Music:
Riley Bowman: And welcome to the Concealed Carry
Riley Bowman: Podcast, part of the ConcealedCarry.com network, brought to you by HK.
Riley Bowman: Today is Wednesday, July 16th, 2025, as of recording of this episode.
Riley Bowman: And I am your host, Riley Bowman, and joined today by a special guest,
Riley Bowman: honorary co-host Robin Sandoval of A Girl and a Gun. Hello, Robin.
Robyn Sandoval: Hi, Riley. Thanks for having me. Please let any viewers know that I'm not in
Robyn Sandoval: a dark dungeon. I don't know why my camera's so dark.
Robyn Sandoval: Normally not in the dark here.
Riley Bowman: And while you're getting that disclaimer out of the way, I'm going to also throw
Riley Bowman: out the disclaimer. I apologize for some of our audio quality as well.
Riley Bowman: Both Robin and myself having some audio issues. I'm not quite sure what's going on on my end.
Riley Bowman: A little bit of an intermittent issue that we've been trying to troubleshoot
Riley Bowman: and just aren't figuring it out.
Riley Bowman: But anyway, we are here and we're getting the thing done. And we're going to
Riley Bowman: talk about, well, first of all, I mean, we're going to talk about ladies and shooting.
Riley Bowman: I mean, you're, as far as I know, the big head honcho of all things women and shooting.
Riley Bowman: As the founder of A Girl and a Gun, a continuously growing, fast-growing organization
Riley Bowman: of women in the shooting sports, which I think is fantastic.
Riley Bowman: We're going to talk about that. We're talking about how guns are for everybody,
Riley Bowman: how to get everybody more and more involved.
Riley Bowman: Because that's our goal here, and that's your goal, especially getting more
Riley Bowman: and more women involved.
Riley Bowman: So we'll jump into that here momentarily.
Riley Bowman: But first, today's episode sponsored and brought to you by HK.
Riley Bowman: They're our title sponsor, of course, but today they get the episode sponsor slot as well.
Riley Bowman: I was just thinking today as I put on my HKCC9 pistol of how much I just enjoy
Riley Bowman: carrying it. and I also enjoy shooting it.
Riley Bowman: You saw it being actually shot a little bit. Those of you watching the video
Riley Bowman: feed here in the intro, a little bit of a shot of me shooting it.
Riley Bowman: Actually, that was from last year when it was still pretty new to me,
Riley Bowman: and it still shot great then, and it shoots great now, and that's what I carry every day.
Riley Bowman: So check out HK. Go to hk-usa.com to learn more and to check out their full
Riley Bowman: lineup of products and visit your local dealer to check them out.
Riley Bowman: They're pretty much on the shelves just about anywhere I go.
Riley Bowman: So anyway, appreciate HK's sponsorship of the podcast today.
Riley Bowman: And also our secondary sponsor is Mountain Man Medical.
Riley Bowman: Not only are guns and shooting for everybody, but so is having good kit,
Riley Bowman: such as medical trauma kit.
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Riley Bowman: for taking care of those nasty bleeds and other injuries and things that sometimes come our way.
Riley Bowman: So we don't want that stuff, but unfortunately it happens and it's good to be prepared ahead of time.
Riley Bowman: Um, back, Jacob and I were just looking at a kit the other day that got sent
Riley Bowman: to us as part of some other thing.
Riley Bowman: Uh, I don't even know if they intended to send this kit along with it,
Riley Bowman: but we're evaluating it.
Riley Bowman: We open it up and, and it looks from the outside, like a trauma kit.
Riley Bowman: But once you got in, it's basically just a glorified boo-boo kit with band-aids
Riley Bowman: and a little bit of gauze and some shears. And we're like, that's not a trauma kit.
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Riley Bowman: All right, Robin, let's jump into it. So I know you came prepared here today
Riley Bowman: with some data, some metrics, which I think we'll get into.
Riley Bowman: I think that stuff's really, really awesome. But before we do that,
Riley Bowman: why don't you give us a little bit of a back story for those that don't know.
Riley Bowman: Tell us about A Girl and a Gun, the organization, how you got started with that,
Riley Bowman: kind of what led to it, why, all of that.
Riley Bowman: You know, you can take 30 seconds or you can take five minutes.
Riley Bowman: I think either way the story is compelling. So lay it on us.
Robyn Sandoval: Well a girl and again is the largest women's training
Robyn Sandoval: company in the country we have i would
Robyn Sandoval: say the most credentialed most qualified female cadre
Robyn Sandoval: across the country we have our instructors have
Robyn Sandoval: a number of credentials that they have to have to be affiliated with
Robyn Sandoval: a girl and again and then they run girls night out at the range and other activities
Robyn Sandoval: nationwide and that's really the gateway for women to come into shooting for
Robyn Sandoval: them to be with a caring and qualified instructor who can guide them through
Robyn Sandoval: the way and a lot of times having women friendly women on the other side of
Robyn Sandoval: the door can help those new shooters come into a friendly space.
Robyn Sandoval: Walking into a gun range can be an intimidating experience if it's a gun store
Robyn Sandoval: or a range or an outdoor range or somewhere they've never been before.
Robyn Sandoval: So having a friendly face on the other side, I tell ladies just take that 10
Robyn Sandoval: seconds of courage to walk in the door and the rest of us will be there right behind the door.
Robyn Sandoval: Just get to us. It takes 10 seconds for you to get from your car through the
Robyn Sandoval: door and then it'll open a journey that you never knew was possible.
Robyn Sandoval: So we have chapters around the country At some point every day,
Robyn Sandoval: there's a girl in the gun event happening somewhere in the country.
Robyn Sandoval: And then I'm fortunate to be able to host destination and kind of specific training
Robyn Sandoval: events on certain specific topics around the country where we do a deep dive
Robyn Sandoval: into specific areas of shooting.
Robyn Sandoval: Tomorrow, I'm leaving to go host our shotgun tournament in Fort Worth, Texas.
Robyn Sandoval: So from pistols, rifles, shotguns, self-defense, recreation,
Robyn Sandoval: our sniper school is coming up in a couple of weeks.
Robyn Sandoval: So pretty much if you think it, we do it. And we love seeing these women and
Robyn Sandoval: supporting them on their journey.
Riley Bowman: You've even organized a driving school as well, right?
Robyn Sandoval: Yeah, we have our Drift Academy as our vehicle defense course.
Robyn Sandoval: It's nothing, there's nothing like it. These guys worked with me on kind of,
Robyn Sandoval: I created the story of what I wanted that experience to be and they put it together.
Robyn Sandoval: So in and around the cars, transitional spaces, working through parking lots,
Robyn Sandoval: parking garages, dangerous places where we see a lot of bad things happen and
Robyn Sandoval: women are vulnerable in those spaces.
Robyn Sandoval: Well, men are too. So having the opportunity to work around the cars with a
Robyn Sandoval: firearm, with non-lethal,
Robyn Sandoval: and then to get in the car and to get on the racetrack with professional instructors
Robyn Sandoval: to learn how to navigate what happens in a rollover, what happens on different
Robyn Sandoval: turns, what happens in off-road recovery and all of those different experiences.
Robyn Sandoval: You know, like we say with medical, you hope to never use your firearm,
Robyn Sandoval: but medical is something you want to have at the ready all the time.
Robyn Sandoval: And it's the same with vehicle safety.
Robyn Sandoval: You know, we hope to never have to deploy a firearm, but you're in your vehicle
Robyn Sandoval: almost every day. let's make sure that you're safe out there and know those
Robyn Sandoval: safety techniques as well to protect yourself and your family.
Riley Bowman: Absolutely. I think that's fantastic. I mean, what a comprehensive list of things
Riley Bowman: you just gave us, talking about all the different areas of training that you
Riley Bowman: and your instructors and your organization have done and do do.
Riley Bowman: As you said, somewhere across the country, pretty much every day there's an
Riley Bowman: event going on. How many chapters are you up to now.
Robyn Sandoval: We have about 300 we operate out of about 350
Robyn Sandoval: ranges so we have some that are in indoor some are outdoor some are in the middle
Robyn Sandoval: of nowhere and some have special amenities which is why we go there but really
Robyn Sandoval: it's uh in most most areas of the country we have members in all 50 states yeah that's awesome
Riley Bowman: Any international members? Is that a thing?
Robyn Sandoval: We have a Guam chapter, although they had some storms last year that kind of
Robyn Sandoval: put their range and a lot of their infrastructure out of, out of play.
Robyn Sandoval: But we do have members in Guam. We do have some international members.
Robyn Sandoval: There's a couple in Canada and the UK and Argentina and South Africa,
Robyn Sandoval: where we have a lot of IPA shooters.
Robyn Sandoval: So a lot of people are looking for us for that information on to be better competitors.
Robyn Sandoval: If they are IPSC shooters, not IDPA, but IPSC internationally.
Robyn Sandoval: So, you know, getting those competition techniques were a good place for them to come as well.
Riley Bowman: That's awesome. I think that's fantastic. So it's been really cool to see the
Riley Bowman: growth of your of your organization.
