Right on Target

Cheryl Knouff, a 61-year-old assistant accounting manager, may not be your average gun enthusiast, but she is one of a growing number of professionals in the Ozarks who have recently found pleasure – and stress relief – through target shooting.

“We have a lot of professionals, doctors and lawyers who are members,” said A.G. Paul, co-owner of The Sound of Freedom USA, an Ozark gun range that opened two years ago.

“I see them come in here all tense and leave all smiles,” he added.

Statistics indicate gun ownership is on the rise. In 2011, the FBI completed 16.45 million background checks for firearm sales, breaking the record of 14.41 million checks in 2010, according to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

And according to a national Gallup Poll conducted last fall, gun ownership also is increasing among women, as 23 percent of those polled said they owned handguns, up from 13 percent in 2005.

The Sound of Freedom has more than 500 members, and while Paul doesn’t know the exact number of female members, he said he believes those statistics are reflected in his business as well.

“The fastest-growing segment is women,” he said. “I think a lot of them are concerned about personal protection. They come in and get training and find they enjoy firearms and marksmanship.”

That was the case for Knouff, who said she became interested in self-protection about a year ago. The Ozark resident, who works at trailer suspension manufacturer Hutchens Industries Inc., said she remembers shooting a BB gun as a child and may have shot a .22-caliber rifle with her husband once.

“Driving into work every day, we passed The Sound of Freedom, and my husband suggested I take a basic pistol course,” she said.

Knouff fired a .22-caliber pistol during the range portion of the course and was hooked. “I enjoyed it so much. It helped build my confidence, and I knew I could protect myself if I needed to,” Knouff said.

A year later, she has her concealed carry license and owns two .22-caliber handguns and a Ruger LC9 9 mm.  She shoots two to three times per week and participates in the Thursday night bulls-eye competitions at The Sound of Freedom. Knouff said her shooting activities are completely separate from her work life.

“I shoot after work to relax. The matches are just for bragging rights, but I enjoy them,” she said.

Troy Cole, a sales consultant and owner of Rescue 1 Restorations LLC, grew up with firearms and has handled them nearly all his life. He was raised in Mena, Ark., where his parents owned Cole’s Sporting Goods, and he spent Saturday afternoons reloading ammunition for the store.

He brought his passion for the sport when he moved to Springfield and has passed it down to his children, Bryce, 12, and Charlize, 10. He said he shoots with his kids or friends at least four times a year at the Andy Dalton Shooting Range in Bois D’Arc.

“I like to shoot more than hunt. It’s fun and it’s a heritage thing – my dad did it and my kids do it,” said Cole, noting that the sport can teach lessons about the need for safety and rules, as well as control, focus and camaraderie.

Fees at the Andy Dalton range, which is operated by the state, start at $3 an hour. While Cole said that’s affordable, ammunition has gotten expensive – and even led him to sell a prized piece, a 50-caliber Barrett, from his collection. He still has more than 20 guns, with a Colt Diamondback .22-caliber revolver and a Ruger 10/22 rifle as his two favorites. He estimates that he’s spent about $10,000 on guns and related expenses through the years.

Knouff declined to disclose how much money she’s invested in her hobby, but memberships at The Sound of Freedom cost $250 a year for individuals and $375 a year for couples. The open range fee is $15 with no time limit, unless there is a waiting list.

Though Knouff said she was nervous when she first inquired about shooting, she felt at ease as soon as she visited the range.

“The staff was friendly and the store was clean and well lit, and I liked that I could see the range through the safety glass,” she said.

Paul said the most important factor to getting started is to be comfortable with instructors and the guns chosen. Once that’s accomplished, he said, shooting can be worthwhile.

“People get a lot of satisfaction out of shooting. It’s not easy to shoot accurately consistently but it’s rewarding when shooters do it,” he said.

Cole noted, too, that there have been other rewards for him in business.

About four years ago, he took 10 clients and business associates on a weekend pig hunt in Texas, and he said the relationships that resulted were responsible for a significant portion of the $400,000 in business that year for his company, which uses dry ice blasting to mitigate smoke damage in buildings, restores monuments and cleans industrial equipment.[[In-content Ad]]