Teaching Women to Point and Shoot, Firearms Training Provides Girls-Only Instruction

As a stay-at-home mom for 21 years, Wendy Brown was always involved in her sons’ lives, even if it meant her role was a little untraditional at times.

Brown, a hunter for most of her life, surprised some when she volunteered to become her boys’ Cub Scout master.

“It was unheard of,” Brown said.  

When her sons earned their Eagle Scout rank and left the house for college, Brown decided to start her own business. And with a passion for guns, starting Armed with Options made perfect sense.

“Armed with Options is fire arms training born out of a need for knowledge, skills and attitude,” Brown said. “That governs everything that we do.”

While Brown’s classes teach gun enthusiasts how to better use pistols, shotguns and rifles, recently, Brown recently started to address the demand for women-only classes.

“Women were coming to us in droves,” Brown said. “Women are learning these disciplines and want to be able to protect themselves.”

Many of the women in her classes have husbands or boyfriends who are hunters, and they want to understand what all the fuss is about. Brown said learning to point and shoot also gives women a big self-confidence boost.

“Buying a gun is like buying a bra,” Brown said. “It’s has to fit.”

In addition to teaching women how to safely own and use a gun, Brown offers a “Refuse to be a Victim” class where she teaches people how use their surroundings to protect themselves, even if they don’t have or want to own a gun.

“Especially after Sandy Hook, we have many people questioning their personal protection plan,” Brown said. “Refuse to be a Victim is about awareness and about using what you have in your arsenal.”

Brown said that she's teaching senior citizens to use canes and walkers to defend themselves. Keys and pepper spray are also effective.

An Otsego resident, Brown teaches her courses at different shooting ranges in the north metro, depending on the demand for a particular class and where her students are living. When she isn’t busy teaching up to ten classes a month, she works part time at Cabela's.

Brown's passion and enthusiasm for guns extends beyond the shooting range. She's one of less than 100 women in the nation to be a National Rifle Association training counselor, allowing her to certify rifle and pistol instructors.

“Guns need to be treated with respect,” Brown said, adding that she hopes to open her own shooting range someday.

***
To learn more about the classes that Brown offers, visit her website here.