In early October 2025 I had the pleasure of taking part in this year’s Hunt Like a Girl/Beretta event in Gallatin, Tennessee. Sponsored by Beretta and hosted by SLG2 Inc., the event included Shoot Like a Girl instructors, staff and videographers, influential outdoor industry women, and one lucky lady who was selected as the contest winner of this unforgettable experience—Ashley Metzger of Mountainside Outfitters, based in Fordland, Missouri.
Hunt Like a Girl contest winner Ashley Metzger of Mountainside Outfitters.
The week would bring meals filled with laughter, a Beretta USA factory tour, a pheasant tower hunt, and valuable instruction on rifles, pistols, and shotguns. Throughout the week, we learned new skills and sharpened some rusty ones while gaining an inside view of an industry powerhouse. We shared our individual trials and tribulations that played a key role in shaping who we are, how we conduct business, and how our skills and passion can best be passed down, ensuring that what we find so fun and rewarding can be enjoyed for generations to come.
At the heart of this event was Karen Butler, founder of Shoot Like a Girl (SLG2 Inc. for short). At its inception in 2009, Karen launched Shoot Like a Girl with the goal of introducing women to archery. Over the next four years, things quickly escalated, but in a good way, and before you knew it, it was 2013, and more than 5,000 women had been introduced to the world of shooting sports. With each event they attended, it was clear that the women with whom they interacted had instilled in them the confidence to explore their newfound interest on their own and, more importantly, share their excitement with friends and family.
In 2013, SLG2 Inc. launched its iconic mobile range, a 53-foot trailer adorned with sponsor logos. Once inside, SLG2 Inc. instructors offer hands-on familiarization with a wide array of bows, pistols and rifles. Here’s how it works: A state-of-the-art training simulator enables those who have never handled a firearm to receive instruction on proper handling and becoming familiar with its various parts. Visitors are then encouraged to take a crack at firing a rifle or handgun. The simulator's unique capabilities enable a simulated firing experience that incorporates sound, recoil and more, all without live ammunition. Since the incorporation of the mobile range, the women who staff Shoot Like a Girl/SLG2 Inc. have hosted countless events, which have ultimately introduced more than 36,000 confident and empowered women to the shooting sports.
A portion of our trip consisted of getting up close and personal with Beretta, a mainstay of the firearms industry, which is celebrating its 500th anniversary in 2026. Since its founding by the Beretta family in Italy in 1526, it is astounding to reflect on the company’s growth and what it has accomplished throughout 15 generations of dedication and hard work. Anyone can go online these days and watch a video of how a gun is built, but there is something quite different about seeing the process in person. Much like I’ve observed during other firearm and optics factory tours, one thing that never gets old is seeing a finished firearm or riflescope emerge from what appears to be a simple block of steel.
The immense attention to detail with every step of the manufacturing process, regardless of how large or small a particular process may seem in the grand scheme of things, is but one of many reasons for Beretta’s longevity.
Our tour concluded with a stop at one of the many live-fire ranges within the factory, where we got up close and personal with a few handguns we observed during our travels. By this time, we had all worked up an appetite, so off to the cafeteria we went, where we got to sit down and enjoy a catered lunch with the female Beretta employees who happened to be working that day. After lunch, we took a short drive to Stones River Hunter Education Center. The remainder of the afternoon was spent behind two of Beretta’s rifles, sending countless magazines full of .22LR and 6.5 Creedmoor downrange.
Team Beretta Pro Shooter Desirae Edmunds (Beretta USA photo)
Any event involving Beretta wouldn't be complete without some time behind the trigger of one of the gun maker’s wildly successful shotguns. After a short ride, we arrived at Pine Ridge Farm in Indian Mound, Tennessee, where we donned our shooting vests, grabbed a shotgun, and headed to the clays field. Lucky for us, our foray into skeet shooting, led by Beretta Professional Clays Shooter Desi Edmunds—elected in 2025 to the National Sporting Clays Association Hall of Fame—was under a pavilion, which helped tremendously until it started raining sideways! When faced with a challenge, the only way out is through. A good attitude can go a long way, and no one complained about the skies opening up. Of course, it's hard not to have a good time bustin' clays! With countless sporting clays titles under her belt, Desi used her expertise to simplify "the art of the lead," fine-tuning our skills shot after shot until the sky was ablaze with orange dust … those clays didn’t stand a chance! Just as we were taking our final shots, the rain stopped and the sun began to peek out from behind the clouds.
The timing couldn't have been any better, as it was time for an afternoon pheasant tower hunt. Tower hunts originated in Europe to simulate traditional driven pheasant hunts, in which dogs and their handlers work game birds toward hunters positioned in fields, valleys or similar areas, providing challenging overhead shots as the birds are flushed into the open. As we rotated through each of the 10 shooting stations with our hunting partner, we reminisced about what we had experienced during the event thus far and what we were looking forward to once back home in our respective states.
Despite the fun we were having spending time with a group of amazing women, sharing stories and laughs both on the range and in the field, our time in Tennessee had come to a close. Once back at our lodge, we began packing up our belongings, some of us resorting to sitting on suitcases to zip them shut. Not wanting to call it a night quite yet, a few of us gals stayed up for one last late-night chat. Joining contest winner Ashley and me was Sarah Arrington. Sharing her love for all things outdoors on her YouTube channel, DeerMom, Sarah documents, in a real and unfiltered manner, hunting and fishing trips, the excitement of a new gun, family adventures, and how being a strong woman, mom and wife ties into everything. The three of us reflected on the week's events and how we were going home with a renewed spirit, eager to get back outdoors. Whether it be a fun and relaxing plinking session at your local gun range or a cool-weather sit on a deer hunt this fall, don’t go at it alone. Play an active role in preserving the shooting sports legacy by inviting someone to join you. No one was born into this world knowing everything, and even those who may seem an expert in their field are well aware that there is always more to learn.
If you'd like to learn more about Shoot Like a Girl and everything that SLG2 Inc. encompasses, visit shootlikeagirl.com.
