Posted on 04/01/2007 11:08:00 AM PDT by NewJerseyJoe
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO - KIMBERLY SHRUM grips a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum revolver and aims at a target 25 yards away.
Bang.
A hot shell casing hits the floor, joining hundreds of others littering the concrete at Jackson Arms Indoor Shooting Range in South San Francisco.
Shrum centers herself and aims again.
Bang.
After two days using her new revolver, Shrum's hands are sore from the recoil of every shot.
"I get that rush and power from a Magnum," said the 36-year-old Millbrae resident. "I've taken archery and thrown darts, but shooting is another way to hurl something through the air. But this is just like shooting a paper ball into the trash can. TwoPoints. Air ball."
She is among a growing number of women who are showing up at shooting ranges across the country. Many women who visit the Jackson Arms shooting gallery do it because they love the power of guns and want to learn how to protect themselves.
While there are no hard figures on the number of women who own guns, it's estimated that nationwide 11 million to 17 million women wield firearms, said Laura Browder, author of "Her Best Shot: Women and Guns in America." The National Rifle Association doesn't keep figures by gender.
Browder said the gun industry is just as focused on females as it has been over the last 200 years, but the marketing strategy now taps into their fears.
"The gun industry is saying, 'Look, the state is not here to protect you, the cops are not here, no one is looking out for you,'" said Browder, who is assistant professor of English at Virginia Commonwealth University. "There's a lot of single mothers, and there's a lot of suggestion there is no man in the house, and the woman has got to take care of herself."
That's a far cry from earlier ads that depict women as rifle-toting cowgirls and snarling buxom blondes cradling a machine gun. Meanwhile, women such as Annie Oakley, Bonnie Parker -- as in "Bonnie and Clyde" -- and Patty Hearst are still revered as armed female icons.
But Browder adds that women fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are adding a more sobering image of women and guns.
"Many, many women are in combat and coming home wounded," Browder said. "Women with guns will seem less exotic than they once did."
Liza Normandy, a certified NRA firearm instructor at Jackson Arms, teaches women to properly shoot guns. Classes cost $50.
She said she would like to have more female shooters come in. To attract the group, Jackson Arms offers Ladies Night on Mondays. The cost of a lane for an hour is $7 instead of the regular $14 price.
Those who practice in the gallery are largely either police cadets or women who accompany their boyfriends or husbands.
Normandy has been shooting on and off for 16 years. She and her husband -- they met on Lane 7 at Jackson Arms -- are very passionate about the recreational sport.
"Shooting is like any hobby as bowling or golf," Normandy said. "It's a great way to release aggression."
Range Master Leo Manalo also teaches ladies' classes. One day, he taught a grandmother and her two granddaughters.
"Women get into shooting just like the guys do," he said. "Because it's like a mini-vacation. It's a lot cheaper than seeing a therapist. It's relaxing."
To own a firearm in California, you need to show proof of residency within the state, and pass a 30-question test to get a handgun-safety certificate. The waiting period is 10 days.
Kimberly Shrum bought her Magnum revolver on Sunday, after shooting for three months. Her father, an ex-Marine, taught her how to handle a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol.
She said she's addicted to the power.
"Once you hold the gun in your hand and channel the power right where you want it, it's such a rush," said Shrum, who is an office manager for a financial services company in San Bruno. "But I will never get comfortable with a handgun."
Sabrina Watts, 24, is a cadet at the College of San Mateo's Police Academy. The Redwood City resident was practicing at Jackson Arms with a fellow cadet on Monday. Both used to be officers for the Peninsula Humane Society.
Watts calls herself a good shooter, but needs to stop anticipating the bang, which throws off her aim. She started shooting when she was 9 years old and learned that "guns are fun."
Watts, who plans to eventually become a police officer, believes a woman should arm herself.
"Regardless of how strong you are, a man can overpower you," she said. "If you need to protect your home, you have to do what you have to do."
Staff writer Christine Morente covers religion, families and general assignment. She can be reached at (650) 348-4333 or at cmorente@sanmateocountytimes.com.
Please post that pic you used to have on your FR about page!
Women? Guns? I'm aroused.
Bang.
A hot shell casing hits the floor
LOL
Ok, help me out here. She's holding a "revolver" and pulls a trigger. A hot casing hits the floor. What just happened?
She has a revolver that ejects the empty every time it fires? Let's see a picture of that gun!
Another gaywad writer, who does not know (?) that revolvers don't auto-expel their empties!
Our posts hit at the exact same time!
A woman with a gun does not frighten me. They can only take my life. Nanvy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton with POWER will try to steal my soul. That is frightening.
LOL, a lot more would be hitting the floor if all of that were true.
What happens with a revolver, the casings stay in the chamber? I really have no experience with revolvers, only semi-autos :)
Are you saying you know more than Christine the journalist?
Now THIS is what I call empowering women. There should be more of it.
bump
"A woman with a gun does not frighten me."
I can tell that you've never met my wife.
"I get that rush and power from a Magnum,"
"It's a great way to release aggression."
She said she's addicted to the power.
