Refuse To Be A Victim®, the award-winning crime prevention and personal safety seminar, will be held along with an Instructor Development Workshop on August 14, 2010, at TASER International Headquarters, 17800 N. 85th Street, Scottsdale, Arizona 85255. The seminar, which is required for all instructor candidates, will begin at 8:30AM, and the instructor workshop will begin at 12:30PM.

Both events are open to the public, and the seminar is being offered free of charge, thanks to TASER International. Executive Counselor Edward O’Carroll, pictured at right, is conducting the courses. Tuition for the instructor class, which includes materials, is $175, and pre-registration for both events is requested. You may register through NRAinstructors.org or contact O’Carroll, at 703-475-4598 or rtbav911@yahoo.com.

Refuse To Be A Victim® seminars teach methods to avoid dangerous situations and prevent criminal confrontations. Experts agree the most important factor in surviving a criminal attack is to have an overall safety strategy before you need it. Seminar topics address personal safety issues as well as home, automobile, telephone, technological, and travel security. Seminar participants are presented with a variety of common sense crime prevention and personal safety strategies and devices they may integrate into their daily lives. More...

From Refuse To Be A Victim® coordinator Ruthann Sprague:

This photo is from the very first seminar held on the Big Island of Hawaii, only the third ever held in the state. The last seminar held in the state was on Oahu in 2002.

The seminar was taught by Blane Maebo, Refuse To Be A Victim® Regional Counselor, in Hilo, Hawaii.

Pictured, left to right: Lori Enomoto, Claudia Lato, Sharen Chaves, Wendy Beatty, Valerie Sue Carron, Susan Watters, and David Watters.

Send an update on your community's NRA program(s) to NRAblog for inclusion by emailing us at GOblog@NRAhq.org.

If you’d like to train to be an instructor or attend a seminar in your area, email refuse@nrahq.org or visit www.nrahq.org/rtbav.

Since the inaugural Women's Forum in March, the NRA's Education and Training Division has been brainstorming ways to involve women in its programs. NRAblog has featured stories from several forum participants in their own words -- Penny Gilliam and Patricia Mcclelland Merydith -- and we're pleased to continue the series with NRA Certified Instructor Janet Katz.

Janet's story: 

It never occurred to me as I was growing up that some day I would enjoy shooting or actually like being around people who appreciated firearms. I would have laughed off any suggestion of that kind. It was not me, never would be me, never could be me. Today, at Paladin Services LLC in Columbia, SC, I've been instructing shooters for 20 years -- and I enjoy every minute of it.

Mine was at least a mildly anti-gun family in Peoria, Illinois, where I was born just after World War II. I was created a Baby Boomer and shared many of my generation’s characteristics. My father Bob fought at Saipan during World War II. He had had his fill of guns in the war. Mother, Dorothy, shared his distaste for them. Cultured people with well-developed tastes in art, music, and literature simply did not belong anywhere near guns. Their women most certainly did not. Universities of the 1960s, ‘70s, and ‘80s reinforced the aversion and made it unthinkable that I or my friends would have anything to do with guns. When I became an academic and came to work for a major university I shared the widespread assumptions of my generation and undoubtedly helped to spread the typical Baby Boomer hoplophobia.

No one then could have even imagined me now in any of the typical photographs from the past decade or so: Janet demonstrating a combat stance with her Glock 22 .40 S&W semi-automatic pistol; Janet using her 12 gauge Benelli M1 Super 90 or Remington 870 to show proper shotgun technique for a home defense situation; and Janet using her Rock River Arms M4 or her Arsenal AK-47 or her M1 Carbine to demonstrate close quarters combat situations. More...

Ann Marie Foster, coordinator of Women On Target® Hunts, attended the Stackhouse Park Turkey Clinic a few weekends ago.

