A first-person account from off the beaten track, as told to Anne Ford.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
“My sister and I were attacked when we were teenagers. A guy stopped his car and jumped out and started hitting her. I picked up a tree branch, and I ran over and hit him as hard as I could. She was screaming, and she ran to the house we were in front of. The owner came out with a shotgun. Meanwhile, the attacker let her go, and he came at me for a few steps, but then he ran back in his car. You learn in an instant what you’re going to do. I learned that I’m going to be a fighter. I figure that my personal safety is up to me.
“Action pistol entails drawing a semiautomatic or a revolver from a holster and shooting targets. There could be moving targets, or multiple targets, or maybe you have to run to different positions. Sometimes you have to shoot on the move. It’s very visual, and it’s very exciting. I could travel two hours one way to a competition, and my shooting time will maybe be 100 seconds. But it’s worth it.
