I still have not been able to wrap my mind around this terrible event, and therefore haven't known what to say. To be honest, I'm still not sure what to say - and then it dawned on me... why not see what you all have to say? So to anyone out there who follows this little blog of mine, I ask you:
How have these terrible events affected your view on guns?
How has this affected you personally?
Need a place to just get out your thoughts without fear of being judged? Do it here. I will mod this so it doesn't become a debate, just a place to discuss.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Participated in my First Competition Last Night...
And boy did I do awful! It was like everything I knew about guns and shooting instantly went out of my head. Truly amazing the effect pressure has on the mind! But, you know what? I had a BLAST (pun totally intended)!!
I had been nervous to participate in any kind of competition, but this was the best thing I could have done. It taught me a lot about what it would be like to use my gun in a high pressure situation. My dad has always told me that I should not carry concealed until I have had the opportunity to compete, and - though I hate to admit it - he was totally right. The notion of carrying concealed is one thing, but using your concealed weapon effectively in a bad situation is a whole other animal.
I also got to meet some great people, a woman who was taking shooting back up for the first time in 20 years and she did great and was an awesome woman! There was another lady there, who I unfoturnately didn't get to meet.. but that was it - just 3 lovely femmes! Let's get out there ladies!
If you're interested in carrying concealed, please consider coming to one of these events.
The matches are held 1 Wednesday per month at Hopkinton Sportsmens Association, you DON'T need to be a member - it's open to the public and it's only $3 per round and you can sign up for as many rounds as you want. If you win, you get $6 - big stakes here [wink, wink]!
I hope to hear from some of you!
I had been nervous to participate in any kind of competition, but this was the best thing I could have done. It taught me a lot about what it would be like to use my gun in a high pressure situation. My dad has always told me that I should not carry concealed until I have had the opportunity to compete, and - though I hate to admit it - he was totally right. The notion of carrying concealed is one thing, but using your concealed weapon effectively in a bad situation is a whole other animal.
I also got to meet some great people, a woman who was taking shooting back up for the first time in 20 years and she did great and was an awesome woman! There was another lady there, who I unfoturnately didn't get to meet.. but that was it - just 3 lovely femmes! Let's get out there ladies!
If you're interested in carrying concealed, please consider coming to one of these events.
The matches are held 1 Wednesday per month at Hopkinton Sportsmens Association, you DON'T need to be a member - it's open to the public and it's only $3 per round and you can sign up for as many rounds as you want. If you win, you get $6 - big stakes here [wink, wink]!
I hope to hear from some of you!
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Defend Yourself Part II
A while back I posted an article about a heroic woman who defended herself against an intruder. Well, just last month another admirable femme was able to save herself from an attack:
ALCALDE, N.M.—A 35-year-old woman
says she shot and killed a man after he allegedly barged into her Alcalde home
and tried to undress her at knife point.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports (http://bit.ly/QqNnw4) that search warrant
affidavits say the shooting Saturday occurred when 33-year-old Taos resident
Lawrence Sandoval forced his way into the woman's home. She told deputies that
she believed he followed her home from a gas station.
According to deputies, the woman says Sandoval grabbed a knife, put the knife
to her chin and told her to take off her clothes. The woman told deputies she
then reached under her pillow, grabbed a loaded gun and shot him. She fled from
her home and called 911.
Officials say Sandoval died at the scene.
No charges have been filed.
———
Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, http://www.sfnewmexican.com
Now, I personally wouldn't advise keeping a loaded gun under your pillow, but that's far from the point here. The point is that this woman got away with her life.
What are your thoughts on this??
Deputies: NM woman shot intruder in her home
Updated: 11/08/2012 07:10:57 AM
MST
Now, I personally wouldn't advise keeping a loaded gun under your pillow, but that's far from the point here. The point is that this woman got away with her life.
What are your thoughts on this??
Success Story #5623
Meet Karen, she is one kick-a$$ lady. What's her hobby? Rescuing wolf hybrids. Awesome right? How could she possibly be afraid of anything when she comes face to face with wolves every day?
She and her husband contacted me after they had a scare in their home. They thought their home was being invaded one night. Frank grabbed one of his 2 pistols and headed towards the sounds and Karen grabbed....something heavy. It was then, she told me, she realized if something happened to Frank the would be intruder would have been armed and she wouldn't know what to do with the other pistol available to her. She realized she needed to become familiar with the handling of a firearm in the event this hadn't been a false alarm.
Prior to this event, Karen had been terribly afraid of guns, didn't like the sight of them, didn't want to touch one. But realizing she wouldn't have been able to defend herself was the push she needed.
Karen and I spoke a bit via email so I could gauge what she knew, what her fears were, etc.
A few days later, we met for coffee 5 minutes away from the club I belong to. I told her, before meeting, there would be no pressure for her to shoot a gun. I was happy to just discuss it over coffee and take it from there. Coffee and excellent conversation were had and she decided she was ready. She wanted to do it!
We hopped into our respective vehicles and headed for the range.
We put on our "eyes and ears", set up at one of the pistol bays, went thoroughly over the 4 Rules of Handling a gun, range etiquette and we were on our way!
I started by showing her how to verify that a gun was "clear" and then we moved on to proper grip and all the parts of the gun.
Once she was comfortable with grip and operation, I fired off five rounds to give her an idea of what to expect.
Now, it was her turn. She started off with a Glock 19 (9 mm) pistol. I loaded 1 round into the magazine. She picked up the gun, loaded the magazine (like a pro!), took her stance and fired!
