Gun Cleaning Clinic

Last night in Amarillo, A Girl and A Gun in Amarillo held a Gun Cleaning Clinic for ladies. Yours truly gave the lesson and had so much fun with a great group of ladies. It was cold inside the building and VERY cold outside, but we had a nice group that braved the cold and drove outside of town to enjoy some great fellowship and learn how to clean their firearms. It was not surprising to me how many ladies had never even seen a gun cleaned before, much less had ever done it themselves.

We had five women who were new to the group. We met these great girls at the last Gun Show. They braved the cold and the long drive and joined us in their coats to learn to clean their guns, and we are so excited to have them there with us!

Why is it important for me to clean my own gun?

Well, that's a good question. To me, it's not like your car's oil. You don't want to run down to the Jiffy Quick (not a real oil change trade name as far as I know, so sorry if it is) and have it cleaned and oiled and pay a discount price.

You need to know how it works, how it's put together, how it comes apart, and that it was done correctly. As I stated last night, and before on my blog, my LCP had to be sent to the manufacturer after the first visit to the range because the sales person took it apart in front of me and put the recoil springs back in backwards, causing damage to the action and, ultimately, improper cycling, failures to feed, and failures to eject.

If you and your gunsmith are the only ones who are allowed to disassemble and reassemble your firearm, AND if you are skilled in the parts and workings or your firearm, you will always know that it is in proper working order and that (barring any mechanical failure) it is going to fire when and if you ever need it to.

The Cowboy would gladly clean my firearm for me on a regular basis, but it is important to me to clean and maintain it myself when I visit the range.

When should I clean my gun?

That is a matter of personal opinion. In my opinion, if you are regularly visiting the range like you should, then you should clean it after every visit to the range. Fouling buildup on the inside of your firearm can cause malfunctions, misfeeds, and failures to feed or eject.

If for some reason, you are carrying regularly, but not practicing, it should be cleaned regularly to make sure it is free from debris such as dust, dirt and pocket lint.

How should I clean my gun?

That, too, is a matter of personal preference. I recommend having someone well skilled in gun maintenance to show you once, walk you through it once, and watch you do it on your own once before you try to do it on your own. If you can't make this happen, there are some great videos on YouTube, but be sure that the video is from a reputable source and not just some kid, making a video.

If you are in Amarillo and in need of gun cleaning supplies, Long Hunter's Shooting Supply at 6th and Carolina is the place to be. Jim and his staff have kits and supplies for all sizes and can help you find what you need!! Thanks Jim, for donating cleaning kits to our clinic last night!

If you didn't make it to the clinic and need help from me, please email me and I will set up a time to personally teach you how to clean your firearm.

Thanks so much for stopping by, I pray that you have a blessed day!

Lady

A Girl and A Gun - Amarillo Chapter

Last night was the kick-off  of Girl's Night Out for the Amarillo Chapter of A Girl and A Gun Ladies Shooting League. It was amazing! We had 93 wonderful ladies show up, which was quite a surprise since only 45 RSVP'd at our meetup.com page. Although there was a little confusion due to the high attendance, there were no confrontations, and everyone was patient and kind for the most part.

We had 67 ladies sign up as members and we are so blessed to have each of you as part of our new little family! We gave away some great door prizes and had a great time shooting! We even made the news.

Thank you to each of you who showed up. I wanted to share a little more information for any newcomers interested in A Girl and A Gun.

A Girl and A Gun is a statewide shooting league for women only to promote firearms education and shooting sports. It was started in Leander, TX by Julianna and Renee, two wonderful ladies that I am blessed to know. The club currently has chapter in many different cities and is growing quickly.

Girl's Night Out is an opportunity for ladies of all shooting levels to get together at the range and share some time together while plinking a few rounds down range. The amount you get to shoot will depend on the amount of ladies present at a time. We will run in squads, with so many ladies to a squad and a squad leader who can help with some basic instruction, but this is not a classroom environment. You do not have to be a member of A Girl and A Gun Club to come to Girl's Night Out but you will receive discounts on range fees if you are a member. Range fees are $12/night for members and $15/night for non-members.

Instructional classes will be offered from time to time. Some of these classes will be offered to the general public and some will be members only. We will have basic instructional classes, CHL classes, and clinics on subjects like gun cleaning, holster options, and emergency preparedness. We will also have members only functions such as movie nights and outings. Private Instructional lessons are offered and given at a discount to members of A Girl and A Gun Club. Membership to A Girl and A Gun club is $40 a year and offers benefits including discounts at local and online retailers, members only classes and functions, discounted classes and range fees, and a free membership to Panhandle Gunslingers in Amarillo.

The club also hopes to encourage ladies to become participants in shooting sports such as IDPA and to attend trainings and camps such as Babes With Bullets. These opportunities offer women further education and establish a female presence in the shooting community.

You can get more information at http://www.agirlandagunclub.com. Please feel free to email me if you have any more questions.

Haley Grace

Grace is defined as the gift of something that we don't deserve. I think that I can safely say that's how Matt Billingsley felt about his baby girl, Haley Grace. Matt was the owner of Lone Star Gun Range in Austin, TX. To find out how people felt about Matt, all you have to do is google his name. He was loved by all who knew him. Matt was a wonderful friend, a loving husband and an eager father-to-be.