Riley Bowman: And I mean, and I'll just say, like, I've seen even that just in my limited
Riley Bowman: view of attending or teaching at your national conference,
Riley Bowman: where I think like one year I remember it was like 500 or some odd, you know, attendees.
Riley Bowman: And then like the next year is like 600 and like the next year is like,
Riley Bowman: it just seems like every year you're like somehow find the ability to add like
Riley Bowman: another hundred women or something.
Riley Bowman: I might be misremembering that, but I just remember thinking like, wow.
Riley Bowman: And then, you know, learning that tickets for your national conference sell
Riley Bowman: out in like just practically minutes, it seems.
Riley Bowman: So like that's just really, really cool and exciting and inspirational actually to see.
Robyn Sandoval: Yeah, last year was our biggest conference. It was 750 students.
Robyn Sandoval: It sold out in 30 minutes.
Robyn Sandoval: It's incredible. I'm not going to go larger than 750 just because I want the
Robyn Sandoval: experience to be so valuable.
Robyn Sandoval: We limit live fire classes to 16 students on the line.
Robyn Sandoval: And with 700 students, that means that I'm rotating people through a lot of
Robyn Sandoval: different classes, a lot of different non-fire and dry fire opportunities as well.
Robyn Sandoval: But just making sure that everybody has that live fire time and has that one-on-one
Robyn Sandoval: time with instructors. I don't want the classes to be too large.
Robyn Sandoval: And I don't want to dilute anyone's experience. So it is a coveted ticket to get one.
Robyn Sandoval: It's sold out in 30 minutes. I'm expecting it to sell out very quickly again.
Robyn Sandoval: We're limiting it to 750.
Robyn Sandoval: But it's really exciting. Our conference is a different atmosphere.
Robyn Sandoval: I think a lot of our guy instructors always kind of laugh that we start the
Robyn Sandoval: morning with like a big pep rally dance party and then go out to the range.
Robyn Sandoval: And it's just 750 women who are committed to training and learning and they
Robyn Sandoval: travel across the country and invest in their time and invest in their gear
Robyn Sandoval: and invest in themselves.
Robyn Sandoval: And there's nothing more inspiring than watching them accomplish all these goals
Robyn Sandoval: and dreams and getting further along in their journey than they were the year before.
Robyn Sandoval: But if there's not room for everyone at conference, we do have a lot of other
Robyn Sandoval: events happening throughout the year.
Robyn Sandoval: So I'm lucky that I get to see a lot of people there as well.
Riley Bowman: Absolutely. That's great. So one thing that you said that, um,
Riley Bowman: you know, just kind of, I guess hit me this time.
Riley Bowman: Uh, it was a small, simple little thing, but you just talked about how,
Riley Bowman: you know, if you're looking to go to the range for the first time or just get
Riley Bowman: into guns for the first time and like, Hey, just, just, just get through the
Riley Bowman: door, you know, put on a brave face, get through the door and we'll be right there, uh,
Riley Bowman: supporting you and, and, and cheering you on and like, you know, there to help you out.
Riley Bowman: And, uh, I was like, Like, okay, that's so true that it can take a lot,
Riley Bowman: especially when something is totally new and foreign, scary even to some people,
Riley Bowman: to take that brave step and to go.
Riley Bowman: And like a lot of times us dudes don't want to talk about or admit that something's scary for us.
Riley Bowman: But I know there's things that are scary even for us dudes.
Riley Bowman: I'll just say that one of the reasons I didn't go and shoot a competition match for the first time,
Riley Bowman: for years was because I was like I just
Riley Bowman: didn't know what I didn't know whether whether I would have described that as
Riley Bowman: being scared or not at the very least there was some anxiety there of like I
Riley Bowman: don't know I don't know where I'm going exactly I don't know what I'm doing
Riley Bowman: exactly I don't even know if I have the right gear I don't know who's going
Riley Bowman: to be there I think I'm a good shooter but I don't want to be judged.
Riley Bowman: You know, I don't want to face, you know, it's just all this stuff. Right.
Riley Bowman: And you're thinking about that for me for years of, boy, I don't know.
Riley Bowman: And then finally I went and did my first match and, you know,
Riley Bowman: you find out you're like, Oh, that wasn't so bad.
Riley Bowman: Um, uh, at least it was, it could be, I suppose.
Riley Bowman: We definitely don't want it to be.
Robyn Sandoval: No, when you show up, you're beating everyone that didn't have the guts to do it.
Robyn Sandoval: So even the, even the people who just show up are ahead of the game, But you're right.
Robyn Sandoval: And we see that in areas of our lives that we don't even think about it,
Robyn Sandoval: you know, like going to a new restaurant, especially if it's a different
Robyn Sandoval: type of cuisine a different ethnicity then you would just be comfortable walking
Robyn Sandoval: in the door like a lot of times you want a friend to go with you like
Robyn Sandoval: i don't know about ethiopian food will you go with me or i
Robyn Sandoval: don't know the indian menu will you go with me so a
Robyn Sandoval: lot of times just and we see that in everyday life it's not necessarily just
Robyn Sandoval: firearms women um people in general i just don't want to look dumb they don't
Robyn Sandoval: want to be embarrassed they don't want to be out of their element and so anytime
Robyn Sandoval: you can just have a friend go with you to try new things it's not doesn't even
Robyn Sandoval: have to be something as serious as self-defense.
Robyn Sandoval: It can literally just be a different type of food, but it can be very intimidating,
Robyn Sandoval: not wanting to walk in there, not know the process of the restaurant.
Robyn Sandoval: Do you sit, do you go through a line, you know, like just in everyday life,
Robyn Sandoval: a lot of people will go to the same places and go to the same stores and just
Robyn Sandoval: do the same routine because it's comfortable and familiar. And that's just part of being human.
Robyn Sandoval: But the great thing that a girl in the gun does is we have so many videos and
Robyn Sandoval: we have so many pictures and people can kind to imagine what's on the other
Robyn Sandoval: side to make it a little less scary.
Robyn Sandoval: And we have so many videos and articles that help as well. And a lot of like,
Robyn Sandoval: frequently asked questions, what do I wear?
Robyn Sandoval: Where do I go so that they kind of have a game plan when they walk in the door.
Robyn Sandoval: And that helps too. And not just for women, for guys to just understanding like,
Robyn Sandoval: you can't just walk in with a gun in your hands, you know, have it in a bag,
Robyn Sandoval: get it out of your car, bring it in, say, I'd like to go to the range,
Robyn Sandoval: you know, just understanding the language of that.
Robyn Sandoval: And just the etiquette of that can really be reassuring.
Robyn Sandoval: And, you know, we've been doing this 14 years now, a really long time.
Robyn Sandoval: And so there's a lot of different content out there that shows,
Robyn Sandoval: you know, kind of what to expect behind the, behind the door.
Robyn Sandoval: So a lot of times that can help ease people's minds as well,
Robyn Sandoval: but just being part, supported in the journey, especially particularly related to firearms in 2014,
Robyn Sandoval: NSSF did a study and they used a girl and a gun as the litmus test.
Robyn Sandoval: We were kind of the control group for women's purchasing and training.
Robyn Sandoval: And they compared the girl and the gun community to all women in general in the firearms industry.
Robyn Sandoval: And what they found was that with a girl and gun chapter at a range,
Robyn Sandoval: at a retail center or host range, that women were more likely to purchase guns
Robyn Sandoval: there at the gun counter, that it wasn't a transactional sale, just a one and done.
Robyn Sandoval: They knew that they would be supported with training after the firearm purchase.
Robyn Sandoval: So that closed the sale 100% of the time. So when training is offered in connection
Robyn Sandoval: with that firearm, then you know that you're not alone in purchasing it.
Robyn Sandoval: There's going to be somebody who's qualified and caring to guide you that next
Robyn Sandoval: step to make sure that you can use it safely and proficiently.
Robyn Sandoval: And so just knowing that that path is laid out for you and that community is
Robyn Sandoval: there for you, it makes it a lot less intimidating.
Riley Bowman: Yeah.
Riley Bowman: That's really fascinating what you just shared about, I mean,
Riley Bowman: it makes sense to me, just hearing it, but the fact that you have some data
Riley Bowman: backing it up, that's got to be a pretty good sales pitch, I would say,
Riley Bowman: for particularly a range that has a retail center as part of it that does gun sales.
Riley Bowman: Like, hey, you want to have a chapter at your range because we're going to sell
Riley Bowman: guns for you, basically.
Robyn Sandoval: You would think so, Riley, but unfortunately, that's not the case.
Robyn Sandoval: Changing hearts and minds is really hard. So you wouldn't believe the objections
Robyn Sandoval: and obstacles that we have to overcome to have chapters in different places.
Robyn Sandoval: Everything from, you know, when it's girls night out, the parking lot's too
Robyn Sandoval: full. And so, you know, that's a problem.
Riley Bowman: Oh, dear.
Robyn Sandoval: Yeah, right. That's my response, too. Or, you know, I know that there's,
Robyn Sandoval: you know, 30 women who have all paid full range fees to be in here.
Robyn Sandoval: But now there's not any room for real customers to come in.
