Elizabeth Lanier
“Do me a favor, Mrs. Lanier, and shut your left eye,” the instructor said. “My left eye?” “Yes” he replied, “When you see the target clearly, shut your left eye and shoot.” After several misses in a row all I could think was yeah right. Obligingly I did what he asked and wham, the target exploded. “Now, just do the same thing for me again.” Wham, the second target broke. Wow, what do you know, two in a row!
Me and my calm demeanor…. “I hit them, I hit them, oh my God, I hit them,” I screamed as I jumped up and down. And we did it over and over again, moving from station to station on the skeet field. I know many of you know what I am talking about. That overwhelming sense of joy of accomplishing something you never thought you could, and understanding how you did it.
It was sheer coincidence and a huge stroke of luck that landed me on the skeet field of the Homestead Shooting Club that day. The instructor I am referring to I fondly call “DJ” but the rest of the shooting world knows him as David Judah, NSCA Level III Instructor and manager of the Homestead Shooting Club.
That chance meeting over five years ago has since forged into a cherished friendship whose foundation is built on a mutual love of shooting and has been the inspiration of a “second career” for me.
When you first meet David Judah, you know immediately “he ain’t from around here,” or anywhere close for that matter. A native of Jamaica, I’m not sure if it was his ability to get me shooting targets with some consistency or if it was his Jamaican accent that kept me coming back for more lessons. Probably both, but whatever the reason I’m glad I did. Over time, DJ has had a profound impact on me, both as a shooter first and later as an instructor and a friend.
He was the first person to teach me how to see the target clearly, to help me realize the importance of both the hold point and break point for targets and to really understand lead. He was able to help me establish a systematic approach to shooting targets that I could readily grasp and apply. Once equipped with that knowledge and having learned to shut my left eye consistently, I came home and worked under the tutelage and support of my good friend Ed Wingfield, still going back for DJ adjustments whenever I could. Gradually I was becoming a shooter.
Now, what is that old saying, that success builds success? Well, the more I enjoyed shooting, the more friends I would take with me to the Homestead and shoot with David. I would bring several friends at a time and then stand back and watch as DJ worked his magic. His ability to engage the student’s attention, sense apprehension in the beginners and put them at ease, as well as make adjustments accordingly to more advanced shooters is always amazing to me.
It is his patience, affable manner, sense of humor and exemplary teaching skills that make him such an outstanding instructor. In his mentoring of me, now as an NSCA instructor, he certainly leads by example.
While watching and listening to David instruct, I have learned many of his teaching phrases. I have now named those infamous verbal expressions “Judahisms.” Things like “do me a favor and shoot it a half a second sooner” or “miss the next target six inches in front” or “just pretend you have a bayonet on the gun for the next one.”
These days his Judahisms aimed at me are things like “Why don’t you just put a saddle on it and ride it to West Virginia” or “Liz, just stop and open the gun for a second. You are suffering from analysis paralysis” or even better, “Why don’t you just try shooting it with both eyes closed?” It is times like these that DJ stands for Damn Jamaican.
Then there are the side-by-sides. I will never forget when, last year, David asked me if we were going to the Southern Side-by-Side Shoot in North Carolina. I said I doubted it as I have never shot a side-by-side before. “Well then, we are about to change that and you are going to love it,” he said.
The next thing I know we are bouncing around the sporting clay range with eight different side-by-sides. “Here, shoot this one”…… “OK, now try this one.” “Remember the safety”…..”OK now, this one has two triggers”….and on it went for the entire afternoon. His love of them was obvious and his enthusiasm contagious, and he was exactly right, I loved them!
To fully understand his love of shooting and side-by-sides you need to know a bit about his past. A modest and humble man, David will never talk about himself or his teaching abilities. But ask him about growing up in Jamaica and you have just hit the primer with the firing pin. Kaboom, his face lights up, a mischievous grin crosses his face and out shoot the stories.
The third son of Douglas Judah, a Jamaican Senator and Attorney of Law, and his wife Mary, David lived a privileged and adventure-filled childhood. Actually, his father was Sir Douglas Judah having been knighted by Queen Elizabeth for his work in securing Jamaica’s independence.
While David’s parents were avid sport fishermen, his father was also a passionate wingshooter. David’s father was a member of the Jamaica Gun Club. Memberships were passed from one generation to the next and that was almost the only way to get one. The waiting list was a joke. David’s father put each of his son’s names on the list the day they were born. David’s older brothers were well into their 20’s before they received membership. David received his at 17.
In the meantime, as they awaited membership, the boys would sit on the adjacent properties and try to intercept birds in flight toward the gun club whenever they could for fun. Each time one of the club rangers would inform the boys the shooting was much better on down the line….ha, good try, Mr. Ranger!
