What’s Slick Out on a Hunt? Gun Slicker!

By Karla Ledom

At Shot Show 2011, I visited the Alpine Products booth and was bedazzled by their new offering: the Gun Slicker. This gun garment is self contained – folding out of its carrying bag which doubles as the muzzle cover. Numerous times I’ve needed to protect a gun from the elements. In fact, I had just returned from a Texas hunting trip where I rode on the back of a 4-wheeler, gun strapped to my back, muzzle stuck in my coat’s arm and the rest of the coat wrapped around it. It worked, but the makeshift-hillbilly design lacked any sense of sophistication. Besides, I was cold while my rifle was snugly dust free.

Wow! How exciting to see a gun cover that may suit my needs! So when an unexpected New Mexico bear hunt came up with my friends Pat Hendrixson and John Hein, Gun Slicker rode along in my pack.

A never-ending drought plagued so much of the country in 2011 and New Mexico suffered along with numerous other states. When we arrived there in August, the seasonal monsoons gave a tremendous break for humans, plants, and critters. Small pop-up storms on a daily basis gave us little concern, but Gun Slicker still accompanied me.  After several days of hunting, John and I requested to be dropped off for the day at a mountain site that we liked. Whiling away the hours, I sat in a likely-looking spot while John went off to scout and spot. Toward the afternoon he came back and as we were sharing a snack, the sky darkened for the afternoon storm. We didn’t think about too much cover, given the previous days’ brief storms. They only lasted a few minutes. We’d be fine.

When the rain started we scooted under a little pine tree and were relatively dry…..for a while. As the storm continued without sign of stopping, I put Gun Slicker to work on my rifle. John stuck his rifle down his Frogg Toggs’ pants leg which certainly was not comfortable, but it worked in keeping his gun dry. The storm’s intensity grew, dumping rain down upon us. The temperature dropped, then the hail started. My rain gear had been working ok but water began finding its way past snaps and buttons. Crouched in a fetal position over my pack to keep it dry, I began shivering.

I knew the storm would eventually pass and we weren’t going to expire in that short of time, but boy howdy was I uncomfortable. Then I remembered the space blanket in my pack. WooHoo! I drug it out and threw it over John and me. He dug out his space blanket and covered our packs. We were set for the rest of the show. Now protected from Niagara Falls and with appendages warming, we peeked out every now and then to see if it was letting up. There sat my .300 WinMag like a sentry, propped up on its rest, Gun Slicker keeping it dry. Once the storm passed, we uncovered ourselves and the guns. Both guns fared better than the hunters. They were bone dry thanks to Frogg Toggs and Gun Slicker.

Due to that trip experience, Pat and John got Gun Slickers for their gear bags and I purchased several more for my various hunting packs.  At this year’s Shot Show, Dave Poppleton showed me the next model: a camo version made with silent fabric called Stealth-X. It’s due to be out in a month or so. I’ve added that item to this year’s Kar-Must-Have list.

Thanks Alpine!

Kim Rhode Named USA Shooting’s 2011 Female Athlete of the Year

The WOMA would like to congratulate Kim Rhode (El Monte, Calif.) for being named USA Shooting’s 2011 Female Athlete of the Year. She has risen above the rest and has handfuls of hardware as a result of her impressive performance on the international and national scene in 2011.

Rhode, a Women’s Skeet athlete, is the reigning Female Athlete of the Year and has held the prestigious title for the past four years. “I’m honored to be selected as Female Athlete of the Year. I’m training hard and looking forward to the 2012 Olympic Games,” said an elated Rhode. After a fifth place finish at the ISSF World Cup Chile, Rhode won a gold medal in Sydney, securing her U.S. Olympic Team nomination (pending approval by the USOC). Rhode’s won another medal at the ISSF World Cup in Beijing-a silver medal from the range where she won her 2008 Olympic silver medal.

Back stateside, Rhode etched her name yet again in the Sizemore trophy with another National Championship title. She concluded the year with a bronze medal at the ISSF World Clay Target Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, and her first ISSF World Cup Final gold medal in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. “This is an exciting time for me,” said Rhode. “I’m honored to receive this Athlete of the Year award and appreciate the support of my great sponsors who share in this honor with me.” Rhode is well on her way to achieving her next goal of accomplishing five individual Olympic medals in five consecutive Olympic Games. If she accomplishes that feat, she will add her name to the history books yet again.

