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7/30/2012

Girls Gun Getaway: Reflecting

By Gabby

From Top: Beth, Julie, Barb, Shelley, Destinee, Marti, Anette, Lacey, Natalie, Gracie
Photos by Julie Golob
the girls

In many recent posts (and in more articles upcoming) you may find that I reference the Girls Gun Getaway, A LOT. The goal is not to make anyone jealous or gain popularity through name dropping.  Obviously, we had an amazing time, but for me, the weekend had a huge impact in an unexpected way.  I learned a great deal about women in general.  In some of my first conversations with each attendee I discovered that many of us had, in our everyday lives, avoided female friendships to a certain degree. Most felt it was the caddy-ness and drama that we were avoiding.  Yet in four days with 10 women, I made 10 great friends and felt no competition or spite on the ranch.

You may ask, how is that possible? And I'll never be able to definitively answer that. I can, however, offer some observations and opinions.

I noticed that all of us walked with a certain air of confidence. Every lady had excellent posture and carried herself as if she knew exactly who she was.  Of course, we can not attribute this to shooting guns, but that was our common ground...

Also, there was a great deal of teaching and sharing with one another on many different levels. 

I received an in depth education on hunting preparation, climbing through barbed wire fences and erecting a ground blind. I gleaned invaluable knowledge from inside the gun industry. We all enjoyed witnessing some impressive cooking skills. I was taught to properly handle shotguns. There was some sharing of skin care and fashion tips. I witnessed the rules and operating procedures for an outdoor range. A few of the girls unknowingly informed me that soft spoken doesn't have to equal meek.  Meeting other bloggers helped me better understand the importance of appreciating ones readers. And of corse, we got a basic, yet up close and personal, education on explosives.





And now, on with the show blog
©2012 ArmedCandy,LLC


                                                     

ArmedCandy also Recommends:

Beth
Sass Brass & Bullets
 
Julie
Julie Golob.com
 
Barb & Marti
The WON
 
Shelley Rae
Western Shooting Journal
 

Destinee
Fate of Destinee
 

Anette
30 Cal Gal
 
Lacey
NRA Womens Network
 

Natalie
Girls Guide to Guns
 

Gracie
Packing Pretty
 

7/29/2012

First Look: Concealed Carry Fashion Show

Packing Pretty has posted a little about the event here

7/28/2012

Save My Belt!!!

By Gabby

Inner & Outer layers of a Duty Belt
inner & outer duty belt
Working at the gun range, even just 3 days a week, has taken it's toll on my favorite black leather belt. It wasn't made for open carry of an all steel full size weapon. So I decided to see what was out there. I discovered that a "Duty Belt" is a two part system, an inner belt (usually somewhat soft, nylon) that one wears similar to a regular belt, and a heavy outer belt that attaches to the inner with velcro but carries all the gear slightly away from the body. Of corse this was not the belt for me, but a heavy duty nylon belt seemed like a great idea.

7/27/2012

Have Gun, Will Shop

By Dana

Come, in! We're OpenAfter attending the Concealed Carry fashion show this past weekend I am all types of motivated. I’m motivated to learn more about personal safety, to go to the range more frequently, to train, and most importantly feel comfortable enough to carry.  

Yesterday I was headed up to the range and needed to stop at the store to pick up some targets so I decided to bring Walther with me just to see how it felt.  

Walther was “unloaded” and I was wearing my jeans, and a belt, with Walther tucked snuggly inside of his holster on the inside of my pants, with my shirt over it.  Basically I would have had to use Walther as a club if it came down to it.  If there were any problems I didn’t plan on brandishing it; I was going to act like I didn’t have him on me at all and be the good little sheep that I typically am. Baaaa Baaa….

7/26/2012

Introducing A New Contributor & "Shoot To Wound"

ArmedCandy welcomes a new contributor: Dana of "Walther and Me"

Walther and Me Dana is from Upstate New York and is brand (spanking) new to the wonderful world of firearms. She began her blog, "Walther and Me" to share the lessons she was learning as a new female shooter in New York State. By sharing her thoughts with ArmedCandy readers, Dana hopes to empower women toward gun ownership, as well as make some new friends along the way. Join her as she journeys from fear to conceal carry and beyond.

Shoot To Wound

By Dana

Thanks to Cornered Cat's Facebook page, I just read this very interesting post on John Farnam’s Quips about "shooting to wound".  My husband has had the same conversation with me a number of times and reinforces why I should aim at the center of mass because that way I’d be less likely to miss when it would really count.   

The scenario: I’m home when a bad guy comes and busts in the door what do I do?  Here’s a better question what would you do?  

7/25/2012

My Friend, The Liberal

By Gabby

You know I don't get political, but ... Gabby and Friend

I have this one super liberal friend; I mean, she's a total lefty. But yesterday she sat and listened for ten minutes as I explained the joy of shooting full-auto and trying it with suppression for the first time. I explained to her how two parts of such a device are "Class III", therefore requiring two tax stamps, which is also part of their astronomical expense. This clarified why they are so rare and even more exciting to experience. She would almost never be willing to visit the range with me and seeing my gun in my home for the first time, actually gave her a mini panic attack. However, she listened, asked questions, and got excited for me in-spite of herself.  

