The NRA Women’s Wilderness Escape is filling up fast, but there are still a few slots remaining for ladies looking to enjoy the thrill of the shooting sports and fun of fellowship in the outdoors. The Women’s Wilderness Escape is one of NRA’s most popular programs for women, and it’s pretty clear to see why so many ladies want to be a part of the fun.

Where else can you enjoy learning about the shooting sports, archery, hunting, outdoor survival, and more in the company of like-minded women, all in the beautiful setting of the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, New Mexico?

The Sangre de Cristo Mountains will greet you each morning on our 33,000 acre facility, providing a stunning view of high mesa country, with each evening bringing beautiful “purple mountain majesty” sunsets and scenes of antelope, mule deer, elk, and bear that call Northern New Mexico home.

During the day you’ll get the chance to learn a variety of shooting disciplines including smallbore rifle silhouette, long range high power rifle, scoped/tactical carbine rifle, conventional and tactical pistol, and shotgun (five-stand). You’ll also discover the fun of hunting while learning archery, tree stand safety, and participating in a mock hunt. You’ll leave the training having earned your NRA FIRST Steps certification in pistol, rifle, and shotgun, as well as a Bow Hunter Education Certificate.

Throughout the week, you’ll experience the camaraderie and special bond that develops shooting shoulder-to-shoulder with other women and discovering the joys of the shooting sports in a supportive environment designed with your comfort in mind. The fun-filled week will wrap-up with a special dinner buffet, wine social, and Friends of NRA event to bring your adventure to a relaxing conclusion with your new friends.

Two eight-day sessions are offered, each with 60 participants. The first is September 18-25, and the second is September 26-October 3. The cost is $1500 and includes all food, housing, guns, ammunition, targets, training, materials and all equipment. Participants are responsible for transportation to the NRA Whittington Center and for transportation during the event.

These remaining slots won’t last long, so contact Ann Marie Foster in our Women’s Programs Department at afoster@nrahq.org or 703-267-1413 for more information or to reserve your spot!

One of the premier events for the National Rifle Association's Education and Training Department is the Women's Wilderness Escape. Taking place every fall on the 33,000 acres of the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, New Mexico, the Women's Wilderness Escape is an eight-day “getaway” opportunity for women to experience a wide variety of shooting sports activities and an array of hunting and outdoor related activities.

With two separate sessions scheduled for September, space for this event of a lifetime is extremely limited. But for the ladies in the Scarborough, Maine area they will have the chance to win eight days at Women's Wilderness just by stopping by their local Cabela's. As part of their NRA Shooting Sports and Women's Weekend, the Scarborough Cabela's is giving away two tickets (all fees and travel vouchers included) on May 15th. All you have to do is sign up at the store before Sunday's drawing.

"What Cabela's is doing is just fabulous," said Education and Training Director Bill Poole. "The Women's Wilderness Escape is one of the hidden jewels of our operation and we can't thank them enough for giving the women of Scarborough a chance to experience this unique opportunity for themselves."

Located at 100 Cabela's Boulevard, the store is open Monday through Saturday from 8:00 AM - 9:00 PM and from 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM on Sunday. If you're in the area, make sure to stop on by to throw your hat into the ring.

Once entries from all participating stores (including Scarborough) arrive at Cabela's headquarters, the two winners will be selected and start packing for New Mexico!

Carol D. Valentine, a participant at this past year's Women's Wilderness Escape at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, New Mexico, won an elk hunt at the end of the eight day getaway and wrote a great piece on her trip.

One Women’s Elk Hunt of a Lifetime

You never know when someone makes a comment or tells a tale how it may impact your life or others. Such is my story.

I learned about the NRA Women’s Wilderness Escape (WWE) at the NRA Whittington Center (NRAWC) from a former next-door neighbor and dear friend from when we lived in Eagan, Minn. I thought, “I want to do that.” And so I did. On Sept. 22, 2010, I drove by myself from our Piedmont home in the Black Hills of South Dakota to Raton, N.M., and the NRAWC for my nine-day wilderness escape with 99 other women and a host of caring and talented instructors. We shot everything from pistols, black powder, carbines, rifles, shotguns and archery. At the end of this amazing experience, the NRAWC offered a raffle for two cow elk hunts. Again I decided, “I want to do that.” As luck would have it, I won a hunt to take place in January 2011.

Winning the hunt was the beginning of the next stage of my experience. I didn’t have a rifle, but my husband, Gary Lillie, was very supportive, and I had the confidence I gained at WWE. I bought a left-handed Tikka T3 .270 rifle and a Nikon Buckmasters scope. More

From the Blairsville Dispatch in Blairsville, Pennsylvania

Novice gets firearms primer at women's wilderness event

NEW ALEXANDRIA -- Chara (Brubaker) Thomas was initially skeptical when her husband offered to send her on a nine-day wilderness excursion that would train her to shoot firearms.

Though Thomas had grown up around brothers and uncles who handled guns and hunted, she herself had little to no experience with firearms.

But, the more she thought about it, the more she came to believe that knowing how to shoot wouldn't be a bad skill to have, so she took her husband up on his offer. Now, after completing the National Rifle Association's Women's Wilderness Escape, Sept. 23 through Oct. 1 in New Mexico, she has absolutely no regrets.

"It was a very positive experience," Thomas said. "I learned about firearms, learned that you can be safe with them and still enjoy them. It's not all about hunting and killing animals."

Thomas, 39, has always been a lover of the outdoors. When she and her husband, Rick, first met, they went hiking on their first date.

Thomas has never hunted wild game, and she remarked that after attending the conference, she's not sure she'd ever want to.

"There's so much you can do with shooting," she said, including competitions and target shoots. Shooting firearms doesn't necessarily have to involve hunting, she noted.

