Welcome to Hardin Texas, population 755.  This small town right outside of Beaumont is home to the Pecan Meadows Sporting Center.  The club is owned and operated by Butch and Judy Hickman.  They opened in late October 2001 and offer two lighted skeet ranges, a five-stand range, and a beautiful sporting clays range.  Pecan Meadow has three tall towers for those of you who like a challenge and several beautiful water shots scattered over five different ponds. 

This would be the scene of my FIRST lesson in shooting.  The Women's Recreational Shooting Association (WRSA) held a Ladies Only Shooting Clinic at the center.  This was my opportunity to learn from veteran sporting clays shooter, Barbara Garney.  WRSA's goals are to introduce ladies to the shooting sports while supporting a deserving local charity.  Players or participants of the clinics will range across every skill level, from the competitive shooter to the beginner.  I highly recommend one of these clinics to all women even remotely interested in learning to shoot.  There was no pressure and I didn't feel intimidated, in fact, after the first shot, I felt totally at ease.

I arrived at the center around 2pm surrounded by overcast skies and a modest breeze.  Little did I know that wind creates a lot of movement around the target.  As I would be told later in the day, "the wind is no excuse, keep your eye on the target."  Yes ma'am!  

Let me be the first to tell you that I was anxious and nervous, since I had never shot any type of gun, EVER.  But Barbara was patient and kind.  She truly wanted to teach me how to safely use this gun.  The gun, which was Barbara's, was a Beretta 391 Optima Sporting Semi Automatic, 12 gauge with a 30 inch barrel. 

We started the clinic with a very important, mandatory safety lesson.    Then we hit the course!  I was partnered with another beginner, Renee, and our instructor was Barbara.  She explained in detail how to stand, hold the gun, load the gun (which she did for us at the first station), and where to point the gun to hit the target.  My first shot, a target on the ground - direct hit!  I'm hooked.

Once we were comfortable shooting the gun, Renee was up first for round one.  Barbara loaded shells one at a time, explaining strategies along the way. 

Apprehensively Renee called, "ok, pull." 

Miss. 

"Point the gun lower, beneath the target," Barbara said. 

After a couple more shots, one of the male instructors, Darin Fields, pulled up to watch.  He offered Renee some friendly advice and then helped her hold the gun higher.

"PULL!"  Renee said with conviction this time.  Direct Hit! 

Darin said, "I knew you were gonna hit it because you said 'PULL' and not 'ok, pull'."  He explained to us that self-confidence is half the battle.

My turn now.  I was ready, but glad to be second.  It was nice to hear the instruction and watch the targets' pattern across the sky.  The gun felt solid in my grip as I pointed and held.

"PULL!" 

Direct Hit!  NO WAY, my first shot was a direct hit.  I was so happy.  Darin, Barbara and Renee were just as excited as I was.  I hit 6 of 8 the first round and maintained that percentage throughout the clinic. 

We then moved to another station - Report Pairs.  Now that was a challenge.  One target shot out away from us very fast and the other one floated up in an arc slowly.  I didn't do as good on this station, but I did manage to hit two dead birds and a couple dead and lost.  It was really exciting when Renee and I both hit dead pairs.  We also launched the targets for each other.  That was interesting too. 

After it was all over, we chatted back at the clubhouse with the rest of the group.  All in all, everyone had a great time.  I hope this story inspires you to try something new or at least introduces you to Sporting Clays shooting. 

My next stop is the WRSA Ladies Charity Event on April 14th at the Westside Sporting Grounds, Houston, Texas.  It is a ladies only event with a couples shooting event afterwards.  Click Here for all the details!   If you are interested, please contact Tanya Justice at tjustice@alltel.net.

See you on the course ~ Debra Heater, Editor, www.TexasHuntFish.com

If you would like more information on Women's Events in Texas, please shoot me an email debra@texashuntfish.com.

Instructors:  Barbara Garney, Sandi Nail, Melita Sweeny, and Cindy Petty

Organizations:

Women's Recreatioinal Shooting Association (WRSA)

Pecan Meadow Sporting Center 

Pictures Left to Right:  Barbara & Renee, Barbara & Renee, Gear, WRSA Logo, Pecan Meadow Logo, Barbara answering questions, Part of the group (I'm holding the gun), Barbara & Renee, Butch & Judy Hickman - owners of Pecan Meadow.

Images and Files: View all 9 photos / videos here.