I completed my second Babes with Bullets Practical Handgun 101 camp two weeks ago, and once again, WOW, what an amazing experience!

For those not familiar with Babes with Bullets, it is an almost all inclusive (instruction, room and most meals included) two and a half day hands-on shooting class for women (sorry guys) held in several areas around the country each year. The Babes with Bullets instructors are among the top women shooters in the world. Yes, I said world. It’s the equivalent of taking golf lessons from Tiger Woods, learning to QB from John Elway or taking a NASCAR driving course with Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson as your instructors.

In addition to learning safe gun handling skills and basic shooting techniques, Babes with Bullets camps also teach the art and skill of USPSA competition style shooting. What is USPSA? It’s a run-and-gun type of sport, where your score is based on how quickly you can shoot through a “stage”, as well as the accuracy of your “hits”. Here’s an example of Babes with Bullets senior instructor shooting a stage at a match in Florida this year:

Last year, I walked in to my first Babes with Bullets camp just a few months after deciding to learn to shoot, and I was still very uncomfortable holding and firing a pistol. Three days later, I walked out a safe and competent pistol shooter, comfortably drawing from a holster, and I had completed a USPSA style mini-match (where I surprisingly came in third).

And now I’m completely addicted to competitive shooting.

I jumped at the chance to attend another Babes with Bullets camp this year, and during my second camp, we once again worked on many of the physical and mental aspects of shooting. This year, I was able to work on fixing some bad habits I had picked up while improving my speed and accuracy, smoothing out and speeding up my choppy and painfully slow draw and resetting my stance, which had somehow become strangely exaggerated. We also received some great mental tips, including concentrating on getting the sights properly aligned before squeezing the trigger, rather than just trying to shoot as quickly as possible. This one was particularly important for me, as I have become very proficient at missing quickly.

And did I mention it’s only $675.00? I know that’s a pretty good chunk of change (especially in the midst of these hope-n-change times), but if you can manage it, I promise it’s worth every penny, and then some.

So whether you’ve never held a gun, or if you are an experienced shooter looking to up your game, this camp is for you. If you’re female, that is. I will be back next year for sure, and with a few more years of practice, perhaps I’ll be one of the women wearing the yellow instructor shirts.

P.S. I would like to thank Babes with Bullet’s sponsors. Their generosity makes it possible for Babes with Bullets to offer this high caliber training at well below market rates (see US Training Center or Gunsite’s prices for comparison). Smith & Wesson provides equipment, including the loaner .22 and 9mm pistols, Hi Viz donates fiber optic sights for the pistols, Safariland provides holsters, mag pouches and belts, Howard Leight provides loaner hearing protection, Otis Technology provides Elite cleaning kits for the givaway (yes, there are prizes!) and financial support, Insight Technology donates their M6X laser light for flinch and low light training, Atlanta Arms and Ammo provides 9mm ammo that campers can purchase (at very affordable prices) and USPSA helps fund the instructor airfare and promotes the camps through its magazine, Front Sight.

Photo above by J. Scott Digital Photography

Last year was the first time I attended a Babes with Bullets camp, and in just a few days, I learned how to shoot practical pistol.

This year, my goal is to unlearn all the bad habits I’ve taught myself since my class last year.

So you’ve slept off the Slurpee hangovers, given some high-fives, and perhaps done some gloating on Facebook or Twitter.  Now what?

I think Arizona talk radio station KFYI’s Mike Broomhead said it best.  NOW IS WHEN THE WORK BEGINS.

It’s feet to the fire time, folks.  The politicians (on both sides) got elected because they promised us the moon and stars, cuter puppies and a major decrease in spending and government intrusion.  They made these promises to get our votes, and while I would bet the farm they don’t expect us to hold them to it, we have to keep the pressure on.

We need to remind incumbent and newly elected politicians alike that the “work” they did to convince us to vote for them was merely a prelude to what we expect them to do for us on a daily basis.  I’m sure your boss expects you to do the work you’ve been asked to do,  so why should we expect anything less of our politicians?

The voters, TEA Party candidates, and newly elected Republicans ALL have to prove that they aren’t doing business as usual. They need to show us that they are not the same as the “bums” we just threw out.

