USA Shooting’s Uptagrafft Wins Bronze at Pan American Games

Sandra Uptagrafft (Phenix City, Ala.) won the Women’s 10m Air Pistol bronze medal. She shot 379 match points and 97.3 points in the final for a total of 476.3 total points. “I was disappointed that we missed the quota, but it was still an honor to represent America on the podium. I’m looking forward to the opportunity for a quota in Women’s 25m Sport Pistol,” said a determined Uptagrafft. The gold medal was a battle to the final shot-Canada’s Dorothy Ludwig topped Maribel Pineda of Venezula. Ludwig entered in the final in the second position but overtook

Pineda’s four point lead with a strong final of 96.8 points. Ludwig was ecstatic to win not only the gold, but a quota for her country with 476.8 total points. Pineda finished with 92.7 points in the final for 476.7 total points and the silver medal. American Teammate Teresa Meyer (Dearborn, Mich.) narrowly missed the final with 371 match points. The air gun action continues Oct. 17 with finals in Men’s and Women’s 10m Air Rifle.

 

 

Live streaming of the Pan American Games can be found at http://bit.ly/q4UwBR and http://es.pn/mW8QeW. For results and news, please visit USA Shooting’s Website, Facebook and Twitter.

 

 

 

About USA Shooting:

USA Shooting, a 501c3 non-profit corporation, was chartered by the United States Olympic Committee as the National Governing Body for the sport of shooting in April 1995. USA Shooting’s mission is to prepare American athletes to win Olympic medals, promote the shooting sports throughout the U.S. and govern the conduct of international shooting in the country. Check us out on the web at www.usashooting.org and on Twitter at twitter.com/USAShooting.

 

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Kelli Hughes – WOMA Member

The WOMA welcomes Kelli L. Hughes, her main interests are in the field of shooting to include hunting, sports and Law Enforcement.  She is currently involved in developing an online website selling accessories for hunters, shooters and Law Enforcement activities.

Bows Are Not Just For Your Hair!

Before I met my husband Al, I thought that bows were hair decoration.  Not so but Al was exclusive into any kind of gun. So fast forward 18 years and lately I’ve been curious lately about bow shooting. Many of you may already be well versed on this subject and realize bows are an alternative to using a shotgun, rifle or pistol. Could you please give me your take on this alternative?

Here is what I found so far – What size bow do I buy?

Small Frame Women (100-130 lbs.) 25 – 35 lbs.

Medium Frame Women (130-160 lbs) 30-40 lbs.

Large Frame Women (160+ lbs.) 45 – 55 lbs.

The recommendation seems to be a Compound Bow. So I did a little research and here is what I found.  To me, with my limited knowledge, this one looks like a winner.  Comments?

The Bear ® Archery Home Wrecker Ready to Hunt bow package is designed specifically as a bow for women, but not lacking in any performance. The traditional Bear ® quality of silence and efficiency seep out of the Home Wrecker’s pores along with slight touches of pink. Weighing in at just over 3 lbs., this bow still packs a punch perfect for different game at 280 FPS.

FEATURES:

• Perimeter-weighted modular single cam for efficiency and easy release
• Flared quad limbs to distribute stress evenly across the bow for clean shots
• Offset string suppressor to reduce vibrations and noise in the field
• Designed for women
• FPS: 280
• Weight: 3.2 lbs
• Brace Height: 6″
• Axle to Axle: 29.75″
• Peak Draw Weight: 50 lbs.
• Draw Length Range: 22″ – 28″

In addition, BOW stands for Becoming an Outdoor Woman. Eighteen years ago I attended this event in Arizona. That was the first time I’d every held or used a bow and learned they are not just ribbons for your hair.  Maybe it’s time to try again!

Twin Biathletes Attend ATI Writer’s Event

Recently we attended the ATI (Advanced Technology International) Writers event at the Impact Training Center in Mt. Carol, Illinois. This year ATI signed on as our platinum level sponsor and are helping to make that gold medal in the 2014 Olympics achievable. This event was the first time we were able to spend some quality time with the owners and employees of ATI.  I don’t know why I still am shocked at how many incredibly good and decent people I meet in the gun industry, but it now really makes me proud every time I do meet more shooting industry people.  I’ve been involved with and met people in many other industries and can honestly say that the gun industry holds the most wonderful and endearing people I’ve ever met.  ATI’s owners are a shining example of this.  I have never met two people who were more passionate about what they do.  John Chvala and Eric Pfleger are truly remarkable people.  Being passionate about business, I look up to and am inspired by the business savvy that these two possess.  John and Eric’s business sense is exemplary.  As a young entrepreneur I can only hope to duplicate the rare and incredibly innate sense of how a successful business should be run.

