NATCHEZ — Shooting a gun for the first time was an exhilarating experience for Kay Patt.

“It was great, especially when I saw I had it the target,” said Patt, after her first time.

Patt, 70, had wanted to shoot a gun for a long time.

She finally got that chance at the Adams County Sheriff’s Office’s Ladies Beware training at the Southwest Mississippi Training Facility in Natchez.

The training consisted of two days in which the ladies were taught firearm safety, situational awareness and avoidance techniques, and self-defense.

“The training is really important,” said Patt. “I had never shot a gun, while I still don’t think I could ever shoot someone, if someone was breaking into my house to go after me or my loved ones, I could defend myself.”

That is the main reason the sheriff’s office hosts the training.

“It is mostly about giving these ladies confidence,” said ACSO Maj. Ricky Stevens. “We want them to feel that if they were ever in a bad situation they had options.”

Fellow first time shooter, Joanne Hicks, was surprised by the training.

“I learned a lot more than I thought,” she said. “There is so much more that goes into self-defense than just pulling a trigger.”

That is why Stevens encourages a lot of people that have never shot a gun to participate in the training course.

“We love having people that have never shot a gun to take the training, they are starting from a completely blank slate,” he said. “We can teach them the right way.”