Babes With Bullets Texas Camp

Late spring I sent an email to Babes with Bullets asking if they would consider adding another camp to the 2012 calendar.  I was surprised to get a phone call back asking if I could pull together a camp for November…. of 2011!  They had a Texas location that wasn’t going to work out but didn’t want to cancel the camp.  I didn’t even waste a breath to tell Kay Miculek “YES I can make it happen”!

Deb Ferns, the camp director made quick work of updating the changes to the online camp registration, and I got to work spreading the word via my A Girl and A Gun facebook page.  Within 6 weeks we were full and had women from all over Texas, 1 from Oklahoma, 1 from Florida and 1 from Virginia on the roster for the FIRST ANNUAL TEXAS Babes Camp!

One of the  many things that is special about the Babes with Bullets camp is that is all inclusive: retreat style housing, healthy lunch, catered dinner, range fees and loaner guns and equipment is all INCLUDED in camp fee of $675.  Patricia Cashion is a local member of A Girl and A Gun Women’s Shooting League’s Leander Chapter and is a student with La Cordon Blue Cooking School.  She was hired on as our Chef for the weekend and made 3 delicious for us.  Knowing at the end of the day that there was a healthy meal that tasted sinful made a huge difference.  It allowed time for all the campers to share in community about all the events of the day, and I think the best part… listen to the funny stories of our instructor’s travels and life experiences in the wild, wacky world of competitive shooting.  A special shout out to Patricia as she has been hired as the Chef for two camps on the 2012 schedule! 

Thursday evening the campers arrived in Burnet at Lake Buchanan and settled in for our 3 day camp.  Being the camp host, I met Kay, Maggie, Athena and Lena early around 7:00am Friday morning at Best of the West Shooting Sports to set up.  It was kind of funny saying hello in the cold dark morning all huddled around trying to get the padlock off the equipment area.  By 8:00am the campers had all arrived and the fun began!  First order of business was passing out belts and holsters to those that needed to borrow or try something different.  Then it was on to a 1 hour range safety class going over the basics and expectations of the camp.  You could feel the excitement from the women in the room, they were ready to shoot!

This was a beginner camp so it was all about the set up a good foundation and getting the basics down.  For some women it was their first experience shooting a gun, others it was their first formal instructional course.  A few gals, this was their 2^nd Babes Camp and were there for a refresher of the basics.   Day one went by so fast, a lot of information was given out and you could feel that the women to want to learn more, but Patricia was at the condo cooking, so we were out of there right on time!  Day two and three were full of excitement, especially when we moved in to the rifle portion of camp.   There was so much to learn and the girls wanted to know more, and repeat the drill again… and again… but there wasn’t time or enough ammo for that!   Ladies usually think that shooting rifles is hard or has strong recoil, they were very surprised how smooth it is, and I could see the spark of a new love flashing in their eyes.  I have to say the most exciting part of the weekend was watching these women sight in the AR’s, learn to shoot and move and how to take long distance shots accurately.  By Sunday afternoon they were running and gunning competition style with handguns and ARs, safe to say… they were hooked!  MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!

My favorite part was being able to ask questions about technique and strategy on how to improve my shooting game from National and World Champion Shooters!  I totally get star struck when in the presence of “professional shooters”.  I told Kay in an email prior to camp that every time I see her husband (Jerry Miculek) at an event all I can manage to say is “how is Kay?”  Jerry was so cool, he sent along an autographed picture for me and Kay said next time I see him to run up and give him a hug.  We will see how that works out at SHOT Show! LOL. 

As Deb Ferns says “it is part adventure camp, part firearms training and part pajama party.”  Texas can’t wait till next year when the Babes are back in town!

Special thanks to our instructors:

Kay Miculek

Maggie Reese

Athena Lee

Lena Miculek

Deb Ferns

MVP: thank you to Texas Multigun for sponsoring the range facility fees for this camp.

This camp was made possible by the following sponsors:

Smith and Wesson

Otis

USPSA

Pro Video 4U

HiViz Shooting Systems

Atlanta Arms and Ammo

JP Enterprises, Inc

Sarfiland

Howard Leight

Nikon

Insight Technology

Adventures At The Gun Show

Gun Shows

I have been working the Gun Show for 5 years now promoting my CHL classes.  As I was sitting behind my table last weekend “people watching” the thought crossed my how much the show is the same in terms of vendors and product, but how much the show has changed in who is attending…. Women!

It is typical to see the a few chicks following the dudes up and down the aisles with him shopping with a childlike glimmer in his eye, with her reward being some beef jerky, sugared pecans and maybe a piece of jewelry or a candle.  I have met my fair share of husbands and fathers that dragged the women in their life to my table so I could talk to them about classes and convince them that having a gun is not a bad thing. 

My favorite bait and switch moment was during the last election when the Sarah Palin shirts were really hot.  There was a vendor next to be that happen to be selling just such a t-shirt.  The husband who I had visited with several times during past gun shows got his wife to attend with him that day and got her next to my table by showing her this shirt.  It was my moment to take every objection she had and turn it into a reason why she needed to give me and my classes a chance.  She agreed to come to my CHL class the next weekend, and by the time we were finished with that 10 hours, she was already signed up for my next 8 hour new shooter course, and brought another family with her.  She is my one of my favorite clients and is now my friend.  It doesn’t really matter what her objections were, it was that I was able to connect with her woman to woman and explain the truths about what she was afraid of.

Getting back on topic here… I have noticed the numbers jump in women attending the show and who are actively shopping for a guns, concealed carry purses and best of all TRAINING!  There is a different feeling at the show, and I praise the women for it!  If you haven’t been to a gun show, I recommend the experience at least one time; it will open your eyes to the several options that are available to you for recreational and self defense firearms.