My adventure started when the fabulous Tracey Splechter from Outdoor Connection contacted me with interest in learning more about GG2G and to tell us about her company.  She thought, rightly so, that rather than simply having phone conversations, an actual hunting experience would be best. Lucky for me I would be going with 5 other women — honestly, other than going with my dad or brother, this was the best way for me to jump in! What kind of hunt would I be going on? A wild hog hunt!

Er. Not quite.

It was going to be a weekend experience Gray Ranch in Oklahoma — just a few short hours from my home state of Texas. And I was nervous. Not about the hunting part, but more about the going hunting with 5 experienced women part. Yes, it was like making friends in grade-school all over again — Would I look too much like a city girl? Would my gear work for the job? Would they like me? Would I be the only one who didn’t take a hog?!

What I found were 5 incredible women who I now call friends and with whom I absolutely hope to hunt again. And it was a lot like summer camp — just with guns and hunting and some beer and wine thrown in for good measure (after the firearms were safely put away, of course)! Two are from Prois Hunting Apparel — Kirstie Pike, the founder, and Katherine Browne, her awesome colleague. They kindly provided me with some Prois gear for the weekend and let me tell you — it was fantastic (I’ll have a review soon). Ladies, if you need camo that’s made for women by women, definitely keep Prois on your shopping list. Another fabulous female huntress who was with us — Mia Anstine — runs Wolf Creek Outfitters with her husband as well as keeps her fans informed with her personal blog, My Many Outdoor Adventures. Oh, and she’s hilarious. Hearing her stories of her pet turkey, Tom, kept us laughing at all hours. And finally Tracey — the woman who put it all together — and her sister. OK, I did learn that her sister was somewhat of a newbie like me, but still, she had done this at least one more time than I!

Fortunately, despite my anxiety about hunting, Tracey kindly accompanied me to our stand on the first night and after sharing stories and giggling for a couple hours, she actually spotted a group of hogs coming our way!

Since it was my first hunt, Tracey also let me take the first shot. OK, actually she had to walk me through it a little bit so I wouldn’t freak out. Here’s the thing: I don’t take this “killing a living creature” thing lightly and I wanted to ensure that I had a humane kill. I also wanted to get one that would provide me with good meat to eat. I only support hunting for sustenance and fortunately the majority of hunters are the same way.

In any case, I lined up my shot, took a deep breath, and after I had let all the air out squeezed the trigger and BAM… I got one! Although I was shaking from all the adrenaline and freaked out because the hog I got ran for about 5 seconds before toppling over, I was also happy to have gotten one! My first hunt ever I got a hog on the first night!

When the guides came by to pick us up just after nightfall, we brought the hog (which turned out to be a boar) back with us and the guys weighed it and field dressed it.  And they also soon told me it was, in fact, a humane kill.  Whew!

Posing with my 118 pound boar!

Although I realize that field dressing is something I’ll eventually have to learn, I left it to the experts this time.

The rest of the weekend was, in a word, fabulous. I immediately felt like “one of the huntresses” with my very own hunting success story and despite the 4:30am alarm clock looming above us the next morning, we happily ate, drank, and told stories late into the night. The next day Katherine, who I’ve decided is my sister from another mister and one of the first women I will call when the zombie apocalypse happen, and I got to do a little horseback riding with the guides. We were officially just riding unofficially in search for hogs, but we only saw traces of them. Oh well, we both had a blast and looked awesome while doing it.

Katherine geared up for some hogs complete with rifle, sidearm and knife.

Although only Kirstie also ended up getting a hog, I think we were all happy by the time Sunday afternoon hit and we were all packing up.

Posing with all the ladies. Yes, I'm the giant among them all.

———————-

So ladies, if you’re interested in trying out hunting for the first time — definitely consider an all female hunt. And check out Outdoor Connection (www.outdoor-connection.com)– they can pretty much arrange for the hunting or fishing trip of your dreams, as they have trips literally all over the world. And since one of the top folks there is a woman, you know you’ll be getting something that’s female arranged & approved on many levels.

