Yippee, Yahoo… We Are A Little Excited Too!

At the recent Shot Show, held in Las Vegas, one of the evening highlights is always the Outdoor Channel awards event.  Every year the tickets for this event are hard to come by, so when you land some then you get to join about 2,500 other folks at the Hard Rock theater.  This year our Babes with Bullets team was invited to sit in the VIP section (YIPPEE) as we were nominated for “Best Online Series.”  We were joined there by Todd Merkow, President of Outdoor Channel digital and his wife, Lisa, who is also a Babes alum.  The hosted bar and dinner was enjoyed by all, along with laughter and applause for a variety of awards, my second favorite award being for “Best Blooper” (now come on…who doesn’t love a good blooper?)

My first favorite award has to been when Todd took the stage and announced the nominations for “Best Online Series” followed by saying the magic words “the winner of Best Online Series is Babes with Bullets.” (YAHOO!) I do remember thundering applause with multiple whoops and hollers coming from the audience; which later I found out was probably generated by our sponsors and fans from OTIS Technology along with several of our camp alum. I remember going up to the stage with Kay and Lisa, accepting the award, and saying a few words at the microphone.  (Actually I don’t know what I said but I was told that I was short winded for a change.) Kay then thanked our Foundation sponsor Smith & Wesson, as without their financial support, along with providing the camp with firearms, Babes with Bullets would not be entering its eighth year.  I remember Lisa thanking our campers, after all camps are for them and about them.  Then we were whisked back stage for an interview and photos. We came back to our table just about the time the last awards were being announced. The rest of the evening was a wonderful time of being congratulated by friends and meeting many new people related to the outdoor industry as well.

If there was an unfortunate part to this event it’s that our head camera gal and editor, Marilyn Vogel of ProVideos4U, was not at SHOT Show with us this year.  This award is being shipped to her; after all without the “magic” that she creates with viewing and editing hundreds of hours of tape, we wouldn’t have any webisodes to offer up.  And I never did make it back to thank Todd  Merkow for his support over the last two years and for providing a home for our Babes with Bullets webisodes which are located at OutdoorChannel.com/BabeswithBullets.  I’d also be remiss in not sending out a thank you to Jared Gustafson, our Outdoor Channel producer, for the extra things he does for our webisodes.

The day after the awards event, Friday, was the last day of SHOT Show and Outdoor Channel hosted us at their “Celebrity Big Shots” booth that afternoon.  They provided trading cards for us to autograph and we enjoyed having the opportunity to meet with several fans of our series and even pass out flyers about the 2012 camp schedule, which is also available at BabeswithBullets.com. Upon arriving home from SHOT Show 2012, I was tired and elated for both the success of the Women’s Outdoor Media Association, which our booth was very busy with many new members and sponsor requests, and the success of Babes with Bullets.

So Yippee, Yahoo and we can’t wait until SHOT Show 2013!

On the Road in Rhodes Greece – IPSC World Shoot XVI

Here’s an update from WOMA member Kay Miculek on her arrival in Rhodes, Greece.  Kay and fellow WOMA members Lisa Munson and Athena Lee are part of the United States Women’s Team competing in the championship:

We made it to Rhodes without too much trouble. Getting the guns through the Athens airport was a hassle, but compared to the travel problems other US shooters had (and are still having), we made it fine.

Our one full day in Athens was just right.  The Acropolis was amazing, but packed with tourists. It would have been great if all those people would go home!  We’re now in our villa on Rhodes, it’s great. We are well outside of the tourist areas and this place is just what I had in mind when I think of Greece. The home owner told us about a couple of really neat family run restaurants that the locals patronize. These places are located in these very narrow “streets” and don’t start serving until 7:30 pm.  They put tables and chairs up right in the street. You often have people walking by, and there’s the occasional scooter passing by the table. We haven’t had a meal yet where we didn’t have a cat watching and waiting for a handout. (The cats are very well behaved. They just sit and wait patiently.)

The Opening Ceremonies are tonight. Looks like it’s going to be a very big event. The Phil Harmonic Orchestra will be performing! Nothing says “Greek” like the Phil Harmonic Orchestra!? The only problem is, I don’t think any Greeks own watches. The match booklet says the Opening Ceremony starts at 16:00 hr, but then we were told it will be more like 18:00 hr.. If you ask any of the match officials, they say it will be between 16:00 hr and 18:00 hr, probably. I guess we’ll split the difference and show up around 17:00 hr..