Riley Bowman: For real customers?
Robyn Sandoval: Yeah. These are conversations I have every week across the country trying to
Robyn Sandoval: make it less of an outreach mission and more of a financial decision for these
Robyn Sandoval: ranges to understand that, yes, we want women to come in. We want it to be approachable.
Robyn Sandoval: We want women and families to protect themselves.
Robyn Sandoval: But at the end of the day, it just makes good business sense, too.
Riley Bowman: That's fascinating to me. And it's fascinating because I'm probably more of
Riley Bowman: a data-driven kind of person than maybe some people are.
Riley Bowman: I know how it can be for some of those smaller operations, stores, ranges, whatnot.
Riley Bowman: And in some cases, they've been doing things the same way for decades.
Riley Bowman: And like you were just talking about, they're comfortable with what they do, with what they know.
Riley Bowman: Like we've been doing this for however long, this is the way we do things and
Riley Bowman: like, it seems to work. And so like, it's scary to then change something up,
Riley Bowman: as kind of, you know, what I'm hearing based on what you just shared there.
Riley Bowman: But at the same time, like,
Riley Bowman: I think that every range or store probably would like to still sell more or
Riley Bowman: else why are we in business? You would think so.
Robyn Sandoval: You would think so. It's very complex, though, when you push them out of their comfort zone.
Riley Bowman: Yeah. I also suspect, I mean, I describe it as kind of the old guard.
Riley Bowman: There's just sort of this, there's still this mentality, I think,
Riley Bowman: in a lot of parts of the industry of, you know, we've got to protect the status
Riley Bowman: quo. So, you know, whether people are intentionally thinking of it like that
Riley Bowman: or not, it's beside the point.
Riley Bowman: But just, again, just sort of like this is the way it's always been and this
Riley Bowman: is the way we like it. We got to keep it that way.
Riley Bowman: And heaven forbid we fill that parking lot up.
Robyn Sandoval: Right. I think that a lot of times, though, that old guard is very protective
Robyn Sandoval: because they've seen their rights and friends chipped away at.
Robyn Sandoval: And so they have this like hard line in the sand and letting people in can be very scary.
Robyn Sandoval: Uh letting you know any trying to
Robyn Sandoval: find any kind of middle ground for a new community to broaden
Robyn Sandoval: the tent as akil and tiffany talk about um but
Robyn Sandoval: just to to make a more diverse clientele for them can be very intimidating again
Robyn Sandoval: it's just different and so while you look at dollars and cents it makes really
Robyn Sandoval: great sense but if you look at the history of being afraid of outsiders coming
Robyn Sandoval: in and getting more middle ground than we were comfortable with and chipping
Robyn Sandoval: away the things that we hold sacred,
Robyn Sandoval: I understand the mental, the wall there.
Robyn Sandoval: And I let them know that we're a hundred percent on their side and all the benefits
Robyn Sandoval: of supporting a women's group like ours.
Riley Bowman: Yeah.
Riley Bowman: Besides the data, are there any anecdotal kind of success stories that you are able to share?
Riley Bowman: Like, you know, just it could be anything, just a story or two or three here
Riley Bowman: and there of various women or chapters or stores or ranges that, you know,
Riley Bowman: you're like, hey, this is notable and maybe you'd like to highlight.
Robyn Sandoval: Oh, gosh, there's so many stories, hundreds of stories of women who have reached
Robyn Sandoval: out and said that a girl in a gun has changed their lives.
Robyn Sandoval: And, you know, I always remind them that a girl in a gun didn't change your
Robyn Sandoval: life. You changed it. We just gave you the pathway and the support along the way.
Robyn Sandoval: But there's just so many stories. I've seen women who,
Robyn Sandoval: you know, we have leaders now, chapter leaders that are instructors that are
Robyn Sandoval: teaching private lessons and thriving in their personal instructor business
Robyn Sandoval: that five years ago, one of them had never left her county ever.
Robyn Sandoval: Her entire life. She's 50.
Robyn Sandoval: Had never left her county. didn't know there was a bigger world out there.
Robyn Sandoval: And now she comes to conference. She comes to drip. She comes to all of our events.
Robyn Sandoval: She's in it to win it and is recognized that, you know, getting past,
Robyn Sandoval: you know, a lot of times we hold ourselves back.
Robyn Sandoval: And now I see her living her best life and traveling and having new memories
Robyn Sandoval: and inspiring others around her to, to grow.
Robyn Sandoval: It's just a lot of times women, especially who want to focus on their families
Robyn Sandoval: and you know, it's really hard for them to to shine it's really hard for them
Robyn Sandoval: to give themselves permission to kind of live
Robyn Sandoval: To live bigger and greater. And I, I'm just so fortunate. I get to see that all the time.
Robyn Sandoval: There was one woman who was, uh, came to an event where we had some shotgun.
Robyn Sandoval: It was tactical shotgun.
Robyn Sandoval: It was kind of an intro to three gun, but we focused on, on shotgun and she'd
Robyn Sandoval: never shot a shotgun before.
Robyn Sandoval: And so she found, um, she found she was actually pretty good at it.
Robyn Sandoval: And she was actually really good at it. And she went home and she was the girl
Robyn Sandoval: scout troop for her daughters.
Robyn Sandoval: And she was going through a really horrible divorce and it was really low self-esteem.
Robyn Sandoval: And she took the girls, her whole Girl Scout troop bowling. And she said that
Robyn Sandoval: she had never gotten up and bowled before. She let the girls do it.
Robyn Sandoval: She's kind of stayed in the shadows. And she said, but you know what?
Robyn Sandoval: I learned that day I was a pretty good bowler too.
Robyn Sandoval: She got up there and she's living her life and trying new things and not afraid
Robyn Sandoval: of failing and not afraid of looking silly, just tired of sitting on the sidelines.
Robyn Sandoval: And I see that time after time. And what's so inspiring about that is not only
Robyn Sandoval: does she change her life and enhance her life and live better and live more.
Robyn Sandoval: Um, but she just inspired this whole generation of little girls looking at her
Robyn Sandoval: to not sit in the shadows either, that they don't need to worry about what they're
Robyn Sandoval: wearing or if they're good at something that just to expect,
Robyn Sandoval: you're going to be terrible. It's your first time and it's okay.
Robyn Sandoval: You know, um, but that, that price of entry is embarrassment sometimes to get
Robyn Sandoval: out there and shoot your first match.
Robyn Sandoval: When you think in your mind, you're going so blazing fast, but you're actually really, really slow.
Riley Bowman: Um.
Robyn Sandoval: You know, it's just that's the cost of entry is being willing to just try it
Riley Bowman: That still happens even to me where i'll review a match video and i'm like man
Riley Bowman: why am i still so slow every.
Robyn Sandoval: Time i'll look at the standings and be like wow i thought i was way faster than
Riley Bowman: Him yep yep that's really cool i appreciate you sharing that you know that that there's uh,
Riley Bowman: lives being changed by, you know, getting involved and doing what we're here to talk about today.
Riley Bowman: I have certainly been a, I want to call it a partaker of the blessings of what
Riley Bowman: you're describing, because there's a significant positive energy that I've witnessed at your events.
Riley Bowman: I mean, by that, I mean, attending the national conference, teaching there a couple of times.
Riley Bowman: And first of all there's always just a bunch of smiling faces uh like there's
Riley Bowman: never a frown that i can recall uh you know and everyone is so excited to learn
Riley Bowman: like so excited to be there.
Riley Bowman: And and i know that for some instructors too this is you know if they're exposed
Riley Bowman: to that for the first time especially and maybe they come from a background
Riley Bowman: in military law enforcement training while I don't have the heaviest background
Riley Bowman: in law enforcement training, I've done a little bit of that in my past.
Riley Bowman: And you're used to being in a room or on a range with, you know,
Riley Bowman: guys where this is their job, guys and gals, but a lot of guys, mostly, obviously.
Riley Bowman: And, you know, and they're just told, hey, you got to go to this training course. Okay.
Riley Bowman: You know, and maybe don't want to be there. They'd rather be at home,
Riley Bowman: you know, fishing or, you know, going camping, or they'd even rather just be
Riley Bowman: on the job, you know, chasing bad guys rather than being in yet another training course.
Riley Bowman: And so it's just so refreshing to be surrounded by students that really,
Riley Bowman: really, really want to be there and want whatever it is that you can deliver.
Riley Bowman: And that's a really cool thing. And so it's very apparent to me that everything
Riley Bowman: you're describing is, I mean, it's not just,
Riley Bowman: It's not just talk. It's not, you know, it's it's you're it's really you're
Riley Bowman: you're changing lives and enriching lives.
Riley Bowman: And that exit that exudes in the people, you know, like you see it.
Riley Bowman: So I'm just, I guess, testifying to to that myself.
Robyn Sandoval: I'm grateful that you would notice that because that is all on purpose.
Robyn Sandoval: You know, I always charge our instructors with having really high standards
Robyn Sandoval: of their own firearms handling, their teaching, their being able to walk the walk and talk the talk.
