Gal’s Day at the Range
Gal’s Day at the Range
How a Small Community Can Make a Big Impact
By Kenzie Fitzpatrick
The goal of the 2nd Amendment community should be to educate people about gun safety and bring new shooters to the range to learn how to shoot. Going to a shooting range can be overwhelming, intimidating, and frankly, uncomfortable. It’s even more so when you’re a female trying a hobby that is stereotypically a male activity. Unless you grew up around guns or have a friend/spouse/parent who is into guns to teach you, it’s hard to know where to start. If just one person introduced one new person to shooting each year, the ripple effect can be huge.
As a competitive shooter, firearms instructor, podcaster, and writer in the industry, I feel indebted to so many people who helped me along my journey with firearms. This feeling left me with a desire to pay it forward by helping other women feel confident and knowledgeable about firearms. Six years ago, I decided to create an event for women only that I would have liked to go to when I was first getting into firearms. I thought to call it “Gal’s Day at the Range,” a name that has stuck since the very beginning. I wanted to have as few barriers to entry as possible, where women could just show up and shoot. I also wanted to cater to the newest shooter, so someone who had never touched a firearm would feel comfortable coming and leave with enough knowledge to handle a gun safely on their own.
“It Takes a Community”
While I had the concept of how I wanted the event to go and the initiative to make it happen, I knew it would require help from my community. Finding people who wanted to volunteer and give back to the 2A community by helping with this event was much easier than I thought. I learned that people desire a sense of purpose in life and to be part of something greater than themselves. I’ve had friends volunteer for a year or two when they were available, but there is a core group of friends who live near me who have helped ever since I brought the event to Tennessee. Windrock Shooting Range has also donated the range free of charge, which has been my favorite place and the most beautiful to host this event at. Windrock will also play host to this year’s GOALs Conference media range day.
The sponsors that support Gal’s Day at the Range, which include Gun Owners of America, are what help keep the pricing low (and the unlimited ammunition flowing). They also donate guns, optics, ammunition, hats, gift certificates, and more to be given away each year. Heckler & Koch has made a massive impact in making this event possible year after year. They have supported my idea since the very beginning, and for the last three years, they have set up a booth and helped teach women how to handle and shoot their guns safely. All the Tannerite, Firebird Targets, Ballistic Dummy Lab Targets, and Claycopter targets are donated by the brands just for this event. Tennessee Silencer, Genesis Arms, and TiON Suppressors were also present at the event. Genesis Arms brought the Gen12 personal defense shotgun for ladies to shoot, while TiON showcased its line of suppressors. Tennessee Silencer provided suppressed demo guns, rented their large-caliber machine guns, and, of course, brought a new Humvee. The community truly came together for a magical day dedicated to helping women learn more about shooting firearms.
"The community truly came together for a magical day dedicated to helping women learn more about shooting firearms."
The Thank You’s
Each year, I ask attendees to write a thank-you card to the sponsors at the end of the event, which I then mail to each sponsor post-event. The art of writing handwritten letters is dead, but it is something I have done my whole life, thanks to my grandmother. These handwritten cards go a long way in showing appreciation for each brand that has supported Gal’s Day at the Range. I also believe it’s essential to express gratitude to sponsors beyond a thank you. Our 2A community can do better in supporting the businesses that sponsor events like this by purchasing products from them, creating social media posts featuring their products, and sharing word-of-mouth recommendations.
I’ve read every card, and over the last six years, I’ve cried, laughed, and been amazed at the words these ladies write. There have been brand new shooters who have never touched a firearm come to Gal’s Day a little intimidated and yet leave with total confidence on how to handle a gun safely. One young lady shared in her thank-you card how grateful she was to have found this event, as she hadn’t yet found a firearms community that she had been seeking to be a part of. One woman went to the range for the first time the day before the event with her husband, to have some basic gun safety knowledge before being immersed in a whole day around guns. She just about cried when she won one of the Taurus GX2 pistols, which was perfect for a first-time shooter and gun owner to win. Ladies have written directly to sponsors about something they shot at Gal’s Day that made a big difference in their firearms journey. One lady wrote to Volquartsen about how their lightweight .22 LR pistol and rifle were the guns she could easily hold and shoot without fatigue. Another woman wrote to Holosun about how excited she was to try out so many different red dot optics before choosing which one she wanted to buy after the event. One gal wore a demo pair of Hunters HD Gold eyewear all day long, won a certificate in her goodie bag, and wrote about how she couldn’t wait to order her first pair of glasses from them.
If you take anything away from reading this, know that a simple thank you can go a long way in the eyes of volunteers, sponsors, ranges, and event hosts. As a reminder, we should support and show loyalty to companies that support anything to do with the 2nd Amendment. This encompasses sponsors of events or shooting competitions, as well as those who donate to causes and organizations that protect our rights, and more.
"If you take anything away from reading this, know that a simple thank you can go a long way in the eyes of volunteers, sponsors, ranges, and event hosts."
The Impact
The impact of Gal’s Day at the Range cannot be understated. It is also something we haven’t yet seen the full effect of. Let me tell you some stories about a few women who have attended Gal’s Day in the past.
A friend of mine came to one of the very first events hosted in Florida and brought her mother with her, who got emotional after feeling the empowerment of shooting a PCC. That friend later brought a friend with her to the first event held in East Tennessee. She has since started carrying a gun, competed in a few shooting competitions, and has even taught other women the things she has learned.
I met a dear friend of mine through my Gal’s Day event. She has attended every year since discovering it and is, in my eyes, solely responsible for filling up the registration list. She is a mom who now carries daily, has been officially instructor-certified, and is the leader of a local women-only gun group. She has also assisted me with photography and videography, and has even accompanied me to SHOT Show for the last two years. Gal’s Day was just the beginning for her. Her impact on other women, enabling them to feel safe and empowered to own firearms, is incredible.
Three years ago, the wife and two daughters of someone I know through competition shooting attended Gal’s Day. Firearms were no strangers to any of them, as they had experience shooting .22 LR guns and other types of firearms. The younger sister was intimidated by rifles and didn’t think she’d feel comfortable shooting them. The older sister shot first and gave the younger a pep talk, convincing her to try it at least once. Guess what happened after she fired a round. Her jaw dropped, and she began to smile and giggle, immediately getting back behind the gun to shoot some more. Fear conquered. Two years ago, the sisters returned, and this time, the youngest wanted to try shooting a shotgun. Her older sister was by her side the entire time, and the two of them enjoyed every second on that range. The dad has been an incredible help by volunteering as a range officer. He’s one of the nicest men I know, and so supportive of women shooting guns. I’m honored that this entire family finds value in this event.
I will leave you with this. If you build it, they will come. Field of Dreams, folks! It takes one person to light the match, ignite the spark, and put things into motion. After that, it’s about making the asks. I genuinely believe that the firearms community will always come together to be part of something greater than themselves. With everything going on in our country today, it’s more important than ever to grow the 2A community. Let’s come together, build something great, and make a positive impact in our community.
