Spitz: She's armed, but not dangerous

OK, I admit it. I shot a pigeon last weekend and I didn't feel a shred of guilt.
I also took out seven chickens. Or maybe they were ducks. To be honest, I couldn't really tell.
Some would say I'd be better off keeping my mouth shut about the whole thing.
Not Jon Green.
``Talk about this stuff with your friends,'' he advised. ``You haven't done anything wrong.''
Well, there was the faux pas of not positioning my thumbs correctly in the two-handed pistol grip. And I didn't exactly have a stellar record in trap.
The AR-15 session wasn't a shining moment either. The noise of the M-16 assault rifle's civilian counterpart, even with two layers of ear protection, was too much for me.
But, no, I didn't do anything wrong by taking part in last Saturday's Women on Target training. Just something out of character for someone who's not a big fan of guns.
Like many of the 24 other women at the nine-hour event, men were a main reason I was there.
Several attendees are wives of Southborough Rod & Gun Club members. Cassie Marrone's husband belongs to the club where the event was held, which, despite its name, is actually in Hopkinton, and Marrone brought along friend Mary Ann Mannett, a former neighbor when they lived in Northborough.
``I've practiced target,'' said Mannett, but not skeet and trap. ``I want to learn something new.''
Madeline Masucci of Holliston came to learn more about the sports dear to her boyfriend's heart, and because her 15-year-old daughter had enjoyed a previous visit to the club.
Ruth Knowles of Hopkinton said she was ``gently prodded'' by her husband, as well as by daughter Bethanne Knowles of Milford, who accompanied her mom Saturday. Ruth Knowles was once a member of Melrose High's rifle team, but, she admitted, that was a long time ago.
At 21, Stacey Scott of Hopkinton was one of the younger participants. The daughter of a club member, her goal was safety certification.
Louise Cornelius, a California native attending Olin College of Engineering in Needham, came because ``I've always been afraid of guns, so I thought this would be good for me.''
Like Cornelius, I'm leery of firearms. Unlike the young woman with corn-rows who chipped away at her Mechanics of Solids and Structures homework during a break, I wasn't doing this to get over my fear.
I came because my editor said so. And because I've always been puzzled by my eldest son, who loves target shooting despite being raised in a totally gun-free home.

Safe and sound shooting
The day began and ended with PowerPoint presentations from Green, director of education and training for the Northborough-based Gun Owners' Action League.
``Some people you can't trust with a salad fork, let alone a gun,'' he said, but ``moral and responsible gun owners'' aren't among that group and shouldn't be treated like criminals.
``Shooters are very special people,'' said Green, and the more you know what shooting is all about, the more you'll understand why gun owners' rights are important.
``The goal (of the Women on Target program) is to introduce women to guns and gun safety in a fun, non-competitive atmosphere.''
So there were knickknacks from the Christmas Tree Shop awarded for right answers to questions such as ``Why do we own guns?'' (Hunting, collecting, recreation, personal protection, competition and ``because we can'' as our Second Amendment right.)
There was bonding over a lavish lunch prepared by Southborough Rod & Gun Club members, who also served as shooting instructors, provided firearms and footed the bill for ammunition.
But first, there were the basics.
``This is a firearm safety program,'' said Green, and the LTC-007 program, with LTC being license to carry, is a course recognized by the state.
``Our job here today isn't to make you shooting experts. It's to make you safety experts,'' said Green.
We learned the ``alwayses.'' Always point the gun in a safe direction, toward the target or the ground. Always keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot. Always keep the firearm unloaded until you're ready to use it.
(And, when you're in the company of gun owners, don't call it a weapon. It's a firearm.)
We learned GOAL's mission is ``to protect the rights of `good' people,'' and a Class A license to carry, ``that's your `good person' card.''
To get a license, you can't have a violent crime or drug conviction; been confined to a hospital for mental illness; or have an outstanding warrant or restraining order against you.
You must be a legal resident. You'll need to be photographed and fingerprinted, pay $100 and possibly additional processing fees. You have to provide a firearms safety certificate, such as the one we earned Saturday. You'll likely be interviewed by the police chief in the town where you live or work, and often you're asked to provide letters of reference vouching for your character.
There are myriad regulations on what you can possess with the Class B or Class A license, others governing how you transport guns from one place to another.
And while the bad guys don't follow any rules, if you're a legal gun owner, you have to notify the town that issued the license, the chief of police in the town you're coming into, and the Criminal History Systems Board, each time you move.
Who are the only other people required to do so?
I won a glass knickknack for knowing it's sex offenders.

