The most likely demographic group to own a gun, according to a 2015 study in the journal Injury Prevention, are white males over 55 who have finished high school and are, or have been, married.
“It is like golf,” Lentz said of shooting for sport or fun. “You get started, learn the sport and try different clubs and enjoy the social aspect of it. There are many things like that with firearms.”
Those visiting the area’s newest shooting range represent all walks of life — there is even a time reserved for seniors on Monday to come in.
“People will take a break from a white or blue collar job on their lunch hour or after work to come in and shoot for an hour,” Lentz said. “Youth come in with their parents. Some of it is curiosity and some of it is just the opportunity to find out more about firearms.”
Safety first
Gun owners or those who are considering purchasing a firearm have many different reasons for doing so, Lentz said. But his business promotes safety and understanding of what it means to own and operate a firearm above all else.
“The first thing we do if you come in here, is we ask ‘how much experience do you have?’ We want new shooters to learn how to be safe and we encourage you not to buy a firearm before you take a safety class,” he said. “It is not about how quickly we can sell you a firearm, it is about can we help you with understanding how to safely use and store and maintain a firearm.”
Although it is not necessary to have a conceal and carry permit (CCW) when using the range, Lentz strongly encourages a safety first approach to purchasing and learning about firearm safety.
“The CCW is maybe a second or third step. You need to gain and understanding of the basic safety rules in my opinion before purchasing a gun,” he said. “The better trained you are, the better end result you will have with gun ownership. This is what creates a conversation for me when a person walks into the center. I want to know how much experience they have.”
Group caters to female firearm users
Amber Buriff leads the northern Cincinnati chapter of Well-Armed Women, an organization started several years ago as a way to provide women with the tools to successful gun ownership.
“When I began thinking about purchasing and carrying a gun several years ago, there was no single resource for a woman gun owner and shooter,” said Carrie Lightfoot, founder of the organization that has 13 Ohio chapters. “I was frustrated and disappointed to discover that there were so few resources out there that provided straight forward, and complete information and products geared specifically toward me as a woman gun owner in this male-driven industry.”
The northern Cincinnati chapter of Well-Armed Women has 90 members, according to Buriff. There also is a Cincinnati chapter and five other chapters within an hour of the city.
“It is addictive and growing like wildfire,” Buriff said. “Going out on the range is a great stress reliever.”
The northern Cincinnati group, which includes the Butler County area, meets at Premier once a month for an hour of classroom training and an hour at the shooting range.
“Most women just want a gun for self-defense if they would ever need it,” Buriff said, adding that if women are curious about getting into firearms training they should “start with a basic gun safety class and get familiar with how the gun works.”
Shooting ranges growing in area
An indoor shooting range and training facility is under development on an 11.4-acre site at 6711 Ringwood Road in Oxford.
The future facility’s owner, Jeff Day, told Oxford City Council earlier this month that training and education would be a major component for his facility, with classes not only in the handling of firearms, but also in self-defense.
“A gun is always your last resort. We teach you to be aware of your surroundings,” Day told council.
“I want to have classes and draw women in and teach awareness,” he said, adding he sees women walking alone at night with their heads down, texting and leaving themselves vulnerable because they are not paying attention to what is going on around them. “It’s not just going to be shooting all the time.”
Asked about security measures, Day told council he will always have a Range Safety Officer on duty overseeing the shooting range and trained to be alert to possible problems. They will be trained and certified through a program by the NRA.
Target World, north of Cincinnati in Sharonville, is another commercial indoor gun and archery range in the area. There are four indoor shooting ranges in the Dayton area, including The Range at Miami Armory, a new 27,000-square-foot indoor shooting and archery range just off Interstate 75 in Springboro.
The Butler County Sportsmen Rifle & Pistol Club is another local resource for learning more about firearms and for gun collectors and hunters, according to Larry Moore of the Buckeye Firearms Association.
The club, located on Millville Avenue/State Route 129 between Millville and Hamilton offers indoor and outdoor rifle and pistol shooting as well as archery.
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