Jackie Stanich stares across the landscape, her hands nervously fumbling with a package of ammunition. Flood lights illuminate the North Phoenix desert terrain, and Susan Corrigan calmly talks Stanich through loading bullets. Stanich closes the chamber of the .40 caliber handgun, takes a deep breath, aims and fires.
Tonight marks the first time Stanich, a 46-year-old grandmother and scheduler with Shea Homes, has fired a gun. She is one of hundreds of women participating in the Annie Oakley Sure Shots Gun Club at the Ben Avery Shooting Range.
Sponsored by Arizona Game and Fish, the Annie Oakley Sure Shots welcome women for free gun instruction and shooting practice, no personal weapons or experience required.
After shooting a couple of rounds, Stanich and Corrigan break to check Stanich’s target – a painted bull’s-eye on a round paper plate. Stanich inspects the bullet-riddled target, excited with the results.
Though her husband keeps a gun on their nightstand, Stanich says she never touches it and doesn’t know how to use it. “Every time I look at it, it gives me the willies,” she says.
Corrigan, a fulltime high school biology teacher and volunteer shooting coach, enjoys helping other women overcome their fears and learn how to use a firearm. “It’s nice to see women who were leery of guns find out that it’s not all that scary,” Corrigan says, “and that they can shoot and not get hurt.”
Corrigan joined the Annie Oakley Sure Shots two years ago. “Everyone should be familiar with how to handle a gun,” she says.
The Annie Oakley Sure Shots organization began with a small group of friends, says volunteer Pam Byrd. “It was just me and about four other gals in the group,” she says.
Byrd regularly leads classes of about 40 first-time shooters through a one-hour safety class – the minimum requirement before hitting the range. Women, she says, are attracted to the Annie Oakley Sure Shots because of the opportunity to learn among other women.
Wearing cowboy boots and a leather belt, Cheryl Howie sits in the front row of Byrd’s first-timers class. “I have horses, and I horseback ride a lot,” Howie says. “I want to protect myself when I’m riding out in the desert.”
Across the room, Rachel Rognlin, 27, sits through the training class with her mom and 87-year-old great aunt. “We thought it would be a fun girl’s night out,” she says.
Once on the range, Rognlin, a surgical technician, loads and fires a semi-automatic pistol. Although this is her first time with the Annie Oakley Sure Shots, Rognlin grew up around guns.
“I’m impressed that anyone without experience can just pick it up and do it,” she says of the group.
Between rounds, Rognlin checks on her aunt and mom’s progress. “There was no rhyme or reason to my aunt’s shots,” Rognlin recalls. “She said to me, ‘Oh, I didn’t do so well.’”
Holding up her aunt’s target, Rognlin mimics shots to the chest and says, “I think you served the purpose.”
At the end of the night, the range calls a cease fire – all guns are emptied and set down. Volunteers check the line, and women wait for the all clear signal before checking their targets.
Without the clear signal, two newbie’s anxiously jump the line to check their
targets. Volunteers holler, “The range is hot!
The range is still hot!” while the ladies cower back behind the line. Safety, Byrd says, is the most important skill taught. It’s not enough, she says, to just “aim and shoot.”
Once ladies know the basics, she says, they enjoy the challenge to excel at shooting. “Women play tennis and play golf,” says Byrd. “Why not target
shooting?”
The Annie Oakley Sure Shots have now started pre-registration to accommodate the growing group. In addition, the Annie Oakley Sure Shots have spawned an all-women’s high power rifle group. And other local gun clubs are incorporating women’s interests. Women shoot for free every Tuesday night at the Scottsdale Gun Club.
Stanich is already looking forward to next week’s shoot, when she’ll compare her target from this week. “I don’t have the fear I had before,” she says. “And I have a lot more respect for guns.”
