I had to circle by Cabela’s today and grab a shirt for my wife. Well, the whole story is she’s had a migraine the last few days. I put a post on Facebook something to the effect of “My wife has had a migraine for three days. I asked her if it would help her feel better if she bought a new gun. That always made me feel better. Moral to the story: Apparently not, she shook her head and walked off.”
I’ve been out of town the last few days. I guess Katy’s buddy Candice figured she’d better give me some marriage advice to keep my happy marriage happy. She texted me and said, "While you were out of town, Katy and I were hanging out together and dropped by Cabela’s. There’s a cool shirt she wanted." So today I stopped by to grab the shirt. While there, I noticed the group Shoot Like a Girl had a shooting trailer set up in the parking lot. I had a few articles due the next day so I thought one on them would be a good topic.
I ran home. Katy still felt bad, but my youngest daughter Kolby said she was game, so we jumped in the truck and ran back to Cabela’s. The Shoot Like a Girl media guru Jeanine Sayre greeted us and told us the format. Inside their mobile range, they had a shooting range set up for pistols, ARs and archery. She herded us inside where Kolby signed a waiver and then we got in line.
I was very impressed with the shooting instructors. Obviously, the ladies knew their stuff. It was not a "herd them in and hurry and herd them out" deal. The instructors were very patient and took their time helping each woman. They’re either really good instructors or Kolby has been practicing a lot more than I knew of because she shot better than I can. I told the girls I needed them to help me!
After shooting we went outside. On the outside wall of the trailer, they had a lot of pistols for the women to handle and I assume be able to check and see which one felt more comfortable to them. I should have paid more attention, but I wanted to talk to their media contact Jeanine Sayre. I’ve seen the Shoot Like a Girl crew at the big shows like SHOT, DSC, etc., while I’m there doing seminars but haven’t really ever taken time to get to know them. So, I had to ask Jeanine a few questions.
Q: How long has SLG been around?
A: This is our 10-year celebration. It was founded in 2009.
Q: What is your mission?
A: To empower women to participate with confidence.
Q: What is your personal goal? Or maybe I should say what is your passion?
A: Pretty much the same thing. And I guess I’d have to add, I love to watch fear turn into excitement and passion. We pretty much promote all aspects involving guns — self-protection, hunting, competitive shooting and the camaraderie that goes along with it all.
So there you have it, the goal of Shoot Like a Girl in a nutshell. In my brief 30-minute encounter with them, they hit me as a well-trained group of women who are willing to share their passion. If you’re a girl, you may want to check them out at shootlikeagirl.com.
Here would be my two-bits that I’d throw in. Above the door as you enter the mobile range is the quote “Changing lives, one shot at a time.” I’d have to say from my 30 minutes experience with them, that this is a true statement. During my time there, here’s what I saw. A young lady in front of us was from the Netherlands and had never shot a gun. Behind us was a young lady with three kids who was interested in getting a pistol for self-protection. She said the guys at the gun counter hadn’t really adequately answered her needs. And some lady that is in the process of moving from California stopped by just to say thanks for all they did to help promote guns. I’d say Shoot Like a Girl is making a difference.
Have a good Fourth of July weekend, and take a minute to give thanks for all the blessings we have being able to live in America.
Tom Claycomb lives in Idaho and has outdoors columns in newspapers in Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Louisiana.
