women and guns
GOING STRONG
Catching up with shooter and trainer Kay Miculek.
STORY BY NANCY KEATON
K
ay Miculek, matriarch of the Miculek shooting family, was born into shooting. One might think that she came into it after marrying champion shooter Jerry Miculek. But she was raised by a dad who was a gunsmith and was himself a nationally ranked Bullseye shooter. Miculek and her brother were on their high school rifle team. She moved away, but went back home to Louisiana in her 30s. Her brother suggested they shoot the Bianchi Cup, and that’s where she met Jerry. They began traveling and shooting, having a wonderful time. Then a daughter, Lena, appeared late in life. “I was almost 40,” says Miculek. “So Jerry and I had a decision to make. Quit shooting or take Lena with us.” It was an easy decision. Miculek homeschooled Lena and she traveled with them her whole childhood. “She was born into it more than I was,” laughs Miculek. She reports that Lena did some shooting, but didn’t take a big interest in it. Then when her parents told her she needed to get a job or go to school, she decided she wanted to do what her parents do. “She took to it well,” smiles Miculek.
Kay Miculek thrives on teaching other women how to shoot, including at Babes with Bullets courses held around the country. (KAY MICULEK)
MICULEK HAS TRAVELED AND competed for many years now. When asked how aging may affect a shooter, she replies, “Staying in some physical conditioning is important. The most different thing a person is going to run into is their eyesight, especially if you’re shooting iron sights. It’s a constant battle. At some point, there is no fix.” “It’s not such an issue with a red dot, which is what I have used the most in my wins. But when I go to iron sights, it becomes an issue,” she explains. “I’m
actually amazed at how blurry my front sight can be. For 30 years I’ve taught ‘front sight, front sight, front sight.’ I got a prescription where I could see my front sights really clearly, but then I couldn’t see the long targets. I finally had to arrive at a happy medium. Having a good set of fiber optic sights helps. It’s amazing how accurate you can be with a blurry sight.” Miculek has some advice for other older women just starting to shoot. “Work on your eyes, your grip, your strength,
and your stamina. Even if you work hard to retain it, you’re going to lose some of it. But shooting is so much about technique. I had a doctor tell me once that the most important 6 inches in shooting is between your ears,” she laughs. “And it’s true, most of it is mental. Yes, upper body strength is an advantage. But years back I watched Valerie Levanza in a steel shooting championship. She’s so small, maybe 100 pounds soaking wet. Jerry and I watched her closely and Jerry was like, ‘My goodness, her arm is like three americanshootingjournal.com 59