The Park's 6th Annual Wild Turkey Hunting Clinic took place Saturday, June 26 at Powell Stackhouse Park in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. NRA Certified Wild Turkey Hunting Instructors Tom Hindman and Mike Horst and Pennsylvania State Game Commission Turkey Biologist Mary Jo Casalena taught the clinic, which Foster estimates had 35 participants.

"There were many repeat attendees, but also a bunch of new faces, including two reporters from the Tribune Democrat," Foster reports. Read the Tribune Democrat article profiling Hindman here. "The turnout was great, and the weather was  great. It was a successful clinic."

Foster, an experienced hunter, is somewhat new to turkey hunting. Did anything surprise her? "I learned so much about the biology of the turkey," Foster said. "We talked a lot about turkey behavior in heavy snow like we had this past winter."

"It was a big topic of discussion – what do turkeys do in three feet of snow? They go to treetops, and stay that course until the deer break through the snow."

For more information on NRA’s Hunter Services Department or NRA’s Hunter Clinic Instructor Program, see www.nrahq.org/hunting or call (703) 267-1524.

One of NRA’s most popular programs is Refuse To Be A Victim® (RTBAV), which trains instructors to teach important personal safety tips for home, public places, and even overseas travel. One of RTBAV’s newest instructors is Melita Ellington, who lives in the Atlanta area and received her RTBAV training at the 2010 Annual Meeting in Charlotte.

Ellington told NRAblog she’s “super excited about my involvement with the NRA and its programs, especially those designed for the advancement of women in firearms safety and personal protection.” While RTBAV became a co-educational program in 1997 and seminars are open to anyone, many instructors cater to female audiences. “I believe women are often targeted more than men, and will therefore place more emphasis on a female-focused seminar,"  Ellington said.

Ellington began to pursue her interest in firearms by registering with Georgia for a concealed carry permit in 2004. In 2008 she attended a women’s action pistol camp called Babes with Bullets™. “It was at this awesome immersion-style camp that I really began to understand the need for training in my area,” Ellington explained. An NRA member since 2008, she was inspired to reach out to other women by founding Magnolia Defense Enterprises LLC, which teaches women both pistol skills and personal defense tactics.

Completing the RTBAV training course, Ellington said, was a fun experience that greatly expanded her personal safety expertise: “I learned so many things during the seminar, such as the difference between tear gas, mace and pepper spray; travel tips like hiding personal information on luggage tags by turning them backwards; and using light timers while away on vacation.” More...

You remember Lisa Metheny – the NRA Certified Instructor, outdoor writer, and bow enthusiast? She volunteers with the NRA’s Women’s Wilderness Escape, and has been on a few hunts with the Women On Target^® program.

Well, today is the debut of her ShotgunLife.com column, Lisa Metheny's Women Afield, which just happens to focus on a Women On Target pheasant hunt:

Pheasant Fun With the NRA’s Women On Target

Brilliant blue skies and rolling native grasslands as far as the eye could see created a gorgeous backdrop against the quiet farmlands of southern South Dakota. My home away from home was the beautiful rustic lodge of Granite Springs near Alexandra. Here I would join up with several women to participate in a National Rifle Association (NRA) Women On Target upland hunt.

Granite Springs is a dream come true for owner Kevin Yeo and his family. The name of the lodge comes from a large granite quarry that sits directly below the towering windows of the lodge and is filled to the brim with rainbow trout, large-mouth bass and a variety of other species, perfect for fly fishing.

Despite the luxury accommodations, amazing fishing opportunities, abundant wildlife and a gracious host, I was there to photograph and write about the event.

Programs like the NRA’s WOT hunts, are changing the way women look at hunting. The number of women heading afield is increasing.” Ann Marie Foster, [NRA Hunting Programs Coordinator], suggests women take that initial step and get involved in a course of interest, especially an NRA Basic Firearm Class, follow up with a Hunter Safety Course. Preparation is the key to success, practice what you learn, discipline yourself and then apply your new found skills.” Foster also believes that hunting and shooting can be extremely therapeutic, the benefits are immeasurable.

