Haters and Zombies Don’t Scare this Grandma
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Tess at the Shooters Paradise shooting range with M-One TARGETS lined up on the range (Photo by James Honey)
The story of the home health nurse and business owner begins with the death of her husband, Brian Barber, in 2015.
At the time of her loss, Turney was earning adequate income to support three children on her own. As an independent Client Care Manager, she is sent by Los Angeles healthcare providers to the homes of patients to assess their health care needs after they leave the hospital. That is, she advises hospitals of the services and medical equipment a patient needs to recuperate at home.
The prevailing opinion was that she would either sell or close her late husband’s defining achievement, M-One TARGETS, the niche manufacturer that produces paper targets for law enforcement agencies, military departments, and gun ranges.
M-One TARGETS Catalog (Photo by Meryl M Photography)
Beckoned to Believe
There’s no point in judging whether bro culture in the firearms industry is inimical toward women, though the stereotype would probably look irrefutable to a gun control advocate. The fact or fable that sexist ruffians are denizens of gun shows doesn’t keep her awake. Turney has no moral or fiduciary obligation to crusade against toxic male culture. Her message is fixed on women like her who aim to reinvent themselves. If shallow men were ever menacing, she had the resources to move on. She could support her family without M-One TARGETS because demand was high for health care outreach services.
Turney never thought she had to choose between her patients and her late husband’s paper targets. “My heart is in my career, but I have no choice other than to continue Brian’s business,” she said of her two options. “I enjoy both.”
M-One TARGETS, she observed, “began as a commitment to honor her late husband’s legacy but evolved into a personal journey of growth, resilience, and empowerment.”
A sentimental journey became a complex calling that she wants to share with everyone who struggles to move on from loss. For them, she composed these thoughts:
“I truly hope my story can inspire not only Filipino women, but every woman out there who has faith in chasing her dreams, rebuilding herself, or quietly fighting her own battles. If my journey can remind even one woman that she is capable, resilient, and worthy of success, then sharing it is more than worth it.”
This picture shows the sponsorship of M-One TARGETS at the Annual IALEFI shooting conference in Houston, Texas. Photos of Firearms instructors with Tess. Lower Left Photo: L-R: From Left to Right: Ted, Tess, Scott. Lower Right Photo: Tess, Drake, Alton,Ted (Photos by Buddy Turney)
Humble Origins
Turney has multiple nursing certifications and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Colegio de San Juan de Letran. She emigrated from Calamba City, Laguna, to the San Fernando Valley of California in 2006. Around the same time, her first husband graduated from the police academy and founded M-One TARGETS. Their children, Alexis, Meryl, and Kevin, could hit a bullseye like Dad, but they followed Mom into the medical field.
Her second husband, Ralph Turney, is a Senior Agent for the Internal Revenue Service. His title shouldn’t be confused with a gun-toting Special Agent in Charge, but CPA Turney has other weapons at his disposal. When a billionaire misplaces the negligible check he wrote aboard his 100-room yacht, this federal agent has a quiver of penalties to jog the tax dodger’s memory.
Tess and husband Ralph Turney with family on their wedding day.
(Photo by Kiddo Dong Films)
M-One TARGETS is based in Turney’s home in Santa Monica, with inventory distributed among four storage units in Van Nuys. The company has not only survived since becoming a woman-owned business ten years ago, but has expanded its product line from six to 26 target designs.
Turney uses part-time designers in Los Angeles. She retains a part-time and full-time staff of 12. Two employees in the Philippines perform marketing through data mining and serve as virtual assistants. She delivers orders within a 200-mile radius herself and ships orders to more distant locations by UPS.
Turney is still a health care worker but on a part-time basis. She keeps a full-time schedule at M-One TARGETS. In addition to gun ranges and security agencies throughout the U.S., the client list includes the Glendale Police Department, Ventura Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida SWAT Association. She finds most of her clients at gun shows like the Las Vegas SHOT Show organized by the National Shooting Sports Foundation. She also gets referrals through contests she sponsors at shooting ranges like the California Tactical Academy in Piru, California.
Love at First Sight
If guns are her vocation, gun shows are her temple. “It’s a calling like what a priest feels,” related the avid churchgoer.
M-One TARGETS Gun Show (Photos by Tess Turney)
She recalled a decisive moment shortly after she inherited the company. “I was at the SHOT Show. I saw all the high-powered guns lined up on a table. Attendees encouraged me to hold a gun.”
The rite of passage accomplished a feat her first husband couldn’t duplicate during their life together. This church lady knew she had to own at least one gun.
Turney doesn’t fit the profile of a typical gun enthusiast. According to Pew Research, white men comprise a majority of the 46 percent of Americans who own guns. Approximately 22 percent of U.S. gun owners are women. In the wider demographics of gun owners, Asians miss the Top Four of ethnic groups.
Men represent more than double the number of women in M-One TARGETS’ customer base, but she is trying to lessen the disparity. Recently, Turney added a pink target to the product line to promote breast cancer awareness. “We sponsor many shooting competitions for women. When I hang out with female contestants,” she explained, “they tell me that they love guns because they make them feel safe.”
A Southern California headquarters gives her proximity to movie studios. “M-One TARGETS products have been used in Hollywood productions,” she confirmed before name-dropping a cult favorite that preceded The Walking Dead from AMC by six years. “Shaun of the Dead featured our popular Zombie target.”
Haters Take Heed
A firearm gives her the freedom to travel without fear of a carjacking or physical attack. Last year, from September through October, she logged almost 13,000 miles for meetings at police departments, gun shows, and offices of firearm instructors in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Georgia, and Florida.
Tess with husband Ralph
Asked why she brings her handgun everywhere, she answered, “I stop in rest areas to close my eyes. I’m surrounded by other drivers. I need a gun for my safety.”
Her 9mm Glock and AR-15 semiautomatic assault rifle help Turney form bonds with other gun hobbyists at shooting ranges. In the ten years since she took over M-One TARGETS, she has evolved from a skittish dove to a fierce marksman.
In the ten years since she took over M-One TARGETS, she has evolved from a skittish dove to a fierce marksman.
She’s attached to her weapons and wouldn’t mind feeding them more ammo. “I can’t own a Gen 5 Glock because its magazine holds twelve rounds. California allows only 10 rounds of ammo in a gun,” bemoans Turney. “If I had bought the gun in Texas, I would have 12 rounds.”
You can tell a lot about a person by her regrets.
Anthony Maddela is a Staff Correspondent for Positively Filipino. He interviews entertainers, people with unusual jobs, and stars in their fields of work.
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