This is a guest post by Tarra Stoddard
It has been all over the news the last few years how more and more women are buying and using guns in the United States. There has also been a surge in women only shooting groups. Gun Powder Gals, founded by Candy Sugarman, a former anti-gunner is one such group.
Candy started Gun Powder Gals after a 10-day NRA Women’s Wilderness Escape in 2009. She wanted to recreate the fun and acceptance she experienced there. Flash forward to 2014 and Gun Powder Gals hosts its’ first ever Concealed Carry Fashion Show.
The Concealed Carry Fashion Show was held in VFW 670 in Fayetteville, North Carolina, home of Fort Bragg Army Base. Candy got her inspiration to create the event based on several factors. One, the women of the group were coming to her asking how she concealed carry. Their spouses and men in their lives only mentioned inner waistband holsters and many of the women couldn’t or didn’t feel comfortable with them. Even women who weren’t a part of the group would meet Candy, and after finding out about Gun Powder Gals would quiz her about what their options were.“Locally, the gun stores only had ‘male’ types of concealed carry wear. Everything was very masculine and honestly, there weren’t a lot of options.” The Internet provides a number of choices, but many of the women were hesitant to buy items without getting either recommendations from other gals or being able to feel the holsters in person. Unfortunately this is something we still deal with concerning womens holsters. There is not a one stop shop for women’s holsters nor a place to try them out. Hopefully this will help women in the area get an upclose look at the variety of holsters available to women.
“Concealed Carry Fashion Shows aren’t my idea,” states Candy. “I was lucky enough to meet (virtually) Amanda Suffecool of Realize fac (OH) who hosts Concealed Carry Fashion Shows, as well as see what other shooting groups were doing.”
“The first event was September 19, 2015 and we had standing room only! The local news came out and did a segment about it. I had worked so hard for months putting everything together and having no idea what I was doing half the time! I was thrilled by the community support and the response.”
Finding a location for the next Concealed Carry Show was a challenge, according to Candy. Venues that are big enough with enough parking and gun friendly aren’t very easy to find or afford. Because of this, the Concealed Carry Fashion Show for 2016 had to be put off until April 8, 2017.
“I’m happy to say I was able to secure the Crown Coliseum Ballroom which can accommodate up to 400 people and it has parking!”Gun Powder Gals is currently seeking sponsors and vendors for the upcoming show. If you’d like to be a sponsor or a vendor, contact Candy at 910.723.3899 or go to www.feminineandfierce.net and fill out the online form.
Article by : Tarra Stoddard
Prois Hunting & Field Rep
ReelCamo Girl Team Member
Photo Credit – Supplied by Tarra Stoddard, Candy Sugerman
Speak Your Mind