Sure Shots Magazine

ARCHIVE - ISSUE NINE - OCTOBER 2014 COVER - FEATURED PICTORIAL - TRAINING - LIFESTYLE - REVIEWS ARCHIVE - ISSUE NINE - OCTOBER 2014

Niki Jones
Editor-in-chief

Carrin Welch
Associate Editor
Web Designer

Jenna Johnson
Copy Editor

Nikki Raye
West Coast Correspondent

On the Cover,
Babe on a bike Sure Shot Katie proves that looks can kill (but still has an Uzi for backup)!
See more pics from the cover photo shoot!

Lil Red Danger:
The Beginning of a Beautiful Relationship
by Eden Rose

Lil Red dares you to come and take it.

Where should I begin, the start of my firearms industry career or back when I despised guns? I guess I’ll take it back to being a young girl growing up in an anti-gun household. Ever since I can remember, I was raised to hate firearms. I was told they were used by evil people for evil purposes: robbing, killing, drug dealing, etcetera. My father was in the army and had his fair share of experience with guns. My mother had never, and still to this day has never even touched one. However, as a doctor and nurse, they had both seen their fair share of damage and death caused by firearms. So naturally they raised me to fear and loath firearms and those who own them. I grew up uneducated in this aspect and believed everything I saw on television. You know, guns kill with a single shot immediately regardless of shot placement, firearms have indefinite ammunition, and guns can go off without human interaction. All of these things were my “education” and I believed it.

Fast forward to high school. It was April 1st and all of my friends were there that morning… except one. We all figured he had skipped or slept in that day so we went about our business as usual. A few hours into the day we all started hearing a rumor that our friend had been shot and killed the night before at a party he was attending. We assumed it was a horrible April Fools’ joke. The rumor turned into reality when the principal verified the “accident” at the end of the school day over the loudspeaker. This was a shock to all of us. A high school party where kids were drunk, high on drugs and brandishing firearms had turned deadly. Of course, being an adolescent who had little education in firearms, I blamed the gun, not the person behind the trigger. Sounds familiar, right? Isn’t that how people (media) react to these incidents? Anyway, from that point on my hate for guns and their existence grew to an all-time high.

I graduated high school on the Dean’s list and ready to start college when I met “The One”. Of course, it was more infatuation than love, and I was blinded by my ignorance and age. I ignored the red flags my mother taught me to look for when dating, because I was in love. A year went by and I had my first son, Avery with this man. After Avery was born I noticed my significant other started to change for the worse. I ignored it again, telling myself that he was dealing with his new life and trying to cope. His behavior started getting strange, but I played it off because he was the father of my child and I felt like I had to make it work. My second son, Gunner (yes I named him Gunner before I took my liking to firearms) was born in 2010. The following year was absolute hell in my house. Their father started doing hard drugs, coming and going as he pleased, and getting into trouble with the law. It became clear that we were not meant to be. But I was scared to break up with him because he liked to punch walls and yell and throw things when he got angry. I didn’t know how to let him go without being hurt. At the time, I was 5’ tall and about 90 pounds, a petite woman. I was weak from having two pregnancies in a row and was having a tough time financially, so my children ate more than I did.

I finally left him in August 2011. Two days later, I was getting ready for the day, straightening my hair and getting my makeup on when he showed up to gather his belongings. He was in another world- eyes dilated, a bit twitchy, and very short spoken. Everything that happened next was a blur. I remember Gunner being asleep. We were having work done to the exterior of the house so there were workers outside. My sister was home but in the shower. He started to pick at me and argue. I suddenly found myself being cornered in my own bathroom. He was blocking my only exit. He grabbed me and pulled me in, injuring my wrist and began to squeeze me as hard as he could. Naturally, I started screaming. My sister came running in and he let go, so she wouldn’t be a witness. It gave me just enough time to run out of the house, to be greeted by the workers who heard everything from outside. Never in my life had I been threatened or attacked. It left me wanting to find some way of defending myself… something that packs a punch, because physically I could not. There is nothing more eye opening than going through a life threatening event.

Lil Red shows a student how it's done.

Months after the incident, the guy I was dating at the time asked me if I’d like to go to the range with him and some of his friends. Of course I was hesitant at first and a little scared, but overcame that feeling remembering what I had gone through, and the feeling of having no protection from harm.