We also witnessed ATI’s ability to produce incredibly reliable, and cutting edge products. Their buttpads are like nothing I’ve ever tried. They feature a recoil system that literately takes the shock out of shooting.  During the writer’s event everyone was shooting shotguns, AR’s, and a 50 cal and no one complained of a sore shoulder. With any standard buttpad you’d find on the market, you’re sure to be sore the next day after that many rounds fired, but with ATI’s Akita Scorpion Buttpad you can keep shooting until you run out of ammo.  I am continuously impressed with ATI’s products and their versatility.  During the writer’s event competition everyone used the same AR and shotgun.  With ATI’s adjustable stock it was a quick adjustment to go from a 6 foot tall guy to my short 5 foot 4 inch frame. They are the industry standard when it comes to gun stocks and accessories.  The company promises new and exciting products yearly that will blow the mind of any shooter.  Their products make sense. They are light, strong, and durable thanks to the science developed by Poly One.  Their stocks are adjustable.  Their colors are stunning and sleek.  Their technology unrivaled.

Besides the product aspect of the business we were exposed to ATI’s ability to be laid back and relaxed. Hence the writer’s event.  I haven’t been to another writer’s event but I doubt many are as exciting and fun for a writer as ATI’s writer’s event.  How many events involve a 3-gun competition, cutting edge products from top line companies, and a car filled with tannerite?  I witnessed Suzi Huntington, Editor of American Cop, accurately move through the pistol stages with the new Ruger SR1911’s, Kim Sidelinger of Media Direct flawlessly make her way through her very first 3-gun shooting competition. Gloria Shytles, Managing Editor of Inter Media Outdoors, stepped up behind a 50 cal and hit a jug of tannerite in a Toyota Corolla and blew it sky high, Eric Poole of Guns & Ammo took some great shots offhand with the AR’s to do some damage on the car.  Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time.  The food was great, the people we incredible.  We can’t wait until next year’s ATI Writer’s event.  ATI is sure to host another great event.

GSSF Produces First Head-to-Head Female Champion

This article recently appeared in the Shooting Wire.  The story is by GSSF Rangemaster, Chris Edwards with pictures taken by WOMA member and GSSF Rangemaster, Cindy Noyes:

For the past two decades, Glock has operated the Glock Sport Shooting Foundation (GSSF) as friendly competitions allowing Glock pistol owners to get together, shoot standard courses of fire, learn more about their pistol – and other equipment, and get a basic introduction to competition shooting.

Over the past two decades, the friendly competition that’s the GSSF has grown to become a very large subset of competition shooting. Today the GSSF includes nearly 100,000 members and organizes more than 40 outdoor and 210 indoor matches each year.

The GSSF has grown so large, in fact, that the South River Gun Club near Conyers, Georgia (just outside Atlanta) may have the distinction of having hosted the largest action shooting competition -ever.

The event was the eighteenth annual Glock Annual Shoot and the “Gunny Challenge” with more than a thousand (1,023 to be exact) entrants. Male and female. All ages and abilities.

They moved over the standard GSSF courses of fire with various Glock models and in categories that pitted shooters against each other in comparable-ability civilian classes and law enforcement categories. In these matches “civilians” and “LE” don’t compete head-to-head.

When the largest division, Amateur Civilian, ended, the top shooter from the more than 400 competitors was North Carolina’s Wei Young.

Young became a Matchmeister after having won a “Ladies Only” GSSF match near Charleston, South Carolina earlier in the year, but this was the first time a lady shooter had taken the top prize in Amateur Civilian at the GSSF’s major match.

In fact, there’s a good chance that Young’s performance is the first time in a sanctioned national practical match that a female shooter has actually taken the top prize in open competition.

The other major event at the Annual Shoot was “the Gunny Challenge” a celebrity event that also included some serious head-to-head competition.

Once known for using comely young women to attract attention to their booths at trade shows, Glock has learned that with shooters, there’s just no celebrity with more star power than “The Gunny” – R. Lee Ermey. His movie career has seen him in a mixed bag of movies, but his hosting of shooting shows on History Channel has endeared him to shooters across the sport.

