Baby, It’s COLD Outside! 2011 IDPA Indoor Nationals

 

With nearly a foot of snow on the ground, the 2011 IDPA Indoor Nationals was the place to be.  Viewing Stages 1 and 2 from the Smith & Wesson Shooting Center’s viewing gallery located inside the firearm giant’s Springfield, Massachusetts’ retail store was much warmer than the 30 degree weather outside.  For this Southerner, I’ll take the inside, thank you.  Read more

Membership has its privileges

If you’re over the age of 40, you probably remember the commercial tagline for American Express–”Membership has its privileges.”  I can personally attest that membership in the Women’s Outdoor Media Association has ITS privileges, too. Read more

Julie Goloski-Golob on the cover of The Blue Press

The WOMA’s Julie Goloski-Golob, Captain of the Smith & Wesson Shooting Team, is the “cover girl” on the February 2011 issue of The Blue Press, published by Dillon Precision Products. The Blue Press is a combination magazine and catalog, mailed to a sizable subscription base. Read more

Venison faux pho

My name is Julie and I am addicted to pho. I could eat it every day. For those of you who haven’t had it, pho is a Vietnamese rice noodle soup. There are lots of variations but my favorite is a beef broth version with shavings of sirloin. So, I know what you’re thinking. Beef noodle soup? She’s a beef noodle soup junkie? Ah, but there is so much more to it than that! Pho is to the Vietnamese like a secret marinara sauce is to an Italian family. Recipes are guarded and competition is fierce among pho restaurants.

Living in northeastern Montana does not allow me to fulfill my pho cravings, unless of course I make it. Even then I don’t have all the necessary ingredients or time to make authentic pho. Still, I’ve been on a mission to make the best faux pho I can with what I happen to have quite a bit of—venison. This week I made my best bowl EVER with pronghorn steak! Here’s the recipe . . .

Broth:

In a large pot, add two 32-oz. cartons of 98% fat free beef broth. To give it that authentic flavor add four star anise “stars,” one inch of ginger root, sliced thinly and one packet of Gia Vi Nau Pho spice. You can find the spice at Amazon. A bit of advice on these packets—DO NOT OPEN. I learned this the hard way and had some gritty soup the first time. I have found I get enough flavor if I just drop it in as is. Cover and cook on high. When it boils, drop the heat down so that it’s still very hot but not at a full-on boil.

Rice Noodles:

I like to cook these while the broth is heating. I use the flat, fat ones that look like fettuccini. You can find them in Asian grocery stores, or if you are super lucky your local store has them. I have also used ramen noodles when desperate but this is NOT ideal. The directions on the package for the noodles are pretty simple. When finished, just strain out the water and let sit.

Garnishes:

Chop up a bunch of fresh cilantro. Mint and Asian basil are common pho garnishes, but I can never get them at my grocery store so it’s cilantro for me. Next chop some green onions. Red onions also work well, but be sure to slice thinly if you use these. Quarter a lime and then set all this aside. If you can get fresh bean sprouts (rare for me) I suggest washing/rinsing a pile and placing them on a plate with the limes.

Meat:

Once the veggies are done it’s time to slice the meat. The goal is to slice it as thinly as possible so that it cooks in the broth upon first contact. Due to the high protein content, venison is most tender when it’s cooked hot and fast, which is one of the reasons I really like it in pho. How thin is thin? Paper is ideal but nothing over 1/16 of an inch.

Plating:

This recipe makes two large bowls (think medium-size mixing bowls) or four appetizer-size servings. Divide rice noodles and place at the bottom of each bowl. Next in the bowls, distribute the cilantro and onions. The meat goes on top of all this. I like to spread the meat out so that it all cooks evenly and instantly upon contact with the broth. Finally take a soup ladle and add very hot broth (key word: VERY) to each bowl. Fill with enough broth to cover the meat to fully cook it.

Personalizing your pho:

Bean sprouts, limes to fresh squeeze and additional herbs like mint and Asian basil are common add-ins. Putting these on a plate in the middle of the table allows everyone to make a bowl of pho just the way they like it. Oh, and don’t forget the Sriracha!

Enjoy!

Join Veep Melita Ellington at upcoming AR-15 camp in Louisiana

At first, I just couldn’t see myself shooting an AR-15.  Those are some pretty mean looking rifles, and I tend to gravitate towards the more delicate firarms … you know, pistols and pretty shotguns.  Well, the more I thought about it, the more I realized I should step outside MY comfort zone and attend the newest Babes with Bullets^TM camp — Rifle 101. Read more

Julie Goloski-Golob signs publishing contract

The WOMA member and Smith & Wesson Pro Shooting Team Captain Julie Goloski-Golob is writing a how-to book for aspiring shooters—and current shooting enthusiasts who want to hone their skills.

Skyhorse Publishing of New York has tentatively scheduled Julie’s first book for an October 2011 release. The working title is Shoot! A Guide to Shooting and Competition, but Julie cautioned that this may change. “The title isn’t set in stone but it describes the book well and it’s a bit catchy. It’s what we are calling my project at the moment,” she said with a laugh. Read more

Julie Goloski Golob wins two titles at World Speed Shooting Championships

Team Smith & Wesson Captain Julie Goloski Golob racked up two more championship wins at a recent match.

