TheGunBlog.ca — The Shooting Edge Inc., one of Canada’s largest independent gun stores, said today it shut down and filed for bankruptcy, squeezed by plunging sales from the Liberal Party of Canada’s attacks on firearm users and by soaring fees demanded by its landlord.
J.R. Cox: ‘Heavy Heart’
“It is with a heavy heart that I must share the news that, after almost exactly 25 years in business, The Shooting Edge must cease all operations effective immediately,” J.R. Cox, the founder and owner, said tonight on Facebook.
Liberal Attacks
- The Calgary-based store, also the city’s first indoor shooting range, is the newest and possibly biggest victim of the Liberal Party’s mass criminalizations, prohibitions and confiscations targeting government-licensed firearm users and businesses.
- Cox took the Liberals to court in 2020 over their crackdowns.
- The Liberals are working to weaken individuals, destroy property and wealth, and kill the firearm industry.
Liberals and Landlord Wiped Out Business
Source: J.R. Cox on The Shooting Edge’s Facebook Page
Overwhelming regulatory changes, including the rifle ban through OIC in 2020 and the handgun ban under Bill C-21 in 2022, have resulted in a staggering loss of over $3 million annually in sales.
As we watched our sales and membership numbers dwindle, it became increasingly clear that there is little need for a shooting club when purchasing handguns is no longer an option for our customers. Compounding our struggles, our infrastructure costs have surged. Our rent has soared from about $61,000 per month to a staggering $95,000 per month over the last three years, and despite our best efforts to re-negotiate, we have been advised by our landlord that this will escalate to more than $100,000 per month in 2025, with continued increases and special assessments on the horizon. This amounts to over $1.2 million annually in rent alone.
New Location, New Business?
- Cox, who also owns Target Sports Canada near Toronto and regularly challenges abuses of authority by anti-gun politicians and bureaucrats, said he is financing a new Calgary location for clients to pick up their newly bought firearms, and for people who signed up for firearm courses to take them.
- He provided these and other details for customers in a series of questions and answers on Facebook.
- Here’s the last Q&A:
QUESTION: Is JR retiring?
Answer: No.
Cox’s Facebook Post
Source: The Shooting Edge on Facebook.com, 02 October 2024 at 20:16 Calgary Time
