Tag: Girls and Guns
Wednesday, March 14th, 2012
Below is a “Campus Safety Alert” issued by Adam Garcia, the Director of Police Services at UNR. The incidents described below are just two examples of why I feel uncomfortable visiting the UNR campus as an unarmed female.
University Police Services and the Reno Police Department have received two separate reports of suspicious incidents. On March 8, 2012 at approximately 7:00 P.M. a victim reported that she was followed from Virginia Street and 10th Street to Angel Street by a male in a black unknown model truck with a small white rectangle shape on the cab of the truck. The male subject drove alongside her, then parked at the cemetery in the area and continued watching her. The subject was described as being male, unknown race approximately 40-50 years of age.
In the second incident, a UNR student reported that on Monday March 12, 2012 at 3:30 P.M. a male driver drove alongside her and attempted to coax her into his vehicle. The female ran to her vehicle while the subject followed her. This subject is described as a black male with scruffy facial hair, approximately 40-50 years of age, driving an older white Isuzu Rodeo with two blue stripes on the side and no license plates.
If you have any information regarding these incidents, contact Investigator Jaime McGuire at 682-7284 or Regional Dispatch at 334-COPS(2677).
University Police Services also wants to take this time to remind you of the following safety tips:
- Make personal safety your number one priority. Awareness, Avoidance and Risk Reduction is the best way to not be a victim.
- Travel in groups of two or more and always travel in well-lit, heavily traveled areas.
- Tell someone where you are going and when you will return.
- Carry a whistle or noise maker. This can serve as a reminder to exercise caution, and can alert someone in the area that you need help.
- Be alert! Look around you; be aware of who is on the street and in the area. Make it difficult for anyone to take you by surprise.
- If listening to music, keep the volume low so you can hear what is going on around you.
- If you know you are going to be working late, plan ahead as to how you will get to your vehicle or home safely.
- Use Campus Escort or University Police Cadets to get you to your vehicle safely. Campus Escort operates 7 days a week during academic semesters from 7:00 P.M. – 1:00 A.M. They can be contacted at 742-6808. Police Services Cadets operate Monday through Thursday from 6:00 P.M. – 12:00 A.M. during academic semesters. Student cadets can be contacted at 745-5921 or 745-7505. When these services are not operating, contact the duty officer at 745-6195 and request an escort.
This message is being sent in compliance with the timely warning provision of Title II of Public Law 101-542 34, CFR 668.46 (e), the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act.
Adam Garcia
Director
Police Services
University of Nevada, Reno
1664 N. Virginia St. MS/250
Reno, NV 89557
(775) 784-4013 Main
(775) 784-4689 Direct
(775) 327-2220 Fax
www.unr.edu/police
“COMMUNITY FIRST”
Tags: campus carry, concealed carry, Defensive Carry, gender, Girls and Guns, gun control, guns, self defense, Situational Awareness
Posted in Concealed Carry, Safety | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, June 29th, 2011
Someone online, at my encouragement, asked me some gun questions. Her text is below. I’m more of a target shooter than a hunter. Please let me know what you all would say to her! Thanks in advance for your help.
“My current 5 year plan is to set up a small homestead in northern Minnesota. Moose, bear, wolves, deer and other such critters are commonplace.
As a nearly middle aged woman who has never held a gun – whats the best starter weapon for me? I’m thinking some kind of rifle, something that would be good for property protection as well as eventual hunting.
My husband was an expert marksman with the military, so I’m sure he could help me learn to use it well. That said, he never used guns before the Army and not since, so its not an area we know much about.”
Tags: Female Shooters, Girls and Guns, gun ownership, guns, hunting, rifles, self defense
Posted in Activism, For Newbies | 13 Comments »
Friday, June 24th, 2011
I want a car safe. I can carry to and from work, but not at work. Additionally, when I’m running errands, sometimes I stop by places I can’t bring my Bodyguard in with me. I have a locking glovebox, but I don’t think that’s enough.