David started shooting with a single-barrel .410 and quickly graduated to an Iver Johnson Skeeter. At about nine years old he received a hand-me-down side-by-side Savage 20. His next gun, another hand-me-down from his brother, was a 32-inch Belgian 12-gauge side-by-side, choked full and fuller. Shooting the only shells available in Jamaica at the time, Remington high brass 7 ½’s, he frequently got knocked on his rear because the gun would double.
It was always in the swamp and David’s mother would say “Douglas, you need to buy poor David a gun. That damn thing is going to kill him.”
For his 11th birthday he received a 20-gauge Beretta side-by-side, a gift from his father purchased in England while on vacation. Ironically, it was the first side-by-side I ever shot and last year I won the Ladies 20-bore with it at the Vintagers’ World Side-by-Side. A lot of luck and some DJ mojo was in that gun. It was a sentimental win for me.
Aside from hunting, DJ grew up picking guitars, racing go-karts, and collecting and restoring vintage cars. Schooled in England from 10 to 12 years old, David returned to Jamaica where he finished primary school, high school and graduated from college. David was following in his father’s footsteps, pursuing a career in law when the Judah’s decided to flee the 1977 civil uprising in Jamaica.
With his wife Eileen and young son, John, they settled in Boca Raton, Florida for about eight years where David’s love of old cars manifested into a restoration business. At the urging of his brother, David pursued a new business in Hot Springs, Virginia and it was there in the Allegany Mountains the Judah’s and their two children would ultimately call home.
Funny how life’s detours send you down roads you never thought to travel and you end up in a happier place doing something you were always meant to do.
David started helping out at the Homestead Shooting Club on weekends. Before you knew it, he was there full time and managing the Shooting Club. He was instrumental in getting the sporting clays course built and helped the club grow from a small skeet club to the top notch facility it is today. All of the instructors on staff are NSCA Certified. David received his prestigious Level III designation in 1995. The rest is history as they say.
To this day he still loves vintage cars and collecting anything having to do with old service stations. As one of his good friends very aptly describes it, “David cannot drive or be driven down a country road without stopping at every old gas station, antique shop or old barn in hopes of discovering ‘automobilia.’ No matter the size he convinces us it will fit on top of the car.”
Probably the thing David gets teased about the most is the fact that he operates in his own time zone. I call it Judah Standard Time (JST). If you want him somewhere at a certain time you need to tell him at least an hour earlier and he might, just maybe, get there on time.
Just ask the one state trooper who issued him three moving violations in one day for, you guessed it, speeding. Why? Because he is always late.
Ah, but I forgive him for that flaw. You see, to know DJ is to love DJ. He has been encouraging and supportive of women in the shooting sports. He laughingly, albeit seriously, says that “many men do not want their wives or girlfriends to take shooting lessons because they are afraid of being “beat by a girl.” And I would think they would want them to shoot,” he says with a big grin, “that way they could buy lots of new guns.”
David is a gentleman, a devoted family man, his generosity and kindness knows no bounds and I feel very privileged to call him my friend. Now when we shoot together we help each other, he far more than me helping him. But just the other day I found myself standing behind him saying, “DJ, do me a favor and shut your left eye.”
Elizabeth Lanier is an NSCA Level I instructor based in Virginia. For more information, visit her web site at http://www.laniershootingsports.com. Please send your questions and comments to elanier@laniershootingsports.com.
For information about the Homestead Shooting Club, please visit http://www.thehomestead.com.
Elizabeth Lanier is taking some well-deserved time off. She invited Shotgun Life Editor, Deborah McKown, to contribute a guest column this month.
Written by Deborah McKown
If you try to learn the shotgun sports in mid-life, you go through different stages than when starting out as a youngster from a family of shooters.
In the beginning, as a mature adult, you welcome and encourage all the direction you can get. Because after all, given your age, you really want to improve fast – making up for lost time, if you will. But given your limited skills, the advice typically comes down to the same two refrains of “you’re behind it,” and “you’re stopping the gun.”
As you shoot with a wider circle of people and become more experienced, the advice from your squad mates becomes more varied as they now attempt to help you break some of the bad habits you’ve started to develop. In addition to “you’re behind it” and “you’re stopping the gun,” you now start to hear things like “you’re in front,” “you’re over,” “you’re under,” “your gun doesn’t fit,” “your feet are in the wrong position,” “you’re lifting your head off the stock.”
The help becomes a frustrating torrent of tips, all with an underlying tone of encouragement. At this point you must never discourage their assistance. The worst thing you can do is get angry at them. If you attempt to actively reject this stream of confusing and often conflicting advice, and continue missing targets, you will receive something far more discouraging, and that is the heartbreaking and deafening silence of pity
This is an important lesson to learn. Because once you reach the level where you really do know what’s best for yourself, where you stay in the gun after the shot is fired to analyze your miss, you’ve finally reached the level of proficiency of a developed shooter. That doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll break every target, but it does mean you can be absolutely honest with yourself in terms of that critical self-assessment necessary to refine your game and take it to the next level. At that point, you can tune out the cacophony behind you and focus 100 percent on the target.
