The Women on Target program in Midland will have it's inaugural meeting on May 1, 2004 - this Saturday at 3:00 p.m. - at the Midland Shooters Association Rifle/Pistol Range club house. Women represent the fastest growing demographic of new shooters, and the purpose of the Women on Target program is to help introduce women to the sport in an non-competitive setting with an emphasize on safety.
Yesterday, the organizers met to discuss it, and it's shaping up to be a pretty good program. The main speaker will be Freddie Haltom who will be perfect for the job. He's a great communicator, and he's a very experienced hand gun instructor. The focus will be the safe handling of firearms. And, following a lecture there will be some actual shooting of .22 caliber handguns. Following the initial program on May 1 there will be one or two follow up sessions to use different types of firearms - the participants will assist in determining what the next session will entail.
Jerry Moritz, a long time shooter, took the initiative to get the program started in Midland, arrange for a modest amount of publicity, and plan the event. And, he reports that response so far has been tremendous. He said that some of the women who have contacted him are experienced shooters who simply welcome the opportunity to meet other women who might be interested in the sport. These programs have been very successful in other cities, and the participants usually go on to form their own groups to continue the sport.
All equipment will be supplied. However, participants may bring their own .22 caliber handgun, eye protection and hearing protection if they wish.
If any area women wish to participate and haven't made contact yet they are encouraged to call Jerry Moritz at (432) 683-1814 as soon as possible.
Oh yeah, it's non-competitive. No scores will be kept. And, aside from the instructors and assistants, no men will be allowed.
And, registration forms for the program are available via the MSA website... (although this comment is too late to do anyone any good for the first meeting...sorry)
Posted by: Eric | April 30, 2004 at 10:04 PM