Interview with Richard Taylor, manager
Q: How did you get involved in this business?
A: I’ve always been interested in firearms. When I was back in England, I was involved in a lot of shooting practice, and then when I first came over here 21 years ago, I was a shooting instructor in Arizona. I worked for Cabela’s in Sidney, Neb. for three years, and then my wife was transferred to Denver. We came to northeastern Colorado and I started working at the Firing Line 11 years ago.
Q: What distinguishes you from other businesses in your category?
A: The fact that we deal with all type of firearms, new and used. We have a full range of antique and modern firearms. A lot of the more modern gun stores out there don’t really deal with used firearms or don’t necessarily deal with collector’s firearms like we do. We also purchase guns and offer consignment on them as well. We have a full firing range on site with 16 lanes, eight lanes for the public and eight more for members.
Q: What do you like best about your line of work?
A: I just enjoy coming to work every day and working with the customers. We get all walks of life coming through the doors, from multi-millionaires to Joe Average looking for a firearm for personal protection or to just shoot on the range and have fun with.
Q: What is your business’ biggest challenge?
A: There’s a lot of competition right now. Our biggest thing is customer service, more than anything else. We try to have good customer service and have the lowest prices in town on modern firearms to try to compete with the big stores. We’re considerably cheaper than them now, so we try to stay on the ball with customer relationships to keep that edge. Our inventory isn’t necessarily as large, but we certainly have a huge variety.
Q: Something people might be surprised to learn about you or your business:
A: Our range was founded here in Aurora and has been open for nearly 30 years. We are actually cheaper than anyone else in town, and we don’t have a time limit on our shooting range. It’s just $14 per person. A lot of places can charge up to $25 an hour. Another big thing we have is Ladies Day on Mondays. It’s free for women to shoot all day.
Profile
Business: Firing Line
Address: 20 S. Potomac St.
Hours: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Founded: 1986
Contact: 303-363-0041,
Employees: 10
