As Women’s History Month comes to a close, we’d like to point out a company that brings a learning opportunity to women across the nation. It’s called Shoot Like a Girl. With a mobile range housed in a 53-foot semi-tractor trailer, the Shoot Like a Girl team travels to cities all across the US, hosting events that allow women to shoot pistols, rifles, and bows using a state-of-the-art military-grade firearm simulator. Thanks to generous corporate partners, this opportunity is free to attend. Interested? Keep reading to find out more.
What is Shoot Like a Girl?
Ultimately, Shoot Like a Girl is a marketing company that is dedicated to increasing the number of women who participate in the shooting sports. The company promotes firearms safety and ethical hunting, promoting the growth of new outdoor enthusiasts for generations to come.
How do they accomplish these goals? It starts with a team of professional women who use the mobile range to familiarize women with firearms and archery. The experience and exposure to various weapons help to empower women with confidence in a fun, safe and comfortable atmosphere. Shoot Like a Girl is helping women everywhere learn step-by-step how to handle and shoot different weapons, from a 9mm pistol to a .223 rifle, as well as a bow and arrow.
Visitors of all ages who attend a Shoot Like a Girl event will find a counter outside of the mobile range with a variety of guns and gear to compare. The counter has disassembled firearms, including revolvers, semi-automatic handguns, shotguns, and rifles, as well as other gear. Once inside the mobile unit, trained and certified female instructors and archery coaches walk women through the processes of handling, loading, and shooting weapons.
With the state-of-the-art military-grade InVeris Training Solutions firearms simulation system and archery range, women are guided through a revolutionary introduction process called Test Shots and Test Flights by certified NRA instructors and archery coaches. Through this immersive event, guests who are 18 years of age or older can experience immediate recoil, impact, and sound feedback when they shoot various firearms.
Founder Karen Butler explains, “We give them instructions on how to execute a proper shot, which includes stance, sight alignment, grip, and trigger squeeze on a firearm.” The steps are similar for visitors who want to try out using a bow. “It is amazing how many women think they can’t do these tasks, but given the correct technique can accomplish them like a pro.”
No live ammunition is used and no experience is necessary to participate. All equipment is provided to guests upon their arrival, and it’s 100% free to attend. To date, well over 27,000 women have participated in this program.
History
Shoot Like a Girl was founded by Karen Butler, who previously held a Civil Service job in the Department of the Army in Huntsville, Alabama. She explains that the genesis of Shoot Like a Girl was all by chance. “Shooting sports changed the trajectory of my life.”
While camping with friends, she was introduced to guns and bows. “I shot both, and was really good at it. I felt a confidence sweep over me that I didn’t even know I was lacking.” After that camping trip, she bought a bow and made frequent trips to the range. “I found an entire new family that was vested in my success, eager to help and just really great people. I shot so much, I became the Colorado State Champion.”
Butler carried the idea for Shoot Like a Girl for several years before acting on it, and she credits her husband, Todd, for the encouragement to pursue the idea. She developed a business plan and contacted Hilary Claybourne of the North Alabama Women’s Small Business Center. From there, she ultimately launched Shoot Like A Girl in February 2009 at the World Archery Festival in Las Vegas, NV.
Karen said, “For the first couple of years, it was only archery. I did a proof of concept to see if this would work with a business plan that had adding firearms to it in the 5th year. My dad made vinyl signs that we put over card tables. It was very ‘Mom and Pop.’ I would hand draw my signs.”
Since then, Shoot Like a Girl has expanded tremendously, with events scheduled throughout the US each year.
“I am convinced that women will sustain this industry. We have the most growth opportunity, and we have a positive effect [on] the number of youth who shoot, too,” said Butler. She strives for “every woman in this country [to] have an opportunity to try shooting sports, and to be familiar with firearm safety (especially if they have firearms in their homes).” Beyond that, she says, “I want them to experience this unbelievable confidence that comes when you aim at a target and hit where you are aiming, and let that confidence seep into the rest of their lives.”
Shoot Like a Girl 2023 Schedule of Events
If you’re interested in checking out for yourself what Shoot Like a Girl has to offer, here is the current schedule of events.
- April 1-2 Bass Pro Shops – Garland, TX
- May 4-7 Special Pop Up Event! Info coming Soon!!
- May 20-21 Bass Pro Shops – Clarksville, IN
- June 10-11 Cabela’s – Centerville, OH
- June 24-25 Bass Pro Shops – Rossford, OH
- July 15-16 Cabela’s – Avon, OH
- July 28 Corporate Event – New Port, NH
- July 29-30 Bass Pro Shops – Hookset, NH
- August 12-13 Bass Pro Shops – Hampton, VA
- August 18 Corporate Event – Mayodan, NC
- August 26-27 Bass Pro Shops – Cary, NC
- September 14-16 NASCAR – Bristol Motor Speedway
- September 30-OCT 1 Bass Pro Shops – Kodak, TN
- October14-15 Bass Pro Shops – Chattanooga, TN
