RSWC #263 Mark Abady, We Shoot

Riding Shotgun With Charlie

#263

Mark Abady

We Shoot

I met Mark Abady in passing at SHOT Show in 2025. A New Jersey friend made the introduction, but it was quick and we both moved on. We Shoot has been around for seven years. The range and gun store have been on my radar for awhile. Valentina Green (RSWC #256) said they were up for being on a show so I headed down to central New Jersey to make it happen.

Mark is a very interesting character. He was born in Texas. Grew up in Mexico. He got involved in a program that trained Jewish people in the use of firearms, situational awareness, and how to defend their congregation.The program was often in Israel. He trained for eight years. When he moved back to the US, he wanted to experience firearms in a different way. There was nothing in Mexico and it was nearly impossible to get any type of firearm.  There's only one gun store in Mexico and it's run by the government.

Moving to New Jersey, he started off with a Colt Gold Cup 1911. Coming from south of the border, he thought it was going to be great. There were so many brands and types to purchase. But he did learn how infringed the Garden State is. He learned he needed an FID card. Then a permit to purchase handguns. What he learned from the media and movies just wasn't true. Despite where he moved, his family wanted the freedom the US offered.

For a while, Mark owned a jewelry business in New York but the city got to be too much. Being a Jewish gun owner in New Jersey, folks told him need to keep it quiet. People may not accept them or let their kids come over to play with his family. Eli, his business partner, is also a gun guy. They had a lot of family time together. After taking friends shooting and teaching them, they decided to make it official and become certified instructors.

While Mark & Eli went to buy a gun from another shop, they talked about how nice it was inside the range. They casually joked about opening up a second range for this shop but the owner took them seriously. So they had a meeting about it. Even though it didn't work out, they took the idea to another range. The offer was to do the instructing at the range and be the training company for them. Having the conversation with the owner, they told him that they were thinking of opening their own range and didn't want him to think they were taking advantage of the opportunity. The owner was interested in selling and it ended up working out.

There's a lot to do to buy and open