I’ve been privileged to shoot with a supportive and congenial group during my formative shotgun years. Only once have I really wanted to strangle a squad mate. And that was when his advice contained an element of condescension as in “let me show the little lady how to shoot that big gun.” He did, however, inadvertently encourage me to really want to shoot better than him (another helpful lesson, I guess).
I’ve reached the stage in my progress where I can recognize the style and skills in others that I most want to emulate. When I’m fortunate enough to shoot with these people I watch closely, listen and encourage their critiques of my shooting. I’ve gained a lot of knowledge by listening to the shooters I most respect as they dissect their approach to a given station.
One of my greatest pleasures in shooting is listening to the strategizing that takes place among my squad to unravel a particularly challenging sporting clays presentation. By doing this I’ve gained enough confidence to trust my own judgments more and make my own personalized plan at each station. Often my plan for a true pair will run against common opinions, by I have the confidence in my own skills to trust it, to my advantage. I’m not a competitive shotgunner, but I sure enjoy a day of shooting a lot more when the targets are breaking more often than not.
When I was consistently running 25 straight in skeet, I got a hold of some little round, orange clay target pins imprinted with BEAT BY A GIRL on the front. I’ve had several opportunities to bestow these on some of my fellow skeet shooters and it’s been amusing to gauge the reactions from these (un)lucky recipients.
Some guys actually think it’s humiliating and embarrassing. One of my local skeet club pals, an early supporter and ad hoc coach, wears his pin proudly on his shooting vest and considers it an accomplishment on his part (as he should). Other of my shooting friends seem to actually dread the day when they too will get one. (Note to self: I have to be more sensitive to their feelings).
Once, I pinned “Beat by a Girl” on the vest of a stranger and veteran shooter I had just shot with at an unfamiliar skeet club and I’ll never do that again. So, you see, some guys just don’t enjoy this sort of thing. My husband, for one, adamantly refuses to wear his hard-earned pins.
I’m sure many of you ladies know exactly what I’m talking about…
Deb can be reached at dkmckown@shotgunlife.com. Let her know if you’re ready for your own supply of BEAT BY A GIRL pins – or if you have similar stories to share.
In the July issue of her Shotguns and She-nanigans column Elizabeth told us why she dropped off her two sons at the NRA Whittington Adventure Camp. Now in Part II of “Passing the Baton,” she tells us more about the camp and the benefits it providers to campers and their parents.
As our sons boarded the plane headed to the NRA Whittington Adventure Camp with their best friend in tow, I first said a silent prayer that they would arrive safely, then could not help but smile and think, “Lord help the counselors.”
I had already shipped their camp bags ahead of them, with everything nice and neatly packed in zip lock bags. This way they could stay organized…..I’m still wondering why I wasted my time!
When they got home from camp and we were unpacking their gear, stuffed everywhere, I noticed how good the “dirty” clothes in the duffle bag smelled. As I started pulling things out, I found a 16 GB iPod, good binoculars and just about everything else, covered in shaving cream. Who knows what happened to all those zip lock bags! It was then I realized, given the quantity of shaving cream, this was not just a leaky can. Obviously there had been some good old fashioned camp mischief to go along with some pretty extraordinary camp experiences.
As I wrote in the first part of “Passing the Baton,” the NRA Whittington Adventure Camp is absolutely one of the finest and most comprehensive outdoor programs involving all of the shooting disciplines. Located just outside
The camp holds two summer sessions, limited to 48 campers per session, each lasting 12 days.
A typical camp day is to “rise and shine” at 5:40 am, straighten the cabins, and pack their gear for the day. After the early morning flag raising ceremony and reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance, breakfast is served. At around 7:45 am, the campers split into their groups, assorted by age, and head to their shooting discipline for the day.
Campers spend two days learning the finer points of each shooting discipline. They start with small gauges or calibers and work their way up to the “big guns.” Along the way they also learn knot tying, orienteering and trapping skills.
From 5:00 until dinner at 6:00 they have free time. After dinner each evening, they attend either hunter safety or survival skills classes. Every other night the evening ends with a campfire. The days are full of fun learning!!
The camp culminates with a three-day simulated big game hunt where they apply what they have learned over the preceding eight days. They set up tents, camp out, prepare their own meals and “hunt.” They have to make judgments about whether a shot is a safe one, an ethical one, a legal or an “in season” target, and then grade themselves on their actions. The counselors then score them on their choices.