We got to the range and I was terrified. All the things I was taught about guns were running through my head. All the television education was being tossed around. My friend told me everything would be okay and that I might actually have fun. I went up to the bench. He gave me a little .22 semi-automatic pistol. He said, “Ok. Go ahead, babe.” My entire body was shaking. I was expecting this thing to recoil right in my face and break my nose. I remember his friends encouraging me and telling me that it wasn’t powerful and that I would do just fine. So, I brought the gun up, took a deep breath, closed both eyes, and pulled the trigger. I pulled again and again, until the firearm (the one that I thought would hold infinite ammunition) stopped firing. "You're out of ammo, babe” he said, and cleared the gun, taking it out of my hands. At this point, my mind was racing with so many thoughts. “Oh, my God! I actually fired a gun! That was awesome! So what’s next?” I was hooked. In one day my entire life changed. I was thrown for a loop at the feeling I got when shooting. I felt ... powerful. I had finally found a way I could defend myself and my boys from an attacker. By the end of the day shooting, I was rapid firing the AK47 and AR15 and had a chance to fire dual mounted Browning 1919s.

Super Sigs
by Niki Jones

Over the past year, a phenomenon within the Sure Shots has been happening—the ladies have been switching to the Sig Sauer P238 (.380) or P938 (9mm) as their choice for a carry-gun. With their compact 1911 design, they’re small enough to conceal, yet have just enough to mitigate the “snappiness” of some other guns their size.

In an informal poll of 200 of our own Sure Shot ladies, 19 of them carry a P238, and 12 carry a P938.

Sure Shot Leia Mutchler gives some insight:
“For me, finding a carry pistol has not been easy. I’m not a huge fan of tiny guns because I feel like I’m fumbling too much trying to get a good hold. I had been carrying a Bersa .380, which was just above what I consider a ‘tiny’ gun and I found it easy to shoot. However, it’s not easy to conceal on my person. A couple of weeks ago I was able to attend a Concealed Carry Techniques class with BSG Security Services and was introduced to the Sig Sauer P938. I noticed that more than half the ladies in the class had with them either P938s or the .380 version, the P238. I was excited to try this gun and see why it was so popular.

The Sig Sauer 938 did not disappoint; it was actually really fun to shoot! It’s big enough for me to handle and small enough to conceal. Plus with today’s +P 9mm ammunition it is the better choice over .380 for defensive carry. The SIGLITE sights with the fiber optic front sight make it highly visible for daytime use. The aw-inspiring 1911 style single action and the ambi-safety are a nice addition. You can also customize the grips, what girl doesn’t love her accessories? I am very thankful to BSG & Sure Shots for helping me find my perfect conceal carry gun.”

Visit the Sig Sauer website for more information on these pistols.

I was obsessed from that day on. I dedicated my free time to learning and motivating and inspiring other women to get involved. I posted my videos to my YouTube page in hopes of proving to women that guns are not scary, not made just for men, and can be fired with ease if you’re confident, trained and educated. I never thought my Facebook and YouTube pages would be where they are today. I have had fathers and husbands thanking me for what I do because I helped show their wives and daughters that it is fun and possible to shoot. In just three years, I will have shot my first gun, worked at a gun shop (Iron Site in Clearwater), worked for a manufacturer learning to build and assemble 50 cals (Serbu Firearms) and am now instructing and training for Full Spectrum training Group to teach women and teens.

This is my dream job. This is what three years of hard work and dedication looks like. There is nothing more rewarding to me than watching a student with no firearms experience pick up a gun for the first time, fire it, and gain confidence behind the trigger. The smile they get when they are done shooting is the best payment.

Ladies, learn from my experience. Don’t wait until you have a life threatening experience to protect yourself. If you are a new shooter, or have never shot a gun before, I encourage you to learn now. Understand firearms safety. Learn how to load, fire and unload a gun. Know the basic fundamentals. Take responsibility for your safety and defense, so that you can protect yourself from whatever intends to harm you.

What girl doesn't love a nice belt?

Eden shot her first gun 3 years ago. She instantly fell in love and is bit obsessed with the feeling she got behind the trigger and the general mechanics of how firearms function. She worked at Serbu Firearms, in Tampa Florida, assembling their BFG-50As for a while but her heart and passion is in teaching others. As of right now, she is an Instructor for a local firearms academy and works part time at Iron Site Gun Shop. She's dedicated her life to learning and passing on firearms education to others. Keep up with Eden via her Facebook page, Lil Red Danger.

These Girls Got It! by Niki Jones
If you’re into shooting, you definitely know the awesome mega-shooting club The Well Armed Woman, with 182 chapters in 42 states with over 4592 members, but what about the smaller clubs popping up all over the country? More than ever, ladies are getting together to shoot and socialize. Whether it’s for defense or for the shooting sports, Sure Shots Magazine found many fantastic ladies’ shooting clubs all over the nation: