Shooting academy sees steady rise in number of students

I’ll send you to hell so fast, they won’t even be ready for you!” Wisecracks like these and wizardry with their six-shooters made cowboys all-time favourites.

A school in Bengaluru, Target Shooting Academy (TSA), promises to make you the fastest gun.

You may not learn how to put a bead between an outlaw’s eyes at this only private facility for arms training, but will be an expert in safely handling firearms or pursue shooting as a sport.

A S Azmathulla Shariff, whose father and grandfather were in the gun trade for over a century, is the proprietor of the Bangalore Gun House in City Market in Bengaluru and runs the Target
Shooting Academy at Chagalatti, near the Kempegowda International Airport in north Bengaluru with his sons Arshad, Aswad and Sarmad.

Today, guns are not just for cops and robbers. Individuals, offices and establishments like banks and tech firms need constant security in this era.

TSA trains people on the safe use of firearms at its well-equipped shooting ranges of 25 and 50 metres.

The membership cost ranges from Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000. Their certificate course — where one gets training in using firearms and rifles — costs between Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000.

With the courses, participants will not only be able to handle weapons comfortably but will be taught about ammunition, safety rules, loading and unloading, basic cleaning, storage, shooting fundamentals and important provisions of the Indian Arms Act and Rules.

TSA also trains people to take part in shooting competitions.

At a time when the Karnataka film industry depended on other states for gunfight sequences, Azmathlla Shariff made guns that looked realistic and came up with gunfight techniques and effects that left the audience whistling as Dr Rajkumar took on the bad guys on screen.

According to Arshad, before one enrols for the training one must get a physical fitness certificate and clearance from the police.

“There has been an increase in the number of people enrolling in the seven years since the school opened,” says Arshad. “Though there is the Rifle Club belonging to the police department, this is the first private school imparting training in firearms,” says Arshad, who adds that many people who buy firearms have no basic knowledge of handling firearms.

For details, contact 98440 36678.