DAYTONA BEACH — Shoot Like a Girl: And these girls can shoot.
The girls — women actually — are with Shoot Like A Girl, a company “whose mission is to empower women to participate in shooting sports with confidence,” according to its website.
Shoot Like A Girl recently parked a high-tech “FATS by InVeris” military-grade mobile shooting simulator inside a semi-tractor trailer outside Bass Pro Shops across from Daytona International Speedway. The range gives participants the feel of recoil, impact and sound similar to a real gun.
The trailer will be open various hours through Sunday, when the Daytona 500 takes off across the street.
“Our whole goal, in a safe manner, is to introduce them to what shooting sports actually look like,” said Connie Harrison, assistant team leader at Shoot Like A Girl. “Kind of take away some of that fear and that mystery so that way they can see how they themselves can handle this in a safe manner.”
And the shooting tips, target practice and information are free. And it’s not just for women. Men can also try their hand at shooting a pistol or an AR-15 inside the trailer. The guns are real but they’re modified so they no longer fire bullets.
Outside the trailer, visitors are invited to check out the “gun bar:” a row of deactivated semi-automatic pistols and some revolvers. People walked up and looked at the handguns and gripped some of the firearms.
“The point of our gun bar is to let people experience different firearms, get their hands on different firearms, see what might fit and feel good for each individual person. We kind of help educate them on maybe how to pick out a good gun for conceal carry or home defense,” said Kelsey Gunn, who joked she married her husband for his last name.
She said the organization is trying to encourage more women to get involved in “the shooting sports.”
But safe handling was emphasized, even though none of the guns could fire. When one man turned a pistol away from the trailer, Harrison directed him to keep the muzzle pointed toward the trailer.
“Our goal here is to teach women, and men as well, what proper fit looks like, what they might use them for as far as defense as far as recreational,” Harrison said. “Sometimes when they look at them they get really overwhelmed by all the different options.
“It’s kind of like a pair of shoes in choosing what might work for you and that’s the purpose of the gun bar right here to find a good fit,” Harrison added.
Near the gun bar where displays of rifles, gun safes, hunting equipment and other gear, like purses designed to hold a gun. Participants also received a bag with shooting information, including information about suicide prevention and contacts for help such as 988.
There was also “Bob.” Bob was a pepper-spray dummy, the head and torso of a dummy that women could spray with a harmless spray so they could practice defending themselves with pepper spray.
“A lot of women will buy pepper spray but they will not by a trainer, so they’ve never used one,” said Amy Hunter, team leader at Shoot Like A Girl. “A trainer is pressurized but inert so they can practice with it. And we allow them to do that here.”
The more popular activity was the shooting range inside the trailer. On one side, women could try their hand at shooting a real bow and arrow into a Styrofoam target.
On the other side women and men could fire a deactivated Glock 19 pistol and an AR-15. Shoot Like A Girl team members gave instructions on loading the firearms with a magazine containing the air pressure. Cautioning them about safe handling, such as keeping their finger off the trigger until they are ready to fire, they taught people how to load and flip the safety off the AR-15, for example.
Then they gave pointers on aiming. Shooters took five shots at the target and an electronic bullseye would show the results whether a hit or miss.
Nicole Rodriguez was in town from New Jersey visiting friends and decided to give it a try, shooting the Glock and the AR-15.
“It was good. That was my first time shooting and they gave me detailed directions on how to do it,” Rodriguez said.
She added she is a gunowner but she has not shot her gun. However, now she feels more comfortable about firearms.
She said: “I learned the right way on how to do it and I feel less scared to do it.”
Here are the hours for Shoot Like A Girl:
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Shoot Like A Girl brings simulator, gun safety to Daytona this weekend
Reporting by Frank Fernandez, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
