Tucked between the 405 freeway and Van Nuys Airport, the Target Range is one of the few places within L.A. city limits where registered gun owners can legally discharge their weapons. Jennifer Smith spoke with owner Paul Cole about the business of making money off a citizen’s constitutional right to bear arms.
“I had collected pistols for years, and I bought the range in ’86. It’s been around for about 20 years. A couple of years later I sold my other business, which was an educational test-preparation center.
“When I bought the range it was in a slump. I put a lot of money into it. At first we only had the indoor range, but we now also sell firearms and accessories. We’ve added security guard training and licensing, and we give classes to the public on learning to shoot.
“Movie studios send an awful lot of theatrical people over to learn how to shoot, so they’ll look like they know what they’re doing. We get both white- and blue-collar workers, around 30 percent women, and police and FBI agents come here to practice before their qualifying exams.
“Range time costs $10 for all day, or $15 flat if you don’t rent a gun or buy ammunition. Ammo runs around $9 for 50 rounds. It’s $5 for any gun. We have 60 rental guns available. In our range you can shoot anything that’s a handgun, or .22- to .44-caliber.
“A lot of people come in to try a gun out before they buy it. When customers buy a gun from us, they can shoot it at the range during the waiting period, they just can’t take it home during that 10-day period.
“It’s very difficult to get into this business now in Los Angeles. Anyone new is not likely to get licensing from the city. You can’t do anything without an FFL (federal firearms license), and to get that you have to get the location approved by the LAPD, the city, and the building department. You have to be M-1 zoned (manufacturing area), and you cannot be X number of feet from schools or houses, both because of safety and noise. We have soundproofing all over the place.
“After the assault weapons ban in 1989 and the riots, business went up. The state and the feds have been our best salesmen. If I put an ad in the paper saying ‘come buy a gun,’ no one cares. If politicians say they’re going to outlaw a gun, then we get customers and we don’t even have to buy ads. Business is currently up about 35 percent from last year.”
Jennifer Smith
