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Girl & a Gun

Women’s group takes aim at gun safety, protection, knowledge

By Lee Wardlaw lee@claytodayonline.com
Posted 2/9/23

ORANGE PARK – Eliza Parington got her first firearm 10 years ago when she moved to Northeast Florida. She had never fired a gun before, but she decided to give it a try.

Now she shoots.

And …

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Girl & a Gun

Women’s group takes aim at gun safety, protection, knowledge


Posted

ORANGE PARK – Eliza Parington got her first firearm 10 years ago when she moved to Northeast Florida. She had never fired a gun before, but she decided to give it a try.

Now she shoots.

And shoots.

And shoots.

“I was like, ‘How can I do this?’ I want to learn more,” she said.

Parington discovered Girl & A Gun Women’s Shooting League, a women’s only shooting league that introduces women and girls to pistol, rifle and shotguns. The firearms program is designed to help women feel more comfortable when talking with instructors and handling guns.

Parington has been involved with the club ever since then.

“I started shooting with Girl & A Gun in Tallahassee and quickly made shooting a regular part of my life,” Parington said.

Now she’s a member of the Jacksonville chapter, although many of their members are from Clay County.

The club regularly meets in Clay for practice at Basics Shooting Range on College Drive in Orange Park.

Basics is where Parington and her group meet once a month on Saturday mornings at Breakfast and Bullets. Before the chapter heads to the range, Parington serves freshly cooked bacon, eggs, pancakes and other favorites at her house before heading to the range.

“We get together and hang out, and then, we all go shoot something fun together,” Parington said.

The group has eight members and is looking to grow.

Parington’s No. 1 pitch to women interested in joining the club? Feeling further safe and protected.

“Every woman has a story behind why she wants to shoot, and I get to hear a lot of those as an instructor and chapter leader. Some people have a history of domestic violence, and others just want to go running alone and feel comfortable and confident. The reasons that they want to shoot are as diverse as the members of the chapter themselves. The sense of safety and security that a woman, or anyone, can have when they’re skilled with a firearm cannot be understated,” she said.

Other notches on Parington's belt include earning her status as a U.S. Concealed Carry Association certified instructor and becoming the founder of First Line Female, LLC, a business that instructs students on firearms safety and shooting for the bullseye.

Eliza harbors an especially strong connection to the many transplants from areas like New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, where tougher gun law restrictions and a different social outlook on gun rights are prominent.

Parington finds the most satisfaction when teaching skills to chapter members and students coming from the Northeast and other areas of the country outside of Florida and the Southeast.

“Many people are a little bit apprehensive at first when they’ve never fired a gun before. The most rewarding thing for me is just that. Then, when they walk out, they feel safe, confident, and excited at the end of a lesson. They’ve hit the bullseye. It’s amazing to see that growth in a person,” Parington said.

She boiled down the chapter’s goal into three simple categories. “It’s truly about sisterhood, proving your competitive shooting and being safe with your guns at all times,” she said.

As part of her involvement in the club, Parington has had the opportunity to attend national conferences with over 600 other women that together represent the best women instructors in the United States and even shoot at a target with an AR-15 while inside a moving helicopter in Colorado.

If you would like to join the club, call or text her at (904) 606-5565.