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I will admit, I was a bit nervous going in as, based on the course descriptions, these were going to be way beyond anything I had ever encountered in my gun experience. Just reading about Garret’s background made me think, “OK, what am I signing up for?”, but when we spoke on the phone, he assured me that I wouldn’t be the weakest link and that I would have a lot of fun.

Ok, let me give you a little background on Garret so you can understand my apprehension.  He’s an Israeli soldier who served with a Special Forces Counter-Terrorism unit named “Duvdevan” in the IDF – which translates to poisonous cherry, as he explained on our way to lunch.  In this role, he was tasked with urban warfare and counter-terror operations in the West Bank.  Um, hello, that’s like the bad-ass Israeli version of Jack Bauer, except for real… Y-I-K-E-S! And here I was, willingly signing up to spend 2 days with Mr. Machine, taking both the Israeli Instinctive Shooting courses he was offering – Basic Pistol and Urban Warfare Tactics!

Don't let his boyish good looks fool you. Beneath that friendly exterior lies an Israeli fighting machine!

I was also worried that I’d be the one woman in a class full of big, burly men that were in special forces or SWAT (or, more likely, thought they were…).  Although in my younger years I had dreams of being a super-spy, this was the first time I was taking any sort of serious tactical training.  Fortunately what I found in the class was a welcoming environment, where Garret treated everyone equally, and a class of people who all had their strengths and weaknesses to work on – whew!

The class itself was wonderful, if not painful.  We began the day with SAFETY!  Pretty much the most important thing when handling firearms.  Not only did Garret ensure our ammo was all locked safely in our cars as we would begin with dry firing, but he taught us how to clear the firearm properly, which we did after every exercise.  This immediately put me at ease.  Part of it was to instill a culture of safety, but also to get us used to doing these exercises to the point where they become muscle memory. I do know that since the course I always clear my Glock the way he taught me.

Garret was also excellent at quickly recognizing my areas of weakness and offering suggestions for improvement.  While going through the various exercises both in dry fire and with live fire, he would yell at me to fix my mistakes or move more quickly… ok, so maybe a bit scary in the beginning, but eventually it went from fear to something that made me want to do everything correctly and as quickly and safely as possible in order to prove to Garret that not only was I listening to what he was teaching us, but I was taking those lessons and putting them into action.  I realize now the reason he did this to simulate, as close as possible to the real thing, a stressful situation that I could find myself in when using my firearm; this actually ended up helping me focus more on the task at hand.  He was also ensuring I would think about everything that had to be done to get from the start of the exercise to slowly clearing the gun.  One of the most important lessons I learned is that speed is not always the most important thing – staying aware of my situation, even it it meant taking an extra half-second to think through it, ensured that I acted in a safe and appropriate manner.

You might be wondering what I learned during these two days of hell training.  On day 1, I learned the ideal body shooting position, drawing from concealed carry, jam correction, proper body positioning for search mode versus distance clearing mode, and even what to do if you fall while shooting, among other things. Day 2 was much more intense and included using cover, how to clear and search rooms, doorways and hallways (which, as Garret explained, any city or location can be viewed in this way), how to shoot as both a driver and a passenger in a car, and much much more.  The photo below doesn’t do it justice, but is a small sample of what I got to do.

Garret demonstrates proper technique for shooting a target through a doorway.

Now, people who know me know that I’m both über-competitive and a perfectionist (yes, I’m a proud Type-A), so I did have to constantly remind myself that when Garret learned these skills and many, many more, he did it over 24 grueling months of training and three years of active duty service.  So the fact that I was good-not-great (-sometimes-bad) was OK by me.  And the best part is that I got both Garret’s book Israeli Security Concepts and his DVD Ultimate Israeli Instinctive Shooting and Pistol Combat Training so I could continue practicing these skills long after he returned home.