After clearing the gun for her, I asked how she felt and she responded, "great!"And the best part... she wanted MORE!! She did a few more times of shooting just 1 round in the mag at a time and then moved to 3 and then to 5. After getting familiar with the Glock, she shot my Beretta 92FS (9 mm).
What I had anticipated would be maybe a half hour at the range turned into about 2.5 hours. It was fantastic!
At the end of the day she had a target that looked like swiss cheese (except with many more holes)! She had a fantastic day and was using phrases like "when I go back to the range". It was a truly rewarding experience that ended with a great big hug. Not only had a introduced a fellow femme to shooting, I had made a new friend!
Where is Karen Now?
Karen has since gone shooting with her husband and son; and taken a private shooting course with an excellent instructor. Karen has been heard using phrases such as "when I get my gun," words she thought she'd never udder, on a regular basis.
Thank you to Karen for giving shooting (and me) a chance!
To all you curious femmes out there, you never know... there could be a natural shooter in you - just like Karen!
She and her husband contacted me after they had a scare in their home. They thought their home was being invaded one night. Frank grabbed one of his 2 pistols and headed towards the sounds and Karen grabbed....something heavy. It was then, she told me, she realized if something happened to Frank the would be intruder would have been armed and she wouldn't know what to do with the other pistol available to her. She realized she needed to become familiar with the handling of a firearm in the event this hadn't been a false alarm.
Prior to this event, Karen had been terribly afraid of guns, didn't like the sight of them, didn't want to touch one. But realizing she wouldn't have been able to defend herself was the push she needed.
Karen and I spoke a bit via email so I could gauge what she knew, what her fears were, etc.
A few days later, we met for coffee 5 minutes away from the club I belong to. I told her, before meeting, there would be no pressure for her to shoot a gun. I was happy to just discuss it over coffee and take it from there. Coffee and excellent conversation were had and she decided she was ready. She wanted to do it!
We hopped into our respective vehicles and headed for the range.
We put on our "eyes and ears", set up at one of the pistol bays, went thoroughly over the 4 Rules of Handling a gun, range etiquette and we were on our way!
I started by showing her how to verify that a gun was "clear" and then we moved on to proper grip and all the parts of the gun.
Once she was comfortable with grip and operation, I fired off five rounds to give her an idea of what to expect.
Now, it was her turn. She started off with a Glock 19 (9 mm) pistol. I loaded 1 round into the magazine. She picked up the gun, loaded the magazine (like a pro!), took her stance and fired!
After clearing the gun for her, I asked how she felt and she responded, "great!"And the best part... she wanted MORE!! She did a few more times of shooting just 1 round in the mag at a time and then moved to 3 and then to 5. After getting familiar with the Glock, she shot my Beretta 92FS (9 mm).
What I had anticipated would be maybe a half hour at the range turned into about 2.5 hours. It was fantastic!
At the end of the day she had a target that looked like swiss cheese (except with many more holes)! She had a fantastic day and was using phrases like "when I go back to the range". It was a truly rewarding experience that ended with a great big hug. Not only had a introduced a fellow femme to shooting, I had made a new friend!
Where is Karen Now?
Karen has since gone shooting with her husband and son; and taken a private shooting course with an excellent instructor. Karen has been heard using phrases such as "when I get my gun," words she thought she'd never udder, on a regular basis.
Thank you to Karen for giving shooting (and me) a chance!
To all you curious femmes out there, you never know... there could be a natural shooter in you - just like Karen!
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Success Story #254
A story brought to us by a member of Northeastshooters.com:
Let me start by saying my family has no idea I'm into firearms. Instead of worrying them with my hobby/lifestyle, I kept it to myself. Thanksgiving my sister came up from MD to visit and I floated the idea by her to go shooting and expected her response to be indifferent at best. Nope, she got a big KoolAid smile and was IN. Her only concern was whether the range was indoors or out.
I ran through the safety rules, demonstrated how my P22 works and got her comfortable with the manual of arms. Then I broke out the S&W 15-22 and her reaction was along the lines of "Woah, that looks scary". I assured her it was no more dangerous than the pistol, fired exactly the same ammunition.
Fast forward to the range. I can't describe how excited she was. It was all I could do to get the target up and show her which way to load the magazine. She was ready to go...
First was the P22. Next up was the AR 15-22. She was a little apprehensive about the recoil, but after the first shot she was loving it. Here she is making a Bad-Ass-Mofo with her first paper plate...
By the time we left she had a stack of targets to show off to her friends and she was psyched.
I told her by next year I'll have a real AR she can shoot. Oh happy days.
Let me start by saying my family has no idea I'm into firearms. Instead of worrying them with my hobby/lifestyle, I kept it to myself. Thanksgiving my sister came up from MD to visit and I floated the idea by her to go shooting and expected her response to be indifferent at best. Nope, she got a big KoolAid smile and was IN. Her only concern was whether the range was indoors or out.
I ran through the safety rules, demonstrated how my P22 works and got her comfortable with the manual of arms. Then I broke out the S&W 15-22 and her reaction was along the lines of "Woah, that looks scary". I assured her it was no more dangerous than the pistol, fired exactly the same ammunition.
Fast forward to the range. I can't describe how excited she was. It was all I could do to get the target up and show her which way to load the magazine. She was ready to go...
First was the P22. Next up was the AR 15-22. She was a little apprehensive about the recoil, but after the first shot she was loving it. Here she is making a Bad-Ass-Mofo with her first paper plate...
By the time we left she had a stack of targets to show off to her friends and she was psyched.
I told her by next year I'll have a real AR she can shoot. Oh happy days.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)