When I think of women and guns, the first image that comes to mind is the '70s TV show, Charlie's Angels. Seeing beautiful, intelligent women with pistols in hand confronting the bad guys was a very powerful image to a young, impressionable girl. Wow, I thought, that's really cool! As I got older, however, and with the proliferation of gun violence in America, my feelings on guns changed. Knowing their power and the destruction they cause changed my perspective, and what had been cool was now something I feared...until KY Taste Buds!
After conducting a Twitter poll asking our followers what activity/adventure they would like to see me and Leigh undertake it was determined that shooting guns was the favorite. Really? I was hoping for something safe like fishing or stand-up paddleboarding. Why did it have to be the one thing I absolutely did not want to do? But being the good Taste Buds we are, we put on our big girl panties and contacted S&D Indoor Gun Range in Nicholasville, Kentucky to see if they would be kind enough to walk a couple of novices through the steps. They agreed and with that, we were on the hook.
Arriving at the range, we were greeted by Dan, a friendly man who began answering our questions and showing us the basics of how to handle a firearm. We started off with a .22, a small hand gun that we were told was a good one for beginners as it doesn't have a lot of recoil. His explanation was thorough, but in language we could understand. He kept it very simple and for that, we were glad. As we talked, we asked him about the type of customers they have, the specifics of their business and what he liked best about working at S&D. Here's some of what we learned:
1. Their demographic isn't confined to only men. They have children as young as 10 that come in, and women make up about 40% of their gun range business. It's also a popular place for couples who prefer their dates include something more exciting than dinner and a movie. In fact, they host a date night on Fridays from 5 pm to close.
2. They have firearms you can rent, so you don't have to have your own.
3. The range rentals are $13.50 for 30 minutes for one person, and up to $30 for an hour for two people. If you are active duty military, law enforcement or a senior (62 or older), you enjoy a 10% discount.
4. Classes are offered, including the Kentucky Concealed Carry Deadly Weapon License Training Course.
5. They partner with and host the Lexington chapter of The Well Armed Woman.
6. Dan said what he liked the best about his job was working with people like us who were new to the sport and getting them to feel comfortable and confident with handling firearms.
Once finished with our talk, we were given ear and eye protection (remember, safety first), and we were ready to put our fear aside and step onto the range. Actually, the fear was still there, but Dan accompanied us, so we felt a bit better. Also, there is always a range safety officer on duty to ensure everyone abides by the rules. He showed us again how to undo the safety, load the magazine, use the sites on the gun properly, and then stood aside as I fired a firearm for the first time. My hands were shaking so much it was hard to get a straight site on the target, but then I squeezed the trigger and bang! Guess what? It went right in the center of the target, very close to where I had been aiming! Okay, that was pretty cool! I fired a few more and then it was Leigh's turn to give it a go. She was as nervous as I was, but still managed to get off some pretty impressive shots. Dan continued giving us tips and suggestions, and was a great cheerleader. His calm reassurance gave us confidence as we continued to give the target a proper pounding. At the end he pulled in our target and we could see up close how we did. Not too shabby for a couple of newbies!
Concluding our visit, we took some photos with our generous hosts, Dan and Roy, and told them we would be back as we can see why people really get into this sport! Walking back to our cars, I think Leigh and I stood a little taller and walked with a bit of swagger. For a moment, we felt like the characters in Charlie's Angels. She was Farrah and I was Jaclyn Smith, aka Jill Munroe and Kelly Garrett, although they probably had better hair.