Fun Female-Friendly Targets by GunFun.com

So just how good a shooter is our camera-toting Marilyn "Bullseye" Vogel? You be the judge!

Recently, I had the chance to do some target practice with two of my favorite gal-pals, WOMA Chair Deb Ferns and WOMA member Marilyn Vogel.  Nothing unusual about that.  What was unusual was what we were shooting — GunFun.com’s line of female-friendly (and somewhat comical) targets.  Bennett Perritt, the company’s owner, started out with a publishing company that branched out into target printing after his son asked for an air rifle.  It took 8 months from the first printing until Bennett was satisfied with his targets.  That’s a perfectionist at work.

Melita Ellington points out her hits on the Female Intruder GunFun.com target

Gunfun.com offers many target packages to choose from — check them out at www.gunfun.com, like them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/gunfuntargets) and follow them on Twitter (@gunfuntargets).

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Women Hunters at Sundance Film Festival

This is wonderful news.  Now all we have to do is vote for this film, The Debutante Hunter, and it will win!

This film is about women hunters and  is competing at the Sundance Film Festival. Let’s make sure it wins. Ask every woman you know to vote right after you vote!

Click here to vote!
http://screen.yahoo.com/sundance-2012-debutante-hunters-short-27874990.html#polls

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What do Hogs know about Blogs and more?

The HAHWG (yes HOG)  group recently hosted a meeting at Horseshoe Ranch off Bloody Basin Road in Arizona.

OK – HAHWG stands for Hunting and Angling Heritage Work Group.  Attended by many wildlife groups, the focus of the meeting was how to grow your association, expand client base and increase volunteerism. As a WOMA board member and my husband is a board member of the Arizona Antelope Foundation, we decided to attend. All I can say is WOW! What excitement to move to the next steps.

My head is full of fabulous ideas. One of the agenda items that we can all use is keywords, phrases and positive messages specifically for the outdoors. There are a number of studies that have identified this information to grab the attention of the very people that will read your story, use your product or employ your services. These examples work for re-activating lapsed hunters, fishermen and others, as well as reaching people who are interested in the outdoors but haven’t taken the first step.

1. The following is taken from a Responsive Management Study: Developing  an integrated Marketing campaign to bring back Lapsed Hunters in Virginia: Identifying Words and Phrases that Work

- Safe

- Controlled Environment

- Building Memories

- Heritage

- Traditions

- Connect with Nature

- Quality Time

- Fun

- Get Away from it All

- Relaxing

- Excitement

- Family Activity

- Health and Lifestyle

- Character Developing

2. The following information is taken from: Meat and Meanings: Adult Onset Hunts’ Cultural Discourses of the Hunt, Master’s thesis, Tovar Cerulli, University of Massachusetts, 2011

Hunting, fishing, outdoor activities, are culturally significant because:

“they make you feel more connected”

“you get to “you get to know nature”

“it is primal, innate, a natural thing to do”

“it is spiritual’

“it builds camaraderie, sense of community, sharing, unifying”

“take your place as part of the natural cycle”

“gives connection with what you put into your body”

“of its renewable resource focus”

Underlying propositions:

- it’s good to feel connected to nature, it’s good to do natural things, it’s good to feel connected to other humans, and it’s good to feel connected to ancient heritage

3. Prominent Cultural Key Words and Phrases for Adult On-Set Hunters:

Connection/connected, relationship, nature/natural, land, responsibility/responsible, understanding/awareness, participate/ interact, respect/respectful, health/healthy, focused/engaged/alert, excitement/exciting, intensity/intense, challenge/challenging, powerful/deep, clean-kill/humane, pride/challenging, powerful, gratitude/thankful, and eat/food, wanting to eat good food.

And thanks to the 2012 Winter HAHWG Meeting for supplying all of this information and to Arizona Game and Fish for organizing the meeting. And to Doug and Craig for their outstanding leadership!

Click here for FaceBook Pictures!

Let’s all get on the positive side of neutral by considering these words for your written word or for the spoken word.