It was interesting, near the end of day 2, Garret asked us which was more important – training or experience.  I knew the answer to be experience, but at the same time I think a combination of the two are just as important.  You can have great experience but with no training, you might not be doing things correctly.  So ladies, here’s my advice to you: if you see a firearms course that looks interesting you to, check it out and sign up for it.  Even if it seems too advanced.  If you’re with a great instructor like Garret, he or she will be able to cater the training to yours and others progress, and instill a new confidence in you that you previously didn’t have.  However, if you choose to take one of Garret’s courses or any course for that matter, heed a few pieces of advice:

• You should be familiar with your firearm – you end up putting around 200+ rounds through your firearm each day, so this is not a time to be trying out something new.
• You should be in fairly good shape – I wasn’t the best, I wasn’t the worst, but I certainly have stepped up my strength training so that when Garret comes for the next round of training, I’ll be better prepared physically.
• Speaking of being prepared physically – you need to be strong not only in your arms (which is where I concentrated my efforts pre-training) but also in your legs (which I neglected and therefore suffered the consequences post-training). If you need some tips, we put together a post on exercises for shooting recently.
• Individual courses should be part of a larger training program – as with any pursuit, training and experience are necessary to become even proficient in it, so once you sign up for this or any other firearms training course, make sure you continue to practice what you learned long after the instructor leaves, and continually educate yourself.  This can even be in the form of participating in IDPA – I did so a week after my training with Garret and the women I shoot with mentioned a noticeable change in my ability!

So what was I left with other than a sore body and a few cuts & bruises?  A new confidence when carrying my pistol, skills that I continue to practice so they become “muscle memory” and I’m comfortable using them, a huge appreciation for what the men and women of Israel’s military go through, a stronger sense of the ability to defend myself in certain situations, and in the words of Bridget Jones, let’s face it, a bit of a crush now, actually! 

——————————–

If this sounds like something you’re interested in, Garret travels around the country offering various training seminars that are part of the Israeli Professional Tactical Training (IPTT), which is a program under the International Haganah Federation (IHF).  It consists of 21 individual training segments, including the two I took.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t give a great big Texas-sized shout-out to Dan from Austin Self Defense, who coordinates the IPTT training for the Central US region – without his help this never could have happened.  If you’re interested in self-defense courses in general, Austin Self Defense is a great place to do it.  Honestly, if they weren’t located so darn far from where I live, I’d definitely be taking part in some of their regular programs, which include Krav Maga, Haganah, and other fitness; some of the self defense-specific courses they have are hand-to-hand tactics and self defense as well as tactical knife courses.

Garret has plans to be back in the Central Texas area every couple months, and we’re happy to get you in touch with Dan from Austin Self Defense if you’re interested.  His email is dan@austinselfdefense.com and his phone number is 512-918-9999.  If you’re in the Miami area and want to learn more or set up some training, call 954-475-2333, and in New England, 610-888-8212.  If you’re located elsewhere or have any questions for Garret, you can reach him at garretmachine@yahoo.com.  Just be sure and tell Dan & Garret that Katie from GG2G sent you!

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I wasn’t sure what to expect when I headed to the Austin Rifle Club for the Texas Tactical IDPA match.  I knew I was going to be there with other women of similar shooting ability and that we’d be way outnumbered by the guys.  What I didn’t expect was an incredibly fun way to start a weekend!  Now, you’ve read about how GG2G feels about time at the range before, but this was different.  No longer would I be hitting static targets several yards away.  This time I would have to think of my feet – including “running” while shooting, ducking behind cover, and shooting from kneeling and lying down positions.

Using Cover While I Take Out the Target!

Now, I know what you’re probably thinking: ”Are you sure you would label that as ‘fun’, Katie?”  Heck yes!  What made it so was that we had 4 women shooting and a couple who were there as our cheerleaders.  That’s something the men at the competition most definitely did not have!  And I gotta admit it – I think we even intimidated some of the guys there, more because they were worried about hurt egos than anything else (what guy wants to be beat by a girl at a shooting competition?!).