Ask my kids what they liked best and Paulie will say, “Everything! The muzzleloading was a lot of fun but cleaning the rifle was difficult. The compound bow was fun too. Getting up at 5:30 am each day wasn’t.” When you ask Carrington what the best part of camp was his response is twofold, “shooting the Barret .50 cal rifle on the 1000-yard range was awesome and the cabin wars.” You know the ones that involve toilet paper, shaving cream and water balloons just for starters.
Okay, now for the amazing part: all this for $950 per camper. According to Camp Director Bill Perkins, “the $950 simply covers the out-of-pocket expenses for the campers and staff. The affordability of this program for the campers is only made possible thru the participation of industry giants like Glock that make generous cash donations to the camp every year. Other manufacturers like ATK/Federal, Ruger, Savage, Leupold, Trijicon, Benchmade, Buck, Montana Canvas and many others contribute all of the products that we need. This year they fired 124,000 rounds of ammunition.” Again: the tuition $950, the experience, priceless!
Obviously the shooting industry knows a value when they see one. Contributing to the Adventure Camp and helping to introduce young people to shooting makes good business sense. After all, they are the future of the sport.
We chose to send our boys for the experience of learning about all the different shooting sports. What they came home with was a very thorough education in hunter and gun safety, gun etiquette, outdoor survival skills, coupled with meeting kids from all over the country. They came home with a renewed sense of self reliance and independence.
When I asked Bill what brought other children to camp, I thought his response was very interesting. He said that often times it is the grandparents who send their grandchildren to camp. They do so because they “feel that children today are not being offered the outdoor opportunities that they had when they were young. They feel that the Adventure Camp program will give them exposure to the shooting sports they would not otherwise get to experience at home.”
Perkins also stated that “participants like Friends of the NRA and other shooting organizations such as “The Shootist” have sponsored many campers who would otherwise be unable to attend without the scholarship aid they provide.” If you are a member of a shooting organization, maybe sponsoring a camper would be a worthy outreach project for your group to consider.
My only problem with this camp? There are not enough young women attending! This year there were four girls in the first session and a record high of six in the second session. The Adventure Camp would love to see the numbers even at 50/50 participation. If you know any young women who would enjoy this outdoor experience I encourage you to look into the NRA Whittington Adventure Camp. It is an amazing experience and the camp facilities render the term “roughing it” obsolete!
For more information about the NRA Whittington Adventure Camp please see www.nrawc.org and go the Adventure Camp tab.
Elizabeth Lanier is a NSCA Level I Instructor based in Virginia. You may contact her at elanier@laniershootingsports.com or visit her web site www.laniershootingsports.com.
As I studied our two teenage boys standing in the kitchen not too long ago, I thought they bore a strong family resemblance but they could not possibly be related to me.
While they were discussing an Ozzy Osborne song I could not help wondering which branch of the family tree they fell out of. Needless to say, during this ever glorious stage of adolescence, we view almost everything differently.
They love heavy metal, electric guitars, video games and text messaging. We can’t stand any of it. They want to go see Metallica; meanwhile I am looking forward to Keith Urban.
Ah, but they also love, and I mean love, to shoot. BINGO, they are our kids after all!
Though their first choice of enjoyable firearms would not be mine, that’s ok. I know one day they will discover that shooting clay targets is much more fun than shooting Coke cans off of hay bales with a pistol or rifle. I know, go ahead and call me biased….
My husband and I have chosen to foster their love of shooting and by doing so we hope to create, sustain and participate in a lifelong joy of shooting.
For us, it is passing on a family tradition. I enjoy shooting upland game as my father always has and my husband grew up loving it all. Hunting small game, big game, birds, and of course, shooting those Coke cans as well.
My father in law, who will be 80 this year, grew up in Kissimmee FL. When he was around 6 or7 years old he got his first gun, a Winchester 22 single shot rifle.
At about 8 years old, he started hunting rabbits at night with a head light, literally. You know, one of those you would envision a coal miner wearing.
If he was lucky he would shoot 4-6 rabbits and if he was really lucky, maybe he would get 7. He would come home and his mother, now almost 98, would help him skin the rabbits and they would put them in an old oak ice box, the “oaken” as he calls it. One of the old porcelain lined ones that held a 25 lb. block of ice.
The next morning, he would take the rabbits with him on the school bus. The bus got to school about 30 minutes early. This gave him enough time to run over, before school, and sell the rabbits to the owner of the local fish market for 10 cents each.
He bought most of his own clothes with that money.
Though our kids love to hear these stories, it is hard for them to imagine how different times really were.
Firearms then, for many, were a tool, a necessity. Shots were fired with prudence, hoping not to waste a single shell.
Though times have changed and shooting in our family is purely recreational, we feel it is important for our sons to have a strong basic foundation in all the shooting disciplines, to respect each one, and then to pursue what they will.
Though we truly enjoyed introducing the boys to the shooting sports ourselves, we knew when we reached that infamous “know it all” point it was time to pick our battles.
