Straight shooters: gun shop teaches ladies day classes every two hours
When planning your ladies’ day out, think inside the target. Try a gun safety and shooting class at The Sharp Shooter at 5515 S. Staples St. in Corpus Christi.
“Lady shooters,” as they are known at The Sharp Shooter, are a growing market this thriving gun shop and shooting range is proud and happy to serve.
Owned by Debbie and Andy Benning, The Sharp Shooter and its team of sales and gun experts show respect and understanding for the increasing interest of women in being gun owners.
“A large segment of the shooting population goes out of its way to alienate women,” Andy Benning said. “We pride ourselves on being a woman-friendly shop. We don’t talk down to women. That would be ludicrous. We have some world-class shotgun shooters who come in here that know more about that sport than I do.”
The Bennings have been welcoming female customers since they bought the shop 18 years ago.
“There was virtually no firearms for sale, no inventory to speak of other than a lot of cleaning stuff,” Benning said of the store he took over. “The customer base was people coming in to shoot. There’s no money in a gun range.”
The Bennings added an extensive inventory, but they also they added classes, starting with a weekly ladies’ day for those who don’t feel comfortable taking mixed-gender classes. Other classes, which are open to both men and women, include new shooter orientation each Friday, hunter education training monthly (except during the summer) and concealed handgun classes every other Saturday.
Offering rental guns for classes makes it easier for women who are new shooters to get to know a weapon before purchasing it. Store manager Danny Garcia explained how this helps serve their female customers.
“Most of your men shooters have been shooters for a while,” he said. “They grew up with it. A lot of the lady shooters are just getting into it in their 20s, 30s and 40s. They may never have been exposed to it or have been a little scared of it, but now they feel like they can do it.”
Renting one of The Sharp Shooter’s loaners to take a class enables anyone wanting to buy a gun to find what works best for them before making the purchase.
“We have a ‘try-it-before-you-buy-it’ policy here,” Benning said. “We will talk people out of buying guns if they are not ready. You don’t have to buy a gun just because you are taking the concealed handgun class. How do you know what gun you want before you’ve tried it? You don’t buy shoes before you try them on either.”
Classes are easy to schedule. The Sharp Shooter holds basic safety and fundamentals every other hour starting at 10 a.m. Using .22-caliber handguns, the range portion of the class varies from a 1-to-1 to a 3-to-1 student-to-instructor ratio. More advanced classes are available as well.
The Sharp Shooter is located at 5515 S. Staples St. in Corpus Christi. Call (361) 980-1190 for more information.
