I truly wish that I had grown up hunting and shooting. I had some negative (and completely false) opinions of hunting and shooting in general only because I had never experienced it. It was a brush with a Malignant Melanoma cancer diagnosis that paved the way for me to embrace a life that I can never imagine being without.
I was in my early 30s with 2 little girls under the age of 5 when I had to change everything about my life. No more days baking in the pool or on the beach, which is great because I only have two shades: neon white or lobster red. My husband had been trying to get me to go hunting or learn how to shoot with him for our first 10 years of marriage. I finally broke down and agreed to go with him after moping around the house for the entire summer wishing that I was in the swimming pool.
Fall in Georgia had just hit, and it was deer season. My sweet husband dressed me up in some of his camo and hat , then handed me his crossbow. I had just finished my Hunters Education Course and was as ready as I would ever be in my mind. That evening I got the most incredible experience watching deer feed and play, and I ended up shooting a PIG that had run all of the deer away. I caught the hunting fever then and there.
I got my first rifle for Christmas of 2011. It was a Mossberg .270. It helped me fill our freezer with deer meat, and I am so proud of hunting. Keep in mind that hunting in Georgia is mostly shots under 50 yards, so I had ZERO idea what it was like to hunt at any longer distances.
When we moved to Utah in 2014, I started learning archery with a compound bow since the season was so much longer. I am thankful to have the Utah Dedicated Hunter tag which allows me to hunt archery, muzzleloader, and rifle seasons until I fill my tag. As I learn long range shooting, I can see so many more opportunities to make a great shot and bring meat home to my family.
My main guilty pleasure is pistol competitions. I started shooting USPSA and some 3 Gun matches in 2012. There is nothing quite like the feeling of mapping out a stage in your mind and then running with your guns blazing once the shot timer goes off. I have never shot a match without smiling the whole way through. I did the NRA pistol Instructor training in 2014, and I have been instructing ladies intro to handgun classes with the sole purpose of helping women to feel comfortable with a pistol in their hands. I had the pleasure to be the Advanced Pistol Instructor (Intro to Competition Shooting) for the Ladies Hunting Camps held in Utah for several years.
I just got a similar taste of this with my first long range rifle match at the Sound of Silence match on 5/8/2021 here in Utah. It was windy and I made a handful of rookie mistakes, but NOTHING can compare to the feeling of accomplishment and absolute joy that you get from shooting a match like that. The amount of thought and focus that goes in to shooting long range makes it even more exciting than I ever could have imagined.
I look forward to sharing my shooting adventures with the LRT group. No matter what, be safe, but get out there and have fun!