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New at SHOT 2012: The Baby UpLULA

Guy Tal, MagLULA LLC, holds his newest invention, the Baby UpLULA

Introduced at Media Day at SHOT 2012, the Baby UpLULA, developed by Guy Tal.  As we arrived at Media Day, we really didn’t know what we’d see, other than the usual plethora of gadgets, firearms, and various other “things” that might or might not make it big in 2012.  And then something caught my eye, like a shimmering new penny in a sea of asphalt – the UpLULA.  The UpLULA is a clever gadget that helps shooters load magazines quickly, easily and painlessly.  [Go to http://www.maglula.com/PistolMagLoaders/UpLULA9mmto45ACPmags.aspx and click "view demo"].  Inventor Ran Tal was manning his booth, and I couldn’t help but tell him how much I adore this product.  Yes ADORE.  After all, I am a delicate flower.  When Mr. Tal told me he was the inventor, well I nearly tripped all over myself to hug this man!  Sorry Mrs. Tal.

New at Media Day - the Baby UpLULA

UpLULA was started in 2001 by Ran and Guy (father and son) Tal with the invention of their MagLULA, which stands for Magazine Loading and Unloading Accessory.  Ran and Guy invented their LULA line, and maintain design, production, and quality control of the product in Israel.  We spoke with Guy about the newest product introduced at Media Day, the Baby UpLULA, specifically designed for .22 and .380 magazines.  I, for one, am extremely excited about this accessory, as I use .22s in my classes and some of the magazines, although spring-loaded and pegged for ease of use, aren’t so easy to load.  This will do nicely, thank you.

Of course, if it were pink….  I did ask Guy if there was a chance we could get it in pink.  I’m not sure he’s so keen on pink, but if there’s a market to sell to, I think he’d be all for it.  I think his words were “I’ll think about it.”  Hey, that’s a start!

Thanks Guy and Ran for a terrific product.  Stay tuned for a product review on just how well this Baby works!

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WOMA Booth A Big Hit at the 2012 Shot Show!

All I can say is WOW!  The Women’s Outdoor Media Association BOD members Deb Ferns and Melita Ellington did an outstanding job with our booth at the Shot Show.  We have been having a very successful week with meeting and greeting many of the folks that stopped by to chat and inquire about the WOMA mission of focusing on increasing media coverage of women who are active in traditional outdoor sports, especially shooting, hunting, fishing and archery.  It has also been a great week for attracting new sponsors for the WOMA!  If you are still at the show, drop by and see us!  We are on the 3rd floor, just across from the Press Room, a great location.

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Heartbeat of The WOMA – January 2012

The WOMA team has been working on arrangements for the 2012 SHOT Show since last spring.  Finally SHOT Show has arrived in Las Vegas.

The WOMA is in booth L344, which is on the 3^rd floor very close to the NSSF Pressroom. FYI – This is an excellent location as its located in a large lobby area so the hours and access to L344 are very “open” and you don’t have to have an exhibitor badge during the off hours.  To those members who have worked the booth and to our Veep Melita Ellington (Melita@theWOMA.com) for coordinating the schedule at the booth, a big THANK YOU!  Melita, besides being the Vice-President of the WOMA, is also the Membership Team Leader, and your help is much appreciated.

Again, because L344 is in the lobby area, we have been gathering members at the booth. This has been a great time for members to get to know each other. For me personally, it’s one of my favorite parts of SHOT Show; to meet new members of the WOMA and reestablish relationships with our alum!

In case you didn’t read the last couple of Heartbeat blogs then another SHOT Show “news flash” is that as a WOMA member (even if you aren’t attending SHOT Show) your flyer/brochure can be at the booth at no charge! Many of our members who weren’t attending shipped their flyers/brochures to me and they have been proudly displayed at our booth.  The Women’s Outdoor Media Association, theWOMA, is proud to represent you at SHOT Show and throughout the rest of the year including at the upcoming NRA convention in April.