Just a week before they married in March 2011, Sandy and Matt found out their expected baby was a girl. Sandy said his reaction was, "He cried, and we just hugged. We were staring at the sonogram of our baby. We found out she was a girl a week before we were married. Around the time he would sing the song Good Morning Beautiful to her in the morning. He said that he was going to spoil her. I had never seen anyone so happy to have a baby."

The first gift he bought her was a pearl snap pink western shirt to take her country western dancing in. Matt said if anything happened to him he wants her to know 3 things: 1. How to shoot a gun. 2. How to clean her gun. 3. Know how to dance. Matt loved to dance and was good at it. He could have never known when he bought that shirt or when he said these things that he would not be around to see his baby girl born.

On June 17th, while working at his range, Matt had an accident and was all too soon gone from this world. Leaving behind the loves of his life...his beautiful new bride, Sandy, and their unborn daughter, Haley Grace. A short month later, on July 20, Miss Haley made her appearance. She dons his brilliant blue eyes and her head is topped with the red hair he sported in his beard. She is also as forgiving as her father was, always patient as her mother makes those common new mommy mistakes.

When asked what are the hardest parts without him, Sandy replies, "Thats just it, everything is "without him". We ran a buisness together and spent most of our time together. I struggle with the time I dont get to spend with him."

Sandy is incredibly thankful for the kindnesses, prayers and support she has received from true friends who have been here for her and Haley, it has been a true blessing to her. That Texas Lady and A Gun & A Gun want to help Sandy and Haley. At each of our meetings, we will take collections for Haley's care now and in the future. Sandy's biggest fear for Haley is, "that she will not fully understand how much he wanted her and how much he loved her. Everything he did in life was for her and I."

Let's pitch in and show Haley the love and support she will never know from her father this side of Heaven. Let's give to this family the way Matt did to the gun community. Here's what I propose, get a baby bottle (you can get them for 99 cents at Wal-Mart), fill it with your spare change, your coke money, whatever, just fill it up and bring it with you to Girl's Night Out, Breakfast & Bullets, CHL Class, any activity sponsored by A Girl & A Gun or drop it off at Lone Star Gun Range and let's show this family how much the gun community cares! (If you would like to mail a donation, please email me at ThatTexasLady@gmail.com)

Girls' night out ... at the range

Today's blog title is the headline for an article about us in today's Amarillo Globe News. You can view the entire article here.

I wanted to clarify some information for anyone interested. Sign ups for Girl's Night Out will be done at the range. You can find more information on Girl's Night Out and A Girl and A Gun Ladies Shooting League on our website at http://www.agirlandagunclub.com and we would love to have you chat with us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AGirlandAGunClub. If you know You're coming, please RSVP at MeetUp at http://www.meetup.com/A-Girl-and-A-Gun, this helps us to know how many ladies we have coming.

Simply come to the range September 8th at 6pm at the Amarillo Shooting Complex. You will sign up then and we will shoot for about 2 hours. You don't have to be an experienced shooter, or even have your own firearm. We will have some available for those who don't own one. Please, if you do not own your own firearm, bring a box of 9mm ammo.

Wear comfortable clothing, shorts are acceptable and the range is outdoors. We will be posting our "What Not to Wear" article soon and that will help you to know what to and not to wear. Please, no low cut or v-neck shirts, hot brass and the girls do not get along. A hat would be great but is not required. Range fee is $12.

We do plan to have self-defense and Ladies Only CHL classes, in the near future. Keep your eyes on the websites and come to Girl's Night Out to stay informed!

UPDATE:Julianna and Renee are offering a Co-Ed CHL class the 8th and 9th with the qualifier at GNO, check out this link for more details: Amarillo CHL

Babes with Bullets Camp

Ladies Action Shooting Camps offer practical pistol training for novice, intermediate and advanced shooters. From ladies who have never held a handgun before, to experienced competition shooters there is a camp for you!

November 4-6, we will be having the chance to go to Babes with Bullets camp in Liberty Hill, TX. You can follow this link for more information: http://www.agirlandagunclub.com/babes-with-bullets.html

We are taking donations to help cover all or part of the cost for Amarillo area ladies to take part in this amazing opportunity. Anyone who donates over $5 will have their name entered into a drawing for a Crossbreed Holster gift certificate so that you can pick the Crossbreed Holster you would like to have. Your name will be entered into the drawing one time for every $5 you donate. Just click the donate button below to donate securely using Paypal.

Panhandle Ladies: Listen up!

I have been talking with The Glock Girl from A Girl and A Gun Women's Shooting League and Women's Safety Academy out of Austin. She is talking about bringing an extension of the club here as well as a WARRIOR Seminar, Firearms class and non-firearms class.

Would you be interested in joining the shooting league with: "Girl's Night Out" at the Shooting Range, Special Fun Shoot Events, and Competitive Shooting Teams and/or taking the classes? This sweet woman would be coming from the Austin area to do the classes so we want to make sure we have a good group of ladies. Please let me know if you would be interested? Either drop a comment here or send me an email.

Have a great day!