There are different kinds of car safes out there… at a gun show once, I saw a metal mesh bag gun safe. I haven’t been able to find one of those again. There are also key locked gun safes and combo locked gun safes. I’m not sure how easy either of those would be for me to open quickly in the dark. I wish they made car gun safes with the same sort of open-sesame technology that is utilized on lockers for students with disabilities.
MasterLock's 1500iD
Abus 150/40 C
Masterlock makes a lock that has four buttons: up, down, left and right. The combo can be entered purely by touch. Abus makes a lock whose combination is entered by aligning mini-switches to positions numbered 1-4. It seems these locks would be easier to open in the dark in my car than a key lock or a combination lock would.
I’ve also seen fingerprint locking safes. Those just creep me out. For those of you who have a car gun safe, do you use the fingerprint, lock or combination type? Do you have any tips, tricks, advice, recommendations for me?
Tags: 2nd Ammendment, CCW, concealed carry, Defensive Carry, Female Shooters, Gear, Girls and Guns, gun safes, open carry
Posted in Concealed Carry, Safety | 6 Comments »
Wednesday, June 8th, 2011
I received an email from Jenny Teague of the League of Lethal Ladies letting me know that the league has died. The email included a lot of useful information, so I’m posting it here for you all to see. I only went to one LLL after work shooting event, but I had a lot of fun there. I got the opportunity to try things I wouldn’t have otherwise, such as shooting at a playing card, bowling pins, or clay pigeons. Anyway… on with the email:
This is just a note to everyone that the League of Lethal Ladies has been officially disbanded as an organization with the State of Nevada. That just means we no longer are recognized by the state as a non-profit organization. That doesn’t mean you can’t get together to shoot or meet monthly if you want. In fact, I highly encourage those of you who have got together for shoots to keep doing so. This is the most current email listing of everyone in the organization. Feel free to try and set up shooting dates still. Also, if you are interested in other organizations to join and shoot at, I highly recommend Stillwater Firearms Association in Fallon and Western Nevada Pistol League in Reno. If you join Stillwater, please tell Elynda Long, their president, I sent you. She’ll see to it you get the VIP treatment because they love having ladies join there. Thank you to everyone who helped out with the League, whether with paperwork and organization, hosting League nights, or just attending League Nights and shoots. It was a fun run while it lasted.
The website and facebook page will be removed soon, but here’s some links from there. If you enjoy posts on shooting and safety, you can always sign up to like the facebook pages of The Women’s Shooting Academy or Women’s Safety Academy to get Vicki’s up to date info on classes, tips, and newsletters, or The Gunslinging Housewife for my product reviews, tips, crafts and recipes.
Thank you to Vicki for originally collecting a list of students who wanted to get together and shoot more. Without her originally, there never would have been a League. Even though there is no more League, doesn’t mean to say you’re not all Leathal Ladies. You all shoot. You all won’t put up with garbage. You are all amazing!
Finally, here’s some shooting resources for you to continue your love of the sport:
GOOD PLACES TO SHOOT:
Ranges
Washoe County Shooting Facility
21555 Pyramid Way, Reno, NV (775) 475-2991
City of Carson Rifle and Pistol Range
4000 Flint Dr, Carson City, NV (775) 887-2262
Capital City Gun Club – Carson City, NV
3590 Arrowhead Drive, Carson City, NV (775) 882-9904
Sage Hill Clay Sports – Reno, NV
7370 Desert Way, Reno, NV(775) 851-1123
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Derby Dam
Hwy 80 off exit 36 Derby Dam
PLACES NOT TO SHOOT:
Congested Area Maps
Interactive Congested Area Map
Washoe County Sheriff’s Department Congested Area Map
SHOOTING CLUBS & ASSOCIATIONS:
Stillwater Firearms Association
A Nevada non profit organization dedicated to promoting public interest and skill in the use of small guns and firearms; providing proper training and education in the use of firearms; promoting public interest and skill in the sport of target shooting; and promoting healthy and social recreation for the members of the organization as well as for the public at large.
Western Nevada Pistol League
A practical pistol shooting club featuring USPSA, IDPA, and Steel Challenge matches.
Palomino Valley Gun Club
Supporting competitive rifle endeavors and promoting firearms marksmanship and safety.
