Out of curiosity what qualifications and certifications would a private business need to govern and run the range? There were proposals to allow private entities to help maintain the proposed Ewa range. What would it take to allow one or several private entities to do the same thing at the Kokohead range? Liability insurance is a guaranteed must, but what else? My friends and I have talked about making a hui and opening a small firearms related business, but none of us knows where to start. One of them even has a permit to bring in and maintain class 3 firearms (mainly full auto weapons) along with a lot of industry contacts (he is a major player in Hawaii's film industry). This might be a good start?
I have to agree with all previous posts its like there is an attempt to drown out our not so small community of shooters. A lot of the shooters I know are older and respectable and not quick to flashy showiness or testosterone driven bravado that the so called educated masses believe us gun owners to be. The other group of shooters I know are the hunters. While they don't spend as much time at the range as say the marksman or competition shooter, they still do use the range. The range allows them the opportunity to hone their skills to ensure a humane kill, test new equipment, or train the next generation of hunters in their family. None of us, or at least none of the people I know, are fanatics bent on wielding their steel to do harm or to force their will upon others. In fact many could argue the tranquil zen like state of mind and control one must achieve to send a small projectile some four and a half football fields in heavy cross winds to hit a small round target. To me that is a throwback to the zen archers of feudal Japan and their self awareness and pure awesomeness. That one moment in time will never come again for conditions change and even the shooter changes with each breath. Only a shooter who has practiced and honed his or her skill and who has mastered their chosen firearm will ever know the feeling of ecstasy that comes from hitting that steel plate five out of five times on a very windy day. Unfortunately I am not one of them. If our time and access to the only truly public shooting venue is taken away that is a huge slap in the face to the founding fathers of our nation and an insult to our ancestors regardless of nation or creed that depended upon skill and mastery to provide and protect their families. So what the hell are these people thinking? I am willing to write to and speak to anyone who will listen, but right now it seems that there are more deaf ears and blind eyes out there amongst those who lead than advocates and supporters of our way of life.