I asked one of my fellow competitors, Karen, what she thought of the experience.  Here’s what she had to say:

Other shooters (male & female) are very helpful. They’ll loan you magazines when yours fails to eject, explain the course of fire more than once if needed, critique your shooting in a way that makes you want to come back and continue to put that information to use, and everyone has a smile for you!

OK, I admit that I added that emphasis at the end, but everything she said is absolutely true.  How could you not have a great, girly time while being surrounded by folks who encourage you and are helpful beyond expectations?!

So, if you have a free weekend and you’re looking for something fun to do with the gals, I’d say find a local match, call all your gun-totin’ girlfriends, and try it out.  Maybe have everyone throw on a pink or purple shirt to show your girly camaraderie.  Then go show off your shooting skills for a couple hours!

There was definitely no competition with these girls!

Oh, and if you’re looking to continue the fun, since loading mags are notorious for tearing up your manicure, head to the spa for mani/pedis after.  Or if you had the convenience of a speed-loader, like me, you can always grab some margaritas at your favorite Mexican place!

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Hmmm. I wonder if this would count as "printing"?

I believe that now, among Texas Concealed Handgun License holders, 20% are women, and four years ago I joined the ranks of Texas women who have one.  This past weekend I had to complete a renewal course.   Four years ago, the reason I got mine was because I was commuting a lot and there are some roads in Texas where it can be a bit scary to drive late at night or early in the morning.   Of course it’s also my right both as a US Citizen and Texas resident, so why not?  The first time around required 10 hours of my time, including both a classroom and practical shooting portion — yes, thankfully with all the citizens that do carry in Texas, we must prove we can shoot accurately before they’ll let us carry a firearms where it’s legal to do so.  And you can’t just sleep through the classroom portion — you must complete a test.  Luckily the second time around for the renewal, the total time is about 4 hours — phew!

In any case, GG2G fan and friend Julianna Crowder, the Glock Girl herself, invited me to join a group she was instructing.

Julianna, "The Glock Girl" and my CHL Instructor for the Day

We started with the practical portion and although it wasn’t as cold as the other night, it was still cold and windy up at Best of the West in Liberty Hill, which, by the way, is a great outdoor range in the north Austin area.

No that's not me. I would've had more clothes on in the bitter cold!

Then I merely had to sit through the same boring stuff as last time.  Just kidding Julianna!!! In reality, Julianna is a smart woman and decided to use modern technology, unlike the instructor I previously had who gave us handouts to read (hello, not environmentally friendly!). So she lead us through a few PowerPoints covering everything from the basics to the laws we should be aware of.

One of the reasons we love Julianna here at GG2G is that she is sassy just like us. I imagine part of it might have to do with the fact that she’s the only woman in a household with a husband and two teenage boys, but I digress.  She kept things interesting, making jokes at appropriate times and answering all our questions.   My only disappointment was that my training was over before we got to the good stuff — the real world examples of how to handle situations in which one might have to use a handgun in self-defense.  Though for some examples hop on over to Natalie’s post on the Utah CCW class.

But there were some important facts I learned (or re-learned) that I wanted to share with y’all:

• Use of deadly force is only to stop someone who is an imminent threat to yourself or others.
• The NRA sets the standard for safety when it comes to all guns – something that inherently makes sense but I’d never thought of.  It’s the source of GG2G’s safety guidance.
• For all guns, keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to shoot. Seriously.  There are too many stories of accidental discharges where someone takes their gun out of their holster with their finger on the trigger and shoots themselves in the foot.  Google it. You’ll see what I mean.
• When handling semi-automatics, always do a chamber check when it’s handed to you.  Even if the person who handed it to you did so, you should get in the habit of doing it yourself so as to avoid a “negligent discharge” should you not check – sadly, it only takes one time.
• Speaking of “negligent discharges”, there are two major causes of gun accidents – ignorance and carelessness.  Making gun safety inherent in everything you do when handling firearms will keep you and others around you safe.
• In Texas, after the Castle Doctrine was passed in 2007, your car is now considered part of your “castle” and you no longer need a CHL to carry in your car.  However, your handgun must be concealed; this is not true for long guns (I mean really, how would you hide the rifle rack in your truck?).  Check out Texas Custom Holsters for some pretty unique ways of concealing your gun in your car.
• Although Texas has reciprocity with 29 states and our CHL is recognized in 2, it’s always good to check with your destinations and/or the states you will be driving through if you plan to travel with your firearm.

