Minardi was reluctant at first, but the idea resonated with him, given his lifelong relationship with guns. Now 67, Minardi said he grew up hunting with friends and remembers receiving his first firearm, a double-barrel shotgun, when he was in middle school but already mindful of gun safety. Minardi said he opened a gunsmith business with his brother after attending classes in 1976 and in the 1980s he and his wife decided they wanted a pool and called up Jones, who owned A.H. Jones Pools Inc.