Julie took the Ladies Production World Champion and Ladies Limited World Champion trophies at the Steel Challenge World Speed Shooting Championships in Piru, California, August 18-22. Read more

Even the Squirrels Knew

Call it animal instincts, or call it nuts (no pun intended), but on a recent Squirrel Safari to a pecan grove in Miami, Okla., the bushy-tailed creatures had to sense their demise with the very presence of all the Smith & Wesson handguns and Thompson Center rifles and shotguns carried by the various outdoor writers on this expedition. Read more

WOMA Veep attends Irlene Mandrell Shoot 2010

The place to be this summer for shooting sporting clays for charity was Seven Springs Mountain Resort.  The four-season resort played host to the 2010 Irlene Mandrell Shoot, which chose to honor the late Irby Mandrell at this year’s event.  The charity event is held each year to raise funds for Boy Scouts of America and Wish Upon a Star, two foundations very close to Irlene Mandrell’s heart.  And while this year’s event had a bittersweet air to it, its significance was just as important.

Brian and I traveled to Seven Springs Mountain Resort, located about an hour southeast of Pittsburgh, to participate in the festivities and challenging sporting clay course.  Mike Mohr, Sporting Clays Director, took us on a tour of the newly designed 24-stand sporting clay course, and 12-stand sub-gauge course.  It’s an unbelievably beautiful course set in the pristine woodlands of southern Pennsylvania.  Mike was hired by resort owner Bob Nutting to design the course, and has maintained a level of excellence — from the very best equipment to the highest quality personnel.  Mike is a details guy, and the Sporting Clays course is an example of his dedication and commitment to producing the very best day out on the course.

Kids’ Day

Excitement was in the air as kids of all ages came from near and far to experience shooting sports, archery and even a little fly fishing.  Well, almost fly fishing!  Seven Springs Mountain Resort held Kids’ Day at their hangar, which was the previous runway for private aircraft.  It has since been turned into different facilities, including, for this event, a small shooting range, an archery range and a fly casting area.  Re-purposing at its best, if you ask me!

Once kids registered and got arm bands, they were gathered together for a safety meeting.  Each kid received a shooter’s bag, t-shirt and ball cap, and then headed off to experience each event.  Members of the FBI were on site as well to fingerprint and take pictures of kids for identification purposes.  This is a program called the National Child Identification Program.

The day proved to be a hot one, with temperatures soaring into the 90s, which is quite abnormal for the mountains of Pennsylvania, but the kids met the challenge head on and those that had never tried certain sports were eager to get lessons from instructors ready to teach the youngsters.  Tim Case, founder of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Archery Club, brought a number of small compound bows to teach the youngsters.  Sisters Sydney Petz (age 9) and Mackenzie Petz (age 7) found it difficult to leave the archery station to try the other events.  Both had a natural talent for the sport.

The same was true for Kaitlyn Karrenbauer.  Her bow, the Pink Genesis by Mathews, was a small compound bow with a 12 pound pull — just the right size for a youngster like Kaitlyn, who made the sport even more fashionable by wearing the most adorable blinged-out sunglasses.  My kind of gal!  Kaitlyn even showed sisters Allison and Megan the ropes at the archery station.

Farther down at the Smith & Wesson station, eight-year-old Misty Holloway let everyone know she wasn’t afraid to get down and handle the M&P 15/22 like a pro.  Misty and family came to the event from North Carolina, and this was her second time shooting.  She listened intently as Tom Yost gave careful step by step instruction on where to aim and how to gently squeeze the trigger.  She did a great job.

A group of first-time shooters from nearby Windber and Johnstown, Penn., included 10-year-old Ashton White, 13-year-old Morgan Cowder and 14-year-old Kayla Reynolds.  Each took a turn and had a great time at the event.

Eleven-year-old Chantelle Hutchens, who attended the event last year, was ready to show how much she had improved since last year.  Mom Erica believes that shooting sports are great for girls to give them self esteem and confidence.  She is hopeful that Chantelle will try out for her school’s rifle team in the coming years.

The final event of the day was the fly-fishing event.  Kids were given a casting rod with line and shown how to fly cast continuously until their line reached a large hoop on the ground.  The youngest attendee, 2-1/2-year-old Madison Petz, told everyone, “I fishing!”  Parents Jon and Stacey looked on excitedly and were glad they had brought the girls to the events.

Kids’ day turned out to be more like Girls’ Day!

Still Daddy’s Little Girls

You may know them from their country music hits.  Or their hit television variety show in the ’80s.  But what you may not know is that the Mandrell sisters share something very special — a love for shooting sports.  That love was introduced to them by their dad, the late Irby Mandrell.

This year’s shooting event was an exciting time for the Mandrell family, as it gave them the opportunity to share with the world all that dad Irby had instilled in them — a love for God, country, family, and shooting sports.

At the end of both days’ events, everyone gathered for dinner, and a silent auction and live auction were held at the hotel.  It was exciting to get caught up in the bidding for firearms, and watching the auctioneer as he spurred bidders on.

But the most touching part of the evening was watching each Mandrell daughter tell sweet stories about their daddy … what made him so special; what they remembered and admired most; and how much of a sense of humor he had.  Irby was truly a special man.  That was obvious from the love displayed by his daughters.  And even though they’re grown now with children of their own, they’ll always be “Daddy’s Little Girls.”

And the Winners Are …

The real winners of the event are the Boy Scouts of America and Wish Upon a Star … these are the foundations for which everyone attends this event to support, and I’m glad I got to be a part of it.  I’m certainly hoping I’ll get to be a part of it next year, too.

Julie Goloski Golob wins three titles at Wyoming State Steel Challenge

Team Smith & Wesson Captain Julie Goloski Golob won three titles at the Wyoming State Steel Challenge match at the Great Divide Shooting Club in Rawlins, Wyoming, the weekend of July 17 and 18. She finished the match as Ladies Champion, Production Champion and Limited Champion. Read more

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