A day after Christmas, Christopher Tuft rented a handgun at On Target Shooting Range in Laguna Niguel and fatally shot himself. He was 30.

On Saturday night, Demetrio Ulloa Jr. borrowed a .45-caliber handgun at the Los Angeles Gun Club and turned it on himself. He was 29.

The two recent suicides highlight a sobering pattern that’s well-known in the gun industry but mostly out of the public eye. Between 2000 and 2012, authorities in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties logged at least 64 suicides at more than 20 shooting ranges.

Before December, On Target was the site of at least two suicides, and before this month, the Los Angeles Gun Club had at least three. One range in Inglewood had seven and one in Huntington Beach had six over the same period, records show.

The Orange County Register identified the 64 cases using coroners’ data obtained through public records laws, but it’s possible that more cases exist. Coroners don’t specifically track suicides at gun ranges, making it difficult to measure their frequency among thousands of deaths each year.

For example, the Register found some cases by comparing the addresses of ranges and the reported locations of self-inflicted gunshot wounds. But coroners don’t always chronicle the exact location of fatal injuries in publicly available data.

Range owners are well aware that customers who appear normal may be secretly suicidal. Many range owners have adopted practices aimed at deterring people who intend to harm themselves from walking in and renting guns. Some impose a waiting period before renting alone or require shooters to be accompanied with a friend. But scores have still obtained guns to lethal effect.

“I wish we all had a crystal ball when someone walked in,” said Chris Vrakelos, who operates three ranges called the Firing-Line in Los Angeles and Orange counties. “There’s only so much you can do. It’s an impossible thing.”

Range suicides remain a relatively unusual means of suicide. Coroners in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties logged about 17,800 suicides of all types during the 12-year period reviewed by the Register.

Suicide doesn’t typically receive as much public attention as homicides or accidental deaths. Authorities worry that coverage of any particular method may increase the risk of copycats.

“Almost no coverage of suicide is helpful in terms of preventing suicide,” said Catherine Barber, a Harvard researcher who studies how to reduce a suicidal person’s access to firearms and other lethal means.

For ranges, the topic also isn’t ideal publicity.

A representative at The Los Angeles Gun Club declined to comment on the recent death or discuss broader patterns. Los Angeles police believe Ulloa had met with friends or acquaintances at the downtown range and borrowed a gun they were shooting. An investigation is ongoing.

On Target owner Gregg Bouslog didn’t return messages about Tuft’s death for three weeks but agreed to a brief interview Wednesday. He said he couldn’t discuss any details because of an ongoing sheriff’s investigation.

“I just don’t want any more people here doing that,” Bouslog said.

Families of both men declined to comment for this story. An online memorial page says Tuft, of Ladera Ranch, is survived by a wife and two children, ages 2 and 6 months.

DIFFERENT APPROACHES

Vrakelos said it’s unreasonable to expect that ranges can identify all suicidal people and stop them from renting guns. The businesses don’t have access to medical or police records, and some customers appear lucid before shooting themselves.

“We’ve done everything we can,” Vrakelos said.

In New Hampshire, mental health advocates have tried reducing suicides by educating ranges on some signs of suicidal thinking and distributing brochures about firearms safety and suicide. The advocates suggested ranges display crisis hotline numbers, too.

Similar outreach has followed some gun range suicides in the Los Angeles area, said Lyn Morris, who oversees a toll-free crisis hotline provided by Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services. But the ranges weren’t welcoming.

“We don’t get a good response when we try to do prevention efforts,” Morris said. “There’s a lot of fear around that if you put up a sign it will cause people instead of help people. That’s a myth.”

Florida’s largest gun dealer made headlines this month for electing an entirely different approach to suicides. Citing concerns about a rising number of rental-related deaths, Shoot Straight said it would no longer rent guns to customers – it wasn’t worth the risk.

Vrakelos said ending rental firearms isn’t the answer. He compared his ranges in Huntington Beach, Burbank and Northridge to car dealerships that play an important role in helping people choose which car to buy.

“I don’t sell you a Ferrari if all you can handle is a Volkswagen,” he said. “We feel we’re doing a public service to the community. That’s why we do it.”

Even considering the 15 suicides at his three ranges since 2000, Vrakelos said the deaths represent a tiny fraction of the thousands of customers he’s served. Each range averages about 600 per week, he said.

Research has shown gun range suicides are relatively rare. Barber searched about 30,000 shooting suicides between 2005 and 2010 and found only 51 gun range cases. Her review spanned deaths across 16 states.

The incidents may be slightly more common in Southern California though. Coroners from the three largest counties reported more than 6,800 self-inflicted gun deaths over the period reviewed by the Register. About one in every hundred occurred at a gun range.

“It’s more than what I found, a higher proportion,” Barber said.

SEVEN AT ONE RANGE

Among the 64 cases identified by the Register, the LAX Firing Range in Inglewood had the most of any facility: seven deaths over the period.

A range manager contacted by phone declined to provide his name or comment on the number of reported deaths. But he staunchly disputed that it had the most.

“We’ve had the fewest,” he said. “Your research isn’t complete if that’s what you’ve included.”

The manager declined to identify another range that he believed had more suicides over the period. He explained, “I’m not going to toss those guys under the bus.”

The seven people who were fatally shot at LAX Firing Range varied in age, gender and ethnicity. From age 27 to 52, they included six men and one woman.

The manager said a common theme among suicides at the range has been mental illness. After talking with death investigators or family members, he said nearly all of the suicides were bipolar or schizophrenic.

He said some families had apologized after the deaths.

Like other ranges, LAX Firing Range requires renters to be accompanied by another person. The manager declined to describe other practices currently used to deter suicidal people, saying public disclosure could undermine these strategies.

“There’s a screening process,” he said.

IMPERFECT SAFEGUARDS

The most recent suicide at the Firing-Line in Huntington Beach illustrates how one common safeguard didn’t work.

When Phillip Vo, 25, entered the range in August 2012, it had already been the scene of at least five suicides since 2000 and two policies were adopted to deter more cases.

Customers couldn’t just walk in and rent guns. They had to shoot with a friend or purchase a $150 membership and wait 24 hours before shooting alone.

Vo, according to coroner records, elected the Firing-Line’s second option. He joined the range’s membership and returned the next day to rent a Glock 19 handgun.

Then, at lane 16, Vo fatally shot himself.

Vo’s family told investigators that he had no history of substance abuse and had never been treated for mental illness.

Vo had withdrawn from film school after falling down a flight of stairs and the injury required surgery, his family said. He often seemed depressed or lonely but spoke of returning to school.

Two days before his death, he’d seen “The Dark Knight Rises” at a movie theater and had trouble sleeping because he was “thinking about the movie.”

Family members said Vo was given sleeping medication and the next day had inexplicably disappeared. They filed a missing persons report with Westminster police; later that same day they were contacted by authorities and told about his death.

Investigators found no suicide note, and range staff told them Vo hadn’t made any suicidal statements.

Barber, the Harvard researcher, said policies like those used at the Firing-Line are reasonable efforts to deter suicides. Studies show the length of time that people are actually willing to pull the trigger can be short. Just one day can make a difference.

But hearing of Vo’s death at such a young age also prompted a question.

“That’s really sad,” Barber said. “Maybe they should make (the waiting period) a week?”

Staff writer Luke Ramseth contributed to this report.

Keegan Kyle is an investigative reporter at the Orange County Register. You can contact him by sending an email to kkyle@ocregister.com or by calling (714) 796-4976. You can also follow him on Twitter (@keegankyle).