"Once you hold the gun in your hand and channel the power right where you want it, it's such a rush,"
whoa.....these words will come back to bite her if she ever needs to defend herself!
I'll up the ante, I'm more aroused! ; )
Dear Christine: This are revolver.
Dear Christine: This are semi-auto.
ping! /snicker
There is something about being able to blow a guys b***s off makes a woman feel safer. What a surprize! A revolver that expells casings. That a new one. I've a sense the author wasn't really there.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
D@mn, I knew there had to be a downside... ; - (
Cheap revolver?
I forgot to add, that after the rounds have been fired from the revolver, depending on the model, the cylinder is released away from the frame. The empty casings are then removed from the cylinder, and replacement bullets are loaded into the cylinder. With experienced shooters, speed loaders are used to load six replacement rounds and good shooters can do this VERY QUICKLY! Then the cylinder is pushed back to the frame and is ready for action.
Half price. :)
Why isn't Kimberly shooting a Kimber?
My other grown daughter, a liberal, is a black belt in Karate. My wife, also a liberal, is a nurse. She reads nursing magazines and is afraid of all guns, even mine.
You wouldn't believe the crap they put in those nursing magazines, stuff like, "Get involved. Join the fight against handgun homicides." They got all the pablum filled goofy cliches down to a tee. But they never ask, what do you do with the ski mask guy standing at your bedroom door?
Bang.
A hot shell casing hits the floor"
LOL!
LOL! You saw that too. LOL!
Martial arts don't really help aginst someone that towers over you in size and power. Guns are the great equlizer
Great book by Paxton Quigley.
SECOND AMENDMENT SISTERS Inc. was founded in 1999 by five women who got together on the internet. Deb Altrath of New Jersey, Juli Bednarzyk of Illinois, Dianne Sawyer of South Carolina, Marinelle Thompson of Texas, and Kim Watson of Florida discovered they had something in common - that they didn't want the anti-rights Million Mom March to speak for them. For five months these women, along with a small but dedicated group of volunteers, planned a rally of their own, using the internet to pull all the pieces together. None of them had ever planned such an event before, but the combination of their personal skills and the "must-do" attitude of their supporters enabled them to make a powerful statement on May 12, 2000 - that there were women to whom the Second Amendment meant something, and to whom “gun control” was a false promise. http://www.2asisters.org/
LOL. I'm sure Jayson Blair wrote this one.
Ohh I dunno,a friend's duaghter is a professional kick boxer.She's 5-7 about 125lbs.I'm 6-4 and 245-I don't think I'd have a chance in a fight with her.
I like to equate handguns with fire extinguishers for comparison purposes. I have both for the same reason, both can save your life in a time of great need and both are dangerous when not used correctly.
She might want to check the cylinder if shell casings are falling out. That would be considered unusual.
I'm surprised this article wasn't about the Pink Pistols.
What you did not mention was those 5 founders of Second Amendment Sisters started all that talking right here at FR.
While most newbies prefer a wrist-rattler, hopefully they graduate to a comfortable weapon for them. I knew a big bruiser of a guy who favored a "ladies gun" for several reasons, first and foremost because he carried it a lot and for him it had the ease of a Zippo lighter.
It had no 'catches' that would interfere with drawing it from his concealed carry holster; and he could palm it in such a way that he could brandish it yet keep it hidden in his hand, giving him a considerable edge over someone with a hand cannon.
He calculated that with ease and experience, he could let slip three accurate rounds in the time it would have taken for the typical person to fire one--had they not suddenly had one or two fresh bullet holes in them.
Beyond that point, if they were still standing and drawing their gun, he figured it was best to flee. First because if one or two bullets didn't distract them enough to stop them from firing their hand cannon, then more might not either; and second, because even though he couldn't run quick, he figured that somebody with one or two fresh bullet holes in them couldn't run much better.
Ah, well. Live and learn.
Errors by the author aside, it's great to see articles like this in the mainstream press. Thanks very much for posting. I have yet to see an article of this type in the MSM without numerous errors, so I tend to overlook them and am just pleased that the article's tone is a postive one.
:-)
25 yards? Well I suppose, but I doubt it. More like 25 feet for most casual indoor plinkers...
It's just another fashion accessory in Texas.
<<<< putting The Lone Star State at the top of my 'places I must visit' list :-)
If true that SHOULD scare you! If you really are bi polar, you would understand.
Bang.
Huh?
A hot shell casing hits the floor,
And there I thought revolvers retained their cartridges until the cylinder was empty and they were ejected as a group.
Silly me, I guess I shouldn't let facts get in the way of a good story. See tag line.
My father taught me how to shoot a gun, care for a gun, and gun safety when I was a little girl. I learned to hunt and also how to protect myself. Every female should be taught at least the basics, IMO.
That is a true statement for some women. I took a pistol shooting course from a woman who had a specially designed handbag. When she was out in public her hand was on her gun in her bag all the time. I suspect that she just longed for someone to accost her on the street so she could blow the scumbag away. She never said that but she was awfully proud of her handbag.
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