At long last the Association had a sunny and sparkling day to welcome 250 women to Cherry Ridge for the fifth annual Women’s Day at the Range. After working in the cold and rain at events held earlier this year, our hardy volunteers enjoyed the perfect weather even more than our guests.

The annual Women’s Day at the Range, sponsored in part by a grant from the NRA Foundation, is part of the Association’s ongoing outreach effort to introduce new people to the shooting sports. Each year, hundreds of women from across the state have the opportunity to try shooting in a safe and supportive environment. Inevitably, they have fun; many of them go home with a much different impression of firearms than they had before.

This year was no exception. The beautiful weather also boosted everyone’s spirits; both volunteers and guests were ready to enjoy the day. After a safety briefing and an introduction to the fundamentals of shooting, the women broke into groups and headed to the ranges to get hands-on experience with rifles, pistols and shotguns under the friendly supervision of our NRA-certified instructors. A reporter from the Newark Star Ledger was also on hand. He interviewed a number of the women, but also did some shooting. His story appeared in the next day’s edition. Titled “Out here, girls just wanna have guns: Women find they’re at home on the range,” the piece captured the fun and enthusiasm of the day.

Although fun and enthusiasm were very much in evidence, they were the second most important business of the day. The first, as always, was safety. As each group came to a new range, they were reminded of the safety rules; as each instructor worked with a shooter, the fundamentals of safety were reinforced.

Many of the women had never shot before. But a number of them showed natural talent. Instructor George Tomko remarked, “One of my students had never held a pistol before, but when she stood and shot one-handed, her pistol was absolutely still. I told her to aim for the bottom right target, and she put every one of her shots in the center. It would have been a score of 95!” Besides the undiscovered “shooting stars,” the instructors remarked at how quickly women take to the shooting sports. In its very first Women’s Day in 1999, the Association advertised that “the shooting sports are not just for men,” and each year the women who come to the range prove it.

After two rounds of shooting, the women came back to the 300-yard range for an outdoor lunch and some relaxation. With five years’ experience under their belts, our general crew made serving 300 people look easy. At each major event, these behind-the scenes volunteers work to make sure that our guests are comfortable and feel welcome.

When lunch was done, there was one last round of shooting, followed by a short gathering to close the day. Event organizers Frank and Sharon Sevean conducted a drawing to give away prizes that had been donated by several event sponsors and individuals. Frank thanked everyone for coming and wished them many more good times at the range.

Our heartfelt thanks to all the volunteers who gave up their Saturdays to make Women’s Day a success. Thanks to Peggy Hodgkiss and Mike Bodner for pioneering the event and developing the procedures that work so well. Thank you to event organizers Frank and Sharon Sevean. Thanks, too, to our hardworking range personnel: John Healey, Jim Bresett, Fran Antico, Vito Antico, John Koppinger, Jim Smith and Frank Zarney.

Special thanks to: 

• Thunder Mountain Trap & Skeet in Ringwood, NJ for their generous discount on the clay targets and shotgun shells for Youth Fest and Women’s Day.

• Hometown Market of Pompton Plains, NJ for their generous discount for the Women’s Day lunch.

•  ANJRPC member Al Deprospo of Paramus for his contribution of ammunition that was quickly used up on Women’s Day.

• ANJRPC member Susan Moran for contributing gift baskets and other items that were used as prizes.

Thank you to the following companies for their generous donations:

Speedwell Targets
 - Handgun Targets
Mike Panos, President
136 Lincoln Blvd.
Middlesex, NJ  08846
www.speedwelltargets.com 

Winchester Ammunition
 - Ear protectors, Literature
Mary Ventress, Event Mktg. Admin.
427 North Shamrock
East Alton, IL 62024
www.winchester.com

Women & Guns Magazine
 - Copies of magazine
Peggy Tartaro, Executive Editor
267 Linwood Ave.
Buffalo, NY 14209-0488

Space Farms - Family passes
218 Route 519
Sussex, NJ 07461

Ray's Sport Shop - Gift certificate
559 Rt. 22 West
Plainfield, NJ 07060

Upland Shooter’s and Range Bags - Handgun cases
778 Larch St.
Newport, WA 99156-8712
1-888-718-0869
www.uplandusa.com

  

The Silver Bullet - Gift certificates
Frank Vuono
63 Main Street
Rockaway, NJ  07866

Evan Nappen, Esq.
 -  Signed books of NJ firearms law
21 Throckmorton Ave.
Eatontown, NJ  07724
www.evannappen.com 

Women on Target
 - Water bottles & literature
11250 Waples Mill Road
Fairfax, VA 22030

New Paterson Rod & Gun
 - Gift certificate
Mike Giudici
1000 Market St.
Paterson, NJ  07513

Also thanks to the following who donated product literature:

Kimber Manufacturing Inc.
Ryan Busse, National Sales Mgr.
2590 Highway 35 - Suite B
Kalispell, MT  59901-9352

Hodgdon Powder Co.
6231 Robinson
Shawnee Mission, KS 66202