We chose to let someone else stress the finer points and importance of gun safety, gun etiquette, hunter education, survival skills and so on. By doing this, they have learned that it is not just their parents being over cautious. That all those safely lectures and the hunting and shooting skills we are trying to impart on them really do matter, a lot.
And that’s why we sent them to the NRA Whittington Adventure Camp.
Absolutely one of the finest, most comprehensive outdoor experiences involving all the shooting disciplines we have ever come across. Located on 33,000 beautiful acres in the high mesa country outside Raton, New Mexico, the NRA Whittington Center welcomes 13-17 year old boys and girls and introduces them to all the shooting disciplines: Shotguns, Rifles, Handguns, Muzzleloading and Archery. And that is just the beginning.
Our sons Paulie and Carrington have just returned home from 12 fun filled days at the Adventure Camp. Whether it was shotguns or archery, the compass or cabin pranks, they loved every moment. I look forward to sharing more about the NRA Whittington Center Adventure Camp, all it has to offer our youngsters and also let you hear directly from our own “happy campers” about their experiences there next month in Shotgun Life.
Elizabeth Lanier is an NSCA Level I instructor based in Virginia. Please send your questions and comments to elanier@shotgunlife.com.With Only the Clothes on Her Back: A Woman’s First Wingshooting Adventure in Argentina
Written by Elizabeth LanierWith all the duties of home carefully orchestrated, Owen and I went to meet the other 15 men we were going with. At the time I did not know whether their wives were not invited or maybe this was just not their kind of adventure. Whatever the reason, it still meant a vacation for me and I was going come hell or high water!
Hell came first! After checking guns and luggage in at the airport, our party proceeded to the gate, about two hours prior to departure time. We decided to pass the time in the airport bar and then went to board our flight. Several delays later and six hours after our original departure time they had cancelled our flight.
It was now around 12:30 AM and all 17 of us were headed to the airport Hilton with nothing but the clothes on our backs and vouchers for the rooms.
6 AM the next morning, we are back at the airport awaiting an 8:00 am departure to Buenos Aires. Looks like we are finally going to make it this time. Eleven hours later we arrive. 'Welcome to Buenos Aires," they announce. Thank God.
After we cleared customs with our firearms in tow, we all boarded a shuttle bus for what we think is a 30-minute bus ride to the estancia where we will be staying. As it turns out the bus ride is three hours long without the luxury of a restroom. Uh oh!
When we got to the estancia we had already lost an afternoon of dove hunting, the better part of another night's sleep, and a bit of sanity, but we were finally there.
They welcomed us with a drink and politely told us that we would be awakened in three hours for our morning hunt. Three hours? It looked like it was going to be another touch and go with the bed pillow.
Suddenly there was a loud banging on the door, "The vans will be leaving for the dove fields in 10 minutes." We had slept through breakfast and I had missed a golden opportunity to take my first hot shower in two-and-a-half days. I'm OK, I thought. I'm going bird hunting today. My first bird hunt.
Equipped with my trusty Browning, lots of shells, a bucket to sit on and enough adrenaline for everyone, I was ready to shoot.
There were birds too, lots of birds. I shot till I thought my arm was going to fall off. I was having a ball stuffing shells into my gun and pulling the trigger. I just loved hearing the gun go "bang." I missed more birds than I hit, which greatly pleased my bird boy. He was not the least bit happy about getting stuck with the only female "wanna-be" shooter. A couple of hundred shells later, and, surprisingly, some birds in the bag, we were gathered for lunch.
A wonderful meal, coupled with a good Malbec wine made for the perfect afternoon siesta...so I thought.
"Honey, honey, wake up," Owen said. "I have a little afternoon excursion planned." Where were we going? "We're going on an Axis Deer hunt," he said. He had planned this side trip on the recommendation of a friend.
Ok, ok, another adventure I thought. I can do this. After all, we are on a vacation together, right? This is "quality time".
Once again off we go with only the clothes on our back. It should have been a sign when the head man who was taking us had a "toiletries bag." Both of us thought it was an afternoon hunting foray and that we would be back to the estancia for dinner and a shower.
Wrong! By nightfall we are in a deer blind eight feet off the ground with a non-English speaking guide. We had been dropped off there about four hours before by another non-English speaking guide and had no clue when someone was coming back to get us. The temperature had dropped from 75 to about 45 and I was in a shooting shirt and jeans.
I kept asking how much longer we had to sit there, had they forgotten us, were we spending the night in this stupid blind or what? All I got in response was SSHHHHH!!
First of all, I am not the kind person to have on a hunting trip if you have to be quiet. Second, I was now cold, tired, hungry and wondering what was next. No sooner had I thought it than a Jeep pulls up with a big spotlight....yeah, we have been saved and we are going back now......wrong again! We are going spotlighting to look for deer. You have got to be kidding I thought.
