Posted on 11/19/2003 12:28:48 PM PST by steppenwolffe
Think "Home Improvement" except with guns, with Jeffersonville native Chip Kruer in the Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor role and Wes Kiesler -- of Kiesler's Firearms and Accessories in Jeffersonville -- as Al, his trusty sidekick.
"What's that, Wes? Is that where you keep your Twinkies?" quips Kruer as Kiesler is peparing to move a toolbox full of ammunition from a truck bed.
Such is the typical banter between Kiesler and Kruer during a taping day for the duo's show, "Shooting Sports by Kiesler's," which can be seen monthly on Insight local channel 2.
Of course, the jabs are good natured -- Kruer, 28, and Kiesler, 25, have been friends for more than 10 years -- and add to the entertainment value of the show.
The half-hour shows typically involve Kruer, Kiesler and others showing off the latest in firearms and other weaponry. But on this taping day, Frank Jardim, curator of the Patton Museum of Calvary and Armor in Fort Knox, Ky., has brought along rifles and machine guns from World War II.
They will fire the weapons into fruit, paper targets, a clothes dryer, a refrigerator, and two vehicles to demonstrate their firepower.
"We're regular guys who get to do cool stuff," said Kruer, a graduate of Providence High School and a former news producer for WAVE-TV in Louisville, who likens the show to MTV's "Jackass." "It's much better than spending a day at the office."
But if Kruer and Kiesler already sound like two yahoos haphazardly shooting off guns, they're not.
Both men know their way around weapons and constantly preach safety on camera and off.
A safety officer is always on hand during the show's taping, which on Tuesday took place on a rural Washington County farm, virtually miles away from civilization. And they insist that anyone who visits their set wear protective eyegear and earplugs.
Kiesler, whose family business has been in Clark County for 30 years, said one reason he wanted to do the show initially was to show guns and weaponry in an accessible fashion.
"Using them safely is always the number one rule with firearms," Kiesler said. "Safety and respect. If you don't respect them, they'll come back to get you."
Often, he said, even his business has been shown in a negative light in local and national media reports on gun control.
Initially, many of Kiesler's family members were skeptical about his doing the show but now have become convinced enough that the show airs practically around the clock inside their shop on Industrial Parkway.
"A gun is just a tool, it doesn't know what the politics are," he said. "We're not playing politics; we're pushing gun safety and information."
Thus, the show is a mix of humor, information, frat-boy moments and patriotic charm.
Many of the information tidbits that flash on the screen while it airs caution against handling a loaded weapon and offer suggestions on what a first-time shooter should use. And, despite the fact "Shooting Sports" has a definite guy appeal, Kiesler said women are watching too.
"We have a lot of women who watch our show and come in and buy weapons for their personal defense," he said.
The show has been airing for 18 months and can be seen both in the Louisville and Columbus, Ohio markets -- where at any given moment it can be seen by about 1 million sets of eyes. But it is also being looked upon as a potential target for national syndication by some cable networks.
Most shows focusing on weapons involve "a guy in a tree stand" sitting and waiting for a deer to walk into their path, said Kruer. "Shooting Sports" is not a show that necessarily even advocates hunting, he said.
"We don't shoot animals -- we kill paper," Kiesler said.
Add to that the frenetic, rapid-fire style the show is shot and presented in and the result is more viewer friendly. Neither Kruer or Kiesler work off of a script and a series of outakes featuring filming gaffes appears at the end of each show.
"When you have an overly scripted show, you lose the energy," Kruer said. "We like to keep things going."
The main thing the show tries to do is have a little fun. Sometimes that comes at either Kruer's or Kiesler's expense, but that's okay too.
"I've had people come up to me and say, 'I'm not really into guns, but I watch your show,'" Kruer said. "And they like it. It's a different way than they're used to being exposed to firearms."
Actually, the store is a leading nationwide supplier for police firearms and supplies. That's their primary focus.
L
I was thinking the same thing. I get Outdoor Life Network and Outdoor Channel on DISH, and it would be great if one of them syndicated the show.
So9
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