Gals' Day 2025—Women Learning To Shoot For The First Time

During my years working behind the gun counter, I assisted many women who came in to buy their first gun. Oftentimes, the only knowledge these women had about guns was what their husbands had taught them. While participating in women-only shooting groups at the range, I quickly learned that novice female shooters perform much better in a low-pressure, supportive learning environment surrounded by other women. So, when I first found out about the annual Gals’ Day at the Range event three years ago, I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of.

Gals’ Day Host

Professional shooter and gun writer Kenzie Fitzpatrick hosts the event in an effort to introduce other women to the world of firearms. Fitzpatrick has made it her mission to provide a safe and supportive environment for women to experience shooting on their own terms. From supplying her personal guns and ammunition to coordinating sponsors and giveaways, she puts her all into hosting an event that women want to return to year after year.

The event takes place each May at Windrock Shooting Range in East Tennessee. This year marked my third year attending as a volunteer, and I can confidently say that each year has turned out more epic than the previous one. Year after year, I have seen some of the same faces return, accompanied by friends who are eager to experience the event.

Firearms & More

With five different shooting bays staffed by professional shooters and instructors, attendees can shoot a wide variety of guns, many of which are set up or even built for those with little to no shooting experience. Gals’ Day has a little bit of something for everyone: pistols, suppressed .22 LRs, shotguns, rifles, and even machine guns.

Fitzpatrick stocked the pistol bay with a large array of handguns and pistol caliber carbines for shooters to try out. She also had friends bring UZI and MP5 machine guns for each attendee to shoot once, which was included in their ticket price! Attendees had the opportunity to shoot a range of firearms, from common concealed carry guns to high-end competition pistols. Sponsor Nighthawk was represented by over $17,000 worth of guns at the pistol bay, featuring just three of their high-end pistols: the BDS9, Double Agent, and Sand Hawk double-stack 1911s.

This year’s title sponsor, Heckler & Koch, showcased many of the company’s pistols, including the popular VP9 handgun and their new dedicated concealed carry pistol, the CC9. Launched in October of last year, the CC9 is HK’s first subcompact pistol. In a market filled with small, double-stack 9mm pistols, the CC9 stood out to many shooters at Gal’s Day for its shootability and ergonomics.

As I spoke with Amir, the team member from HK, he made it clear that the company is a firm believer in the 2nd Amendment, and that women are an important part of their customer base. And the company really stands behind that – I’ve seen HK have a large presence at other women-centered shooting events, putting in the work to get their quality guns in the hands of female shooters. Amir has been coming for the last three years and has helped teach women how to shoot at each event.

Big Guns, Quiet Guns

Something you won’t see at most other women’s shooting events is an arsenal of weapons that most average shooters won’t ever get their hands on. Tennessee Silencer, a gun shop and Class 3 experts located in Seymour, Tennessee, brought the big guns to Gals’ Day, allowing attendees to experience a unique kind of fun. Their line-up included suppressed AKs, M4s, MP5s, a belt-fed M249 SAW 5.56, and the .50 Cal M2 Heavy Barrel “Ma Deuce” machine gun mounted to the top of a Humvee.

Robert Wear, owner of Tennessee Silencer, understands the importance of introducing women to the more niche aspect of the firearms world, specifically suppressors. His shop is one of the top suppressor shops in the state, and he notices that when a couple comes in to purchase a suppressor, it’s usually the wife who ends up liking the suppressor even more than the husband. With silencer wait times being faster than ever, he sees the importance of attending events like Gal’s Day and introducing a new segment of people to the benefits of shooting with suppressed firearms.

At the .22 LR/suppressed only shooting bay, attendees had the opportunity to test out TiON Suppressor’s titanium silencers and learn about shooting suppressed from the company’s owners, Scott and Janette Morris. Being able to shoot without ear protection is probably the best sales pitch for a suppressor, and having the manufacturer teach you about the products they make is a pretty sweet deal. Volquartsen pistols also adorned the .22 LR bay, allowing shooters to experience the true American-made quality of rimfire handguns and rifles.

