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POLSON — It was a typical summer morning at the Polson Shooter’s Association Range, and all the shooting benches were full.
Wait, all those shooters were women.
There’s a reason for that. The range was hosting its first National Rifle Association Women on Target instructional shooting clinic on June 26, where 20 woman received one-on-one instruction from the shooter’s association range officers.
The class was for women new to shooting or to the shooting range or who might want information on buying a gun, according to Tracy Plaiss, clinic director.
The volunteer range officers brought their own pistols and rifles, mostly .22s, with the exception of the 20-gauge shotgun.
Each woman was issued enough targets to shoot two pistols, two rifles and a shotgun, if they chose.
The shotgun scared some of the women, who worried about the gun kicking or just not knowing how to shoot it. However, the volunteer told the ladies how to shoot the gun and snug it into their shoulder.
Jil Roberts of Big Arm went to the shotgun station first, learned how to shoot the gun, and was very comfortable with the experience.
“The volunteers are all experienced shooters... and they brought guns they really understood,” Plaiss said.
Stressing safety and rules of the range, Plaiss explained range commands, such as take your places, load, make ready, commence firing, cease fire and replace your targets.
Plaiss choreographed the moves from station to station. At each station, the volunteer explained his or her gun to the ladies, showing how to load the gun, what sort of ammunition it took, what he or she used the gun for and how to fire the gun. If the gun had a sight or a scope, they explained how to use it.
“I came to shoot a bunch of different guns,” participant Milla Koger said, adding that she has been shooting more lately.
“Things couldn’t have gone any better,” Plaiss said.
“Nobody got hurt, and everybody had a good time,” said Keith Baker, an NRA instructor at the clinic. “We were just delighted.”
Response was so good that there will be another session of Women on Target on Aug. 22, according to Plaiss.
