“I’ve heard it said that God made all men, but Samuel Colt made all men equal.
We’d see what Mr. Colt could do for a woman.”
― Cherie Priest / Author

My wife subscribes to a magazine titled “Garden & Gun”.

The name tells you everything … kind of like that movie title: “Snakes on a Plane”.

So, “Garden & Gun” is filled with various tips and ideas for gardens and information about guns, hunting, best duck clubs in the South and mixed in are recipes for Southern Caviar (pimento cheese for the uneducated), bone fishing, back road adventures, Nashville music and so on.

Often Janet puts the magazine next to her knitting, but there are other magazines that she really enjoys — those that clip into her Sig .380 or her Walther 9mm.

The latest Gallup poll on women and guns shows that the number of women owning guns in 2011 jumped 23%; that compares to a 13% jump in 2005.

There’s no denying more women buying guns.

The reasons are obvious and yet also personal.

Crime is rampant with idiots who will do anything to take what they want, and since many such idiots consider women more vulnerable — more women want to be able to fight back.

Gun makers are constantly evaluating how to meet this growing demand … lighter pistols, smaller grips, less recoil while still maintaining “kill power”.

The companies are even creating more fashionable ways for women to carry concealed weapons: special purses, waist bands, light weight holsters.

There’s an undershirt where the pistol hides under the arm, and there are bra holsters.

One firearms instructor was showing these holsters to my wife, and he said, Of course, you will have to lift your shirt to get to your pistol.

His point … that would delay your reaction time to get to your pistol — but the more I thought about it, this could also delay the bad guy.

Consider this — the villain comes at the woman and she says, Wait.

Then, she lifts her blouse. He’s thinking, Oh, nice, this is going to be easy.

About then, she says, I’ll show you a .38 … and puts a bullet where it is needed.

Phoebe Ann Moses decided at a young age that she wanted to know about guns.

She said, “My mother was perfectly horrified when I began shooting and tried to keep me in school, but I would run away and go quail shooting in the woods.”

Phoebe also said, “I would like to see every woman handle guns as naturally as they handle babies.”

She had advice on what a woman should do in life and target practice, but it also applies when a woman is facing a dangerous threat: Aim at a high mark and you will hit it. No, not the first time, not the second time, but keep on aiming and keep on shooting.

No man in his right mind would have messed with Phoebe; she was a sharpshooter, exhibition shooter and had a starring role in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.

You probably know Phoebe best by her “stage name” — Annie Oakley.