A father and son practice skeet shooting at the National Shooting Complex on the far West Side on Sunday.April Graupner was at her New Braunfels home with her kids one night when a stranger wandered onto her property. As a single mom, Graupner was understandably freaked out. Thankfully, the stranger left without incident, but the experience convinced Graupner she needed some kind of protection for her and her family.
Graupner is among a growing number of gun owners who are helping fuel the booming firearm industry, especially in Texas. According to the, there were an estimated 5.4 million new gun owners in 2021 in the United States. states, “and has been driven by an unprecedented number of Americans choosing to exercise their fundamental right to keep and bear arms.”Success! You're on the list.
The complex opened in the late 1960s and Hampton has been the executive director for 30 years. Combining the skeet and clay associations, the facility has about 47,000 members, and about 30,000 people visit the complex every year, Hampton said. At Tactical Safety Institute in northeast San Antonio, co-founder and managing partner Christopher Patten coaches police officers and civilians. Patten served in the U.S. Air Force for about a decade and then went into civilian military training. He was in charge of Lackland Air Force Base’s Emergency Service Team, leading base personnel in preparation for emergency response.
In front of the gun shop, a miniature Statue of Liberty with a faux machine gun strapped across her chest greets guests. Felker’s cluttered, wood-paneled office is adorned with a Captain America shield, replicas of old rifle muskets and the bleached skull of a steer. A model helicopter with toy soldiers jumping out hangs from the ceiling fan — skydiving is one of Felker’s favorite hobbies.