Kristian Frandsen of Denmark shoots an AR-15–style rifle at The Range at Austin as he visits for Formula 1, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
A shooting range in South Austin is the target of a lawsuit that has pitted business partners against each other in a courtroom duel.
Grant Shaw, co-founder of The Range at Austin, says his business partner Alessandro Bosco and others are intentionally tanking the enterprise to buy it back cheap, minus debts and investors. The accusation is false, according to the company’s largest creditor, and the lawsuit is an attempt to put off what it says is “inevitable.”
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The 4.3-acre shooting range, showroom and gun-aficionado playground was built with $8 million from more than 30 investors, says a lawsuit filed last week. It’s been an Austin staple for the man-o-sphere crowd with visits from right-wing, gun-toting comedian and podcaster Joe Rogan.
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Shaw is going to court today to try to block a foreclosure sale of the 52,000-square-foot business and property along Interstate 35 in South Austin.
In a nearly 400-page court filing, he maps out the alleged “scheme” perpetrated by his former colleagues, which involves derailing an effort to refinance a longstanding debt while positioning a third-party to swoop in, foreclose and take over.
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“Those are all untrue statements and desperate attempts to avoid foreclosure,” said Thomas Sansone, owner of the limited partnership TASAN, which had millions in equity in the company and Range Collection LLC, the company now tasked with collecting his debt. Sansone and both companies are named in the lawsuit.
Sansone, who is also Shaw’s former father-in-law, says the company owes him about $10 million from years of investments, capital calls and bailouts. He was described by another former investor as a “lifeline” for Shaw and the business. Sansone said he took on the bank loan when it came due years ago but hasn’t been repaid.
An attorney for The Range declined to comment ahead of today’s hearing. Other named defendants did not respond to calls and emails.
Shaw and Bosco co-founded The Range’s parent company, Patriot Entertainment LLC, more than a decade ago. Jon Armstrong, the third co-founder, resigned years ago, according to court documents.
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Bullet casings are seen on the ground of the shooting range at The Range at Austin, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Shaw and Bosco built another company together called SB Tactical, which produces controversial arm braces for guns. The braces can help turn a pistol into a rifle and the company fought the U.S. government to continue selling them. SB Tactical has been wildly successful and helped fuel other ventures like The Range.
Last July, Shaw says in court documents, the company was trying to get another loan to keep it afloat when Bosco started pushing back against the deal, rejecting it personally, whipping votes against it and allegedly attempting to bribe one of the board members when Shaw tried to get him removed. Shaw has alleged that Bosco is trying to use The Range as leverage to push him out of SB Tactical as well.
According to Shaw, the loan would have kept the company running and protected investors’ equity.
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Sansone said the financing deal Shaw was trying to strike was no panacea.
“That’s between him and his partners and the deal that I saw was very unattractive,” he said.
Shaw is alleging multiple varieties of fraud. His attorneys did not respond to calls or emails seeking comment.
This isn’t the first time The Range has been mired in litigation and controversy. The company was plagued by cost overruns in its construction and was ultimately sued by its architect over nearly $90,000 in allegedly unpaid invoices.
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In 2018, it was sued by former investor Michael Qualizza, who accused the group of violating the Texas Securities Act by making false or misleading statements while selling a security. An arbitrator agreed and awarded Qualizza damages. In total, court documents show, he recouped his $1.6 million investment with an additional $1.2 million in damages and attorneys fees. The public documents did not list what the material misstatements were.
Sansone said if the foreclosure goes through, he will take it over.
“I will continue to operate it by myself with the intention of getting it stabilized,” he said, possibly selling it after a couple years. “I have no interest in this space.”
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