Membership Renewals

If you received an email from Paypal today saying that the Women’s Outdoor Media Association had cancelled your automatic payments, don’t be alarmed.  Maybe you didn’t even realize you had signed up for this service.  We have had quite a few members contact us who weren’t aware that they had signed up until their credit card was charged.  We don’t want to do business this way, so we have cancelled all existing automatic payment profiles on our Paypal account.

We will be sending out an email with renewal instructions approximately 30 days before your membership is due to expire.  We hope you will like this method much better!  If you do want to continue renewing your membership automatically through Paypal, please let us know by sending an email to Cindy@thewoma.com.

Women of USA Shooting Leading the Field at the U.S. Olympic Team Airgun Trials

The leaders have emerged from the first part of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Airgun at the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) South Marksmanship Center in Anniston, Ala.  The scores from the first part will be combined with those of the second part, which will be held the CMP’s North Marksmanship Center in Camp Perry, Ohio from Feb. 23-26.  Olympic Team selection will be based on the aggregate of four courses of fire and two best finals.

Sarah Scherer (Woburn, Mass.) and Emily Caruso (Fairfield, Conn.) are deadlocked at 898 aggregate points in Women’s 10m Air Rifle.  Oddly enough in a game of tenths, both scored a best final of 104 points.  Jamie Gray (Lebanon, Pa.) is in third place with 896.2 aggregate points.  Gray fired 397 points the second match day to stay in the race at only 1.8 points behind.

In Women’s 10m Air Pistol, Sandra Uptagrafft (Phenix City, Ala.) is ahead of the competition with 859.5 aggregate points, nearly twenty points ahead of the competition.  Darian Shenk (Annville, Pa.) is in the second position with 839.6 aggregate points.  Kylie Gagnon (Bozeman, Mont.)  jumped up a few places for an aggregate of 836.2 points.

Chris Martin – WOMA Member

Witnessing Capt. Chris Martin strategically maneuver a slow-moving top water bait over a calm Espiritu Santo flat at sunrise, one could never imagine Chris having lived anywhere else other than the Texas coastal area. That’s right, Chris is originally from North Carolina, but his family relocated to Victoria, Texas, while he was still young. As a result, Chris has been fortunate enough to have been fishing Texas Gulf Coast waters, all the way from the Galveston Bay system to the San Antonio Bay system, since the young age of eight years old.

Chris attended St. Thomas University, and later moved on to work 20 years in sales and marketing. It was at this point that Chris decided it was time for him to chase his life-long goal, to pursue his passion and love for wade fishing and casting artificial lures.

Today, Capt. Chris Martin, and his wife Deb, permanently reside in Seadrift, Texas, where they have begun to place the finishing touches on what was once only a dream. They are the proud owners and operators of Bay Flats Lodge, which overlooks the pristine waters of San Antonio Bay.

Captain Chris is a contributing writer for the Salty Angler Magazine, and has written for Sporting Classics Magazine. He also writes for the Dolphin Talk Newspaper.

Sponsored by Majek Boats, American Airboats, Shoalwater Boats, Waterloo rods, Texas Tackle Factory Lures, Mercury Pro Saltwater Team, Power Pole, Simms waders, Costa Del Mar, Footcush.

 

Heather Downie – WOMA Member

Heather Downie was previously a writer, producer and assignment editor for ABC News, where she worked on segments for “Nightline,” “World News,” “20/20,” and “Good Morning America.” Before that, she worked as a story coordinator on pilots for Discovery TV and as a script analyst for National Geographic Feature Films. Downie has reported for a number of domestic and international media outlets, including The Phnom Penh Post in Cambodia and The Cape Times in South Africa.

Meg Guegan – WOMA Member

Meg Guegan is the Director of Communications for the NRA Office of Advancement. Meg has more than 20 years of professional experience in communications, with a particular expertise in new media. Since joining the NRA staff in 2006, Meg has directed the activities of the Advancement Communications Department and she is the Editorial Director of the award-winning Ring of Freedom magazine. Meg previously served as Director of Information Technology at the Propane Education & Research Council and in various communications roles at McKinsey & Company and G.I. Global, Inc.