Look at all that green! Yeehaw!

• If you’re looking for some online resources, especially if you’ll be traveling, check out HandGunLaw.US and OpenCarry.org.
• If you get pulled over, even if you’re not carrying that day, it’s always a good idea to hand the officer both your DL and CHL, because it’ll come up when he looks you up in his computer anyway, and let’s be honest, you really don’t want to give cops a reason to be annoyed with you, right?
• There is lo legal limit (in Texas) for intoxication and carrying. Yes, you read that right. I’ve always thought it was 0.08 like with a DUI. But here in the great state it’s all up to the officer to decide if you’re impaired. To be honest, I kinda like this. Because even though your BAC might read 0.08, if you’re a 5’2”, 100-lb girl this can be much different than, say, a 6’4”, 220-lb man. But this also means that you could’ve had one beer an hour ago and the cop thinks you’re intoxicated regardless of your BAC.

Overall, it was a good refresher, especially as I think Julianna covered more than I remember from the first time around.  And I highly recommend that if you’re a woman looking to get your CHL in Central Texas, see if you can get into one of her classes.   It really is less intimidating learning from a woman than from a man!

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In any case, last night was cold. And I don’t mean when Texans think it’s cold if it gets below 60 degrees.  The windchill was in the single digits cold.

One of the good things about Red’s is that they pipe in fresh air that blows down range so that you’re not stuck breathing in gun fumes while you’re there.  Then again, one of the bad things about Red’s is that they pipe in fresh air that blows down range… because when it’s cold outside it’s ever colder on the range and when it’s hot outside, it’s hotter’n'hell in there.  I learned the (cold) hard way that shooting in the cold can affect everything from loading the magazine to aiming to holding the gun steady when trying to aim to trying to manage shooting in the extra bulky clothes we’re forced to wear in the winter (and let me tell you, it ain’t as easy to look good at the shooting range when you’re bundled up in 3+ layers!).

Katie trying to stay warm at the range.

What happened?

First, when I was loading the mag on my new Gen 4 Glock 19, the ammo was cold, which made loading it a wee bit difficult.  Lucky for me, my new baby came with a speed loader – phew!  I tried my gloves, which are the typical knit ones, and these just made things more difficult.  So I basically would put my hands in my pockets between each mag load…

Once I had my pistol loaded, I proceeded to get a proper grip and aim.  Well, with it being cold, my fingers were stiff. And the longer I was out there, the stiffer they got.  I was still able to hold on but I noticed my movements got twitchier as the night continued on…

Then, since I had cold air blasting me from behind, my eyes started watering.  Well, this made aiming difficult because it affected my eyesight and impaired my sight alignment…

And then, finally when I pulled the trigger, I swear it was more difficult than usual with cold, stiff fingers.  This was most obvious in my results on the target – compared to shooting the 19 over the weekend, my grouping was not nearly as tight and I had several more that were way off-target than usual.  I tried shooting with the aforementioned knit gloves, but being slippery they made getting a proper grip difficult, despite the fancy new features of the Gen 4 Glocks.

What’s the moral of this story, you ask?  For one thing, I’m going to invest in some shooting gloves and begin to learn how to use them.  After talking with my lane partner for the night, she said they helped keep her hands somewhat warmer and aided in getting a good grip on her firearm.  Another thing I’m going to remember, which had been suggested previously, is to bring along some hand-warmers.  That way, when I’m not loading my mags or shooting, I can warm up my hands in my pockets!

