Women learned from instructors the proper techniques of managing a gun before trying their hand at shooting at various targets.

At the pistol range, women shot at paper targets, while at the trap-shooting range, they shot at clay targets that were launched into the field in front of them.

“Once you learn the basics, shooting is more mental than anything,” co-Coordinator Rob Reed told the women as they gathered at the start of the clinic.

Many of the women said they were intrigued by the opportunity to learn about proper gun safety and gun use.

“We want to introduce women to the shooting arts. A lot of women are afraid of firearms because they never learned how to use them,” said Marie Verheyen, Reed’s wife.

The clinic brought a wide range of women with varying levels of experience.

Joy Frawley, of Haslett, got her first experience shooting a pistol at the clinic.

“It was great. I’d love to get better. It’s something I want to get involved in,” she said.

While in previous years the event has only drawn about a dozen people, this clinic produced the biggest turnout in the event’s 10-year history, with more than 60 people attending, Verheyen said.

The clinics are held about three or four times a year, club President Bart Reiter said.

The rifle club, founded in 1915, has a long history with MSU. When the club formed, it was a small-bore rifle team and used the shooting range inside Demonstration Hall until the late 1980s.

To show appreciation to MSU, the club recently made a $10,000 donation toward the construction of the Shooting Sports, Education and Training Center, which is being built on the south part of campus.

“We used the range at Demonstration Hall for about 70 years, free. We felt we owed something to MSU,” Reiter said.