Watch out Lady GaGa, there are new “Little Monsters,” and they’re all mine!   Yes, I’ve turned my two daughters into little monsters… shooting monsters that is!  Shooting isn’t something that kids do in our neck of the woods. We live in a suburb of New York City, and firearms are, for the most part, a taboo subject.

When my husband and I applied for our pistol permits back in 2008, I think my girls may have been a little freaked out.  In our county, pretty much all you can apply for is a “Sportsman Residence” license which allows you to target shoot, hike and hunt.  CCW’s are rarely granted because the judges who issue them make you prove “need.”  Yes, it’s a violation of my 2nd Amendment Rights, and I am preparing to petition the Judge assigned to my license for conversion to a CCW, but I digress… that will be a whole other blog entry down the road.

Back to my girls! It all started a few years ago when we went with friends up to a cabin in Upstate New York for a day of shooting. My husband, who had shot competitively on the New York State Junior Rifle team when he was young, hadn’t shot in years after losing the end of his trigger finger in a lawn mower accident when he was 14. (Yeah, I know.) My friend’s dad, who owned the cabin, was a World War II hero, Army 82nd Airborne, retired from the Sheriff’s Department, worked for the FBI, Firearm Instructor… I could go on and on about “Pop” but first and foremost, he taught us about firearms and safety that day, and what a blast we all had.  My girls at the time were 10 and 12, and with his guidance, they shot several types and calibers of rifles and revolvers.  It was a great foundation for us all, and the beginning of what has become a passion of mine!

My 14½ year-old daughter had the opportunity to join me at the range when I earned my ProMarksman NRA rating.  School was still in session, but winding down, and she had an afternoon full of nothing at school, so I took her out early, deciding that not every lesson in life was learned in the classroom.

Me and my Browning.

We were joined at the range my buddy Bob, who usually emailed me before heading to the range because he knows I’m not yet comfortable being there by myself.  Bob has lots and lots of “toys” and usually brings quite a nice assortment of firearms for us to “play” with!  I brought along my Browning Buck Mark Camper .22 pistol, and my newly acquired Savage Mark II (NRA limited edition!) .22 rifle that I purchased from the widow of a club member who passed away last year.

This would be Beth’s second time to the range. She participated last Fall in our Club’s annual Turkey Shoot, where she was the hit of the group going from member to member trying out their .22 rifles – seems everybody wanted Beth to try their rifle.

Beth takes aim.

She had a blast, and it was her first time shooting since she was 10. Bob is an excellent instructor and he’s great with kids. He’ll likely head up our newly formed Jr. Club, since we now have “juniors” who are interested!  Beth shot everything from both of my firearms, to a .38 carbine rifle, to a .357 Magnum, (he loaded the first 2 chambers with .38s so she’d get a feel for it, then the rest with .357s, she did great and loved every second.) She spent the next few weeks of school pleading for me to take her out early, so we could go shooting! Yes… Monster #1 created.

Kristen, my 16-year-old, had all her hard classes in the afternoon, so there was no early dismissal for her. She had to wait until school was done and testing was over, but we found an opportunity last week when she had a day free of testing. We’ve tried to take her to the range before, but something always got in the way. When I got a call from another club member, Mike, letting me know he was going down to the range, we loaded the truck and headed out.

I started her on the .22 rifle since Mike was practicing for the upcoming Bulls-Eye shoot from 25 yards.  I figured rifle might be the better option and placed her targets at about 15 yards. She got used to the scope quickly, and had some nice groupings for her first day. (Obviously, she takes after me.) When Mike was done, we moved outside and she played with my Buck Mark a bit.

Kristen's turn.

She couldn’t decide whether she liked the pistol or the rifle better, so she shot both. I didn’t get a lot of practice in, because she was just having too darned much fun! After a while, Mike left and it was just her and me.  She was much more relaxed having just me watching her, and she really began to shine.  I took her in close to the target and showed her some basic tactical shooting… well, clearly this was her favorite, and she did well. Yes, Monster #2… created!

As of Thursday, the girls testing will be finished and another school year will be successfully in the books. This frees us up for a summer at the range, which we’re all looking forward to! Being self employed, I have the flexibility to work when convenient; if it’s a beautiful day, I can up and leave my home office and hit the range for a while. (I call it “group therapy.”) One of these times, we’ll even let my husband play… poor guy is stuck at work all day (hey, somebody has to pay for the new toys, right??!!).

On a serious note, I believe teaching my girls to shoot will be one of the most important things they learn. Besides actual shooting, this sport involves safety, patience, responsibility and self confidence. And lastly, as a mother of two beautiful daughters, I hope that the boys they eventually date have seen their Facebook profile pictures of them shooting big scoped rifles.

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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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