Robyn Sandoval: They have to be able to articulate and speak in front of a crowd and be able
Robyn Sandoval: to teach, be, you know, competent educators, as well as being really good shooters.
Robyn Sandoval: We require them to shoot on camera twice, once every two years to recertify.
Robyn Sandoval: And so we want to make sure that they can really walk the walk and talk the
Robyn Sandoval: talk. Another thing, though, in addition to all of that is I charge them with
Robyn Sandoval: being cultured creators.
Robyn Sandoval: I say that you are the holder of our culture. And so by showing that ever student
Robyn Sandoval: mindset to not just think you know it all, but to always be open to learning
Robyn Sandoval: new things and to go into additional training.
Robyn Sandoval: And once you think, you know, pistols, let's move on to rifles.
Robyn Sandoval: When you think, you know, rifles, let's move on to shotguns.
Robyn Sandoval: And so to not be stagnant in their own learning journey.
Robyn Sandoval: And our girls really from the top down emulate that.
Robyn Sandoval: I go to training. I try, I'm always trying to learn new things and I really
Robyn Sandoval: hold them to the same standards.
Robyn Sandoval: I'm not going to ask them to do anything that I don't do myself.
Robyn Sandoval: I want to learn all of it and I want to be a part of that journey with them as well.
Robyn Sandoval: So being a holder of that culture of encouragement, of welcoming,
Robyn Sandoval: of high standards, all of that kind of rolls in together.
Robyn Sandoval: And before conference, we do send out emails to remind our ladies to be active
Robyn Sandoval: learners, to be professional students, to take notes, to listen to what the
Robyn Sandoval: instructors are saying.
Robyn Sandoval: And especially our conference, because we have some like, you know,
Robyn Sandoval: you giving advice on on shooting a stage and different props and different,
Robyn Sandoval: you know, how to tackle an array from behind a barrier might be very different
Robyn Sandoval: than what one of the military guys or one of our law enforcement friends might
Robyn Sandoval: be teaching on a different stage in a different context.
Robyn Sandoval: And so being open to different instructors have different backgrounds.
Robyn Sandoval: They have different ways of saying the same material.
Robyn Sandoval: A lot of us kind of reinforce the same techniques, but we all have our own kind of flavor of it.
Robyn Sandoval: And so to be open to those different discussions and those different backgrounds
Robyn Sandoval: and to be willing to try new things and all of that kind of comes with the culture.
Riley Bowman: I appreciate you touching on that. Culture is key. And by that,
Riley Bowman: a local culture, but also even a broader, more national level culture, whatever that might be.
Riley Bowman: But just in the fact that, I mean, it all starts with something local.
Riley Bowman: And when we look at, if you want to even just have a conversation about the
Riley Bowman: protection of our rights as Americans to own, to possess, to carry,
Riley Bowman: to use firearms in whatever capacity or context we desire, because that's how
Riley Bowman: the right ought to be enshrined, right?
Riley Bowman: Or their self-defense or just for pure enjoyment.
Riley Bowman: That culture, we've seen a lot of evolution throughout our American country
Riley Bowman: history of firearm ownership and culture.
Riley Bowman: And even more recently, that's changed somewhat. I think it's constantly evolving.
Riley Bowman: We are all the holders of that as well I guess where I'm going with my thought here and,
Riley Bowman: I want to see that continue to expand and what you're, you're talking about,
Riley Bowman: like, that's really cool that that's something that you're making sure that
Riley Bowman: your leaders of your chapters,
Riley Bowman: your instructors, that they understand that, that they, that they are putting
Riley Bowman: that out there, that they are, you know, also examples, I guess, of that culture.
Riley Bowman: I mean, it's kind of like what I related to, Robin, is, and you've probably
Riley Bowman: experienced this too, I've shot a lot of different matches at a lot of different
Riley Bowman: places around the country.
Riley Bowman: I've had that opportunity, big matches, small matches.
Riley Bowman: And so, I mean, I've been to clubs or to matches where the culture was very different.
Riley Bowman: Uh and by that i mean i'm used to our
Riley Bowman: you know the match that i've shot the most here locally i've shot a
Riley Bowman: number of them here in the area in colorado here but the one
Riley Bowman: i've shot the most i mean they're good they're good folks
Riley Bowman: they work hard everybody kind of
Riley Bowman: shares the load you know as far as getting matches
Riley Bowman: set up running those matches tearing those matches down
Riley Bowman: welcoming in new shooters making sure that
Riley Bowman: they're taken care of you know like uh one of
Riley Bowman: our local matches run by charlie perez a uspsa grandmaster
Riley Bowman: charlie's a good friend of mine charlie does a fantastic job
Riley Bowman: of welcoming new people in and and then
Riley Bowman: making sure that those new folks are paired up on squads with other experience
Riley Bowman: but but not just experience because you could have experienced competitors that
Riley Bowman: are jerks or all they care about is themselves or but there's also those shooters
Riley Bowman: that they're good and they'll show you the way,
Riley Bowman: like as far as how to, not only how to shoot a stage, but also like here,
Riley Bowman: let me take a little extra time and kind of walk you through this together so
Riley Bowman: you can kind of see what I see and not only.
Riley Bowman: From like, like, I don't, I don't, I'm not gonna take a brand new shooter and
Riley Bowman: be like, this is the stage plan you should use, right?
Riley Bowman: Necessarily, it might be that plan, but it might not be because I might do something
Riley Bowman: that would get a newer shooter in trouble if they're not careful.
Riley Bowman: You got to have shooters like that that are experienced and there and guide
Riley Bowman: and that culture doesn't always exist.
Riley Bowman: I've been to matches where somebody new shows up. It's like,
Riley Bowman: okay, hey, cool, new guy. All right, good luck.
Robyn Sandoval: A lot of times. I think that's the way it is, unfortunately, most places.
Robyn Sandoval: But that is another aspect of a girl in the gun that we really focus on is making
Robyn Sandoval: sure that they don't stay insular.
Robyn Sandoval: We love them coming to a girl in the gun events, but now's your chance to go
Robyn Sandoval: to your local club match or a major or we'll teach you those skills and we'll
Robyn Sandoval: bring you in and make sure that you grow some confidence, but then we don't keep you here.
Robyn Sandoval: The whole idea is for you to like fly the nest and like be active participant in other matches.
Robyn Sandoval: That's really the goal is for them to go back home and support their local club
Robyn Sandoval: match because that's when it makes and hopefully infuse some of our culture into that.
Robyn Sandoval: Because you're absolutely right. And that's why we have three gun university.
Robyn Sandoval: We host the only all ladies three gun match in the country. And we have three gun university.
Robyn Sandoval: So ladies can come learn the sport of three gun and then they can shoot the match.
Robyn Sandoval: And so we have squad moms and we have squad pros. so the
Robyn Sandoval: moms are the ones to make sure you have all your gear and you're ready your knicks in
Robyn Sandoval: line and everyone's resetting and then the pros are the ones that coach
Robyn Sandoval: you on suggestions on a stage plan to help you because a lot of girls when they're
Robyn Sandoval: new they just don't even know where to start so uh each squad has a mom and
Robyn Sandoval: it's and a pro and they get you through that match and and it is a completely
Robyn Sandoval: different culture pros do not come to our match to win it and uh even though
Robyn Sandoval: their sponsors know they could.
Robyn Sandoval: They come to our match to be ambassadors of the sport, to share the sport they
Robyn Sandoval: love, to encourage others to come in.
Robyn Sandoval: And honestly, that's a better brand ambassador than winning because now all
Robyn Sandoval: those newbies that didn't have their own gear that just used,
Robyn Sandoval: borrowed your gear are kind of go and purchase that because it worked for them.
Robyn Sandoval: They had some coaching with it. And now that's a far better and more valuable brand ambassador.
Robyn Sandoval: But a lot of times, some cultures of people only want to see them at the top
Robyn Sandoval: of leaderboard, which you know, is usually the case also, but not the priority of matches like ours.
Riley Bowman: Yeah. That's awesome. I just mentioned we dive in a little more into some metrics.
Riley Bowman: Why don't we do that now? Kind of shift gears a little bit.
Riley Bowman: What are some of the interesting,
Riley Bowman: data points that, uh, that you think is worth, worth sharing?
Riley Bowman: Like that might, people might find interest in like, Hey, you probably didn't know this for instance.
Robyn Sandoval: Well, we talked about how, you know, the goal is for more people to come in.
Robyn Sandoval: So is that, and I always differentiate between is that becoming a gun owner
Robyn Sandoval: and purchasing a firearm, or is that between, or is that about going to the
Robyn Sandoval: range and training with that firearm?
Robyn Sandoval: And what is that bridge between them? How do we get someone who purchased the
Robyn Sandoval: gun to actually get out there to the range and train and how they,
Robyn Sandoval: what is the next step for them to join an organization like mine, where they train a lot,
Robyn Sandoval: where these ladies are training at home on the regular two, three times a month,
Robyn Sandoval: and then also traveling to different events and matches and other things too.
Robyn Sandoval: So it's really that kind of more enthusiast level. So what does that journey
Robyn Sandoval: look like and how can we encourage more people to really be an active participant in that journey?