SHOOTING RULES & REGULATIONS:
International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA)
United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA)
International Confederation of Revolver Enthusiasts (ICORE)
Tags: 2nd Ammendment, Activism, Female Shooters, Girls and Guns, guns, Leage of Lethal Ladies, shooting, shooting ranges, Washoe County Regional Shooting Facility
Posted in Activism | No Comments »
Friday, March 25th, 2011
The timeline:
- I shot my brand new Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 38 at the range on Saturday, March 5th to qualify for a CCW addon with it.
- On Tuesday, March 7th, I dropped the paperwork for it and for my name change since I recently married in the mail, addressed to the Washoe County Sheriff’s Department. Of course, I included the $15 fee.
- According to the date on the paperwork I later received, my new permit was issued Friday, March 11th.
- On Tuesday, March 15th, my check cleared my bank.
- The Sheriff’s Office printed the postage on the envelope containing my new permit on Wednesday, March 23rd.
- I received my new CCW permit on Thursday, March 24th.
We’re looking at 14 business day turn-around-time, including the mail time. Although, as indicated by the postmark and receipt date of the new permit, the mail around here takes about a day for in-town mail. The bulk of the wait time was spent at the Sheriff’s Office.
Now for the bad news…
They screwed up my permit. Royally.
According to the Sheriff’s Office my middle name is “Marie.” Wrong! Also, they didn’t even addon the addon. Duh! I left a voicemail for Lisa Lane, the woman who processes all things CCW, asking her what to do to get this fixed. I’m hoping I don’t have to come into their office because I’d have to take off of work to do that and because waiting there is WORSE than waiting at the DMV. But if that’s what I have to do, I’ll do it! I’ll keep ya’ll posted.
Tags: CCW, concealed carry, Female Shooters, firearms, gender, Girls and Guns, guns, Smith & Wesson, Washoe County Sheriff's Office
Posted in Concealed Carry | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011
After I got home from completing my addon at the Washoe County Regional Shooting Facility under the direction of Armed and Safe on Saturday afternoon, Gary from Safe Shot called me. He heard I was in earlier in the day and that I had a complaint about the steep pricing and addon drama. I didn’t ask for him to call; he took it upon himself. I applaud him for that because good customer service is hard to find, especially it seems at times hard to find at Safe Shot .
He told me that he didn’t know he charged me more than MSRP for the revolver when he sold it to me the day before and that he couldn’t fix that. The store paid more because it bought the revolver before Smith & Wesson dropped the price. The price drop happened recently, about six weeks before. To make up for the price gouge and the confusion about the addon, he couldn’t offer cash money, but he could offer some perks.
GB and I will enjoy at our next trip to Safe Shot :
- Range fee waivers (2 @ $10)
- Free box of ammo (2 @ about $30)
- Free target (2 @ $2)
That’s a total of $84 in perks. It makes me feel better about the overpaid $30 and the mix-up about the addon. The only catch is that we go to redeem this offer on a day when Gary is working, or with his approval on a day he’s not working. This is to avoid any further chaos. I didn’t get this in writing and I’m kind of worried that when I go to use this offer, it will have disappeared somehow. I guess I’ll cross that bridge when/if I get there. This mistrust really shows how the service at Safe Shot has messed with my feelings towards them. I used to love them. I shot a gun for the first time at their range and that experience changed my life. I also purchased my first firearm from them. I hope that with good staff like Gary, the image of Safe Shot can be turned around.
For now, while Safe Shot can suck at times, Gary seems like an ethical, helpful guy who cares about customer service. He doesn’t earn commission, so he doesn’t benefit from me saying this, but it’s my advice that if anyone is going to buy a gun at Safe Shot , they should buy it through Gary. The rest of the staff seems confused, untrained and hampered in providing customer service by the owner and the owner seems rude and uncaring.
It’s my advice to the owner of Safe Shot that he should make himself scarce on the sales floor and let his staff and customers interact with competent management in his stead. He should focus on running this business from behind the scenes since his people skills are sorely lacking. Not everyone is cut out for retail; perhaps he should stick to the things he is cut out for. Maybe he’s good at the accounting/paperwork aspect of the business? I donno. But get that man off of the sales floor!