Continue reading Metheny's piece here.

NRA member and Dublin, Ireland, resident Declan Keogh became an NRA Certified Instructor in 2002. Keogh has taught Basic and First Steps Pistol courses for the past 8 years. In April 2008 he travelled to Melbourne, FL, and took an NRA Training Couselor course. He has since qualified 28 individuals from various clubs in Ireland and Northern Ireland as NRA Certified Instructors.

NRAblog would like to thank Keogh for sharing the following photos and report:

Having access to a number of Certified instructors helped facilitate the recent NRA Women on Target Program that was run in Ireland on June 19, 2010. The National Association of Sporting Rifle and Pistol clubs is an association which facilitates National and International participation in competitive shooting events and has almost all of the rifle and pistol clubs in Ireland affiliated to it, the NASRPC provided the funding to allow for the course to be provided free of charge to the participants.

Through cooperation with Elizabeth Hellmann of Women on Target®, a plan was put in place in May to run the first WOT program in Ireland. The venue chosen was Hilltop Sporting Club, which is based near Newtownmountkennedy in the heart of Wicklow, famous for its beautiful scenery and deer hunting opportunities. Hilltop Sporting Club is a very well developed shooting facility with indoor and outdoor pistol ranges, bench rest rifle, shotgun with compact sporting, Olympic trap and DTL. The Hilltop Sporting club has a large membership drawn from the local community.

The WOT program was facilitated by Hilltop Sporting Club who provided the use of their indoor classroom facility and indoor pistol range for free. More...

One of the NRA’s most successful educational programs is Refuse To Be A Victim® (RTBAV), an informative and engaging personal safety course. Now, those who wish to become instructors may train online.

NRAblog spoke with Ruthann Sprague, our Refuse To Be A Victim® Coordinator. At right, Sprague addresses students at NRA HQ.

The idea for an online training course came about, Sprague said, because “in order to be trained as an instructor, you have to attend an instructional development workshop, which has to be taught by a regional counselor, and we have areas of the country where we don’t have regional counselors. So to serve the needs of those who aren’t located within a convenient distance, we decided that an online course would be very helpful.”

Also, many RTBAV instructors are people in the military who see the program as a great community service on their bases. “With their schedules and deployments and such, they had less of an opportunity to attend instructor training, and we wanted to fulfill that need,” Sprague explained.

While RTBAV operates under the umbrella of NRA’s Women’s Programs, it became co-educational in 1997, because “everyone in general, and men after those first few years, saw the benefit of the information we provided.”

According to Sprague, anyone from junior-high students to senior citizens is ideal for the course, a four-hour seminar that gives the attendees information on their personal safety and how to be less likely to become a victim of a crime.

Fortunately, with the new online Instructor Development Workshop, Sprague is confident that “it’s going to greatly increase our growth, since we’ll be able to have instructors in areas we’ve never had before.” Almost 75,000 people have attended RTBAV seminars in the last ten years, mostly in community venues like libraries, churches, and community centers, Sprague said. “A lot of our ranges and different clubs that are already NRA affiliates are already having seminars there as well,” she added.

With the new online program, these numbers are sure to increase, and if you’d like to train to be an instructor or attend a seminar in your area, email refuse@nrahq.org or visit www.nrahq.org/rtbav. The cost is $250, and you must be at least 18 and without a criminal record to become an instructor.

RTBAV consultants put a lot of time into the design of this online course. “We used the model of a college course, so there’s assessments, assignments, and accessibility,” Sprague said. “We’ve tried to cover all of the bases so that the participants are good, strong instructors when they’re done.”

An NRA member for thirty-plus years, Maryland resident Bob Culver recently sent NRAblog a few pictures of his trip to the Annual Meeting in Charlotte. We were able to catch up with Culver to learn a bit more about his impression of Charlotte.

But first, a little about Bob.