Look sharp
Eyes and ears. Eyes and ears.
When you're on the range, you need your eyes and ears. Eye protection in the form of glasses or plastic gear. Ear protection, either foam inserts or the kind that look like stereo headphones of a bygone era.
``Someone will be with you the whole time,'' club member Steve Chouinard assured us as Group A arrived at trap. Chouinard told us about the 20-gauge and 12-gauge shotguns we'd use to shoot at neon orange clay pigeons expelled from a brown brick shed.
What he didn't mention is the 6«-pound guns feel heavier than most of us expected.
``I was more worried about the recoil, but once I started doing it, I realized it was upper body strength'' that was the issue, said Marrone.
Chouinard also failed to mention trap shooting takes a whole lot of skill.
The pigeons, biodegradable clay discs, fly out at 40 mph and move away from you. You have to wait, watch the arc. Hold the gun tight to your shoulder. Lean forward, not back. Hit at the top of its arc.
I shot way too early each time, but groupmate Mannett hit one and earned a round of applause.
She got the first hit from the skeet ``high house,'' too.
In skeet, the discs come from two directions. From the high house, the birds move toward you at 60 mph. Out of the low house, they're going away.
``Follow it, follow it. Get in front of it. Get in front of the bird and break it,'' Bob Valli urged as he got us into position.
``Now the fun begins,'' he said before the birds were released out of both houses at the same time.
By the time we got to the third round of doubles, most of us had at least one hit.
Even me.
It felt pretty good. I may not be a shooter, but I've got a competitive streak. It was nice to get a hand for my meager accomplishment.
``I don't understand the concept of where I'm supposed to be shooting. I think I'm just not seeing it yet,'' said Masucci. ``But I like it. It makes me want to keep trying until I get it.''
The group consensus was skeet beats trap.
As a matter of fact, things kept improving each step of the way.
After lunch, our seven-member group headed to the club basement where we learned how to load a revolver, and how to fire semiautomatic pistols sitting, standing, facing front, one-handed and two-handed, as well as from a side position.
The shell casings came out fast and furious with all seven of us firing away, and what wasn't so noticeable outdoors was suddenly something to be reckoned with.
Seasoned shooters might not be fazed by flying casings, but novices get a little disconcerted.
Still, the women of Group A liked targets better than flying objects, and most of us liked our last stop, the rifle range, best of all.
``That's awesome,'' Scott said with a wide smile as she finished her session with the bolt-action rifle.
How about the AR-15?
``God, no.''

Lessons learned
The 21-year-old and I saw eye-to-eye on that one. The ping of hitting orange metal foul was sweet, but the bolt-action was more than enough firepower for the job.
Masucci disagreed. She loved the loud, powerful AR-15.
It's not so shocking, really.
Different people enjoy different things.
Some would rather fish or golf. Others prefer a movie or basketball.
I'd still rather spend a Saturday shoe shopping or solving Sudoku puzzles than shooting, but I do see the sport in a different light because of the people I met at Southborough Rod & Gun.
They were a warm and enthusiastic group with healthy senses of humor, the kind of folks you can't help but enjoy spending the day with.
Club vice president and event coordinator Andy Cueroni of Bellingham, who admitted he hadn't been able to sleep much the night before, needn't have tossed and turned.
Everything turned out just fine.
``It was fun,'' said the formerly gun-shy Cornelius.
Yes, even for those of us unlikely to put our new National Rifle Association certificates to use, it was fun.
(Julia Spitz can be reached at 508-626-3968 or jspitz@cnc.com. Check metrowestdailynews.com or milforddailynews.com for the Spitz Bitz blog.)