Note to politicians:  we’ll be watching you.  If you show us that you’re all talk and no action, y’all are outta there in 2012.

Democrats in Tucson are suffering Tourettes like symptoms as they watch the returns for the Ruth McClung (R) vs. Raul (please boycott my state) Grijalva (D) race for the House.  The Dems can’t believe that a sincere rocket scientist who cares about her fellow citizens could be within 700 votes of Raul. 

Raul might have done better if he represented the people of Arizona, rather than advocating economic damage to the citizens of Arizona.

Coming to you live from the basement a special location inside the KFYI studios, we will be live blogging 2010 election results as they come in this evening.

The early news coming so far indicates that Democrats across the country are being redistributed into the private workforce.

7:45 Update – The sandwiches are great.  They’ve given us brownies to distract the anxious political junkies.  We’ve heard that vote counting is underway and early number will be available soon.

7:50 ExJon of ExurbanLeague has received one vote as a write-in candidate for Arizona State Mine Inspector.  There’s a lot of optimism in the basement conference room that he will pull into the lead soon.

8:37 Results are coming in slowly.  Currently Prop 109 Right to Hunt is a No vote by 13%.   Schwiekert (R) is up by 11% over Harry Mitchell (incumbent Dem Representative). 

9:08  – With 18.49 percent of the vote in, the gap on Prop 203 is narrowing.  The NO’s currently have it at just under 51 percent, but the YES votes are up to 49 percent.

This one might end up being a late-night nail biter.  Or a 2 AM Taco Bell run, depending on what side you’re on.

Almost immediately after they were put up, the City of Phoenix has stripped down 50 “Guns Save Lives” illuminated bus-stop signs that had been placed at around the the Phoenix area. These signs were put up by TrainMeAZ, and were placed in conjunction with the “Guns Save Lives” billboards that began appearing around town just a couple of weeks ago.

AZ Central reports

Phoenix Public Transit Department spokeswoman Marie Chapple said the city’s policy doesn’t allow public-service announcements.

They also note that officials from the City of Phoenix took a look at the signs after receiving a “comment” about them.

Train Me, Arizona is an LLC, not a non-profit corporation. Their mission is to see everyone in Arizona who owns and/or uses firearms to be well trained and safe. Their website offers links to training, gun stores and both publicly and privately owned shooting ranges.

Like Alan Korwin, we are outraged that bureaucrats who despise the second amendment, have no trouble rejecting the first amendment too.

Update 10/22/2010 – Please take a moment to respectfully express your opposition to the removal of the Guns Save Lives signs by emailing or calling Phoenix City Council members. They need to know that this arbitrary act is inexcusable in a free society.

PHOENIX CITY COUNCIL:
Thelda Williams — council.district.1@phoenix.gov 602-262-7444
Peggy Neely — council.district.2@phoenix.gov        602-262-7445
Bill Gates — council.district.3@phoenix.gov               602-262-7441
Tom Simplot — council.district.4@phoenix.gov        602-262-7447
Claude Mattox — council.district.5@phoenix.gov    602-262-7446
Sal DiCiccio — council.district.6@phoenix.gov          602-262-7491
Michael Nowakowski — council.district.7@phoenix.gov 602-262-7492
Michael Johnson — council.district.8@phoenix.gov 602-262-7493

They’re Real, and They’re Spectacular:

Congratulations to the The TrainMeAZ campaign, who has put up the first of a series of billboards as part of their campaign to get the word out about how every gun owner in Arizona can ensure they are well trained and safe when handling a firearm.

A billboard just like the one above has been placed on the south side of Interstate 17, at the Peoria exit in Phoenix, and it’s estimated 135,000 people will see it every day.

You can take look at the other billboard designs that should be popping up around town at TrainMeAz.com. While you’re there, don’t forget to check out their list of shooting ranges and training opportunities in Arizona.

h/t to Alan Korwin for updating us with billboard information, via his Page 9 monthly email newsletter.

UPDATE 10/20/2010 – Mr. Korwin has additional information about the campaign, as well as additional billboard photos on his blog.