Aiming High
In a year in which state lawmakers loosened the requirements for obtaining concealed handgun licenses, Hays County saw the number of licenses issued in 2013 increase by 62.7 percent compared with the previous year, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
According to FBI numbers, gun interest is on the rise nationally, and the trend is evident in both the state and Hays County.
State Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, authored Senate Bill 864, which cut down the requisite class hours from a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 15 to a minimum of four and a maximum of six for first-time concealed handgun license applicants. The bill, which became law in September, also separates the shooting range demonstration from the instruction portion.
In the same session, lawmakers passed legislation streamlining concealed handgun license renewals so that they may be applied for online.
The number of concealed handgun licenses issued in Hays County has grown steadily throughout the years. The only recent year in which licenses issued declined was 2008, when the total fell from 437 in the previous year to 376.
But even as the popularity of firearms has heightened, gun owners in San Marcos, Buda and Kyle did not have a gun range on which to practice shooting until December when two shooting ranges opened. The ranges—County Line Shooting Center in San Marcos and The Shooting Ranch in Creedmoor—are both battling litigation.
The lawsuit against County Line was filed before the range even opened, said John McGlothlin, the range's attorney. Neighbors sued The Shooting Ranch just days after it opened.
They feel County Line Shooting Center poses "an imminent threat," according to a petition more than 350 community members living along the I-35 corridor signed.
Charles Soechting, who represents the families suing County Line, said he is a former state trooper and understands the need for shooting ranges. Citing a report by a retired director of training for the Texas Department of Public Safety, Soecthing said the property, situated about a half-mile east of I-35, is an unsafe location for a range.
"You can't just stick a range wherever you want to," he said.
In The Shooting Ranch case, a judge in Travis County ruled in favor of the plaintiffs' request for a temporary injunction, which has shut down operations until a trial decides if it is able to legally operate.
County Line, meanwhile, has been able to keep its doors open.
Local gun business owners and enthusiasts said gun ranges serve a need.
"Having the local gun range, having the local gun shop gives someone a place to go ask questions," said Hal Skaggs, who opened firearms and ammo store Gun Guys and Gals in Kyle last year.
Skaggs said time will tell if the area is underserved, but many who have needed to practice shooting in the past have had to travel to Lockhart.
Andrew Garcia—who owns Pistol 101 & CHL, a National Rifle Association certified pistol instruction business—said ranges provide a safe place for gun owners to shoot. Any community with a population of 5,000 or more should have a range to better provide instruction, he said, adding he was one of County Line Shooting Center's first customers.
Another CHL instructor, Mike Cox, said he gets a couple of calls a week from people looking for shooting ranges in the area.
The risk that comes with running a business that deals with live ammunition makes operating a gun range a big contribution because people might not otherwise not have a safe place to shoot, Cox said.
"When someone operates a public gun range, he is really doing a public service," he said.
That Cabela's opened in 2005 and it took nearly 10 years for a gun range to open is "strange," Skaggs said.
His business was one of a handful to pop up in the area last year, and he said there is room for more gun shops in Kyle. Skaggs' shop downtown carries more traditional firearms for competition and hunting, but other niches might be found in the market, he said.
"There is a lot of diversity in the gun business," Skaggs said. "I don't know that another shop can come in and try to do what I do. It's not necessarily bad to have several gun shops relatively close."
Gun shop owners can refer customers to other shops that carry a certain product, he said.
"It's not like we want 20 gun shops around here," he said. "But yeah, another gun shop or two around here wouldn't hurt anything, I don't think."
Garcia would like to see more gun-related businesses in the area, too, and is hoping the ranges stay open because "there's no point in buying a gun and ammunition and not knowing how to use it," he said.
