Inside the world of gun enthusiasts

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Inside the world of gun enthusiasts By Ambrose ClancyAmbrose Clancy is a freelance writer.March 3, 2002GIVING directions to his business on Weirfield Street in Ridgewood, John DeLoca said, "We're the only building without graffiti." Maybe the vandals know what the clientele is doing inside - namely, blasting away with high-powered handguns.Inside, the Seneca Sporting Range looks like a well-kept neighborhood club: a large, clean room with comfortably worn leather chairs and sofas, a table perfect for a card game and a pot-bellied stove. But instead of a bar against the back wall, there's a glassed-in firing range, with 15 shooting booths, or "points." On a recent Saturday morning, the sound of small-arms fire pounded through the club. DeLoca, a hospitable man in his 40s who is one of the owners of the 29-year-old range, was handing out coffee and Danish to a few of the 200 or so members who had come for target practice. It costs $250 for a first-year membership, and renewal is $200 a year, which, at Seneca, DeLoca said, "is 14 months, a baker's dozen plus one." Shooting costs an additional $4 an hour."Membership is split 80/20 men to women . . . people from all walks of life," DeLoca said. "The phone was ringing off the hook after Sept. 11, people wanting to buy a gun. I had to calm them down. It's not easy getting a license in New York City." One service of the club is assistance in obtaining pistol permits. A three-year permit costs $255, plus $74 for fingerprinting. A regular pistol permit allows a gun to be kept at home but not carried, concealed or otherwise. The gun must be transported unloaded, with a trigger lock, in a locked bag. Most owners use bags similar to camera cases, or attach? cases. Ammunition must be carried in a separate bag.A carry license allows a gun owner to carry a concealed weapon. The same procedure and background check applies to get a permit, plus applicants must prove to police that they are self-employed and make regular, large cash deposits or withdrawals at a bank. People employed by private investigative agencies or armored car or security companies also are eligible.At Seneca a 30-something fellow named Gary, who wouldn't give his last name or occupation, asked a visitor in a loud voice, "Do you have a pistol permit?" When the answer was no, he demanded, "Why not?" and walked off to the range.If you want a permit, which is required to shoot at a range, DeLoca said, "I'll start you off from scratch, show you the things you'll need. If you want to proceed, I put together a complete package. Then, it will take six to eight months from the time you're fingerprinted by NYPD. I tell people up front, you have even one minor arrest, nine times out of 10 you'll be denied."See," he said, showing the Pistol Licenses Application form, "No. 23 is the key." This question asks if the applicant has ever been "arrested, indicted or summonsed" anywhere in the world. Question No. 12 asks if the applicant has ever taken tranquilizers.Informing a client of the hurdles is to DeLoca's credit. Some outfits claim in their advertising, "Problems like arrests, misdemeanors, DWIs and other problems are easy to overcome.""We charge $300," DeLoca said. "That's all paperwork, a safety class, and the 14-month membership in the range." Gary came back for a cup of coffee. He still didn't want to give his last name, but was more talkative. "When news media tries to say the Second Amendment," he said, "their tongue burns." After he disparaged Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola), an outspoken gun control advocate, Gary was asked if he believed in any restrictions on guns."You know where Vermont is? You know what gun laws they have there? None. You know what the crime rate is? Low." He went on to say that trigger locks for guns stored in the home are a stupid idea and that he disagreed with all gun control.DeLoca was greeted by Ron Cooper, 27, a guard for Pathmark supermarkets. Cooper decided to learn how to fire a gun because he had been trying to get a job at an armored-car company. "I thought I'd get a pistol and some training first," he said. But he found the Pathmark job paid better. He doesn't carry a gun at work."I've never used [the gun] except for target shooting, but if anyone decided to mess with me at home, I'd use it, for sure. And who knows, I might get a job somewhere down the line where I'd need a gun," he said.He is trying to get a permit for a second gun. "My first license was easy. Now I want another gun, and it's taking a long time; they sent my letter back like they received nothing."The police department did not respond to several requests for information on the number of gun licenses in Queens. Dr. Robert Seltzer, executive director of Doctors Against Handgun Injury, a national coalition of medical societies, related this statistic from his Manhattan office: Gun sales increased 21 percent nationwide after Sept. 11. "If there's a gun available," he said, "and access is instantaneous, angry words can lead to shootings. A gun at home, at a minimum, should be kept unloaded and locked, a barrier to using it in anger, frustration or depression.""I don't display firearms," DeLoca said after sorting out Cooper's problem with his license application. DeLoca gave a tour of what must be the most secure room in Ridgewood. A licensed gun dealer, he's more than careful about his stock. "This," he pointed at a monolithic steel cabinet where guns are kept, "is a safe in a safe room. We're standing in cinderblock reinforced by 5-inch steel, a Fox lock, the best in the world, on this door. Everyone associated with Seneca believes in safety first, second, third and fourth."