My closing thought and prayer for us all in 2012 …REACH UP for something higher!  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path.” Proverbs 3.5-6

Deb Ferns
WOMA Chair

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Christmas in Austria

It’s almost time for Christmas Mass to start and my mouth is moving but nothing is coming out (keep in mind I don’t speak German and we’re in Austria for our biathlon training and races.) I look nervously to my left where an old lady has just moved into my pew and is sitting uncomfortably close. I keep mouthing words, repeat a few prayers I know and then recite a recipe I’d like to make if only there were ingredients for Mexican food in Europe. I look to my right and see the old man who is repeating the “Hail Mary’s”. This has been going on for some time now and I’m worried that my mouthing of words will not coincide with the “Hail Mary’s” that are being repeated in German. We arrived at church early so as to not make a scene being late, but I can’t help but feel our presence as foreigners has not slipped the attention of a few church goers. The old lady to my left looks at me. Oh no! She’s made me out as a fraud. I nervously lick my lips as my mouth takes a break from the muttering of random thoughts. I’m running out of things to mouth.

The old man is still going, his rosary moving at a rapid pace in his fingers. His voice sounds like a robot on a loud speaker, but it’s clearly coming out of this old Austrian man. The lady on my right moves a little closer to me. I’m thinking that I’m going to have to say something now because she’ll be able to hear that I’m not saying anything. Oh, why is she moving so close! I look around her and there’s an entire pew… and it’s empty. As I turn to face forward again I start mouthing words. “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art though close to old women, and blessed is the board that hits right at my shoulder blades that keeps me sitting up straight.” When I went to sit down upon arriving at church I leaned back and there, no more than 2 inches from the front of the pew, was a board that runs the full length and lands right at your shoulder blades. There’s no slouching here; I think of my mother and how she’s always trying to get us to sit up straight, and I smile. As I continue to silently mouth words, I look around the church.

When I walked into the church I took off my hat in respect, but now as I’m looking around the church I can see that a lot of women still donned theirs. But wait…women aren’t the only ones wearing hats, the young kids and men, young and old are wearing hats too. I look around and see that no one has even offered to take off their coats. Then I can clearly see why as I look around to every person and I can see their breath as they are whispering prayers. Yep, that’s right, churches in Europe are generally not heated and this one is no exception. Suddenly I’m aware of the cold as I look down at the skirt that I was so excited to wear. For one day I was allowed to wear something normal that didn’t say “Adidas” or have red, white, and blue. And now I am regretting it. I should have donned my warmest long underwear. Suddenly it occurs to me why this old lady has sat so close to me. She’s trying to stay warm. I look up and see little groups of people huddled together in their respective pews. I hunker down and put my hands in my pockets and am thankful that the Catholics spend so much time standing up, sitting down, standing up, kneel, repeat. At least there’s some calisthenics I can look forward to as a way to keep me warm.

Mass begins and the priest appears out of nowhere at the front of the church with 10 altar servers. Ha! No way! All the altar servers are wearing headbands and hats! This is too funny. Immediately as Mass starts I’m nervous again. I grew up going to Mass, so I should have it memorized by now, but when you attend one in a different language it’s hard to decipher the different parts. Suddenly I’m nervous that I’ll genuflect at the wrong time, or stand up at an inappropriate time, but then Lanny does that. Everyone kneels and Lanny stands. “She’s blown our cover,” I think to myself, but then I laugh, glad that it wasn’t me.

What comes next blows my mind as it’s the choir! They start singing and I’m left wondering if the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Boston Symphony Orchestra are jammed upstairs in the choir seating. It’s beautiful! And for such a small town to have such an amazing choir… I’m left in awe. I don’t want them to stop. What I really want to do is turn my head and stare and probably drool; these folks are that good. But instead I keep my head straight forward and try to mouth the words to songs I know in English, but are being sung instead in German.

Much to my disappointment the choir stops, and it’s time to kneel, but at least we’re moving. As I kneel down my knees hit a pine board and cracks loudly. I chalk that up to ‘old age’ and playing competitive soccer for much of my childhood and young adult life. But what really gets me is the comfort, or lack thereof, for these pews. Not only do you have to sit up straight as a board, you’re kneeling on one.

