Must...
Resist...
dare...
Nah...
Posted on 12/23/2008 9:13:14 AM PST by Graybeard58
Left hand tucked casually into the pocket of her cargo pants, body cocked at a 45-degree angle, Sheila Thompson outstretched her arm, locked her elbow and pointed a .22 caliber pistol at her target.
The bullet exploded out of the barrel, splintering the quietness of the indoor range. Bright yellow ear plugs muffling the sound, Thompson kept shooting.
Wednesday is when the Blue Trail Belles meet for target practice. About 25 ladies, some dressed in cargo pants and Nike sneakers, like Thompson, others in pointy fashion boots, make up the Wallingford shooting range's women's pistol league. The group practices bullseye shooting, or one-handed shooting.
"They make a night out of it," said Lenny Smittner, as he sat around a table with his friends and watched through a window as his wife, Cathy, 58, coached the shooters. "It's women's night out."
According to the National Rifle Association, 4 million women participate in target practice nationally. The association sponsors annual women's shooting classes and reported that the class grew from 500 to 6,000 within six years.
Cathy, who has been shooting more than 20 years and works for the North Haven police department, said she's the marksman in the family.
"I clean the guns, he does the dishes," she laughed. "Many people think that shooting sports are a man's activity...many women are excellent shooters and look at this activity as a way to relax and unwind from the day's stress."
The group practices slow, medium and rapid fire shooting and compete, against men, at other area gun clubs. Competitions are usually once a month. Women from nurses to teachers to parole officers, mostly from the Greater New Haven area, make up the club. Cathy began coaching the Blue Trail Belles in 2000, but said the group is "umpteen years old," and has been around for decades. It's the only women's shooting club in the area.
"It's one of the few sports where men and women can compete on equal footing, with no distinct advantage for either sex," she said.
Thompson, currently the only member from the Greater Waterbury Area, has been a member of the ladies pistol club for three years. She said it's a confidence builder and wanted to keep shooting after getting out of the military and found herself practicing at the Blue Trail Range. When she heard about the women's group, she couldn't resist.
"It's less intimidating (shooting with other women)," she said. "The ladies here are pretty fun, we've become good friends."
Between rounds they gather around the TV for biscotti, coffee and chit-chat.
Thompson, 38, said some women "don't even like to look at a gun," but encourages ladies to try it out.
"You can get as involved as you want," she said. "You can rent a gun for $3, that's cheaper than bowling. See if you like it."
Cathy, certified pistol instructor and coach of the Belles, said the Blue Trail Belles grew by 11 members this year, noting that not all members compete.
Some in the Wallingford club, Cathy said, choose to compete against themselves from week to week. Others join the group because their husbands have guns in the home and they want to learn more about firearms, she added.
"There are about 10 who are really into it," she said, adding that learning about firearms teaches safety and responsibility.
"The discipline that the sport requires also spills over into everyday lives. Women should take time to learn about firearms so that the stigma of 'they can be bad and dangerous' can be erased," she said. "The more one learns about firearms, the safer they and the people around them will be."
Those who do compete are classified as a marksman and their scores are submitted to the NRA.
The Blue Trail Belles season lasts from November through April and women are invited to visit anytime.
For more information call (203) 269-3280.
I feel your pain, and would invite you to take my wife shooting some time, the last time I did she had trouble hitting our planet much less the target.
I dare ya to post another one!
Must...
Resist...
dare...
Nah...
Belt fed...
I bought my (soon to be) wife a PPK/S in 32 acp and asked her dad to spend some range time with her.
Dad was an MP in WWII, served as a bodyguard to MacArthur.
He is gone now, but I wish I could have gotten some range time with him.
Wife? She does just fine, the X ring Queen.
Her son - she reminds me, shot expert at USMC Basic. My good looks, her eyes, literally.
I once borrowed a nice Anschutz .22 rifle from a friend, and participated in an NRA smallbore match. A 12-yr old girl in the next lane shot better than I did...
Typical west side chicks too
I knew it
I was looking at my American Handgunner today and saw that particular model.
Not sure what I think about the bobbed hammer though.
I will let you know tomorrow. Never been fired.
I have a 100 yard rifle target on my office wall. With two spent shell casings on a small shelf above it. The casings were from an SVT-40 (7.62x54R), although the target was shot with a scoped Moison-Nagant, straight out of "Enemy at the Gates", including the scope. I put up a little photo of each type of rifle, just so the unintiated would know what sort of rifle was involved.
They weren't even mine, but belonged to a guy in Florida, who took a couple of visiting Texans to the range when were there on business.
The bad news with one of those rifles is you really can't blame the gun, unless there's a visible bend in the barrel.
I went to a class and used my Anschutz. I found out those rifles can not be fired more than a hundred times without cleaning. I had about two hundred rounds through it and it became worse and worse. Finally, I couldn’t hit a piece of paper from fifty yards with it.
It took hours to clean the leading from the bore.
-ccm
We got to shoot it today for the first time.
It's very loud, but that's to be expected for a snubby.
Ruger has both a bobbed and standard hammer with the Crimson Trace grips and we were looking for a bobbed hammer in particular.
This is meant for concealed carry for Mrs. Knitebane. Hammers can snag at inopportune moments. If this was meant solely as a regular shooter I'd consider a standard hammer for single action shooting but it's not. It's for a small female to carry in a belly band or in a concealment purse.
If it’s for just concealed carry, then a bobbed hammer is fine and probably a good thing.
THere are low flash snubby loads from federal and winchester but right this very second I cant think of the name of them.
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