Browning's Trapper Creek Mesh Back Shooting Gloves, For Her

One note: I’ve also shot clay pigeons in the snow with shotguns.  This was up in Colorado and going without gloves was not an option.  I had a choice of either my thick ski gloves or my knit ones.  Although it did affect my aim, I was able to manage shooting the shotguns while wearing the gloves.  I don’t remember if it was colder than at the range last night or not, but it wasn’t that bad and I managed to show a few of those clay pigeons who was boss before they smashed into the nearby mountain!

What do you do when you go shooting & it’s cold outside? Leave your tips in the comments!

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As we recover from all the fun of this year’s events we thought we’d share some highlights and insights with you.  We have lots of video to upload over the following weeks, including interviews about female-centric product lines with Browning, Beretta, SHE and several others.   There were more products and information in that convention center than we could possibly ever see over a short 4-day conference, but we brought plenty back to share with you.

The firearms manufacturers are beginning to understand that female shooters are a force to be reckoned with. We saw new lines of products for women from manufacturers including Walther, Taurus, and Tru-Spec among others. We’ve gotta hand it to these manufacturers – they are making a serious effort to cater to the ladies, which is a very good sign that the new female shooter movement has momentum.  We found clothing cut specifically for women that will be offered in non-pink colors (though pink did reign supreme at the show), and many of the firearms have smaller grips and/or softer recoil for our hands and shoulders.  There were plenty of solid concealed carry options for women presented at the show, too. We at GG2G are loving this new trend.  Keep it up, gentlemen!

We were privileged to be the subject of an interview for the NRA News and a post on the NRA Blog.  We also caught up with Karen and Jessica of the Women’s Tactical Association.  We’re huge fans of this organization.  They are doing some super cool training to keep police and armed citizens safe and we are thrilled to be involved with them.  We’ll have an article on them up soon.  We also had a chance to spend some time with our good friends at GunUp.com.  These folks are set to corner the market of online firearms information, social networking, and marketing.  Head on over there to sign up and see what we mean.  While checking out some high tech gear at the LaRue Tactical booth (recommended by our good friend Brad Thor), we got a chance to chat up the Governor of our favorite State, Mr. Rick Perry of Texas.

And what SHOT Show would be complete without spending some time with our old friends like the lovely Julie Goloski-Golob and the fabulous Kim Rhode? We met countless other fantastic folks who we are very excited to work with in the near future including OutdoorBlog.net, The Mako Group, Freedom Arms and Fabrique National Herstal among many more. And a special shout out goes to two male members of Team HK who are super supportive of us – you can catch them sporting our gear while they’re competing on the range this season.

In other news – if you are a single female like me and happen to be able to get to the SHOT Show, you’ll be on prime real estate.  This is a place where you can catch plenty of eye candy along with the latest in gun technology.  The male/female ratio definitely falls in our favor.  What can I say?  I like a man in uniform, even if he’s wearing civilian clothes!

We’ve got much more to tell you over the next few weeks about the newest and latest products at SHOT, so be sure and check back often!

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But, we thought we’d make up a very special 12 Days of Girl’s Guide to Guns Christmas song.

But first, check out this great rendition from an amazing A Capella group “Straight No Chaser” from Indiana University.

Click here to view the embedded video.

And now, for the Girl’s Guide version (yes, please sing it in your head):

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…

An antique single shot pistol!

J. Stevens Offhand #35 Single Shot Pistol

On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…

A double-barreled shotgun

Double Barrel Side-by-Side

and an antique single shot pistol!

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…

An M3 Submachine Gun

M3 Grease Submachine Gun

a double-barreled shotgun, and an antique single shot pistol!

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…

An M4 Carbine

M4/M4A1 5.56mm Carbine

an M3 Submachine gun, double-barreled shotgun, and an antique single shot pistol!

On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…

Five gold rings!!

What? We’re women. We always like shiny, sparkly things!

an M4 Carbine, M3 Submachine gun, double-barreled shotgun, and an antique single shot pistol!

On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…

A Colt Frontier Six Shooter

Colt Frontier Six Shooter

Five golden rings, an M4 Carbine, M3 Submachine gun, double-barreled shotgun, and an antique single shot pistol!