Everyone shoots for five days and has one day off. Athena and I have tomorrow, the first day of the match, off. I was pretty bummed about that because I’m ready to shoot something! But this morning I managed to book a dive for Lena and I tomorrow. That should be a highlight of the trip.

Guess that’s it for now.  I’ll let you gals know how the shooting goes in a couple of days.

Lisa Learns to Roller Ski!

Lanny & Tracey Barnes (WOMA members and Olympic Biathletes) attended a recent Babes with Bullets camp in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  The twin sisters “roller ski” to stay in shape for their 2014 Olympic quest.  Here they are showing Lisa Munson, our Babes instructor, how to roller ski.  I suggested we start Lisa at the top of the hill and just push her on the roller skis to go down; we’d catch her at the bottom.  No one thought that was a good idea except me.   As you can see in this photo they all survived the lesson just fine!

Babes at Bondurant

Babes with Bullets® is an organization that believes in providing women the opportunity to experience soft adventure. To allow them to step outside of their comfort zones through a safe and fun firearms training camp. Periodically the Babes instructors also get the opportunity to have a little fun!

Hi, I’m Debbie Keehart, one of the Babes with Bullets ® instructors. After our November ladies pistol camp in Mesa, Ariz., we got to experience one of those little adventures! Through the amazing coordination skills of our beloved Camp Coordinator Deb Ferns and the Bondurant Media Relations Manager Eric Tunell, Kay Miculek, Lisa Munson and I got to race shifter karts at the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving in Phoenix.

Now I’ve done quite a bit of high speed off road driving and some go-cart racing, but these shifter karts were the coolest, with a max speed of about 100 mph! They sit about four inches off the ground with no side panels, so you really feel the speed and the power! Awesome!

Bondurant’s Chief Instructor, Mike McGovern, explained the function of the karts and gave us some interesting information on the school and past students. Would you believe an 85-year-young lady took one of Bondurant’s multi day courses? Bet she put “The Little Old Lady from Pasadena” to shame!

After hearing that story, I was more than ready to drive these high speed 125cc SuperKarts! Now, you don’t just jump in and take off. First you go through a briefing on how to get in and out of the kart. You learn about the gas, brake and shifter. But we all know the best way to learn something is to practice. So, that is what came next!

We were fitted with jackets, gloves, head socks (for cleanliness), helmets and neck rolls. Then taken out to the track to suit up and sized up for the karts! Extra seat cushions were needed so we could comfortably reach the foot peddles. With a push start from our instructors, the karts were fired up and we gently rolled on to the track to practice shifting. Down the straight-a-way and back up we went. Shifting through gears 1thru 6 and back down again. We were now ready for lesson two!

One of our handsome driving coaches got in his kart and had the three of us ladies follow him like ducklings following a mama duck. Around the track we went learning the best line to drive. One by one we were allowed to go ahead on our own. After a few warm up laps, we were starting to rock n roll! There was no waving of a green flag or a flashing green light; but, I think when I put the “peddle to the metal” and flew by Kay, she and Lisa realized the race was on!

The track had a variety of turns and twists to test any driver’s skills. Every lap we made we learned how to drive a faster smoother line. Less braking and more shifting. At this point you are probably wondering about spinning out or crashing – there was no crashing, but there were a few spin-outs. No worries, the car just spins a little and the motor cuts off. You stay in your cart until one of the nice gentlemen comes to push start you and sends you back on your way. I do have to admit, that when we drove by someone after a spin-out, we would wave at each other! I’m guessing that’s a pretty girlie thing to do! However, we thought it was a good way to say “Don’t worry I see you and I won’t crash into you!”

Like anything else, all good things must come to an end. Before we knew it, we were being waived back to the pits to leave our SuperKarts for another day. One word of caution when leaving the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving; you will have this overwhelming desire to mash down on the gas peddle of your personal vehicle and race home! Please follow the speed limit and drive home safely! The orange cones on the street probably mean road construction and not where to make your high speed turn!

