Guns are scary. Guns in a shooting range called the Bullet Hole are really sca -- oh, wait, that's not scary at all, thanks to Rick Porter, who is happy to guide the gun-shy past rows of new and used rifles and pistols (and a few rueful-looking pieces of taxidermy) to one of the Hole's 22 lanes. This is the oldest gun store in Johnson County, and the building serves as a training school for gun-safety novices. Private instructors are available by appointment, and they make better teachers than significant others, Porter says. (Sometimes the secret to good relationships is
not teaching each other how to use firearms.) Target-shooting teams from KU, UMKC and Shawnee Mission North High School come to practice on the Hole's range. Kids are welcome, and there isn't an age limit -- if you can hoist your arm above the counter and see the paper target down the lane, you can shoot at it. And on Wednesdays, ladies shoot free! Some of the older fellas spend whole days at the Bullet Hole for sport and socialization, so the place doesn't charge by the hour. Instead, there's a flat fee: a yearlong membership is $20, adult range fees are $8 a day with membership, and guns are available for rent. You've gotta buy your ammo, too, because guns aren't as much fun without bullets.