Robyn Sandoval: So over the past several years, the data was more pandemic focused.
Robyn Sandoval: You know, people were more afraid about legislative bans during the previous administration.
Robyn Sandoval: They were more worried about violence, hate crimes, defunding of the police, those kinds of issues.
Robyn Sandoval: We saw a lot of gun owners coming to us wanting training and confidence and
Robyn Sandoval: proficiency because of those issues.
Robyn Sandoval: And that has really waned to the other side.
Robyn Sandoval: Now we're seeing a lot more women come just because they didn't know they could. And I love that.
Robyn Sandoval: We're finally getting the word out after 14 years that you don't have to be
Robyn Sandoval: a guy. You don't want to be in law enforcement. You don't have to be in military
Robyn Sandoval: to actually go to the range and train.
Robyn Sandoval: So more and more women are coming in just because in our member polling,
Robyn Sandoval: they're saying, I didn't know I could.
Robyn Sandoval: And I was encouraged by a family member or friend to go and take some training.
Robyn Sandoval: And so I think that still means that the rest of us have a lot of work to do.
Robyn Sandoval: If we want these ladies to train, if we want more diversity in our firearms
Robyn Sandoval: communities, we need to let them know that they're welcome, that there's a place for them.
Robyn Sandoval: And just getting the word out on that is showing that the metrics have skewed
Robyn Sandoval: to that, that people are a little less driven by fear and more driven by opportunity
Robyn Sandoval: now, which is very positive and also still shows that we have a lot of work to do.
Riley Bowman: Yeah.
Riley Bowman: I appreciate you sharing that. I was thinking about how during like 2020,
Riley Bowman: 2021, you know, thereabouts, that kind of pandemic, you know, period.
Riley Bowman: Wasn't the stat something like 7 or 8 or maybe it was 15? Anyway,
Riley Bowman: it's been a few years since I've looked over those numbers.
Riley Bowman: But it was millions of first-time new gun owners that came into the fold, so to speak.
Riley Bowman: And I think there was a lot of excitement driven around that, rightfully so.
Riley Bowman: I mean, we're always excited to see new gun owners, but there was a little bit
Riley Bowman: of trepidation as well, including from some more experienced industry folks
Riley Bowman: because it's like, okay,
Riley Bowman: are those people really going to truly come into the fold?
Riley Bowman: Or are they just going to buy that gun and stash it somewhere in the closet
Riley Bowman: and forget about it, move on? Like it just, you know, made them feel better
Riley Bowman: about whatever thing they were worried about at that particular point in time.
Riley Bowman: And so they bought the thing and then they moved on in life.
Riley Bowman: And I do think that probably what the world is showing now that that there is
Riley Bowman: a lot of that that did occur. It was OK.
Riley Bowman: Yep. Bought the gun. All right. Cool. I got it. Now, you know,
Riley Bowman: they just continue on with life.
Riley Bowman: I'm curious if, if you, uh,
Riley Bowman: if you've seen some, some correlating data, some, some influx as well on the
Riley Bowman: lady's side and coming into a girl and a gun kind of in around and following
Riley Bowman: that time period as well that, that,
Riley Bowman: that, I mean, I know we're not going to capture everybody, but I am hopeful
Riley Bowman: that there were some of these ladies coming into shooting that maybe initially were,
Riley Bowman: like, yeah, I need to get a gun and I'm worried about this or that.
Riley Bowman: And then they see that, wait, there is this great opportunity in this great
Riley Bowman: organization and there's more there for me.
Riley Bowman: I mean, what are your thoughts on if anything I just said makes sense?
Robyn Sandoval: Well, there's two parts of that. One is everybody wants a gun and they're safe
Robyn Sandoval: just to feel like it's this magic talisman around their home.
Robyn Sandoval: But then when something goes wrong, like the floods here in Texas or hurricanes
Robyn Sandoval: that happen or any kind of natural disaster, that's when people realize how
Robyn Sandoval: vulnerable their infrastructure is and their 911 systems become overburdened.
Robyn Sandoval: And they realize a little more, they're a little more isolated,
Robyn Sandoval: a little more on their own than they thought.
Robyn Sandoval: And they need to start having at least some kind of preparedness,
Robyn Sandoval: whether it's medical supplies, you know, food, firearm, ammo,
Robyn Sandoval: and some skills to use all of those things.
Robyn Sandoval: So, I mean, as much as it is sad,
Robyn Sandoval: sometimes those situations do give us a soapbox to invite people when they,
Robyn Sandoval: when they realize their vulnerability, that's a time where we can put an olive
Robyn Sandoval: branch to say, let us help you get some confidence.
Robyn Sandoval: When you feel that vulnerability, there's options for you.
Robyn Sandoval: And there's ways that you can stand on that and grow confident.
Robyn Sandoval: But also back in the day, we used to see a lot more women who were led to firearms
Robyn Sandoval: by men in their lives. We would see their fathers.
Robyn Sandoval: They would go shooting with their fathers, their husbands. It was a couple's activity.
Robyn Sandoval: Many of the women were brought in because their husband had been,
Robyn Sandoval: or their boyfriend at the time was a shooter and she would go along.
Robyn Sandoval: And so we saw that a lot more back in the, you know, 2011, 2015, 2019 era.
Robyn Sandoval: Now we're seeing a lot more women who are the first shooters in their home.
Robyn Sandoval: They're the ones wanting to learn firearms.
Robyn Sandoval: They're the ones hearing about other people and seeing videos and seeing other
Robyn Sandoval: things on social media and hearing other stories.
Robyn Sandoval: And now they're wanting to be, have a firearm and learn about it.
Robyn Sandoval: And now they're bringing the men of their life to the range.
Robyn Sandoval: So it's kind of been a flip over the past 10 years. We've really seen that.
Robyn Sandoval: Spur more, really the past five years, strongly skewed in that data direction.
Robyn Sandoval: But we are making headway. Just last week, the Seattle Times wrote a positive gun story.
Robyn Sandoval: I would never have thought I'd see that out of the Pacific Northwest.
Robyn Sandoval: It is strongly anti-gun.
Robyn Sandoval: But the Seattle Times actually featured two of our Girl in the Gun chapters.
Robyn Sandoval: And one of the questions they posed was, why do you stay in this?
Robyn Sandoval: Like, okay, you got the gun. Okay, you learned gun safety.
Robyn Sandoval: Okay. You, you got it. You're safe now. You got it. Why do you keep going?
Robyn Sandoval: And all of the women answered for the community that it's so much fun and it's
Robyn Sandoval: so much more and it's so much greater than I ever expected.
Robyn Sandoval: And the Seattle times reported that.
Robyn Sandoval: So there is hope for us that we can get that word out and let people know that
Robyn Sandoval: it's not just a checkbox. Got it.
Robyn Sandoval: Check learn gun safety. I know the four rules check.
Robyn Sandoval: So now they realize that there's a whole journey ahead of them.
Robyn Sandoval: And, and I mean, that's one thing that a girl in the gun has really thrived
Robyn Sandoval: at is showing that journey,
Robyn Sandoval: showing that kind of roadmap of what you've learned, what you still have yet
Robyn Sandoval: to learn, and what can be achieved along the way, and giving them those opportunities
Robyn Sandoval: to learn it. So we have lots of different programs that do that.
Robyn Sandoval: We have our targets that allow different kinds of, of opportunity for growth,
Robyn Sandoval: we make sure that unlike a lot of women's organizations that stay in that new
Robyn Sandoval: shooter space, a girl in the gun is really able to push people down the road.
Robyn Sandoval: And if you want to learn expert
Robyn Sandoval: level well you know if you can define expert level we'll
Robyn Sandoval: get you there we'll make sure that your fundamentals are squared and you're
Robyn Sandoval: ready to rock and roll whether it's with a pistol rifle shotgun for defense
Robyn Sandoval: for competition for any other kind of purpose so um you know lawful purpose
Robyn Sandoval: but you know what i'm saying like whatever your your goals are we can help you
Robyn Sandoval: achieve them and a lot of organizations really stay in that you know
Robyn Sandoval: new shooter oh you're new here that's welcoming you and we'll start with the
Robyn Sandoval: four rules well you can only hear that so many times before you're ready to jump out there.
Robyn Sandoval: So that is one place where a girl on a gun excels is with quality instruction
Robyn Sandoval: that can get you to that next level.
Riley Bowman: That's awesome. I had to go look up that Seattle times article.
Riley Bowman: And I'll have to read through that after we're done here.
Riley Bowman: Cause that looks really cool.
Robyn Sandoval: This looks like I was really surprised to see something positive about guns
Robyn Sandoval: come out of the Pacific Northwest. us so that leaves me hope for the rest of
Robyn Sandoval: us uh you know for colorado let's keep a good thought for your neck of the woods yeah
Riley Bowman: Yeah um even just looking at the images of the article i mean they're they're
Riley Bowman: good positive images so good stuff very very cool,
Riley Bowman: Very, very cool. Yeah, we need more of that.
