A few weeks ago, I attended a way cool pistol match. Usually, I go to these things as a competitor. This time, my function was reporter, spectator, and “ammo boy.”The occasion was the first all-women’s event in the Glock Shooting Sports Foundation discipline. This Glock Girl Gala was the brainchild of Lisa Marie Judy, a gun enthusiast and activist for firearms owners’ civil rights in Reevesville, SC. Lisa Marie’s feedback from other women interested in firearms was that pistol matches, being generally male-dominated, seemed too intimidating to enter. An “estrogen event” seemed to be in order. She got permission from GSSF to host one, with the promise that if she got 100 entries, it would go on the calendar again.
She got OVER a hundred. From junior to senior in age group. Single ladies and married ones, professional women and housewives. It was a fun atmosphere, and a family one, with husbands, boyfriends, and dads along to assist and encourage. There was a substantial contingent of female law enforcement personnel, as well.
I noticed a very strong element of mutual support among the ladies, distinctly more than I usually see at regular matches among “the guys.”
As a father of daughters, I found it a joy to watch. A huge percentage of the attendees were shooting their first match, and Lisa Marie was gratified by how many said afterward that they wanted to attend more matches, “co-ed” or otherwise. The “Palmetto Glock Girlshootout” had proven itself to be a very effective port of entry for women into sport shooting. Look for a full length article on the match in the next issue of “Glock Autopistols” magazine; some of the photos here are used with that publication’s permission.
Check out the GSSF rules and regs at www.gssfonline.com. I hope this concept catches on. The world of shooting needs more such events, in this writer’s opinion. Congrats to Lisa Marie, the GSSF folks, and all the many volunteers of both genders who made it happen!
Shooters await their turn on the firing line.
Lisa Marie Judy and GSSF’s Scotty Banks break up a log-jam in the “waiting to shoot” list.
This uniquely-executed Glock 17L was the “auction gun” for the event.
This is the “Glock-M” setup, one third of the match.
Earmuffs in pink, Glock .45 in always-appropriate basic black.
Not without a whimsical sense of humor, Lisa Marie Judy ordered these porta-potties for the event.
Massad Ayoob
Massad F. Ayoob is an internationally known firearms and self-defense instructor.
Massad Ayoob has authored several books and more than 1,000 articles on firearms, combat techniques, self-defense, and legal issues, and has served in an editorial capacity for Guns Magazine, American Handgunner, Gun Week, and Combat Handguns.
Massad Ayoob was former Vice Chairman of the Forensic Evidence Committee of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), and is believed to be the only non-attorney ever to hold this position.
http://massadayoobgroup.com/
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