Hoover Tactical Firearms revisited.

It's been over a year since I posted unfavorably on my experience with Hoover Tactical Firearms. I subtitled it "My chance encounter with random acts of unnecessary nanny state ass-kissery," for I was upset at being required to show my ID for a simple ammo purchase.

Things have changed since then. I received this comment to the original story just this week:

Hoover Tactical now has only two owners. We try to provide appropriate service. When you are not happy we want to know about it. You can contact us at 205-822-3600 using our new phone system press the appropriate number to get to management then leave a message. We will call you back. As for pricing, we feel that we are quite competitive. I guess we should start showing the MSRP then our price. Even with Simmons we tend to be within 10-15.00. Is it worth driving from our store to Bessemer and back worth that small amount? (Unless you already have to go that way) We have a large facility. The largest indoor range in Alabama with the only 50 yard indoor rifle range. It was a healthy investment so we need to price low enough to bring customers - but you cannot give away the store with this type of investment. People that shoot at outdoor ranges have many opportunities to shoot different ways. But then again it does not cost much to create berms. We truly believe we have one of the finest facilities in the country.

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I hope this has provided the necessary information from this opportunity. For any other questions please call or come by. . .

By the way. The ID requirement used by the previous management has been gone and our store now permits open carry as long as you leave you firearm holstered.

So, yesterday I dropped in to chat with Austin Cook, General Manager of HTF. He gave me a short tour and was able to dispel and/or explain some of the rumors I had heard from other shooters. For example, I had been told that "If you use use the range there, you have to use their ammo." Not true if you bring your own firearm to shoot, says Austin, but they do require that use their ammo on RENTED firearms. They have a number of weapons, including Class III, available for rent. HTF's management prefers that you not come in to shoot their firearms and then run steel-case Russian or reloads through them. This seemed more than reasonable to me.

Another thing I'd heard in the form of a complaint was "If you're using their range, even if you're using your own ammo, if it hits the floor, it's theirs." This is true, says Austin, but the rule was put in place for safety reasons as much as anything, with incidents of kids scrounging brass, getting into other folks' lanes, etc.

Anyway, in the interests of truth and fair reporting, I thought I'd give y'all this update on HTF. Now that the management hierarchy has changed, Austin and the folks at Hoover Tactical Firearms hope you'll come in and give them another look.