Well, around 11:30 pm we pull up to some house on the Uruguay border. Had they not greeted me with a glass of wine I might have released a little tension on my husband. Oh sorry, I forgot, this was still "quality time."
After a good dinner they told us our room was ready. What room? Aren't we going back? "No senora, we stay here tonight and hunt for deer tomorrow."
Once again we have nothing. No toothbrush, no hairbrush, no clean clothes, no cosmetics, nothing, NADA! I'm going to kill someone, I'm going to kill someone...but first I'm taking a shower. I played charades to our non-English speaking hosts to convey I needed shampoo, took my shower and then politely informed my husband that there was no way I was staying for a deer hunt. They were taking me back to the dove fields.
By morning I had prevailed. I went back to the dove fields, Owen shot his Axis deer and the last night in Argentina we actually got to sleep eight whole hours in the bed that we were supposed to be in for four nights.
On the last morning hunt, after a good night sleep and with the help of my good friend Randy Gibbs, I had the pleasure of running my bird boys feet off picking up dead birds. That made the whole ordeal worth it.
Although our mini vacation was filled with misadventures, the great bird shooting made up the difference and we were all laughing about it on the way home.
The quantity of birds really helped hone my shooting, and the adrenaline rush of my first wing shooting adventure ignited a fire in my soul that cannot be extinguished to this day.
One of the men said that had his wife been along for all that, it would have cost him a lot in diamonds.
Well, keep the diamonds and the stupid deer hunt but I can't wait to go back for the wing shooting! I hope I get the same bird boy!
Until next time, keep shooting!
Elizabeth Lanier is an NSCA Level I instructor based in Virginia. Please send your questions and comments to elanier@shotgunlife.com.
It was the sheer enjoyment of shooting and the love of social interaction that led me to form a women's shooting group, the GRITS (Girls Really Into Shooting) about three years ago. We shoot on the first Friday of every month and try to have at least two overnight adventures a year. The monthly shoot gets penciled (inked) into the calendar along with all the other appointments we do our best to keep each month....the doctors, the orthodontist, kids' activities and so on.
It is the camaraderie, the laughter and the shooting that makes that time easy to commit to and schedule around each month.
I am just returning from one of our bi-annual GRITS getaways. It was precious time carved out of a very busy spring and every moment was worth it.
Eleven of us managed to put our daily hassles aside and enjoy an evening of food, libations and lots of shenanigans, jokes and laughter. In the midst of all the fun, I asked each of them to write down what they got out of shooting and more specifically, what they got out of shooting with the GRITS.
Here is what some of them had to say:
"I used to go along on bird hunting trips with my husband to watch the shooting and the dogs work and it beat staying home alone. Then, with a lot of encouragement from my husband and a new gun, I realized how much fun it was to actually join in and shoot. As for the GRITS, the group is the most amazing collection of interesting people - a couple of artists, a floral designer, company executive, decorator, doctor, lawyer, preacher and a few stay at home moms. I love to brag about all of them!" MW
"Unfortunately I am not into arts and crafts, jewelry making, quilting or needlework but shooting excites me. I like being outdoors and I love the instant gratification of seeing the clay break. I love to hear my friends cheer me on. Shooting helps me keep it simple, slow down and live in the moment." SB
"I used to shoot occasionally for fun. Now I am separated and going through a divorce and I love shooting because it helps take my mind off my troubles. It gives me confidence, the women are a wonderful support group and besides, it might be a nice way to meet a single man....beats the hell out of walking the dog!!" AG
And the last quote, my favorite...
"My husband and I were given a shooting lesson as a wedding gift. My soon-to-be step-son thought it was great too.....until I broke the first 8 targets in a row, then they were not so sure. Anyway, when I got a new gun for Christmas that year my friends just did not understand why I was so ecstatic They equated it with getting a vacuum cleaner or worse. Let me just say, my husband's chest puffs out more when I run a station than when he does. Forget the negligees, put me in a shooting vest or blaze orange and he is toast. As for the GRITS, how much fun can you have? Brilliant, sassy women who love laughing, getting together and shooting. We have come together as old friends, new acquaintances, working and retired, all full of spirit, young at heart and shooting keeps us that way." GGH
I think these quotes are a great example of the "ties that bind." Though they are not a solicitation or promotion of the GRITS in particular, their thoughts are conveyed as mere encouragement for the idea of getting women together that would enjoy trying to shoot more. As a great friend of mine always says, "I was the cheerleader for years while my husband shot competitively, now it is my turn." Besides, shooting is a wonderful release from the daily grind. It is also a good way to get women out there who might not always feel comfortable or confident enough to hit the shooting course alone or might feel some intimidation of entering a sport traditionally enjoyed by many more men than women.
Right here I will say that the men we shoot with are genuinely happy you are there and are always happy to help you along.