Riley Bowman: We need a lot more of that. There's, you know, there's some positive signs of
Riley Bowman: what as far as what's going on, more on the judicial level of things for the
Riley Bowman: Second Amendment in this country.
Riley Bowman: And I hope that that continues because it hopefully will just make things even
Riley Bowman: easier and open up more doors, more opportunities for Americans everywhere.
Riley Bowman: But that's only going to be able to continue if we have good folks and good
Riley Bowman: ladies also getting involved and seeing not just – that's the thing, right?
Riley Bowman: Like there's a lot of talk and a lot of debate about what the meaning of the
Riley Bowman: second amendment is and, and what the purpose of that amendment is and was and what was intended.
Riley Bowman: But the, the very least, like if someone just wants to have a gun for fun,
Riley Bowman: like positive fun and community and going to events and shooting and competing
Riley Bowman: like that should be completely allowed and acceptable and to be made to feel acceptable, you know,
Riley Bowman: world where so often guns are, you know, painted in this very negative light
Riley Bowman: in the media and all over.
Riley Bowman: So you ladies are doing great work and that's, that's awesome.
Robyn Sandoval: Well, the second amendment doesn't mention firearms. It says the right to keep our arms.
Robyn Sandoval: So, and I think all of us can agree that we really just want the fundamental
Robyn Sandoval: right to protect ourselves, to protect our families and our bodies and those that we love.
Robyn Sandoval: And so just having the options is really what as Americans we want to be able
Robyn Sandoval: to say, this is what I choose and how I choose to protect my family.
Robyn Sandoval: This is what I've decided is right for my family and right and just.
Robyn Sandoval: And I think we can all agree in the right of protection.
Riley Bowman: Yeah, that's awesome. Well said.
Riley Bowman: You mentioned that it used to be that a lot of ladies would come in to a girl
Riley Bowman: on a gun, potentially being led there eventually because of their husbands or
Riley Bowman: significant others kind of, you know,
Riley Bowman: encouraging that or bringing them along to the range and whatnot.
Riley Bowman: And that that's sort of flip-flop. That's fascinating to me.
Riley Bowman: That doesn't surprise me necessarily.
Riley Bowman: I think I've seen some examples of that even myself.
Riley Bowman: What do you see also like along with seeing more ladies coming into the shooting world,
Riley Bowman: there's been minorities as well just in general that seem to have increased in this endeavor.
Riley Bowman: And so what kind of insights do you have to share there.
Robyn Sandoval: It's the same thing. Just seeing people who look like you on the other side
Robyn Sandoval: of the door and letting everyone know that it's okay for them to be there,
Robyn Sandoval: that they're welcome to be there and they're not going to be out of place and
Robyn Sandoval: they're not going to be judged or criticized that they're going to be supported
Robyn Sandoval: in this journey and just making sure that that environment is welcoming.
Robyn Sandoval: So, and I think it's not just the same for women, for non-traditional gun owners,
Robyn Sandoval: as they call different ethnic groups, but also millennials and also people from states like yours.
Robyn Sandoval: We have a whole generation of Coloradans and Californians and Marylanders who
Robyn Sandoval: have never touched a gun because it was been legislated out for so long.
Robyn Sandoval: So we have a whole generation. Now we have all these baby cops coming in that
Robyn Sandoval: have never touched a firearm and they need the same welcoming atmosphere to
Robyn Sandoval: show them here are the fundamentals.
Robyn Sandoval: Here's how you can become proficient. Here's how you become confident.
Robyn Sandoval: And it's the same for any it's, it's that all of that group that is kind of
Robyn Sandoval: just never identified that this is something I can do. This isn't for me.
Robyn Sandoval: Now, as they start thinking, well, maybe it is for me. There's a lot of opportunities there.
Riley Bowman: Yeah.
Riley Bowman: I'm going to shift gears again on you a little bit and turn this into,
Riley Bowman: we'll call it action items for the future.
Riley Bowman: And by that, I'm going to give you some different, we'll call them avatars,
Riley Bowman: and what you would suggest to those different categories of people.
Riley Bowman: To, if it's important to them, like it's important to you and I,
Riley Bowman: to encourage women and all people to do more, to get involved,
Riley Bowman: to, you know, take that next step or that new step, whatever it is,
Riley Bowman: to continue to grow the larger community or to grow your own little,
Riley Bowman: I shouldn't say little, but in your little
Riley Bowman: slice of the pie your little world of a girl and
Riley Bowman: a gun which is not that little anymore but uh
Riley Bowman: we recognize that there are millions and millions and millions of gun owners
Riley Bowman: and not all the lady gun owners are members of a girl and a gun yet and not
Riley Bowman: all of the other gun owners are you know actively participating in shooting
Riley Bowman: sports or even going to the range all that often.
Riley Bowman: So I'm going to give you some different, like I said, like avatars.
Riley Bowman: And I'm going to ask for your recommendations on what those people can do to
Riley Bowman: continue to grow what's important to us.
Riley Bowman: So first up, I think this is probably the easier one to answer, perhaps.
Riley Bowman: We've kind of already talked about this, I think, but.
Riley Bowman: You got, you know, Rebecca, let's say that's the avatar's name here.
Riley Bowman: Rebecca's never touched a gun in her life, didn't grow up in a gun-only household,
Riley Bowman: never had anything to do with it.
Riley Bowman: But for whatever reason, whether it was, you know, something happened to her
Riley Bowman: or she just is surfing YouTube one day and comes across a video of some women shooting guns,
Riley Bowman: and she's like, wow, that's interesting. I've never thought about that before.
Riley Bowman: Maybe I'll do that. So Rebecca is first timer, never, never done anything with
Riley Bowman: a gun, but doesn't know where to get started. What would you suggest to her?
Robyn Sandoval: Her first step would be a girl on a gun.org. And she would click find a chapter
Robyn Sandoval: and she would find a local instructor near her.
Robyn Sandoval: And then she can learn about events that are available to her,
Robyn Sandoval: private lessons, events that the range has coming up, different opportunities,
Robyn Sandoval: and also some, some, just some clinics she can go to where you try before you buy.
Robyn Sandoval: Because we all know that having some instruction, getting some proficiency,
Robyn Sandoval: and then trying a bunch of different firearms helps you find the one that fits
Robyn Sandoval: your hand and fits your needs better.
Robyn Sandoval: Often our guys behind the gun counter are well-intentioned, but they're not
Robyn Sandoval: instructors, and they often can't coach somebody to find the firearm that fits
Robyn Sandoval: their needs and their hands, really.
Robyn Sandoval: And so going with a certified instructor that can kind of coach you on that
Robyn Sandoval: journey would be the best step,
Riley Bowman: First step for her. Very cool. Very cool.
Riley Bowman: So just for Rebecca's sake, what is a typical chapter meeting or get together look like?
Riley Bowman: Like kind of from just a rough outline of from beginning to end,
Riley Bowman: you're a brand new first timer showing up.
Riley Bowman: What can they expect to find in terms of the experience they're going to find there?
Robyn Sandoval: Well, she'll walk in the door and she'll go to where they're meeting,
Robyn Sandoval: whether it's on the range or whether in a classroom. it depends on the facility
Robyn Sandoval: and the amenities there.
Robyn Sandoval: Sometimes we meet in the parking lot, it really depends on what that range has
Robyn Sandoval: to offer, but they'll have a safety brief.
Robyn Sandoval: So the lead instructor, our facilitator, will welcome everyone,
Robyn Sandoval: identify anybody who's new,
Robyn Sandoval: kind of ask them generally what their firearm experience is,
Robyn Sandoval: and then they'll go over the four rules of them, safety,
Robyn Sandoval: they'll talk about different safety parameters regarding that facility and any
Robyn Sandoval: specific needs and reminders about working from firearms at that venue,
Robyn Sandoval: and then they'll go out to the range and usually ladies will have a different topic
Robyn Sandoval: or a different target or a different thing that they're working on.
Robyn Sandoval: For example, we have our pistol marksmanship program.
Robyn Sandoval: So a lot of ladies are progressing through that. It's self-paced.
Robyn Sandoval: So everyone's at a different level and we're just working confidently through that.
Robyn Sandoval: Yeah, so we send targets down range. And if she's new to that experience,
Robyn Sandoval: she'll have an RSO instructor with her.
Robyn Sandoval: So there'll be a kind of an assistant instructor that's kind of coaching her
Robyn Sandoval: a little bit, if it's possible, if we have the staff for that.
Robyn Sandoval: If not, she might stand back and watch a little bit until our instructor can
Robyn Sandoval: spend time with her one-on-one.
Robyn Sandoval: And then she'll be encouraged to get lessons classes that's
Robyn Sandoval: really the where the learning happens is to go to a class
Robyn Sandoval: that the range has coming up or that our chapter has coming up or to
Robyn Sandoval: go to a private lesson with that instructor and really learn hands-on
Robyn Sandoval: one-on-one with that personalized attention and then she can come back to girls
Robyn Sandoval: night out now with some confidence and skills and practice what she learned
Robyn Sandoval: and then she'll be able to go to the next class and learn some new things and
Robyn Sandoval: come back to girls night out and learn what and practice what she learned and
Robyn Sandoval: that's really where you see progress is for as you progress through these marksmanship programs,
Robyn Sandoval: as you work different drills and skills that we offer at our events.
