Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane and…..Judy Who? By Judy Smith “I grew up in my saddle, my play toy was a gun, Shooting at the rattlesnakes was my idea of fun.” Those are some words to an old cowboy song that I doubt fits many people today. Certainly not me. Even when I was young, the cap pistols that all little boys played with scared me. My brothers knew if they could sneak up behind me and shoot that gun, I would jump out of my skin. I didn’t like guns, never wanted one in my house and never thought about shooting rattlesnakes or anything else for fun. Until….a couple of years ago, when my son-in-law, Randy, showed me a small gun he bought. It got me thinking that maybe I needed a gun just in case. I would not take this lightly, though. If I was going to purchase a gun, I was going to learn the right way and I was going to be able to hit the mark. I signed up for a concealed weapon class, not really sure why I chose that particular one, but thought it was a good idea at the time. Not wanting to purchase a gun till after I had some good information and felt like I could shoot a gun, my son-in-law let me borrow his “broken” 22. I gave up a whole Saturday for this class. They taught us some gun basics and about concealed weapons and off to the range we went. Unfortunately, the 22 I was using kept jamming up. Every time the instructor walked by he had to un-jam it and kept showing me how to cock it, assuming it was all my wrong doing. Finally, he decided to shoot the gun for himself and oh my, can you believe it, it jammed on him! Several times. So I did not get to shoot much that day although I have to admit I was secretly
very happy the gun jammed with him. Now I know what I have to do. Go buy my own gun and find somewhere to learn how to shoot my gun. With Randy’s help, we went gun shopping and I purchased a gun. All I had to do now was find a place to practice. Well, I have had that gun for almost two years and never found a place I felt comfortable enough to go shooting so, I just gave up on the idea. Until recently. Someone told me about Point Blank Range, in Mooresville and their “Women On Target” shooting program. I checked into the class and what it was about and this sounded like what I was looking for. It is a self-paced program that is a version of the Winchester/NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program. In addition to offering shooting instructions from NRA Certified instructors, women are allowed to socialize with other women of all levels and to hang out in the Patriot Gun Club Lounge. If you read any of my articles, you know I have breast cancer and am in a really sick cycle right now. One thing you are urged to do when you are going through chemo is do something that you have fun at. I am thrilled it is self-paced and I don’t know how long it will take me, but I can assure you I am having a blast. At Point Blank Range, I have no reservations about walking in by myself and getting the help I need. All of this at a first rate place that any woman would feel comfortable and welcomed! How am I shooting? Give me a few more weeks and I will meet you at the range for a showdown….with targets of course! Interested in joining me? You can get more information by going to their website at www.pointblankrange.com
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