That aside, forming a women's shooting group allows you to find people who understand the passion of a non-traditional women's sport. It is not tennis or golf. It is not bridge or a book club. It takes someone who shoots or wants to shoot to understand the joy of a new gun for Christmas or the excitement a bird hunting vacation creates.
Women who shoot understand the challenge of shooting, all the pride of improvement and the sometimes therapeutic benefits as well.
Women love to communicate all those thoughts as well. We love to sit around and talk about the hits, the misses, the sometimes "handsome" distractions on a course, whatever....we talk about it, laugh about it and smile all the way home, thinking about the next shoot and all the while remembering to try to make finding the time to shoot with the gang a priority.
Find the shooters, form the group, schedule the time and KEEP SHOOTIN'
PS...if you need a little more encouragement, check out this wonderful conglomeration of women: http://www.divawow.com.
Elizabeth Lanier is an NSCA Level I instructor based in Virginia. Please send your questions and comments to elanier@shotgunlife.com.
The Shotgun Education of Miss Prisspot Chicken Doo
Written by Elizabeth LanierFirst let me tell you about her... picture this: nice pants, tank top with crocheted pullover, huge hoop earrings, high heel boots and blond hair poofed way up...Yep, that's how Sandy Nunnally showed up at her first lesson. To this day I still get a laugh out of it.
Her son had convinced her that they needed to pheasant hunt as a family. That it would be fun. Again, this is a woman who used to run if a goat looked at her! She could clear a four board fence in a single bound if the donkey brayed at her. Her son prevailed.
Well, Sandy finally did agree to the lesson and was taking her first one from a friend of mine several years ago. He called me and said why don't we surprise her and you trap for me during the lesson? Well, our Little Miss Prisspot Chicken Doo did not know the instructor at the time. I had arranged the lesson. She had directions to the shooting field, which required a long drive down a dirt road. Mid-way down the road she thought about Deliverance. She was alone and headed to meet a man she did not know in the middle of who knows where. With sweaty palms and thoughts of turning around, she rounded the bend instead and saw me waiting there for her. I am sure those were tears of relief as she had just seen me the day before.
When she got out of the car I just giggled and she said "what??" I told her she had to lose the hoop earrings before I was going to push the first button. Not that I don't bling it up myself but good gun mounts come first!
Now watching this lesson was even funnier. She first held the gun like it was going to break, then when she got it up to her shoulder the expression on her face made me wonder if it stunk or something and the first time she pulled the trigger, the squeal of delight was priceless. You should have heard her when she started breaking clays. That of course happened when she decided to open her eyes and pull the trigger.
As she was guided through the lesson and watched as the clays broke, she would look over at me convinced I was "pinch shooting," that I was actually shooting at the same time and breaking the clays for her. "Are you sure you didn't do that?" she would ask.
Those were the early days. Now, well over two years later, she can hold her own on the shooting courses. If you mention the remote possibility of shooting, the gun is thrown in the back of the car, along with three shell pouches (have to be sure they match the outfit) and the all essential gear like snacks, gum, hair spray, lip gloss, sunscreen and oh yes, and shotgun shells, eye and ear protection and more shotgun shells.
Today she powers around a John Deer Gator and loads targets in the machines. She helps me set up target presentations. It has been such a joy for me to watch her find she can do things she never dreamed of trying. To see her confidence and empowerment evolve, all from those first days of learning to shoot a shotgun onward. It gives you a sense of independence that is hard to describe but wonderful to see grow.
Yesterday she helped me catch and hold a new baby donkey and stayed right there through the braying and all.
Until next time, keep shooting.
Elizabeth Lanier is an NSCA Level I instructor based in Virginia. Please send your questions and comments to elanier@shotgunlife.com.
A WOMAN'S APPROACH TO SHOOTING FOR FUN AND FRIENDSHIP
Written by Elizabeth Lanier
Getting Started
PULL - What can I say? It is my favorite four-letter word. Why, you might ask? Well, it's the word used to release a clay target, but what it really turns loose is more fun than you can possibly imagine.
From the moment I step into a shooting box and put two shells in my gun, I cannot help but feel a huge surge of adrenaline and anticipation. As I close the shotgun and prepare to say "that word", I have to smile and be thankful for the serendipitous journey that has led me to love saying "PULL," and beyond.
Several years ago I gave my husband a gift certificate for shooting lessons. He was already a rifle shooter, and occasionally an upland bird hunter, so I thought a lesson aimed at the clay target disciplines would be a fun gift for him. I went along the day he was supposed to take the first lesson, ended up shooting with him, and I loved it.
Between carpooling three children around, after school activities and keeping up with home and family obligations, I managed to squeeze in (and steal) his remaining shooting lessons.
Somewhere between the love of pulling the trigger, the desire to succeed, and introducing new shooters to this sport, I realized that it was the "why" of the misses and not the "where" that really mattered.