On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…

Seven swans… for hunting

What? Don’t judge.

A Colt Frontier Six Shooter, five golden rings, an M4 Carbine, M3 Submachine gun, double-barreled shotgun, and an antique single shot pistol!

On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…

A .38 Special

Smith & Wesson 38 Special Model 10-5

Seven swans for hunting, a Colt Frontier Six Shooter, five golden rings, an M4 Carbine, M3 Submachine gun, double-barreled shotgun, and an antique single shot pistol!

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…

A 9 millimeter

CZ 75 B 9mm

A .38 Special, seven swans for hunting, a Colt Frontier Six Shooter, five golden rings, an M4 Carbine, M3 Submachine gun, double-barreled shotgun, and an antique single shot pistol!

On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…

A 10-gun safe for keeping

Sentry® Safe 10 Gun Combination Lock Safe

Here at GG2G, we’re all about Safety First!

A 9 millimeter, .38 Special, seven swans for hunting, Colt Frontier Six Shooter, five golden rings, M4 Carbine, M3 Submachine gun, double-barreled shotgun, and an antique single shot pistol!

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…

A 1911

Volkmann Custom 1911 .45ACP pistols

A 10-gun safe for keeping, 9 millimeter, .38 Special, seven swans for hunting, Colt Frontier Six Shooter, five golden rings, M4 Carbine, M3 Submachine gun, double-barreled shotgun, and an antique single shot pistol!

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…

A 12-gauge shotgun

Benelli Nova 12-gauge

A 1911, 10-gun safe for keeping, 9 millimeter, .38 Special, seven swans for hunting, Colt Frontier Six Shooter, five golden rings, M4 Carbine, M3 Submachine gun, double-barreled shotgun, and an antique single shot pistol!

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Evidently, some of NPR’s commenters were not to happy about this and a bit of a “comment war” erupted.

One of the things I found most interesting in the original post, titled “For Some Girls, The Ultimate Goal Is To Kill A Buck” (https://www.npr.org/2010/12/09/131390073/for-some-girls-the-ultimate-goal-is-to-kill-a-buck), was the opening line:

Looking at Magan Hebert in her orange-and-blue cheerleading uniform, you’d never guess that she could shoot a rifle and kill a deer with a single shot.

Her hair is teased up and pinned back into a pouf. Her cheekbones and eyelids are defined with bold, colorful sweeps of makeup.

Magan, 15, of Wayne County, Miss., defies the typical image of a hunter — a man wearing camouflage, holding a gun.

According to NPR, Magan is too girly and cute to be a hunter.

Really NPR? REALLY?! So, just because a young lady is a teenager and a cheerleader, she automatically could not at all be interested in shooting or hunting?  So only men wearing camo can be hunters. Wow. And I’m guessing they can’t be attractive either, right?

Apparently you must resemble this guy to be a hunter.

And this, ladies, is exactly why we’re here.  Girl’s Guide to Guns wants to change this image that women and young women and women active in everyday girly things and “cute” women and cheerleaders and women who identify themselves as conservative and women who identify themselves as liberal and educated women and lawyers, doctors, entrepreneurs, scientists, mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, grandmothers… well, you get the picture.  We want to send the message that ANY woman can be interested in guns and shooting and hunting, no matter her age or what she looks like.  Natalie and I met because we were debutantes together in West Texas. Yes, we both put on fancy white wedding dresses when we were 17 or 18 and were “presented” to society.  And (obviously) we’re both interested in guns.

We’re also here to focus on the culture of guns, not just the guns themselves.  Which is why we have sections for movies, television, and fashion & style in addition to products, gun safety, and information on learning to shoot.  We realize that there’s not a lot of modern information on guns for the modern woman out there, and we really aim to bridge that gap.  In the tech world, it’s called “Web 2.0″; well I guess you can think of us as “Guns 2.0″.  We’re building this website and this brand to be empowering and fun while staying  classy.  Sorry guys, but you won’t see girls wearing bikinis shooting guns on this site.  Because, well, that would not be classy.  We might show you some outrageous photos in our soon-to-be re-done Classy/Not Classy posts, but it’s because that’s how we see it, and we hope you do to.  But we’re always welcome to hear your thoughts and your stories. So please, if you have something to share, leave a comment or send us a message privately through our Contact form.

