I can remember when the ladies of the house did not like or were afraid of guns. The security of the home and family was generally done by the men. The men had experiences such as military service, hunting and general knowledge of guns as large factors for them to qualify for this job. Females were usually in the presence of males whenever they would go anywhere and their security was generally handled by these men. This was in itself a deterrent to would be attackers that otherwise would look upon a lone woman as easy prey for robbery and other physical attacks.

Today, with more and more females going out into the world doing jobs and everyday activities, it has placed them in areas that they never entered before. They are out at all times of the day, even all hours of the night. This one fact has opened up opportunities for would-be attackers or muggers against these once protected people of our society. The crime against women began to increase, and the women began to put away the old fears of guns that had been handed down from older generations. The ladies of today have begun to learn how to shoot and clean their own guns, and quite frankly take care of themselves whenever they are going about their daily activities.

I discussed this subject with a lady this past week, and asked her what she thought about guns and if she was afraid of them. The subject went straight to protection. This lady told me that several years ago she had come to realize the need to be able to protect herself. She was working a job that put her out in some pretty rough areas of town, at all hours of the day and the night. She also said that she had been afraid of guns and the loud noise that they made. She had asked her father for a gun, but he had refused, and said that if she would let him teach her how to shoot he would gladly give her a gun for protection. After she had practiced, and learned all of the safety techniques involved with owning a gun, her dad gave her that gun.

The manufacturers of handguns have picked up on the need for our female society to have pistols that they can handle and control. Many new innovations that came out of this have made it possible for the ladies to own their own guns that they can carry comfortably. Many companies even make interchangeable grips to fit the smaller hands of the ladies. There are a lot of ladies today that take the concealed handgun classes in order to carry their firearm with them wherever they go. We have many gun stores, gun clubs, and places to shoot in our local area.

In the future we will be discussing many different gun issues, products, merchants that carry these items, and places to shoot. If you have questions or want to discuss something with the Shooters Corner I invite you to e-mail me.

Roger Sherrill lives in Ringgold. He can be reached by e-mail at tandemjumper@catt.com.