One such person is Gila Hayes.
Or, just maybe, you had a flashback to when she beat you at a shooting match.
Among other things, that was the stomping ground of the notorious Green River Killer.
I decided I needed a substantial means of self-defense, she recalls today.
For her first handgun she bought a little hammerless revolver, which had just been reintroduced by its manufacturer.
Before long, she had augmented the five-shot 38 Special with a .40 caliber autopistol.
She sought training and devoured it eagerly.
Gila is the operations manager at the ACLDN, supervising the staff in their daily activities.
These included the National Tactical Invitational in Pennsylvania, and more.
That latter event was a 3-Gun shooting tournament: pistol, shotgun and carbine.
The shoot-off, it was announced, would be with rifled slugs at 100 yards.
And she won with it.
She won the OSS (Ordinary Standard Shooter) division in Stock Gun class, shooting against the men.
That said, though, she quickly gravitated to autos.
At various times she bonded with a range of compact and handy autos in .40 and then 9mm Luger.
However, the 1911 seemed to be the handgun sweet spot for her.
Says Gila, When I started, there were no 9mm 1911s in current production.
Then the angels sang, and Springfield came out with a full-size 9mm and an Officers size subcompact 9mm.
I put thousands of rounds through those guns.
I fell in love with that short-barreled EMP, she recalls fondly.
I ran with that for a long time.
She continues, When Springfield came up with the4 barrel EMP, I got one for Christmas.
I liked it even better.
I had John Ralston at Five-Shot Leather make a holster for it that I use to this day.
My 4 EMP has a bobtail grip and carries nice, and it feels wonderful in the hand.
Now, a full-size 1911 feels kind of bulky in my hand.
That EMP with two spare magazines of 9mm JHP remains Gila Hayes daily carry to this day.
Springfield Armory pistols helped her gain fame as a shooting and self-defense instructor and shooting champion.
She is definitely a satisfied customer.