Well, if you want to know the aftermath of the “controversial” story on NPR, you can see their follow-up in their article titled “Girls Hunt Too — And Story About That Ignites Debate” here (or copy & paste this link into your browser: https://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/12/09/131936533/girls-hunt-too—-and-story-about-that-ignites-debate?ps=rs).

One of the most striking comments they point out is this one:

– “NPR – I love you, but please provide us with something more enlightened than the subject of girls hunting. If this is intended as a ‘girls are equal to boys’ article, then it has chosen a poor example. The smart, strong, independent, and articulate women I know recognize the difference between causing unnecessary suffering for sport and responsible, enriching forms of entertainment that cause no harm. We are not Neanderthals – hailing hunting as indication of a gutsy girl is simply short-sighted, out-of-touch and evidence of a severe lack of compassion.” (Abigail M)

Girl’s Guide is here not to argue that “girls are equal to boys” but to educate and empower the modern woman.  Guess what Abigail M, the modern woman is smart, strong, independent and articulate, and we’re here to let you know that all those things are not mutually exclusive from having an interest in shooting or hunting.  We’d argue that having knowledge of and respect for firearms only enhances each of those attributes.  And if that knowledge and respect leads a woman to hunting, more power to her.

Checking the poll at the end of that story, it looks like the majority of folks enjoyed it.  And now we open the debate up to our own readers: what are your thoughts on female hunters?

You just finished reading Girly Hunters & Why We’re Here on Girls Guide to Guns. Please consider leaving a comment!

Now, what would you normally do after a day, or week, or month like this?  Maybe head home, take a bath and open up a bottle of wine.  Or dive into that ice cream that’s in the fridge.  Or, perhaps, head to the spa?  Now, these are nice ideas and all, and we admit sometimes they hit the spot, but what about when they don’t? Or when it’s not relaxation, in the typical sense, you need.  Sometimes you want to take your frustrations out on something.  While we don’t condone violence, we do encourage you to get out to the range and go shooting!

Excited for the first shot!

There’s a few things shooting does that’s similar to, for example, taking a yoga class, cooking, or anything that requires all of your attention and leaves you feeling relaxed and de-stressed.

It requires nearly all of your concentration while you’re doing it. Why?  Because the number one thing about shooting is safety, which means that you won’t be able to think about your bad day at work, that break-up text, or your dirty house.  You have to think about many things while shooting, from your stance to your aim to your grip.  And if your braincells are not on all the moving parts, your shooting practice will suffer.

You can shoot, figuratively of course, whatever is causing you stress. If it helps you to see something on the target, you can either write it on the target or visualize it there. (But please, do this only with things or abstract concepts.  We do not, in any way, shape, or form, condone violence against other human beings.)  One great “tool” for this is old lipstick!  We all have those old tubes of that color we bought back in the early ’90s (remember Vamp?) that are sitting, unused, in our makeup drawers. Next time you go to the range, take it along and write a word of phrase on your target.  See how it makes you feel.  Does it help you let go of a grudge or release some of the stress that’s been bringing you down?  Do you somehow feel relaxed afterwards? GREAT!

You might even out-shoot your man! Finally, as you practice more, your aim will improve, and you’ll gain more confidence in your shooting and overall.  Let’s be honest, being a woman who knows how to shoot is incredibly empowering.  The first time you and a guy go to the range and you do better than he does feels awesome.

No stress & all smiles at the end of range time!

Now, we admit, having our own girly ways to de-stress are fun, but why not throw going to the shooting range in the mix for a new form of catharsis.   Schedule a “Shooting and Martinis” or “Range Date and Manis/Pedis” afternoon with the gals (and if you want to be reminded why you do the manis after, read this article).  Who knows, maybe the gun range will become your new spa!

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