A bit later it’s time for the collection basket to be passed around. This I’m prepared for as before church Lanny and I both agreed to put in 5 euro a piece into the basket. It wasn’t much, but being on a tight budget, we thought that amount was pretty good. As the basket was being passed around I couldn’t help but notice what people were putting in. The lady in front of me put in 20 euro cents! “What!” I thought. “She’s sitting there in a North Face Jacket and all she can spare in 20 cents.” Of course I don’t want to judge because you don’t know anyone’s situation, but suddenly my 5 euros is seeming like a huge donation as I watch people put in 1 euro here and another euro there. My parents always taught me to be generous with my time and my money even if you don’t have a lot. And I have plenty of food on the table, clothes on my back, and nothing to complain about, so I proudly put in my 5 euro.

And then suddenly it’s time for communion and boy am I excited! Calisthenics and a walk! I might just warm up after all. The priest takes his place and people start pouring out of the pews, and in no particular order. At home an usher will go from row to row and that way you know when it’s your time to go, but this is a free-for-all. So, I get up and follow the old lady next to me. Surely she knows the ropes around here. I get communion and am rewarded again as this is one of the good biscuits! Not those stale ones we have at home. (I bet here they don’t buy in bulk. Heck, the local bakery probably makes these fresh.) I return to my seat and while we’re waiting for everyone else to finish with communion I have time to marvel at the church. Every European church I’ve been in has been amazingly ornate and beautiful and this church is no exception. It has marble columns, gold covered statues, paintings adorning the ceiling that look like Michelangelo himself painted them.

After communion Mass ends and the choir starts up again. Wow! Ear candy! They are so beautiful. The voices are in perfect pitch and the instruments, which include a trumpet, trombone, flute, tuba, and organ are perfectly in key. Suddenly Lanny is pushing me. I look over at her and say, “What!?” Then I notice there’s a line of people behind her and nearly the entire church has already cleared out. The choir has just started and already everyone bolted for the door. I can’t say I blame them, because I’m an ice cube after having sat in the cold church for an hour, but this is the kind of music that warms your soul. But there was no denying these people their exit, so I obliged and once I hit the door I run the couple blocks back to the hotel to get inside where it was warm.

Later that day Lanny and I go for a long ski. We start out at the Nordic trails and later work our way up a snow covered road deep in the mountains. As we ski along one of the trails I notice an old man shuffling up ahead of us. He’s wearing a wool hat, a brown suit jacket and slacks. Everything looks to be several sizes to big, and he’s clearly suffering as he does his best to glide his skis over the snow. As we approach the man stops and turns to look at us. “Is this for real?” He questions in what sounds like to me to be a British accent. “Are you really from the U.S.?” Then I remember the big letters across our back that spell USA and the red, white, and blue suits we are skiing in. “Yes,” we reply. Then the old man wipes sweat from his brow and asks “Where are you from?” We reply that we’re from Colorado and then he says “Oh, and what are you doing in this God-forsaken place?” I look up at the old man in surprise, “We’re here for biathlon.” I answer. “Oh,” he says, and before I even have time to respond to him he’s shuffling off down the trail, head down, and working hard.

I watch him go, curiously wondering what made him say this was a “God-forsaken place”, why anyone would say that about any place. This area was beautiful, not the most beautiful I’ve been in Europe, but still beautiful. The town was small, maybe 40 to 50 buildings with about a 100 residents. I’m left wondering why this man is so at odds with this little town in Austria and then I’m wondering what brought him here. He clearly didn’t have a German accent, and his English was flawless. I’d seen him almost every day out on the trails suffering away in his big brown jacket around the tracks. Curious…
Later in the ski we leave the groomed trails for a shortcut into the woods. We come around the corner and run into this guy (see picture). He’s a creepy monster carved out of a tree with arms made out of branches that could reach out and grab you, and a mouth that looks like prison bars. Have to admit that was a little un-nerving. It was like the horror part of an old fairy tale or that movie “Brother’s Grimm.” (We spent the rest of our ski with our eyes towards the woods searching out any other creepy tree figures, but none presented themselves.) Our ski took us on a windy trek high up in the mountains. We skied up and up and up until we decided that any higher and the decent might be a bit hairy. Well.. too late for that. Lanny and I weaved our way down the mountain with our hands waving wildly in the air and our mouths open. This time I didn’t have any trouble finding the words to mouth. A clear “Ahhhhhhhh” was coming out the whole way down the mountain as I screamed and my skis tried to find an edge. Well, I didn’t actually scream, because I’m too quiet of a person to scream, but there was a clear scream going on inside my head. We made it back to the hotel just in time for dinner.

