ORANGE PARK – Doug Wheeler carries his work on his hip as a reminder that there’s a lot more to having a firearm than pulling the trigger. 

As one of the owners of BASICS Range and Gun, he said the inside gun range and pro shop not only provides enthusiast an opportunity to refine their shooting skills, but it teaches all aspects of ownership like grip, safety, cleaning, shooting, storage, less lethal and fundamentals. 

“Business has been great,” Wheeler said. “We focus on the basics, on the fundamentals of shooting, teaching people how to do it correctly. We believe in the basics, the fundamentals of shooting, teaching people, educating people.” 

Wheeler said the basics are the grip, the stance and a safe place to store the weapon, like a safe. 

“We recommend a concealed carry class,” he said. “There's a lot of education that teaches you the state statutes, when to shoot, when you can't shoot, where to carry, where you can't carry, because even though we're a constitutional carry state now, there's still places that you can't carry a firearm.” 

BASICS has 10 classes, including how to use pistols, rifles and shotguns, along with teaching children about firearms. There’s also a class about moving while shooting and a real estate safety class. 

There are also four certified instructors on staff. 

The pro shop is equipped with a variety of ammunition and firearms. The range also has handguns and rifles, and eye and ear protection for rent if someone wants to see what it’s like to shoot a firearm in the range. 

BASICS averages about 250 shooters a week, Wheeler said. 

“We get a ton of questions,” he said. “We had a lady come in today (Friday, March 13) that's never shot before, but she's a single lady, and she lives alone. She said, due to the crime rate and everything going, ‘I need to get a gun. I need to learn how to use it.’ 

“So, we started her off with a private one-on-one class with an instructor. That way, she wasn’t in a group setting with 10 other people asking questions she didn’t understand. It was all focused on her. 

“We taught her how to hold the gun, how to grip the gun, the proper stance. We taught her the basics of shooting. Then we took her to the range to make sure she was comfortable shooting.” 

Located at 179 College Dr., Suite 5, BASICS only allows brass ammo, no rifles with a higher caliber than .30-06. and all weapons must be cased and unloaded when entering the shop. 

Wheeler said BASICS realized an uptick in business during the COVID-19 pandemic. Traffic has also increased since the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran. 

Apparently, as tensions increase, so does the need for protection. Wheeler just wants to make sure everyone has the BASICS to do it safely and responsibly.