She holds a B.A. in Studio Art from Sweet Briar College and an M.A. in English from George Mason University. A member of the Daughters of American Revolution, Safari Club International, Ducks Unlimited, and the National Rifle Association, Meg enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters, traveling and cooking.

 

Joyce Wilson – WOMA Member

Joyce Wilson hopped out of the four-wheeler and sprinted over to the group of shooters on Bay 6.  “Hey, welcome to the inaugural IDPA World Championship.  Are you guys staying hydrated?  Do you need more water?”  The blonde sprite spent more than a week doing the same thing on every bay – trying to reach out to every shooter at the World match and getting as much feedback from them as she could process.

Wilson, the Executive Director (ED) of the International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA), has put a new face on the sport.  As a former IDPA National High Lady, she empathized with shooters spending their day in the hot sun of Florida for the thrill of shooting the match.  “As the Executive Director of IDPA,  I basically run the day-to-day operations of the organization as well as essentially guide the overall direction.  I try to always look at the big picture, while keeping the details in mind.  I think this helps me see the overall course of fire when I’m shooting a match.  I’m glad I was an active competitive shooter before coming to IDPA and it gave me a good idea what the sport was about.”

Her path to owning a gun is one familiar to many women who embrace  shooting as a means of dealing with stress.  “In 1994, while working as an Audiologist in a steel mill in West Virginia, I went through a pretty bad divorce where I was afraid for my safety.  A patient of mine who happened to be a friend suggested that I take the handgun safety class he taught so I could obtain my concealed carry permit.  After taking the class, I found out how much I enjoyed shooting and began competing to learn more handgun skills.  I started with USPSA as IDPA had not been developed yet.  However, as soon as IDPA was started, I was completely hooked.  My original IDPA number was 448.”    Wilson  may have begun shooting as a safety precaution – “ In the beginning, it was really important that I could protect and take care of myself; I appreciated not feeling like a sheeple anymore” – but now the big attraction is social camaraderie.

Editor’s note:  Joyce Wilson – as excerpted from an article written by Kitty Richards

steeltowngirl@gmail.com

315.399.8499

Laurie Lee Dovey – WOMA Member

Laurie Lee Dovey is a highly awarded writer and photographer. During her 26-year journalistic career, she has had more than 1,600 magazine articles and hundreds of images published in the outdoor recreation and golf industries. She has also served as a magazine editor, columnist and photographer, newspaper columnist, television scriptwriter and video series host talent. She also served as the equipment editor for Golf Illustrated magazine for 10 years.

In addition to her freelance work, Dovey is currently the profiles editor for the National Rifle Association’s America’s 1st Freedom magazine, a featured writer for OutdoorHub.com, executive director of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and committed mentor.

Dovey is also a sought-after speaker on all aspects of journalism, photography, and media relations. She has consulted to dozens of companies, helping them work more effectively with the media. In addition, she has presented communications-based workshops at colleges, high schools and for journalism and photography groups. She helps workshop attendees circumvent the school-of-hard-knocks learning curve. Utilizing her formula for success, many want-to-be writers and photographers are now media professionals.

Dovey is an avid hunter, angler, RVer and golfer.

 

Kate Krueger – WOMA Member

Kate has a strong firearms and martial arts background.  Although she was not brought up around firearms, her fighting spirit eventually brought her to that next logical step.  She is an NRA Instructor and a certified Arizona Concealed Carry instructor as well.  Her thirst for knowledge has led her to training facilities around the country, Smith & Wesson, Lethal Force Institute (now Massad Ayoob Group), Chapman Academy, Gunsite to name a few.  Isshin Ryu was her style of choice in martial arts but she has continued to add to that background with ground fighting, hand to hand, weapon retention and other variants of weapon and empty hand techniques.  Through martial arts and shooting competitions over the years she honed her skills.

Kate is very passionate about the United States of America and all it stands for particularly the 2nd Amendment and our Constitution.  Her skill set and passion came together in 1992 when she ran for US Senate in NH as a Libertarian candidate.  It also sparked an early interest in the power of radio. Today she brings all that passion and skill together for you with Talking Guns!!!

 

 

Next Page »