Kay, Lisa and I shared our track experience all the way home that night and the following days. We encourage all of you to test your skills on the track too!!

Many Thanks to:

Deb Ferns – Our Babes with Bullets ® Coordinator who broke her ankle just a few days beforehand and had to forego the racing but was a trooper none the less.

Jaci Janes – Our photographer.

Eric Tunell – Bondurant’s Media Relations manager for allowing us the special class and to do this media piece.

Mike McGovern – Chief Instructor at Bondurant for sharing his knowledge of the SuperKarts and the various driving classes offered.

Brand Arter – Sale Representative at Bondurant for his guidance and direction.

For more information on the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving contact:

www.Bondurant.com

Brandon Arter

Sale Representative

barter@bondurant.com

1800 652.KART (5278)

Lisa Munson — Member of the Women’s Outdoor Media Association

Lisa has been a senior instructor with the Babes with Bullets™ Ladies Action Shooting Camps since 2003. This has been a very positive and supportive program for women who are entering the firearm community, with approximately 1,000 women having now attended. Prior to this she was an instructor for five years with the NSSF Media Program, founded by Michael Bane. This program was instrumental in providing antigun-biased journalists a positive exposure to firearm.

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Babes with Bullets™ starts sixth year of camps

The Babes with Bullets ™ program kicked off its sixth year at the home range of head instructor, Kay Miculek of Princeton, La., in early April.  The ladies action shooting program has been underwritten by Smith & Wesson since 2004 and recently OTIS Technology joined as a Platinum Sponsor. The 3 day immersion program, with more than 1,200 alumnae,  offers the opportunity for novice women to be taught by female handgun champions.  The camp also offers additional training for women entering into competitive shooting events.  Babes with Bullets™ will be hosting its first Pacific Northwest event at the Albany Rifle & Pistol Club south of Portland, Oregon, in late June.  There are additional camps being held throughout 2010, including the launch of Babes with Bullets Part 2 – The Rifle being held in November. For more information or to register for a future camp visit www.BabeswithBullets.com

Women making a mark at USPSA Area 6

The United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) divides the nation into eight different areas and each area hosts its own championship. These action-packed competitions are the sport’s premiere matches. Many draw from more than just their resident competitors. Area 6, the Southeast region, is one of these area championships. Hosted by the South River Gun Club, the competition has always been among the best. Honestly, this match could be a national level championship. There are certainly enough competitors. A whopping 380+ shot the match this year!

There are some matches where you see just a handful of women on the range. Not the case with Area 6! At the helm,  a woman who wears so many hats, The WOMA’s Cindy Noyes, was once again the match director. There were women working at every level, from Chief Range Officer Beth Wingfield and 15 lady range officers (including The WOMA’s own Melita Sims Ellington) to seven women serving roles in Stats and Registration. Thank you, ladies, for all your hard work!

Women represented every level of competition, from national champion shooters to junior ladies just making their marks in USPSA. While competing on Friday, I had a chance to catch up with Kay Miculek and Lisa Munson, who were fresh off teaching yet another successful Babes With Bullets (TM) Ladies Action Shooting Camp. I also got to meet Katie Harris and Tierani Hendrix, two talented young ladies competing in Production Division.  I just love seeing all the  junior females participating in the sport!

Here’s a video from the 2010 USPSA Area 6 match demonstrating the wide variety of stages that were both challenging and a blast to shoot.

There’s no doubt that Area 6 is a match you don’t want to miss on the circuit. It’s a huge success on so many levels. The match has excellent leadership, and the dedication from the hardworking women who serve on the staff is impressive.  Pair that with the wonderful and diverse group of women who compete, and Area 6 is one competition where women truly make a mark.

For more on the match and photos, please visit the Women of USPSA Blog and my personal blog.

Chair Deb Ferns reports from Iditarod

This week, our Deb and an entourage that includes other members of  The WOMA (Marilyn Vogel, Kay Clark Miculek and Lisa Munson) are headed to Anchorage, Alaska for the 2010 Iditarod.  Deb will be sharing her adventure through video with readers of her column, Outside My Comfort Zone, over at The Women’s Outdoor News. We’re looking forward to the updates and hearing all about the trip when the women of The WOMA return.

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