Read the rest of the story here.

Alpen Optics Vice President of Marketing Vickie Gardner is a clever lady. Her business card, in fact, reads "Vice President of Stuff & Marketing." She explains, "I figure, who really looks at it, anyway -- plus, you have to have fun!"

Garder, of Rancho Cucamonga, California, is also a hardworking volunteer. She was honored with the prestigious Betty Lou Fegely Emerald Cornerstone Award at this year's annual meeting of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA). Gardner was singled out for her extraordinary volunteer service to the organization. Thanks to fabulous outdoor photographer John Jefferson for snapping this photo.

Alpen Optics is known for its line of binoculars, spotting scopes, rifle scopes and accessories. Alpen's objective is to provide superior quality optical products at affordable prices while providing features and benefits normally found only on products priced much higher. Alpen offers more than 70 products and accessories, and all are backed up by a limited lifetime factory warranty.

Alpen Optics is a proud supporter of the NRA's Women's Wilderness Escape. Alpen Optics is a six time winner of Outdoor Life Magazines' Great Buy Award for the Shasta Ridge 10x42 Model Binoculars and winner of the Field and Stream Magazine's Best of the Test Award for the Model 711 20x50 Spotting Scope.

For more information about Alpen Optics, visit www.alpenoutdoor.com. Stay tuned to NRAblog for additional coverage of the POMA conference.

Alpen Optics Vice President of Marketing Vickie Gardner recently announced Alpen Optics will partner with the National Rifle Association's 2010 Women's Wilderness Escape for the archery and hunting portion of the program.

A nine-day experience unlike any other, the Women's Wilderness Escape is held at the NRA's Whittington Center in Raton, New Mexico.

"It's so exhilarating to find companies like Alpen Optics who stand "at the ready" to support female opportunities," says Rosemary Herr, Manager of NRA Women's Programs.

We're sorry to say that every slot for the 2010 Women's Wilderness Escape has been filled. But there's still a chance to be part of this life changing experience. And if you're a certified NRA rifle or pistol coach looking for a couple of weeks to get away, then Women’s Wilderness Escape Coordinator Patricia Zollman has the answer for you:

Imagine sharing your expertise while on 33,000 acres of western mountain terrain in the scenic high mesa country of New Mexico. It’s where the elk and antelope roam and the skies are so wide you can almost see back in time. Yes, it’s truly a volunteer’s dream job and it all happens at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, New Mexico - the most comprehensive shooting center in the nation.

NRA Women’s Programs is seeking volunteer event staff who would like to support the 2010 NRA Women’s Wilderness Escape from September 20 through October 4. Specifically we are looking for NRA Certified Rifle and Pistol Coaches.

NRA covers gasoline, food and housing expenses for all Women’s Wilderness Escape staff. For more information or to request a 2010 event staff application and information packet, call Rosemary Herr at 703-267-1399 or Patricia Zollman at 703-267-1378. Come join us!

NRA is proud to host the 3rd annual Women's Wilderness Escape scheduled for September 23 – October 1, 2010 at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, New Mexico.

The cost of this nine-day retreat is $1,250 and is open to women 18 and older. Fee includes housing, food and all event activities. Transportation is not provided.

No experience is necessary, and all firearms and ammunition are provided. Participants will learn to shoot rifle silhouette, long range high power rifle, black powder rifle, pistol, trap, skeet, sporting clays and archery. Other activities include map reading, camping, survival training, game calling, hunter education and Native American history.

Find out more about the Women's Wilderness Escape and read what some of our 2009 participants had to say about the event.

For a taste of what this 9-day program entails, check out NRAblog's coverage of the past two years' Escapes.

Longtime friend of NRA Lisa Metheny is attending this year’s Shooting Hunting Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show as a freelance journalist. “My objective here at the show is to obtain story materials, work for the companies I’ve partnered with by promoting their products, and generally mesh everything together,” Metheny told NRAblog. When she says “everything,” she isn’t exaggerating. Metheny juggles three teenagers and a husband; a healthy hunting addiction; archery, shooting, and outdoor events; and a skyrocketing career.

Pictured above, Metheny was happy to talk to us -- and maybe happier to have the chance to rest her feet. “It’s great to be here, but it has been a long week,” the Terre Haute, IN-based writer said with a smile.

She is affiliated with SHE Outdoor Apparel, Nikon, Winchester, Remington, and Browning. But when it comes to SHOT Show, NRA is her first stop of the day.“I swing by your booth every day to meet the different people hanging around,” she said. “The NRA is vital to what I do, and I help in any way I can, whether it’s getting the word out about a Women On Target hunt or volunteering to work a booth at next weekend’s NRA Great American Hunting & Outdoor Show.”

So what have the past few days looked like for Metheny? “The Majority of each day I’m sitting in press conferences, listening to new product demos, and walking the floor.”

She has been staying busy, and no two days this week have been alike. "I do a variety of things with the companies, working to connect the dots as a liason between some of the industry folk and the media representatives." Metheny has found a home in the Professional Outdoor Media Association."It's just like part of my family now," she said of the group.

When asked for her advice for a successful SHOT Show as an independent journalist or media consultant, Metheny was quick to respond: "A few weeks prior to the Show I’m tweaking my schedule, setting up appointments, andgetting press conferences organized."

"There's a lot of scheduling that goes into it. You cannot come in the day of the SHOW and just hope someone has time to meet with you on that particular day."

Thanks for your words of wisdom, Lisa -- we look forward to seeing you in Maryland for the NRA Great American Hunting & Outdoor Show. Bookmark Lisa's blog, and stay tuned to NRAblog for the latest on Lisa Metheny!

Read about Lisa’s experience with last year’s Women’s Wilderness Escape here.