Making women at home on the range

With annual free program, they get a chance to shoot guns, By Chris Wyman Vernon — On Saturday, Cherry Ridge Range off Canistear Road hosted its 13th annual free Women’s Day at the Range. As a bonus, the weather was perfect for a day in the country as nearly 300 women came from around Sussex County, with many more coming from downstate New York, and even one woman who was visiting from Fort Lauderdale. The Vernon range is owned and maintained by the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs (ANJRPC), which is the official NRA state affiliate. According to Steve Potts, the event coordinator, 49 volunteers were on hand to make the day a success. Of the volunteers that included NRA-certified instructors and Range Safety Officers, 15, or more than 30 percent were women. The advertisements for Women’s Day at the Range included the phrase “Leave him home, girls, this day is yours alone.” This year each of the women was able to try her hand at “busting clays” with shotguns, shooting at “falling plates” with .22 caliber rifles, firing high-powered rifles, and target practice with a variety of handguns including revolvers, and 9 mm pistols. For many of the women it was their first time handling firearms, although many had been to the event in the past. Over the last 12 years, dozens of women who were first introduced to the shooting sports through this event went on to become shooting instructors. A tale of two women Barry Lakes resident Donna Wiik came to the event with two friends from Warwick, N.Y. Wiik goes to the range with her family but she had never gone to Women’s Day. “I always wanted to go but life got in the way,” Wiik said. Of the four ranges, she liked the handgun range the best, although she found the shotgun range to be the most challenging. “The clays were the hardest because it was just you and the shotgun and you were in charge of the timing on both,” Wiik observed. “Get it right and you got your clay. Timing is off? More biodegradable waste.” According to ANJRPC policy, the clay birds used at the range must be biodegradable. For Wiik, Women’s Day meant that she could go to the range and learn about safe gun handling and shooting in a non-competitive, non-judgmental atmosphere. She added, “The instructors were wonderful. They made you feel at ease and were very helpful. There was a large variety of weaponry and you could try different types of guns and scopes to see what you liked best.” Lafayette native Leigh Missaggia came to the range for a very different reason. The paralegal and notary public attended her first Women’s Day event three years ago at the urging of her sister. She’d had no previous experience with firearms. “I didn’t really know about guns or shooting sports or know anyone who did,” Missaggia said. “I was afraid to touch a gun and didn’t ever think I would become a shooter. I just didn’t think much about it at all.” This year she attended as one of two Range Safety Officers on the handgun range. After her first encounter with guns at Cherry Ridge Range, Missaggia went on to become a firearms instructor at the New Jersey Firearms Academy in Jersey City. She discovered the academy through her partner, who brought her along to an advanced firearms training event. “One day I went along to the range and got to see some real shooting,” she said. “The next weekend I took the NRA Basic Pistol class and was hooked. I started as a range officer and helped many people learn to shoot safely. It is a very rewarding experience to help someone learn the basics of marksmanship.” At the academy, Missaggia teaches basic pistol courses on weekends and helps with special events. When she works as an instructor, she noted that about a third of the students are women. “I have a great deal of respect for those women who do show up on their own. There are fewer women in our more advanced classes. I’d like to see that change. Most women need a little extra support to get into shooting, I sure did.” “Firearms training is important for everyone. Unfortunately, women are often left out for silly reasons. When I first started shooting, I didn’t much care about anything but my own enjoyment. As I started to learn more about the shooting sports and the NRA, I began to see that I have a duty to teach other women about gun safety and bring them into the shooting sports.” The next program put on at the Cherry Ridge Range will be on Oct. 8, when the Association will host a free NRA Family Day at the Range. For additional information, visit their Web site at www.anjrpc.org.

Guns are intimidating. They (the instructors) showed us how to respect and use the guns properly, which eliminated the fear factor. We were empowered! And best of all, we all had a lot of fun!” Donna Wiik