SHOOTING : Indoor Range Keeps Gunslingers on Target

“Before entering, unholster and unload all firearms.”

The sign in the window of The Target Range in Van Nuys is aimed at anyone with an itchy trigger finger--scratch it before entering.

The indoor shooting range, one of two in the Valley area, caters to those interested in practicing safety as much as their adroitness with firearms.

“You get John Waynes in here once in a while,” range master John Ferrero said. “Guys who have spent big bucks on a holster want to come in here and draw and shoot.

“But, overall, the shooting public is a really good crowd,” Ferrero added. “The type of people who come into a controlled atmosphere like this are interested in the safety aspect. The less responsible people won’t pay the money for safety.”

Safety rules are posted on signs throughout the range. Fast-draw shooting is not allowed in any of the 12 concrete-encased stalls, neither is rapid fire or trick shooting. Bullets are fired at an armor-plate backstop angled at 43 degrees to control the ricochet.

Only handgun-caliber pistols or rifles--anything from a .22 caliber to a .44 magnum--are allowed at the range. The range rents guns and provides the necessary shooting equipment, including targets, ammunition, and eye and ear protection.

The majority of Ferrero’s customers are “sportsmen, people who enjoy shooting.” Some are only interested in self-protection.

“Quite a few people come in only looking at it from one angle,” Ferrero said. “Then they realize that there’s a whole sport to it. During the Richard Ramirez, ‘Night Stalker’ deal, I was giving more lessons than I’ve ever had in my life. But when they caught him it went right back down.”