Robyn Sandoval: Our events are designed to be supervised practice. We really want learning to
Robyn Sandoval: happen in a classroom environment or in an instructor one-on-one environment.
Robyn Sandoval: And then the group learning is really for reinforcing what you've learned.
Robyn Sandoval: That's kind of how a girl and the gun operates. And then we have clinics and
Robyn Sandoval: classes that can supplement that based on what you want to learn.
Robyn Sandoval: If you want to have a first aid clinic or a gun cleaning clinic or safe storage
Robyn Sandoval: or staging clinics. Like we have different topics that you can learn about.
Robyn Sandoval: Those are a little bit different. The heartbeat of our organization is the girls
Robyn Sandoval: night out, which is supervised practice. It's getting on the gun and practicing
Robyn Sandoval: those skills so that you're sending rounds down range and you're actually being
Robyn Sandoval: able to chart improvement.
Riley Bowman: That's awesome. Thank you for walking us through that experience.
Riley Bowman: Next up, we have Judy, who is already experienced in shooting.
Riley Bowman: Maybe even Judy is an NRA basic pistol instructor or something of that sort.
Riley Bowman: But she's wanting to do more. And she's maybe learned or heard of a girl and
Riley Bowman: a gun, but doesn't maybe know exactly what that looks like.
Riley Bowman: Maybe there's not a chapter super close to her, but she's interested in learning
Riley Bowman: more and potentially starting her own chapter.
Riley Bowman: How would Judy, you know, what would be the next steps that you'd recommend for her?
Robyn Sandoval: Well, the same. Go to a girlandagain.org and join our national e-chapter.
Robyn Sandoval: So we have a virtual chapter where she has access to monthly Girls Made Outs virtually.
Robyn Sandoval: I actually live stream the Girls Made Outs a couple times a month.
Robyn Sandoval: And so Tatiana Whitlock is our director of training. She does a pistol skill virtual GNO each month.
Robyn Sandoval: And so there's a lot of skills that you can learn virtually,
Robyn Sandoval: just making community virtually.
Robyn Sandoval: You'll be able to recognize lots of girls so that when you do show up at national
Robyn Sandoval: conference or when you do come to Drift Academy or Sniper School or our Glock
Robyn Sandoval: getaways or our Upland Adventure or all the other things that we offer,
Robyn Sandoval: you'll feel like you're already in it to win it, that you have a community there to support you.
Robyn Sandoval: And a lot of times those instructors, as skilled as they are in their local
Robyn Sandoval: community, they might not have access to 2,003 yards to learn long range precision rifles.
Robyn Sandoval: They may not have access to our clays extravaganza, you know,
Robyn Sandoval: the sporting clays courses that we do.
Robyn Sandoval: So just because they know it and they might have a deep knowledge in pistol
Robyn Sandoval: doesn't mean that they have ever shot three gun.
Robyn Sandoval: So come to three gun university. So by being an e-chapter member that allows
Robyn Sandoval: you to participate and then kind of plug into those additional opportunities
Robyn Sandoval: to learn more about our culture and who we are.
Robyn Sandoval: And then usually that's when she goes home and she reaches out to us about starting a chapter.
Riley Bowman: Cool. Awesome. Next up, we got we got Tom.
Riley Bowman: Tom is married to Marilyn.
Riley Bowman: And uh so so tom's uh retired military you know and so he's spent a good amount of his life around,
Riley Bowman: firearms and and weapons of different types and uh his wife is she's just at
Riley Bowman: a point where she's kind of familiar but uh you know maybe just hasn't had uh
Riley Bowman: the right direction or whatever or the desire to get involved,
Riley Bowman: but Tom's always wanted his wife to get more involved.
Riley Bowman: What do you think for a husband that's looking to guide his wife down a,
Riley Bowman: more firearms related path. What do you think Tom could do to support his wife a little bit better?
Robyn Sandoval: I think the most important thing is for Tom to ask questions.
Robyn Sandoval: Is she interested in being a participant?
Robyn Sandoval: Or if you wanted to talk about certain natural disasters or things that have
Robyn Sandoval: come up to her, if she's been personally affected by watching the floods and
Robyn Sandoval: seeing how things have affected those families there, maybe that's a good time
Robyn Sandoval: for Tom to say, what is our home emergency plan?
Robyn Sandoval: And are you a participant in that? Are you expecting me to do all the work?
Robyn Sandoval: And if I can't do all the work, if I'm incapacitated or if I'm handling something
Robyn Sandoval: different, do you have the skills and confidence to get work done if it needs to?
Robyn Sandoval: So what is your role in that? And if she's not comfortable with a firearm,
Robyn Sandoval: then maybe she has a different role.
Robyn Sandoval: Maybe her role is, you know, supporting him. If she's not comfortable with lethal
Robyn Sandoval: force, what is her plan and what is her strategy for being safe?
Robyn Sandoval: And a lot of times, once you ask those questions and she starts thinking about
Robyn Sandoval: what is her comfort zone, what is the end goal? If we need lethal force,
Robyn Sandoval: someone's got to be there to deliver it.
Robyn Sandoval: If he's not, if he can't, can she, and that sometimes can take a year long conversation.
Robyn Sandoval: Sometimes it's not just a one-time five minute conversation,
Robyn Sandoval: but as you plant those seeds and ask her, what is her participation in that?
Robyn Sandoval: And is she comfortable with that?
Robyn Sandoval: Um, and you know, I tell ladies, if a baseball bat is your plan,
Robyn Sandoval: I will make you the best I can with baseball bat.
Robyn Sandoval: And we'll go through all the drills and you'll realize why that's not really
Robyn Sandoval: a great option, you know, but we'll start with it because I'm not going to,
Robyn Sandoval: you know, you're going to have to come to that conclusion on your own that there's,
Robyn Sandoval: you know, okay, so you did that. Now I do this.
Robyn Sandoval: Yours love, you know, you got nothing. So we, we walk them through those,
Robyn Sandoval: those things because a lot of times people have this made up scenario of what
Robyn Sandoval: self-defense looks like.
Robyn Sandoval: I'm going to be in a dark alley and he's going to come from my right.
Robyn Sandoval: And you know, and you're like, okay, well don't go to the dark alley.
Robyn Sandoval: Now what's your plan? You know, when you're
Robyn Sandoval: And Sunday service, like what's your, so a lot of times they just can't think
Robyn Sandoval: outside of that, that comfort zone or that, you know, dark make believe world they've made.
Robyn Sandoval: So getting her to actually ask questions and for him to ask those questions,
Robyn Sandoval: what is your role in our, in our plan?
Robyn Sandoval: Do we have a plan? Will that make you feel more comfortable if something like
Robyn Sandoval: this, the devastating floods or a hurricane or a fire, if something happened
Robyn Sandoval: to us, would that make you feel more comfortable that we're prepared for that?
Robyn Sandoval: And a lot of times women just having those conversations will
Robyn Sandoval: start coming to their own conclusions that they want to be a more active participant that
Robyn Sandoval: they want to gain more confidence and then she'll be willing to
Robyn Sandoval: go to girls now and at least learn about it at least maybe to
Robyn Sandoval: be his backup and then i guarantee in a year she's gonna
Robyn Sandoval: be out shooting him and she'll be plan a and he'll be plan b
Robyn Sandoval: but a lot of times you just have to let her kind of go at her own pace and and
Robyn Sandoval: learn because i was that girl too i did not want a firearm in our home at all
Robyn Sandoval: was not happening and i saw the aftermath of berk and katrina and I saw a woman
Robyn Sandoval: hand her children to strangers getting on a bus to Houston.
Robyn Sandoval: And she said, please take my children. I'll try to find you in a few days.
Robyn Sandoval: And I said, there is no way I'm handing my children to strangers. What do I need to do?
Robyn Sandoval: And that's when I became the journey of what is my plan and how can I protect
Robyn Sandoval: my family? And what am I willing to learn to do that?
Robyn Sandoval: And so everyone kind of has to come at their own urging, but it's not necessarily
Robyn Sandoval: a five minute conversation. It can take a long time, but having a supportive
Robyn Sandoval: community of women where she
Robyn Sandoval: can come and ask those questions and be with people who felt the same way.
Robyn Sandoval: I'll say, I know how you feel. I felt the same way. And what I found is now
Robyn Sandoval: I'm way more prepared and way more confident.
Robyn Sandoval: And, you know, it's a completely different, different life.
Robyn Sandoval: So a lot of times having those conversations will be of greater benefit.
Riley Bowman: Excellent. Final one. We've got Richard who owns a gun range and retail store.
Riley Bowman: And, uh, you know, maybe he's seen a few ladies come into a store and range
Riley Bowman: and use it, but he knows nothing about helping them, supporting them.
Riley Bowman: He may not even admit it to himself, but he knows that, Hey,
Riley Bowman: you know, uh, we're in a little bit of a down market right now for gun sales.
