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!
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