* * *Over on Jamaica Avenue near 75th Street, muffled noise coming from a one-story building sounded like a carpenter driving nails through fresh pine. There was a master carpenter at work in Woodhaven Rifle & Pistol Range, although he wasn't practicing his trade but firing a .357 magnum at a poster of Osama bin Laden. "I wish it was him and not a picture," grinned Miroslaw Haleniuk, 39. A neighborhood resident, he is one of 1,500 members of the range. "I enjoy the relaxation and the challenging part of the sport."One of the largest ranges in the city, Woodhaven looks like a prosperous menswear store, except instead of suits on a rack there are long guns and pistols in cases. A corridor leads to the range of 28 shooting points, with a room with soda and snack machines and another for safety classes.Don Spallone, who has owned and operated the range from its opening in 1972, said Woodhaven is full-service. Initial membership is $295, renewal is $195 yearly, and it costs $4 an hour to shoot. Spallone estimated that since Sept. 11, inquiries increased 25 percent. He said the biggest change at the club in 30 years has been the increasing number of women. "And some of them are the best shots," said John Sabatella, who teaches handgun safety. "During training, women listen. They don't think they're John Wayne the first time they pick up a gun."Don Bassolino, a plumbing contractor, has belonged to the Woodhaven Range for 15 years. He started shooting about 20 years ago and owns four guns. "I got a carry license because of my business, and with the responsibility of owning a weapon comes the need for practice."Although he has "come really close to being attacked" eight times, Bassolino said, he has never had to fire his gun in self-defense. Instead, he relies on verbal commands ("Simple, but really firm. Like 'Stop!'") when he feels threatened. But he feels safer being armed.Allen DiTota, 42, comes to the range every few weeks. He bought his first gun after several break-ins in his neighborhood, but he had always been interested in firearms. He collects them and owns 10."At first my wife didn't like the fact that I owned a gun. She was afraid ... But her father is an ex-Marine, and he put her fears to rest."It's like anything else: You've got to have the knowledge, training, and most important, you've got to have common sense. After she'd seen what it was all about, she actually bought me a shotgun for our third anniversary."* * *In Richmond Hill, George Beitzinger works in his gun shop behind his retail business on Atlantic Avenue, Chapel Sports, accompanied by Sadie, an energetic Airedale. He concentrates largely on a little-known aspect of the trade - firearms as things of beauty. Beitzinger, in his late 50s, describes himself as "a gunsmith and custom gunmaker." Appreciating the aesthetics of firearms isn't just for the people who like target practice, according to Stuart Pyhrr of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which has more than 800 guns in its collection. "When firearms are beautifully designed, proportioned and examples of superb craftsmanship," the museum's curator said, "then they rise above the utilitarian into objects of arts that delight the eye."Beitzinger charges $70 an hour to work on guns and sells firearms in his store. "I do special orders, custom rifles. I rebuild shotguns. Look at this Spanish gun." Intricate steel engraving on the trigger guard and the rich walnut stock make you understand why the Met hangs guns on the wall. "Recently I restored a gun for a businessman - originally made in 1928 and valued at about $40,000." Asked what sort of businessman, his eyes twinkled, "A good one."Besides producing beauty, Beitzinger, perhaps, has saved a life or two. "When policemen used revolvers instead of automatics, I'd do work on the actions, make them nice and slick. The craft was not to make them too slick, though, because then the guns would go click instead of boom. You had to know what you were doing. Boom is better than click when facing a bad guy." Ranges in QueensChapel Sports, 116-20 Atlantic Ave., Richmond Hill, 718-847-7661.Seneca Sporting Range, 1716 Weirfield St., Ridgewood, 718- 497-4545.Woodhaven Rifle & Pistol Range, 74-16 Jamaica Ave., Woodhaven, 718-296-8888. Copyright c 2002, Newsday, Inc. http://www.newsday.com/features/printedition/queenslife/ny-qlsprd2607317mar03.story