol he used in the massacre has been targeted by people blaming him for the atrocity. John Markell has been threatened and has had to shut down his website.

There are four other people at the range. Two off-duty marines shoot a SiG 226 pistol, a serious piece of weaponry.

The sound pierces my ears and I have to put my notebook down to cover them.

One of the marines gives me a set of earplugs to keep and I'm grateful because another man is firing a heavy-duty hunting rifle, which makes the loudest sound I've ever heard.

"That would take down a wart-hog in one go, " says Barry. I smile and he senses that I'm not really impressed. "I suppose you Europeans think we are all gun-toting madmen?" he asks.

"Not at all, " I reply.

"It's just the way we are over here, " he says, and asks if I want to shoot his Smith and Wesson.