'A Girl & A Gun' Offers Friendship, ‘Sense of Accomplishment’ for Members in Centralia

Twice a month, the Centralia Rifle Club is set aside for ladies only.

As the women of the Centralia chapter of A Girl & A Gun hone practical skills to use in both self-defense and competition settings, they say they’re also walking away with strong friendships and a sense of achievement.

“I want to teach these women that shooting can be fun,” said club facilitator Donna Baxter. “It’s not scary. It can protect their life.”

Dolly Hughes, of Onalaska, has been a member of A Girl & A Gun for four years.

She hadn’t previously had positive experiences with guns, she said, but she took her first gun safety class at 65 years old to conquer her apprehension. She has been shooting ever since.

“It’s also a sport I can physically do,” she said. “You get a very good sense of accomplishment.”

Samol Hefley has also been a member for four years. She traveled from Tacoma to attend Friday’s practice.

She didn’t know anything about guns when she joined, but wanted to try something new. She said the friendships she’s made have kept her coming back.

“Everyone’s so supportive,” she said. “It’s like a family.”

Baxter, in addition to running the twice-monthly meetings of A Girl & a Gun at the Centralia Rifle Club, coaches both the Centralia and Chehalis rifle teams. She helped start the Chehalis team as a student in the 1980s.

“This has been my life,” she said.

Baxter isn’t a hunter, but has shot targets with rifles and pistols for much of her life, starting at a young age with her father.

“It’s relaxing to me,” Baxter said. “I can do a friendly competition against myself and yet I can join a team.”

Competitive shooters can compete as high as the Olympics at any age, she said.

The club offers an accepting, judgment-free environment for novices, Baxter said.

“There is a lot of women out there who want to learn how to shoot but men intimidate them,” she said. “They fear the men will look at them like they’re stupid.”

New members do not have to own a gun. Baxter asks members to bring the ammunition size they’d like to learn and said she is able to provide a gun for the training events.

A Girl & A Gun is a nationwide women’s shooting league for pistol, rifle and shotgun enthusiasts, according to the group’s website.

Until recently, the local chapter was in Onalaska, but when that group disbanded, Baxter was asked by members to reform it in Centralia. The Centralia group officially formed in October, and now has about 20 members.

Women participate for a variety of reasons, Baxter said, including to learn self defense skills, gain confidence, make friends or to compete in a competitive sport at any age.

“Our ladies are more doing it for self-defense,” she said.

A class Friday night focussed primarily on that skill, and included instruction from a retired police officer on how to quickly draw and aim a weapon in a self-defense situation.

Some members already participate in competitions, such as those organized by the International Defensive Pistol Association.

“I’m hoping to get the ladies into doing a competition through A Girl & A Gun,” she said.

The Centralia chapter of A Girl & A Gun meets at 6:30 p.m. the second Friday of the month and 1:30 p.m. the fourth Sunday of the month at the Centralia Rifle Club. Each night costs $10 for members and $15 for non-members, which pays for targets, club rental and other supplies.

Interested women can stop by one of the meetings to watch, or sign up and find more information at agirlandagun.org.