A long-time gun enthusiast, Culver was a member of his high school rifle team. He said he originally joined the NRA because the organization “supports my personal interests and ideas.” Family and friends share his interest in firearms, and Culver loves attending NRA Annual Meetings, gun shows, and local community fairs whenever possible.

Culver thinks it’s important to promote “gun involvement in a friendly way,” and he enjoys encouraging people in his Montgomery County, Maryland, community to become more involved in safety training programs and to “promote the American heritage of firearms.”

Culver’s wife, Cathy Nutter Culver, shares his strong interest in firearms and NRA programs; in addition to being an NRA member, Cathy volunteers as coordinator of Women on Target shooting clinics in her community.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Culver enjoy organizing and participating in events with the Monumental Rifle Pistol Club, which will be holding a shotgun event this Saturday.

When we asked Culver what he thought of this year’s Annual Meeting in Charlotte, Culver said he and his wife had a great time attending various seminars and the Friends of NRA National Foundation banquet.

The couple particularly enjoyed hearing Ted Nugent speak, since, as Culver said, “The Nuge is always good.”

The Culvers also enjoyed the hospitality of local Charlotte businesses. Culver said people in Charlotte “were extremely friendly and glad to see us, glad for the business,” which made the trip particularly pleasant.

"That sign sums it up," he said, referencing the photo at right. He snapped a quick picture of Cathy next to an advertisement for Matt's Chicago Dogs.

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Wakefield, VA’s Airfield Shooting Club hosted a fun-filled Women On Target event on May 22nd, and NRAblog had the chance to talk with Dale Mullin about his experience organizing the day’s festivities.

An NRA Life member for over thirty years, Mullin’s interest in firearms and shooting sports goes back to his childhood—both his mother and father enjoyed shooting, and his grandfather “was a wonderful shot with just about anything he picked up.”

His family even ran a hunting club while he was growing up, and today Mullin enjoys participating in NRA events because, he said, “It’s wonderful to be able to pass on the traditions and the skills to safely handle firearms.” Mullin also said that he likes the fact that anyone, old or young, can participate in shooting sports, and “because it was such an integral part of my life growing up, I’d like to see more people participating in shooting sports in a fun, safe way.”

The May 10th event was a great example of fun, safe shooting among friends—Mullin said that thirty women participated in total, and although the weather was a little on the hot side, fortunately it didn’t rain.

Mullin spent most of the day at the shotgun ranges, and he said it was particularly fun to see several women make an excellent shot that they weren’t expecting: “There were a couple of instances when women just hit a target and clobbered it, and a few of them would say, ‘Wow, I never thought I would be able to do that!’”

Overall, Mullin said that the event definitely met his expectations: “Later we had a nice meal at the Airfield Conference Center, and overall it was a very, very nice event.” While organizing shooting events requires a good deal of dedication and organization, Mullin said that he definitely plans to have another one next spring. While he’s thinking about planning a few smaller events in the meantime, he enjoys the friendly atmosphere that comes with a larger Women On Target event, since “there’s just something special about thirty or so people getting together, making friends and having fun on the range.”

For more information about Women On Target Clinics coming to your area, contact NRA Women’s Programs at (703) 267-1398 or by visiting http://www.nrahq.org/women/index.asp

Women On Target® Instructional Shooting Clinic Coordinator Elizabeth Hellmann shared some exciting news with NRAblog yesterday:

"We've passed the 50K mark! As of today, more than 50,000 women have attended clinics in the past ten years," she writes. "Please raise your coffee mugs and join me in saying, "Here's to the next 50,000 happy customers!"

At right, a clinic hosted May 21, 2010 by Women On Target® Clinic Director Cal Kittinger at the Multilakes Conservation Association in Commerce Township, Michigan, attracted 75 women.

If you’d like more info, click here to find out more about Instructional Shooting Clinics, or learn how your club can host one.

