Whew, finally home again after a couple of weeks on the road. Might as well admit it: Texas hill country with the bluebonnets and other wildflowers in full bloom is a thing to behold. Yet another instance of finding beauty everywhere — only more so. Lovely part of the world this time of year.

Worked with a lot of beautiful people over the almost-a-week at the 3rd Annual A Girl and A Gun training conference. That gave me an opportunity to work alongside some wonderful teachers and shooters as we all did our best to provide a wide variety of excellent learning opportunities for the 250 women who attended.

During the pre-conference events, I had the lovely opportunity to spend some time with the facilitators and leadership team. On the range with the newest facilitators, my teaching topic was “How to run a safe firing line.” We discussed the logistics of teaching large-ish groups of students on outdoor ranges, and ran through some practical exercises to help everyone develop their teaching skills in that situation. In the classroom, I gave them a road map to personal improvement as instructors.

My private goal (shhhhh, don’t tell anyone) is to turn every female instructor I know into a training junkie — but with this group of women, that’s almost a redundant goal. They are moving out into the wider world of shooting and getting lots of good instruction as they go. It’s awesome to watch that happen!

During the conference proper, I taught segments that included shooting fundamentals for beginners, shooting from downed positions, holster selection and secrets of concealed carry, and purse draw. I also had an opportunity to work with a group of women who had some specific physical challenges and help them problem-solve on the range. That was enjoyable and eye opening.

My enjoyment of the week wasn’t hindered at all by getting an opportunity to shoot a rifle from the back seat of a helicopter. That was a blast, and now I can recommend the Heli Gunner gang as being safe, competent, and fun to work with. ¹