Scatterguns & Flying Clays

The shotgun bay gave women the opportunity to try out top-of-the-line competition shotguns, like Fitzpatrick’s own customized Genesis Arms GEN-12 3GUN Edition semi-auto shotgun. The Genesis Arms shotguns, especially the suppressed Genesis Arms GEN-12 PDS, were the perfect 12-gauge shotguns for novice shooters to learn on due to their soft recoil. A Genesis Arms employee also brought a suppressed, full-auto GEN-12 PDS shotgun, which attendees had a literal blast using to shoot Ballistic Dummy Lab rabbit targets.

I’ve seen the recoil of a 12-gauge shotgun knock a grown man off his feet, but thanks to the help of the experienced volunteers, attendees learned how to mitigate the recoil of the Benelli and Beretta shotguns by using the right stance and grip. Caldwell Targets stocked the bay with all sorts of clay throwers, including the Caldwell Claycopter, a handheld target launcher. Throughout the day, the bay had a line of women waiting for their turn to shoot at clays, Claycopter targets, Firebird targets, and steel targets.

After a delicious taco lunch and ice cream break, the range went hot again, now sprinkled with Tannerite and Firebird detonating targets, as the ladies were feeling confident in what they had learned in the first half of the day. For the next couple of hours, booms from the mini-explosions of the Firebird Targets could be heard throughout the range, as well as giggles from shooting bags of Tannerite. Even the white lightning Tannerite designed for detonation with .22 LR guns was enjoyed on the .22 LR/Suppressed only bay.

Winners!

In the last hour of the event, the range went cold, and the giveaways began. Thanks to generous sponsors, attendees were entered into raffles for thousands of dollars worth of guns and other shooting-related items. HK donated two pistols, Volquartsen donated a Black Mamba Patriotic Cerakoted pistol, Taurus donated five GX2 pistols, Firearms Legal Protection donated two of their Family Premium plans, and one lucky lady got to shoot $200+ worth of ammo through the .50 cal Ma Deuce at a Ballistic Dummy Lab torso target at the end of the day. Hunters HD Gold also had a raffle for anyone wearing a pair of their glasses to the event, with the winner taking home a custom Hunters HD Gold .22 LR pistol.

It’s always fun to see the reaction of someone winning a gun, but this year was extra-special when the winner of a Taurus GX2 let us know that she had never fired a gun until the day before in preparation for Gals’ Day. That’s the type of person this event is for – for someone willing to get out of their comfort zone to learn a new skill while surrounded by like-minded women.

Gals’ Day Swag Bag

Those that didn’t win the raffles didn’t walk away empty-handed – each attendee went home with a goodie bag filled with swag and gear valued between $100 to $400. Items dispersed in the bags included notched hats for sunglasses from Notch Gear Hats, optics from Holosun and Meprolight, certificates for Hunters HD Gold premium eye protection, EOTech hats, discount code cards for Beretta’s women’s line of clothing, LOK Grips cash certificates, and much more.

Events that bring in new members to the firearms community can’t happen without the support of sponsors. Various sponsors from within the industry contributed to making Gals’ Day a success. In addition to the sponsors mentioned above, Wideners provided ammunition, and Target Barn supplied splatter targets. The guns used by shooters were outfitted with red dots from Holosun Optics and EOTech, and grips from LOK Grips. Gun Owners of America set up a booth to educate about Second Amendment activism, Super Vel provided ammunition, and Tannerite donated.

Firearms Community & More

I don’t know of any other event that allows women to get one-on-one instruction with pistols, rifles, shotguns, suppressors, and full-auto machine guns. Not to mention, the event always starts with 30 minutes of dry fire across the range, covering the rules of firearm safety, how to grip a gun, and providing hands-on practice of pulling the trigger without the noise of live fire. Empowering women to learn how to shoot safely and introducing them to a wide variety of guns and shooting disciplines is how we protect the future of our right to bear arms.

Women generally thrive in community settings, where they offer support and encouragement to one another through new challenges and experiences. That’s why Gals’ Day sees repeat attendees year after year. The authenticity and supportive nature of the community formed is one that can’t be replicated, and it makes for the perfect environment to learn about shooting.