Take Aim...Girls and guns.

I like guns.

My close friends and family know it.  I enjoy the sport.  I always have. But I just didn't want to blog about it.  Maybe it is the heated debates that I wanted to ignore.  Maybe I just wanted to keep this one to myself.  But I cant.......I enjoy it sooooo much.

That's what changed my mind.

When I was little, very little like 40 pounds soaking wet and 8 years old.  I was afraid of everything.   I was terrified of my own shadow.  Didn't want to go to school...didn't want to meet new people...just so scared.

I tried to join sports but was so little I would get sidelined.  I met some friends in softball and volleyball but I never really played.  I wasn't good at it.   I so badly wanted to be good at something.

Having two big brothers and a competitive dad, I always felt small.  Like I couldn't measure up.  I use to tag along with my brothers to their sports and watch them play basketball and football.  

One day I went with them to BB Gun.

It was Michigan in the winter so it was dark early.  The Trenton Sharp Shooters met in my elementary school gym and that was exciting to me...it was my school after all and I was proud of that.

The gym was full of boys.  It was 1976...shooting was not a popular sport for little girls.  

One of the dads was the Range Officer and he was loud!

My brothers lined up for instruction and I took my usual seat on the sidelines.

I was so fascinated by the instruction.  It was very organized and everyone was quiet.  Everyone shot from different position.  Some kids were kneeling, some sitting some laying down.  WOW! what was this!

I kept going with my brothers every Thursday night.  Mr and Mrs Cooper were the Range Officers.  Mr Cooper would advance each shooter after testing and keep everyone safe and Mrs Cooper would score the targets.  I started helping her score the targets and became really good at it.  One day Mrs Cooper went up to the line and started shooting....what was this....maddness!  A mom was shooting!!!  She came back to our table and I was  still amazed.  She must have noticed because the next week she brought me a gun.

I was the only girl on the Trenton Sharp Shooters Team and I cleaned up!  

The fact that it didnt matter with shooting how strong you were or how fast you could run or how far you could throw. It was a level playing field and I loved it!

My brothers on the other hand...not so much.  As my medals and ribbons started adding up they started to like shooting less.  I kept at it and advanced from sitting to kneeling to prone to standing and very quickly....it was awesome...better yet...I was not as scared.

Soooo.....a very shy timid scared little girl was able to get a hefty dose of confidence from shooting.

That sums it up....with all the controversial issues surrounding guns.  I have never heard anyone talk about this angle...the sport that takes away the physical and allows people to compete in shooting right next to each other..man , woman, any age....any size.

My history with shooting has advanced ...alot!   Once married my hubby and I bought a simple revolver.  We enjoyed going shooting together.  It was a cheap hobby and we both enjoyed competing with each other.

Once we had kids the shooting all but stopped....too expensive and we wondered about gun safety.

The guns we had stayed locked up of course ... I did not bring them out around the kids.

Once the kids got older we started introducing them to the sport.  It is now a family hobby.

We love going to Michigan and hanging out with the family on the farm.  All the cousins line up and take turns......I LOVE watching the girls fire off a few rounds on the AR.

They all get so excited....so do I.

Soooo...there you have it...I have opened that door and I am stepping through...I am so excited to share the knowledge I have gained through the years and the perspectives I have on ownership.

Lock and Load Ladies!!