The Glock “Gunny Challenge” pits top GSSF competitors – called Matchmeisters- against each other in head-to-head shoot-offs. Contestants were issued brand-new Gen4 Glock 35s in .40 caliber with Ameriglo fiber optic sights.

In the “Matchmeisters” competition, Butch Barton, a retired policeman from Minnesota took home the $3000 top prize in what was described as an exhibition of “cool, precise, speedy shooting.”

In the celebrity match, it was “Gunny” versus country music star Travis Tritt. As Glock enthusiasts expect- Ermey took Tritt in the head-to-head competition.

The GSSF Matches haven’t really attracted a lot of attention due to their being open only to Glock owners/GSSF members. However, they’re also known as “the gateway drug to competition shooting”.

That, in itself, makes them noteworthy.

U. S. Olympic Trials – Women’s Skeet

 

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.

Don’t Fence Me In!

For over thirty minutes, the nine Pronghorn stood at the four-rung barbed wire fence on the Vaca Ranch in Sonoita, Arizona. 

The Game and Fish regional manager watched the antelope walk off to find a place where they could dive under the fence to move the small herd to the good forbs (wildflowers, weeds, etc.) eating area.  The problem?  Coyotes and mountain lions will ‘push’ the group into this type of barbed fence and the young goats become part of the food chain.

Because Pronghorn don’t typically jump over a fence, the Arizona Antelope Foundation (AAF) works with local ranchers to strip off their barbed wire and replace the bottom line of wire with smooth wire 18″ high. In addition, water catchment areas are enhanced for the animals’ drinking pleasure.

My husband Al and I participate in many of these AAF projects  … setting up camp on Friday, working all day Saturday and breaking camp to head home on Sunday. We are lucky to have fabulous leaders in the AAF and an incredible group of volunteers.  Many times we have Boy and Girl Scout troops, biology students from Arizona State University, the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University and others. Our members even bring their kids and that is fabulous! 

Before I married Al, I had never camped – well maybe if the Ritz Carlton didn’t have turndown service! Thankfully he has opened up an entire new chapter of my life to the outdoors, the importance of managing our forests and taking care of our precious hunting lands.

 

Before managing the fences became a priority, this animal population was on the decline. I am honored to be part of this restoration. The herd numbers are steadily on the increase.  And I think I heard the Pronghorn singing their anthem,  ‘Don’t Fence Me In‘ as we left the ranch!

Please check the rest of the pictures on FaceBook!

OTIS Technology Wins PM100 for Second Consecutive Year!

Haven’t Heard From You In A While

Hello.  Hi.  It’s been a while.  Just stopping by to check in on a lot of you/us.  It seems it has been a while since many of us have checked in, posted or shared what is going on.  I know we are all busy and have the most hectic schedules any one person could ever imagine, but what is it that we are all doing that is keeping us so dog-gone busy?

Take a moment to stop and share.

Has someone had a commendable success?  Tell us about it.

Have you been pubished?  Brag about it.

Do you have advice for the rest of the membership?  Let us have it.

Have you won a match, caught the biggest fish ever, had a successful hunt?  Share the story.

Has someone produced an outstanding product we can all benfit from?  Write about it here.  (If you’ve written a review on your personal blog, you can always post it here as well. “copy & paste”)

Did you meet someone who is doing great things to support our cause?  Share it with everyone.

As a member you are free to share your blog here.  You can add your podcasts and any articles or videos you may be posting.  If it is something you are proud that you did, or even proud that someone else is doing, share it.  Write about it.  Post it.  You are free to promote your outdoor products or events that are directed toward women in in the outdoors.

Update your information in the Membership Directory.  Promotion of yourself and promotion of other women in the outdoors ensures success for us all.  After all, we are here to increase awareness of women in the outdoors as well as expand and encourage the number of women who are involved in shooting, hunting, archery and fishing.  Promote the WOMA and promote yourself.  Come on!  Let’s get to bragging about how women are making leaps and bounds in the outdoor industry!

While we are at it, be proud!  Post the “Proud to be a member” logo on your web page or blog.

Just copy/paste the following code to your website or blog to display The WOMA membership badge:

<a href=”http://thewoma.com” target=”blank”><img src=”http://thewoma.com/MemberDownloads/WOMA_Badge.jpg></a>

Editors Note:  If you don’t know how to create a post for the WOMA, go to the ‘Featured Blogs’ tab and select ‘Tech Talk’ and take a look at ‘How to Create a Post in WordPress’ .  It will show you how to create a basic post with a thumbnail photo and how to resize/upload and add pictures.

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