Pistol-packing mamas, and daughters, take increasing aim

Donna Major of Dorchester raised her 9mm semiautomatic pistol. Her 27-year-old son and his girlfriend lingered a few feet behind her, watching intently over her shoulder. Four other women looked on.

Major kept her hands steady, her eyes focused on the target 50 feet in front of her. She gently squeezed the trigger.

Bang!

The red balloon hanging from the ceiling popped immediately. Major, 50, pulled the trigger again, and again, shooting down bowling pins and bursting balloons in the Boston Gun and Rifle Association's indoor firing range.

After firing a few rounds, Major put down the weapon. She turned around, gave a thumbs-up signal to her son, Justin, and said, ''How's your mother?" Then she laughed and hugged him.

It was Justin's girlfriend's turn next. Amida Guzman, 26, of Brockton, stepped forward to the yellow line to shoot. The group spent the rest of the evening taking turns shooting various targets and cheering each other on.

It was a typical practice session for members of the Second Amendment Sisters, a national women's gun rights group. Since it was founded in 1999, the Texas-based organization has grown to about 10,000 members in 30 states, said Lee Ann Tarducci, the group's director of operations.

According to the group's website, www.2asisters.org, 17 million women in the United States own guns, and that number is growing. But female gun owners are far outnumbered by gun-toting males. A 1994 survey by the US Department of Justice found a huge gender gap in gun ownership: 42 percent of men owned guns, compared with 9 percent of women.

Second Amendment Sisters aims to educate women about firearms and gun laws. Promotional pamphlets feature a single red rose and the group's slogan, ''Self defense is a basic human right." Members get together to learn how to load and shoot revolvers, semiautomatic pistols, and rifles.

Major organized the group's Friday night shooting session at the Boston Gun and Rifle Association, a private indoor firing range on Dorchester Avenue, next to the Fields Corner MBTA station. The squat brick building houses the indoor shooting range, a gun supply shop, and a lounge with walls covered in circa 1970s-style wood paneling.

Major is a card-carrying member of the club. She started shooting four years ago, ''when I was going through a midlife crisis," she said, chuckling. ''I wanted to do something different."

Now she enjoys shooting during her time off from work at Brigham and Women's Hospital, where she is an MRI technician.

''I am more of a solitary person. I like to compete against myself," said Major. ''I do find it calming. It's exciting when you hit where you want."

The Massachusetts chapter has 130 members. Women join for different reasons, said Lynne Roberts, the state coordinator. Many want to buy firearms for self-defense; others want to learn to shoot because they have male friends or family members who do.   Continued...