Riley Bowman: And I, I, I'd love to, to sell more guns.
Riley Bowman: So what would you say to Richard who is thinking about how, you know,
Riley Bowman: it seems like there's an opportunity there, but maybe he doesn't know how to
Riley Bowman: get started in encouraging something like a girl in a gun chapter to start at
Riley Bowman: his range, or maybe he's got some reservations about that.
Riley Bowman: So in other words, this is your opportunity, Robin, to make a quote-unquote
Riley Bowman: sales pitch to a prospective gun range operator about, you know,
Riley Bowman: hey, why you want to have a girl in a gun chapter at your range.
Robyn Sandoval: Well, I appreciate that. And a lot of times guys don't know where to go.
Robyn Sandoval: Range owners don't know where to go. And a lot of times it's a family business.
Robyn Sandoval: And so it's deeply personal and it's hard for them to let outside instructors in.
Robyn Sandoval: And so that can be a challenge as well.
Robyn Sandoval: And so we have a program that's designed for any kind of range that can be a
Robyn Sandoval: plug and play with your exact program.
Robyn Sandoval: So we won't be in competition with you. We won't try and poach your clientele.
Robyn Sandoval: We're a whole compilation. We have curriculum that can literally plug into what
Robyn Sandoval: you guys are offering to automatically expand your market to the women in your area.
Robyn Sandoval: So we have credentialed instructors that are uniquely skilled in these skill
Robyn Sandoval: sets to teach that kind of orientation level shooter.
Robyn Sandoval: So I consider that even before beginner, these are women who would never walk
Robyn Sandoval: in the door if there wasn't those friendly faces on the other side.
Robyn Sandoval: And unfortunately, in some cases, those friendly faces have to look like mine. They have to be women.
Robyn Sandoval: And a lot of times these guys recognize that. And so they'll reach out to a
Robyn Sandoval: girl in a gun and say, how do I open a women's chapter here?
Robyn Sandoval: And I'll say, do you have a female instructor? And they'll say,
Robyn Sandoval: no, but there is a girl who works in the office, or we do have a girl on the counter.
Robyn Sandoval: And that's a great first step. But encouraging women in their gun stores and
Robyn Sandoval: their retail centers and their ranges to become RSOs and to become instructors
Robyn Sandoval: is also very, very valuable.
Robyn Sandoval: We really want our instructors to be women mentoring other women.
Robyn Sandoval: A lot of times that will help them in their journey and keep them engaged for the long run.
Robyn Sandoval: So he can learn about our program, learn about our credentials,
Robyn Sandoval: learn about our requirements and see if it's a good plug and play for him.
Robyn Sandoval: He can also learn some testimonials from other ranges to see how they found
Robyn Sandoval: success with our program and know that we're not there to compete.
Robyn Sandoval: We're literally there to help them expand their market with qualified instructors
Robyn Sandoval: that can just walk in the door and offer this great package to expand their market.
Riley Bowman: Fantastic. Thank you for playing my little game along with me here and addressing
Riley Bowman: these different avatars.
Riley Bowman: But I hope that for somebody out there, you know, watching or listening to this,
Riley Bowman: that maybe you're in a similar situation or whatnot,
Riley Bowman: you know, that you get something from that and kind of get some ideas about what you might do next.
Robyn Sandoval: And that's that everything is different. Like you said, from that new shooter
Robyn Sandoval: to the woman whose husband is encouraging her or to the gun store owner,
Robyn Sandoval: a lot of times it just takes learning more about us.
Robyn Sandoval: Um, maybe they've heard of other women's organizations or had different female
Robyn Sandoval: instructors. And it's, you know, how it is when, I mean, there's, there's bad apples.
Robyn Sandoval: And so I would just invite them to give us another chance.
Robyn Sandoval: If they haven't seen us, we've been around 14 years. We have a very structured
Robyn Sandoval: program and I would love the opportunity just to meet with them.
Robyn Sandoval: Um, if it's her first time in a gun range, just I'll, you know,
Robyn Sandoval: we'll, I'll have my team. We'll go with her. We'll make it a really great experience for her.
Robyn Sandoval: Um, if they can just give us a chance to learn about us and the opportunities we offer.
Riley Bowman: Yeah.
Riley Bowman: And of course, I mean, you've mentioned, I believe, but folks can go to agirlandagun.org,
Riley Bowman: to learn more and to find all the resources that you have available there.
Riley Bowman: Are there any other, whether it's websites or resources that you want to mention or point people to?
Robyn Sandoval: Really, everything is on our website, agirlandagun.org. You can see our events.
Robyn Sandoval: You can see articles and videos. We have more than 1,000 articles and videos
Robyn Sandoval: in our video library on every topic you can think of, from learning to competing
Robyn Sandoval: to, you know, higher level mindset discussions.
Robyn Sandoval: We have a Girl in the Gun book club people can get involved with.
Robyn Sandoval: We have our virtual events that are live streaming every week.
Robyn Sandoval: And we have just a lot of things for people to plug into. I send an email every
Robyn Sandoval: Tuesday to our members. So there's just a lot of opportunities.
Robyn Sandoval: It's only $50 a year to be a member of a Girl in the Gun. That's less than a
Robyn Sandoval: latte a month to really be plugged into this community and to have that information
Robyn Sandoval: kind of sent your way so that you can learn these skills and gain some confidence about it.
Robyn Sandoval: But more importantly, that be part of a community that offers you a lot more opportunities.
Riley Bowman: Yeah, very good. Final thing. Are there any companies or other organizations,
Riley Bowman: sponsors even, that you'd like to make mention that have kind of supported you and your mission?
Robyn Sandoval: Oh gosh. I'm so lucky. We have the best sponsors, of course, uh, you HK for tonight.
Robyn Sandoval: HK is a great sponsor of a girl on the gun. Glock is an incredible sponsor.
Robyn Sandoval: Um, Mossberg, uh, Walther is a major sponsor of ours.
Robyn Sandoval: Um, there's so many, I don't even want to start going down that rabbit hole.
Robyn Sandoval: I'll forget to say a lot of them.
Robyn Sandoval: And, uh, you know, all, all of them. We're so lucky that, uh,
Robyn Sandoval: Taurus, like a lot of those major brands are big supporters of a girl in the gun.
Robyn Sandoval: Uh, often they are, um, they, they support us at every event.
Robyn Sandoval: And that's really fun. I always say I'm kind of the Oprah of, of the gun world.
Robyn Sandoval: Cause like we get these firearm certificates and I'm just like,
Robyn Sandoval: you want a gun, you want a gun, you want a gun.
Robyn Sandoval: So every morning when we have our safety briefs, that's how I bribe the girls
Robyn Sandoval: to come to safety brief is you must be present and we give away a lot of guns
Robyn Sandoval: and so i'm grateful for our supporters that support women shooters and give
Robyn Sandoval: us the opportunity to have the events that we have that's
Riley Bowman: Awesome about how many guns would you say you give away at uh say just the national conference as an.
Robyn Sandoval: Example usually at conference in about four days we give away about 70
Riley Bowman: So with like 700 some odd attendees.
Robyn Sandoval: It's pretty good odds. Yeah, it's good odds. I think we have three to give away
Robyn Sandoval: this weekend at our Clay's Extravaganza. We have two to give away at our sniper school.
Robyn Sandoval: One or two precision rifles to give away. And there's only 12 girls attending
Robyn Sandoval: sniper school. It's a very small group because it's so specialized.
Robyn Sandoval: So one of those 12 is going home with a new precision rifle.
Robyn Sandoval: Our sponsors are just incredible. They're incredibly generous and they love
Robyn Sandoval: supporting women chewing.
Riley Bowman: That's awesome Robin it's been a pleasure
Riley Bowman: having you with me for this past hour to talk
Riley Bowman: about these things and everything you got going on I always
Riley Bowman: appreciate you your perspective your positive attitude and your leadership in
Riley Bowman: this space with what you're doing to to get all these wonderful women involved
Riley Bowman: in the shooting sports and in self-defense we wish you the best of success and
Riley Bowman: continued growth and hope that,
Riley Bowman: you know, that you just continue to change the world.
Robyn Sandoval: Thank you. I miss you at seeing you at our events. And I hope that you'll come
Robyn Sandoval: back to conference again in the future.
Robyn Sandoval: Thank you so much for the opportunity to have a platform to talk to your followers about A Girl in the Gun.
Robyn Sandoval: And hopefully they'll encourage the women in their lives to be a part of us.
Riley Bowman: Yeah, absolutely. Thank you. Just real quick to wrap this up,
Riley Bowman: Today's sponsors, just as a reminder, were HK at hk-usa.com and Mountain Man
Riley Bowman: Medical at mountainmanmedical.com.
Riley Bowman: And again, one more shout out to Robin and agirlandagun.org.
Riley Bowman: And so with that, we will bid everyone a wonderful goodbye. Have a great week.
Riley Bowman: Hope to see you again soon as well, Robin. And until next time,
Riley Bowman: everybody, a reminder to train right, train often, and train safe so you can
Riley Bowman: fight hard, fight fast, and fight true. Take care.
Music:
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