That night we had dinner once again with the Japanese team and it was a great time. I went to bed full and content. I closed my eyes and thought about the day. What an experience, and one I’m thankful for. As my eyes closed and I neared sleep I repeated in my head everyone and everything I was thankful for; my family, my friends, my sponsors, my teammates, my experiences. My list goes on and on and I’m aware of the gratitude I feel towards everyone who has helped me. I feel that everything that I’ve done in life was because of someone or for someone. I’m very much a “people person” and a giver. I much prefer to give to someone else than to receive something from them. But it only makes me even more grateful when someone does something for me. So, for Christmas I want to thank everyone… you know who you are (and if you don’t and you know me, than you are one of those people)… who have made an impact on my life, no matter how small, for you I dedicate my efforts. For there are very few people I’ve met that haven’t impacted me in some way. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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Dr. Suzanna Hupp – From Luby’s to the Legislature

Long before September the 11^th, part of America’s innocence was shattered on October 16, 1991 in the central Texas town of Killeen.  At lunchtime a man drove his pickup truck through a window at a local cafeteria called Luby’s.  Twenty four people were murdered in cold blood by a deranged man who ended his life after the 15 minute rampage.  If the laws of the country supported Second Amendment rights, a patron named Suzanna Hupp might have changed history and stopped the deaths of the patron’s of Luby’s cafeteria.  In her book, “From Luby’s to the Legislature,” Suzanna Hupp defends the right for all people to carry a weapon.  She so believed in her cause she became a Representative in Texas.  The book details her life and her mission to change government.

I had the chance this past fall to meet Dr. Hupp and hear her powerful story.  She was the keynote speaker at the GeorgiaCarry.Org convention.  She commands your attention and if you get a chance, you should read her book, “From Luby’s to the Legislature.”  It’s a short read, and you will quickly find that you do not want to put the book down even for a minute. Read more

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Happy New Year from Bay Flats Lodge

Redhead landing in the Barrier Islands

All of us here at Bay Flats Lodge wish you and yours a Happy New Year and an even better 2012 fishing season. Remember to practice CPR, “Catch, Photo, and Release”, whenever possible on trophy Trout and Reds…Guide Chris Martin, member of the WOMA, www.BayFlatsLodge.com

Bay Flats retriever decked out for his airboat ride to the blind

Bay Flats Retriever bringing in the harvest

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What a way to closeout 2011!

Looking for some fun n’ gun stuff on New Years eve, a few gals from the Leander and San Antonio chapters of A Girl and A Gun Women’s Shooting League, ventured out to Best of the West Shooting Sports in Liberty Hill TX to participate in a 2 Gun  match put on by Texas Multigun.  We found some fun n’gun, but most of all we found run n’ gun!

I personally have shot one USPSA match and one multigun match. (Not much running in IDPA, I like that)  The running part kind of freaks me out a little bit because I have this idea I might look silly.  Well I got over it!  First stage of the day I took off like I was being chased and discovered that is ok for pistol shooting, but when I picked up my rifle I had a hard time catching my breath…. dam!  New Years resolution #1… do some cardio.

Bobbi (San Antonio Facilitator) was by the far the most prepared gal, this was her first 2 gun match, but being a seasoned USPSA shooter/RO this chick knows her way around her pistol and rifle.  She brought with her a member of her chapter Alejandra, which by the way was her very first match… ever!  Alejandra did great, she took it at her own pace, focusing more on the how too instead of the do it really fast.  We decided she is our poster girl for AG & AG, just get out there and try it!

Members of our Board of Directors Stela & Renee also came out, and together we had an awesome time.  We sure did learn alot about our gear (we are resisting the urge for another shopping trip, have to wait just a bit longer) and of course time to hang out with some of the friendliest shooters in Texas.  A big thank you to our squad mates and ROs from Dreadnaught Industries, thanks for you help and friendship!

Another accomplishment for us girls… we all came without our husbands and lived to tell about it.

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