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Hello
Just as Daughters At The Range (DATR) logo says, Janette Story (1946-2017) wanted to create smiles and build confidence in young girls while teaching the principles of firearm safety. In 2012, she hosted the first Daughters at the Range event. Feedback from the girls, families, and volunteers was overwhelmingly positive! DATR has continued since and Janette was the driving force behind it all! Hundreds of girls have left the range feeling, happy, confident, and hopefully safer in their new found knowledge and experience.
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Most people strive to find their "calling" in life, something they love doing that will make a positive difference in their life and those around them. Janette found hers in DATR and inspired others to follow. Daughters at the Range will continue in her honor and memory. May she continue to see the smiles and confidence her vision created.
About DATR
Daughters At The Range is an annual event. In the past young ladies have been offered a chance to shoot for free, and experience the fun of shooting. Beginning in 2026, this event will be broken into three events: Daughters, Dudes, and Day at the Range. Daughters at the Range will be for girls ages 6-15. Dudes at the Range will for boys ages 6-15. And Day at the Range will be for teen boys and girls ages 16-18. Each attendee will be put through a safety orientation, taught by Range Safety Officers. With eye and ear protection in hand, they will then move to the rifle or pistol range, meet their mentor and get a second safety orientation by the range safety officer. Safety is always the first Priority.
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Each attendee is offered her choice of shooting a scoped .22 rifle from a bench, with sandbag rests or a .22 pistol. Teens who have attended DATR at least three times in the past will have a little more of a challenge. About 70% of the girls who have attended in the past, have never shot anything before, while many of the rest will be returning from prior DATR events. A mentor is provided to each shooter to assist with any and all aspects of shooting, guidance, encouragement or offer suggestions or help as well as safety. All of the mentors are experienced in firearms, with many being instructors. The range is supervised by a range safety officer.
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A variety a targets will used. Large Shoot and C, or TruGlo to show they can hit the target, followed by smaller targets and balloons that wave in the breeze (Difficult for even a seasoned shooter, but most get popped). Rifle targets are at 25 yards. The rifle shooters even get to shoot metal plates off a stand at 50 yards! It's like music to the ears! There have been lots of clanging, in the past, and lots of smiles as plates flew off the stands. Pistol target were shot at 10 yards.
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It is always hard to tell who has the biggest smiles…the girls or their mentors!
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This event got it’s birth from an idea called National Take Your Daughter to the Range Day. A really great idea, as most dads never hesitate to take their sons, but may not think their daughters might enjoy it as well. Moms too! This event is a family event with dads, moms, grand moms and grand dads, and brothers and sisters attending. It is always surprising, the number of parents who do not shoot or own a gun, but wanted their daughter to know gun safety and about guns. What a wonderful concept!!
National Take your Daughter to the Range Day was to be a local event, based on local capabilities and planning. DATR took off and has been a great success. Janette Story took the idea and ran with it, recruited volunteers who recruited others and each year as more people hear of it, they say “ I want to be a part of that” Either they contribute time, talent or money. Remember, this event is totally free to the participants and their families.
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Everyone is exhausted when the day is over, but all said “I’ll be back next year!" The event has grown each year, from 60 girls the first, 105 the second, to 155 the third. And guys… make no mistake, the girls can shoot!
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- Steven Salmon
