Women’s gun group in Amarillo concentrates on teaching

M’Lynn Miller, 48, is comfortable with a .22-caliber handgun. And, and as she said, is getting better with a 9 mm, too. She has attained the National Rifle Association’s distinguished expert level in its first category.

The Amarillo Globe-News reports she can’t speak for her other female shooters – yet she probably can – but if not for a women’s-only group, Miller wouldn’t be doing what she’s doing.

“I don’t think so,” she said. “I’d have been kind of intimidated. Now, it wouldn’t matter, but in the beginning, I wouldn’t have done it. There’s just something about being all-women that makes you feel comfortable.”

The Amarillo chapter of The Well Armed Woman is a gun class taught by women for women that recently hit the one-year mark. About 30 women are enrolled, ranging from age 18 to two in their 80s, with three chapter leaders.

On a recent Tuesday night at their monthly shoot, there were no men to be seen. If there ever is, it might be Jay Smith, who owns Smith and Son Armory on Echo Street, which hosts the group and whose wife, Dana, is a member.

“No one feels pressure to perform and know everything immediately,” said Karen Schrader, an English teacher at Tascosa and one of the chapter leaders. “I learned to shoot from a man, but that doesn’t mean all women respond to male instructors.

“A lot of men can be intimidating, and by nature, often more aggressive. Especially for women who’ve been involved in a domestic violence situation, it can be hard for them to ask for help from a man. I’d say at least half of our class wouldn’t be here if it were mixed.”

Caprice Nutt, 52, wanted to get her concealed carry license a couple of years ago when her son turned 21 and got his. She wasn’t anti-gun but had never owned one. Nutt wanted more training before she got her license, and trained with local shooter Ayvrie Dixon.

“After that, I was pretty much hooked,” said Nutt, whose preferred firearm is a Beretta Px4 Storm. “After that, I was referred to The Well Armed Woman website.”

Nutt discovered that the closest chapter was in Logan, New Mexico. She and a friend joined the Logan chapter and made the 210-mile round trip twice before deciding there had to be an easier way – like a chapter in Amarillo.

The first official meeting was August 2016. Dixon, Nutt and Schrader are the chapter leaders and the most experienced of the three. They will have 30 to 35 women shooting on any given month with 70 as members.

Women shoot mostly .380 and 9 mm, but there are a few shooting .22, .40 and .45 calibers. The guns come from all makers, from Beretta to Walther to Ruger.

“There’s just something about seeing these women ‘get it,'” Nutt said. “It’s like, ‘My husband bought me a gun and I don’t know what to do with it,’ and so they come out and now they start to understand it. They’re confident and comfortable. This is why we’re here – to see that light come on for them.”

Educate, empower and equip, Schrader said, are the core values. Self-defense through situational awareness is a key component of the class.

For Schrader, she renewed her interest in guns about 18 months ago when she arrived at her country home to find a woman, likely mentally ill, in her bed asleep. There was no violence, but it reinforced to her an unexpected vulnerability.

Andrea Morehead, a grandmother, was with her daughter and young grandchildren when she believed they were being followed in a Walmart parking lot. It left her uneasy and wanting to take some self-defense steps. Diana Smirl, director of accounting at AIG, where Morehead previously worked, recommended The Well Armed Woman.

“It was probably the best thing I’ve ever done,” she said, “because I didn’t know where to start. I was really afraid of guns, and so I was pretty nervous. I was almost terrified. I mean, I didn’t know how to hold a gun, how to grip it.”

And now?

“I can shoot a .380 with one hand,” Morehead said.

Some women are there to be more proficient. Some are novices. One’s husband died and she wanted to feel more capable and confident when alone. In a way, it’s like a gym – some women feel more at ease with no testosterone around and can still accomplish their goals.

“I’m a lot more confident,” Miller said, “just being able to share my experiences and talk to them. No one is judging anyone in there. We’re all learning from each other. To me, that’s an awesome thing.”