22 Nebraskaland • July 2020
I
'm 5 feet 2 inches, female, right-
handed and left-eye dominant. Out-
of-the-box fi rearms typically don't fi t
me, and youth models have made poor
substitutes. As if learning to shoot
at a fl ying target, left handed, wasn't
diffi cult enough – throw in an ill-
fi tting gun and it becomes a recipe for
frustration.
I took up shooting and hunting in my
early 20s. My husband, Rick, introduced
me to it, and since then, my journey
has been like a roller coaster, one that
broke down a lot and got stuck in
inconvenient places. I am satisfactory
with the rifl e – decent enough to get
venison in the freezer, anyway – but
wing shooting was another story. The
most disappointing part was I really
wanted to be good at it.
If I had to pick between dozing off
in a deer blind or walking a pheasant
fi eld, I'd choose upland hunting nine
times out of 10. There's just something
about walking under big sky, toting an
over-under and following dogs that I
fi nd more romantic than anything else.
Sadly, I let several failed attempts on
the range and in the fi eld defeat me. I
didn't touch my Beretta Whitewing for
years. That is – until I picked it up again
last summer.
In summer 2019, Rick and I received
an invitation to hunt grouse in western
Nebraska. The opportunity was too
good to pass up, and I'll admit, the fear
of looking like a fool dug into my sides
the hardest. I asked around and got
connected with a shooting instructor
in Blair. I fi gured that with a few
pointers, I'd be up and running by the
fall. Alas, my journey toward becoming
a better upland hunter wasn't as simple
as I'd hoped.
To put it simply: My gun was made
for a right-handed shooter, which
meant that in a left-handed shooter's
hands, it was inaccurate.
Shooting coach Greg Preston said I
had two options: I could take a chance
and buy a left-handed gun or I could see
a gunsmith to modify what I already
have. After fruitless hours researching
left-handed shotgun options for
vertically-challenged women, which
were virtually nonexistent, I decided
it would be more economical to see a
local gunsmith.
PRACTICE
MAKES BETTER
STORY AND PHOTOS BY JENNY NGUYEN-WHEATLEY
Pictured is a Beretta Whitewing 20 gauge over-under shotgun.