We could use a few more people like this in the world! Most of use don't hold opinions that fall smack in the middle of any issue and even if we did, there would be plenty of people to argue against that view as well. However, by listening to each other, tolerating a differing perspective, and being a good friend, even when literally terrified, we might just see a smidgen of progress rather than stagnation and anger.

©2012 ArmedCandy,LLC

7/21/2012

Advice: shotgun

"My preference for use in a defensive shotgun in an urban apartment or condo setting is to use #7.5 trap in lieu of buckshot. Slugs and buckshot can be a civil suit nightmare as they can easily breach adjacent walls and endanger neighbors and other family members. I discovered that #4 shot became a preferred load for me as opposed to 00 buck when a more powerful load was to be the load of preference. However, 00, 000 and slugs have their uses in various situations."

7/18/2012

Shotgun Fun

By Gabby

Unlike pistols, which I spent a lot of time exploring on my own, shotguns, were something, on which I felt, I should be instructed. I don't have a shotgun, and while my range rents a number of options, I felt it more appropriate to take on this long gun in it's natural habitat, outdoors. Many shotgun wielding friends were willing join me, but since the nearest outdoor range is more than 1.5 hours away, finding time proved difficult. Eventually, I opted to wait for the Girls Gun Getaway.
Boy am I glad I waited and got my first shotgun lesson from Packing Pretty in the flesh!
Packing Pretty & a 12ga turkey gun

7/12/2012

Conceal Carry Look Book

By Gabby

Men keep surprising me. This time they have taken an innocent and helpful blog post by my friend Packing Pretty, and gotten all worked up over it. The article is her version of a fashion "look book" but with specific items that may aid a woman in concealed carry.  Some felt the article insulted a woman's intelligence, others felt that focusing on fashion was distracting from the more serious topic of concealed carry.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all these chivalrous gentlemen for protecting us ladies from this nonexistent threat.  At ease, fellas.  We are just working out how to make ourselves comfortable in the awesome world of Firearms.

7/11/2012

Press

Atlanta Jewish Times

FIDF Atlanta Women’s Brigade at the Shooting Range

An Evening With Friends & Firearms

... "The event was coordinated by Ginny Adams, Development Associate of FIDF Atlanta region, and cosponsored by Rachel Simon – who developed a love for shooting from her dad and is now married to an Israeli soldier – and Gabby, creator of ArmedCandy, a website and product brand that uses social media to educate women about guns." ... [read more]
Atlanta Jewish Times
©2012 ArmedCandy,LLC


7/10/2012

Press

Women's Outdoor News

Women Blogger Series:

ArmedCandy — It all started with a date at the range


"Inspiration comes in many forms, sometimes when you least expect it. In this women gun blogger feature, Britney talks to Gabby — lover of animals, food, and all things Southern, about what sparked her  to create the blog “ArmedCandy.” ... [read more]
Blogger Profile by Womens Outdoor News
©2012 ArmedCandy,LLC

7/09/2012

FIDF & ArmedCandy Make New Girl Gunners

By Gabby

Adi Halfon, a former combat soldier and current FIDF IMPACT! scholarship recipient, was trained on an M16, but had never shot a pistol
Photo By FIDF-Atlanta
Adi discovers the fun of pistols
A while back I posted an article entitled, "Why Jews Hate Guns". My concern in posting the piece was that it might inspire anti-semitism by pro-gunners who didn't realize that the article was really about anti-gun folks in general. Being a Jewish girl gunner myself I could have been offended, but since I grew up in New York City, I knew why the writer chose the title. Yes, the whole city inspires an anti-gun mentality, but I'm not sure it's a "Jewish" thing, and here's why.

7/06/2012

Flights with Firearms, A Finale

By Gabby

I may be, what some might call, a seasoned traveler. I've flown on domestic flights and  international flights, small planes & double decker jumbo jets. I've been in and out of the Delhi airport more than twice, and taken many flights over 11 hours long. I find the sound of jet engines soothing and the rumblings of take-off almost always rock me to sleep. I've had an passport from the time I was a few months old & took more than a few flights in utero.  I had the privilege of taking a military transport DC-10 and slept through most of the blindingly loud trip. I've even taken the controls and piloted a small four seater (with an instructor by my side) between take off and landing.  But today I crossed into a new realm of commercial flight. Today I completed a trip with a firearm.
travel

My first posts on this topic involved all the planning that went into this new adventure, but now that I am back home after taking my firearm on the "Girls Gun Getaway", I can say:
Flying with a firearm is a far less stressful proposition than it seems. Further, travelers might even discover that they and their luggage may be handled with more care because of the contents of the bag.

7/05/2012

Girls Gun Getaway: The Details

Want to see even more about the Girls Gun Getaway weekend? Here's a great recap! Well done JulieG