The Southern National Smallbore Rifle Silhouette Championship was in the news last week -- and for good reason. The Championship, held June 3 - 6, 2010 in Winnsboro, Louisiana, just celebrated its 20th anniversary.

Tune in here to listen to both David McLemore, President of the Winnsboro Gun Club, and competitor Carol Rosenqvist, pictured at left, who is also a Women On Target® clinic director.

“I can’t stop doing it,” Rosenqvist said of silhouette competition. “I encourage everyone, even women – especially women – to come out and try it. It’s a load of fun.”

"[The other participants] aren't competitors, they’re my family," Rosenqvist said. "I travel all over the country competing, and it’s just a very friendly, safe atmosphere."

"It’s a family-oriented sport."

Watch the entire myarklamiss.com video interview! 

Shooting black powder rifles are for more than just the average firearms enthusiast -- they are also for the military and cultural historians in us all. Just consider the fact that before the days of cartridges and shells, it was black powder that allowed the average American to hunt for food or defend their land. Even though they are antiquated by today's standards, some people still prefer to use the muzzle loaders for their shooting needs. It's an experience like no other -- you pull the trigger, see the spark, taste the smoke, and - as long as your aim is on - hit the target true.

The ladies who made it out to the Arlington-Fairfax Chapter of the Izaak Walton League on May 8, 2010 got to experience a little of that magic for themselves. Here's how one, known to her friends as Jessica, described her time behind the muzzle:

"They say you’ll always remember your very first kiss, but who cares about kisses when it comes to firing a muzzle loader! It was love at first sight! From a belly full of butterflies when I first saw them to anxious nervousness as my instructor guided me on loading to the unforgettable experience of being blown away by the power of the gun. Well, the experience left me breathless and wanting more! I was floating on cloud nine from there on out and spent the rest of the day trying out the different black powder rifles on the range."

Women On Target® Instructional Shooting Clinics, like the on in Centreville, were developed to create more opportunities for women to learn all about firearms and gain confidence in their shooting skills. And as another shooter put it, "Most of us thought it would be a bunch of stodgy old guys who didn't want us there, but they were great. It was so much fun I started recruiting other women to shoot the black powder."

If you’d like to receive information on these clinics, e-mail womenontargetclinics@nrahq.org or find out more about Instructional Shooting Clinics and how your club can host one.

Beth Hellmann writes the following:

Imagine attending a Women On Target Instructional Shooting Clinic.

Now, imagine attending one being held in Ireland!

Declan Keogh, an NRA Certified Instructor, has scheduled his first clinic, which is being hosted by the Hilltop Shooting Club in Tithewer, Newtown Mountkennedy, County Wickow. The clinic is a part of the Irish Sports Council's Women In Sport program.

Read about the clinic here.

From WBOY in West Virginia:

Women On Target Teaches Gun Safety to Ladies Only

SALEM -- Two years ago, Cynthia Cleland was terrified of guns and ammunition.

“I wouldn't pick up a pistol and handle it or move it,” said Cynthia, who is a self-proclaimed girly-girl. “I was afraid it would go off, I was afraid of a shotgun shell or a pistol cartridge ...just afraid that it would go off, just scared to death of firearms.”

But her curiosity got the best of her when she saw an ad for a women only shooting clinic.

“I loved it!” exclaimed Cleland. “I went home and I was so excited and told my husband, and he was excited because he couldn't believe that I had done all that that day.”

“She has grown very fond of enriching Cabela's pocketbooks and emptying mine,” laughed her husband Allen.

Now she's an instructor for the Women on Target Program, and is teaching other first-time Annie Oakleys the safe way to shoot.

Women on Target was developed less than a decade ago by the National Rifle Association.

“The thing that's good about Women on Target is the fact that women are teaching women and there's not any pressure because the women have all been there themselves,” said Mike Kozakewich, who helped start the program here in Harrison County. “It's just an excellent program that allows women to develop at their own rate and become comfortable with firearms.”

Continue reading here.