It was the realization of the importance of good first experiences that compelled me to become an instructor. To know that when I was guiding them through their first attempts with a shotgun, that I was setting them up for success.
When I was initially approached about discussing women's shotgunning and the pros and cons we face, I was not sure if I could bring any new and novel approaches to shooting. The more I thought back on my own progression in this sport, both as a shooter and now as an NSCA Certified Shooting Instructor of men, women and children, I realized what I could do was be a voice of advocacy and assurance for recreational women shooters through my own experiences.
I stress recreational. The women shooters who are proficient competition shooters already know the fun and fulfillment of shooting. They know the skills and intense mental focus required to compete. No doubt it was the pure pleasure of starting as recreational shooters that compelled them to hone those skills.
I believe there are many, many women who, given the proper introduction to the shotgun sports, would not only love this sport, but excel in it as well. So I say if you have thought about it, why not give it a try?
I know, I know.....what do women think of when they hear someone say "shotguns" or "shooting"? They think of a man's sport, heavy guns, loud noises, camouflage clothing and killing Bambi or Donald Duck. It does not have to be any of that.
As a female shooter I think of the fun and excitement I experience every time I pull the trigger. I feel a great sense of accomplishment when I hear the bang and see a clay break.
For women who have family members wanting them to shoot or women who just want to try it, I encourage you to seek out a qualified instructor who will guide you through the learning process, paying careful attention to your eye dominance, good form and proper gun placement in the shoulder. They will know the right gauge gun and the best shell to use for the first lessons.
Many well intended people have introduced women and children to shooting with a favorite old hunting gun and perhaps some left over shells from a duck or goose hunt. "It's easy, just point and shoot". Trust me, this is not the best way to get started.
If you have started shooting and are looking for fellow shooters, don't be afraid to go to a nearby shooting range. I have met many wonderful people in the shooting world at nearby gun clubs.
I met another female shooter, now a friend, at a pheasant shoot. After a brief conversation about finding other women to shoot with occasionally, we exchanged numbers on the only paper we had, shot gun shell box tops, and agreed to meet and shoot. I told her it would be fun to try and get other women shooters to join us and try to shoot on a regular basis. We both knew of a few women who shot with their husbands or kids, or had maybe hunted with their father or grandfather in their lives, so we called them to join us. Before you knew it, we had a women's shooting group.
We now have about 25 members. We have housewives, garden club members, doctors, lawyers, artists, as well as a pilot and teacher. It is a fun loving, diverse group of women who have gone from shooting once a month to occasional 2 day excursions planned around shooting courses, shopping and all the shenanigans that go along with it all......fun shooting, good gear and great dinners, all topped off with a whole lot of laughs. Every now and then we even let our husbands join us.
Like I said, why not give it a whole hearted try? Whether a beginner or more experienced shooter, there is always merit in good instruction and learning to shoot better and better by building your shooting inventory....to me that includes getting the gear but we will talk about that later.
Women communicate. They will convey their feelings if they are anxious or excited. They are gatherers. They like to understand and replicate instructions and often learn much more by visual demonstrations that just an explanation.
Stay with Shotgun Life....soon we will talk about how we gather information, process it and incorporate it into building that shooting inventory we are talking about. We will also discuss trying to find good "girl" gear, starting women's shooting groups, shooting and shopping adventures and more. Whew....so much to cover, so little space..........stay tuned.
Elizabeth Lanier is an NSCA Level I instructor based in Virginia. Please send your questions to elanier@shotgunlife.com. Every week, she will update her monthly column by selecting one question and post both the question and answer to her column so that all her readers can benefit.
Question for March 2009:
Elizabeth's Answer:Hi, Ms. Lanier,
I just recently read your article and like the way you think! Look forward to reading your future articles. I haven't been shooting very long and would like to know what your opinion is on which choke I should use in Sporting Clays for an over-under gun? I shoot just for fun and camaraderie.
Thank you,
Debbie
Dear Debbie,
Thanks for your interest and I'm glad to hear you have taken up shooting.
In response to your question about chokes, I will just briefly tell you how they work first. A shotgun choke is a constriction at the end of the barrel of the gun. It tightens the shot string of the pellets just before they leave the barrel. I had an instructor give the analogy that the choke worked much like the nozzle on the end of a garden hose. The more open it is, the more open the spray is as it leaves the hose; and the tighter it is, the further the stream goes before opening up.
The most open choke is a cylinder. Then you have skeet, improved cylinder, modified, improved modified and full chokes. And, to confuse you more, there are choke tubes sizes between many of those.
You stated you are a beginning shooter so I would suggest using skeet chokes in both barrels to begin with, or a skeet choke in the bottom barrel and an improved cylinder in the top as you improve. These chokes work well with light loads such as 7/8 oz. to 1 oz. with number 8 shot.