Anyway. I’m glad Gary called and I’m crossing my fingers about a successful Safe Shot range trip for GB and I sometime soon.
Tags: Armed and Safe, CCW, concealed carry, firearms, Girls and Guns, gun ownership, guns, Safe Shot, Washoe County Regional Shooting Facility
Posted in Concealed Carry, Shopping | No Comments »
Sunday, March 20th, 2011
I babysat for a family in my ward recently. I bought with me to their home a strong feeling of love for their children, a sense of fun and adventure and my gun. I carried it in a holster made by Discreet Carry. It is the DCH-1 holster, typically used by men. I turn the holster from the armpit area as men tend to use it until the holster sits just below my breasts and is aligned to the center of my chest. In this way, my holster is situated in the “rain shadow” of the girls where it is not visible. I can carry kids on either hip and piggy-back style with no little feet catching my gun or holster.
We cuddled during movies and I hugged and rocked the criers of the crew. None of the kids noticed my gun and as you all know, kids don’t keep quiet about awkward things. They would have no qualms asking me why my belly is so poky or asking what hard thing I have under my shirt. My holster worked perfectly. I could move and bend as I needed to, it wasn’t in the way at all and it kept concealed carry concealed.
No misadventures were experienced that night: no home invasions or rabid dog attacks. But if the stuff had hit the fan in that strange home, at night, in an unknown neighborhood, with vulnerable children in my stewardship, I was properly equipped to respond to the situation. And I’m glad for that. I love those kids and I don’t want anything to happen to them.
Concealed carry: it’s worth it.
Tags: CCW, concealed carry, Defensive Carry, firearms, Girls and Guns, guns, kids and guns
Posted in Concealed Carry | No Comments »
Saturday, March 19th, 2011
If Nevada’s colleges and universities allowed concealed weapon permit holders to carry guns on campus it might have prevented two rapes and a murder, a sexual assault survivor told state lawmakers Friday.
During emotional testimony before the Senate Government Affairs Committee Amanda Collins, 25, testified for Senate Bill 231, which would eliminate a restriction that prevented her from carrying her legal concealed handgun the night she was raped in a University of Nevada, Reno parking garage.
The attacker, James Biela, went on to rape another woman, and was convicted of kidnapping and killing a campus visitor, Brianna Denison.
“On Oct. 22, 2007 my right to say ‘no’ was taken from me by both James Biela and the Nevada Legislature,” said Collins, recounting the night she was attacked. “If the purpose of the current law is to ensure safety to those on university property then it is not serving that objective.”
–http://www.lvrj.com/news/campus-gun-bill-get-first-hearing-118277349.html?ref=349
Tags: 2nd Ammendment, campus carry, CCW, concealed carry, Defensive Carry, Female Shooters, Girls and Guns, gun ownership, gun safety, guns, Personal Safety, self defense
Posted in Activism, Concealed Carry | 1 Comment »
Saturday, March 19th, 2011
- Armed and Safe does business right.
- I am more comfortable shooting the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard revolver than I am my Bersa Thunder 9, even with more difficult to use sights and a crazy trigger-pull. because the revolver fits my hands.
- I didn’t feel as grungy after shooting a revolver than I do after shooting semi-autos. What’s up with that?
- I can pick up a brand new gun of a type I’m not overly familiar with, remove its tags at the range, shoot five lethal shots with it, adjust myself and then shoot more accurate subsequent shots. Cool!
Tags: Armed and Safe, concealed carry, Female Shooters, Girls and Guns, guns, revolvers, Smith & Wesson, Washoe County Regional Shooting Facility
Posted in Concealed Carry, Range Time, Running the Gun | No Comments »
Friday, March 18th, 2011
Tags: 2nd Ammendment, Activism, campus carry, CCW, concealed carry, Defensive Carry, Female Shooters, firearms, gender, Girls and Guns, gun control, gun ownership, guns, Personal Safety
Posted in Activism, Concealed Carry, Safety | 2 Comments »
