First off, let me say that I have no axe to grind with Target World. I've been shooting there for a long time (even before I owned a gun I would go and rent various ones). I know there are many knowledgeable employees, but this one guy worried me.

To begin on an ancillary note, he was wearing sandals (of some open-toed variety). I'll admit I'm not a range safety specialist, but are open toes really advisable when you may need to go out on the range where hot brass will be flying?

So I walk into the range for a day with one of my .22 rifles. This gentleman is behind the counter talking to a customer who is discussing getting his LTCF before buying a firearm, when I came up to the counter to shoot and started overhearing the conversation. The counter guy is telling the customer that when he gets his LTCF, he *has to* carry concealed, and that if he even prints conspicuously, he might receive a lot of unwanted attention (harassment) from LEOs. He goes on to tell the customer that he'll want to consider this when he considers the size of his firearm(s). I didn't want to be "that guy" that just injects himself into a conversation to argue with someone, so the best I could come up with was to recommend to the customer that he do some reading on the internet to learn more comprehensive information on PA gun/carry laws (I mentioned PAFOA and PAOC). I am planning to call and ask them if I can bring in a stack of the PAOC flyers for customers (and maybe that guy will read them as well).

The other event I am going to try to present as objectively as possible, as I can see valid points on both side of the coin. Two guys came into the range; one guy who seems like he's a more seasoned shooter, and a man who had just purchased his first handgun (possibly his first gun) at the shop upstairs. The gun was a 9mm, but I'm unsure of make/model. The range officer asked the buyer if he had shot before, to which he replied that he had shot rifles before, but not handguns. The range officer then told him that he had to start on a .22 for insurance reasons. The buyer's friend (the seemingly more seasoned shooter) was upset by this statement, and said that he hadn't brought any of his 22s. The RO said that they had a 22 revolver that could be rented. The friend sounded angry at this statement, saying something to the effect of "so he just spent 500 and some dollars upstairs, and now you want another $20 so he can shoot a 22 that he doesn't want to shoot". The conversation turned to when the buyer could "move up" from the 22 rental to the gun he had just purchased, and the RO explained that the determination was made by the ROs based on the control, safety, accuracy etc. shown by the shooter. Around this time, the buyer said that he guessed he would go to another range, and the friend quickly took his ID and the range paperwork back from the RO. The RO said that he needed the paperwork to void it, and the friend ripped it up and said basically "there, it's voided." The RO said "you don't need to give me attitude", and the friend said that it wasn't attitude, but that the RO didn't need his information because he didn't and wasn't going to shoot on that range.

So what do you all think? Someone can go upstairs and buy whatever first handgun they want, and to the best of my knowledge, it's never mentioned upstairs that you'll have to effectively qualify with a smaller gun (that you'll have to rent) before you'll be allowed to shoot it. On the other hand, of course it's ultimately the RO's decision what is and isn't okay, based on his knowledge of the facility rules, insurance provisions, knowledge of the shooter's skills/experience. But do you feel like they might end up losing a significant amount of business due to these rules? Their website does not mention anything that I can find regarding this policy.