I recently interviewed Maggie Kelch and her daughter, Jessica, both avid clay target shooters, hunters and all around outdoorsy ladies. Maggie and I shoot sporting clays on Ladies Night at Hill’n Dale Club in Montville, Ohio, and her daughter (a school teacher) joins our group from time to time. Both of these ladies are great shots and love their Syren L4S shotguns. Find out how things have changed for them along the way.
Before getting into the Q&A, you must know that Syren USA, has only been around since 2014. So what’s really interesting is reading about what things were like before the Syren brand began making shotguns specifically for women.
How did you get started shooting a shotgun?
Maggie: I have always been around guns, having grown up in an “outdoorsy” family where we went fishing, camping, shooting and hunting. My father often took my brothers hunting, but when I went along, my job was to help kick bushes to scare rabbits out for them to shoot. In the 1960s and ’70s, shooting or hunting was highly unusual for girls. So, I didn’t start shooting until 1976 when I took a rifle course to meet a physical education requirement in college. In 1977 I was a reporter for “The Lantern,” the student newspaper at The Ohio State University. A friend asked me to write a story about a Big Ten Shoot, hosted by the OSU Trap & Skeet Team. At the shoot, several team members asked me if I’d like to try shooting trap, and I gave it a try. It was the first time I ever shot a shotgun and, coincidentally, was where I met my husband, the captain of the OSU Trap & Skeet Team, Dave Kelch. Forty-six years later, we are still shooting and hunting together.
Jessica: I started shooting because it was something that I did with my family. I began with a BB gun and then a .22-long rifle. This led me to join a 4H shooting club when I was old enough and hunting followed soon after.
Maggie, tell us your Syren story, and Jessica’s, too:
Maggie: I really enjoy shooting sporting clays because of the sport’s challenge and social aspects. My friend, Lynne Clements, whom I met at our Ladies Night, had an L4S that she let me try. I loved it! That summer (2019), I met the Syren and Caesar Guerini staff at the Ohio State Trapshooting Championships and tried out an L4S on the practice trap. That sealed the deal for me and I purchased my gun that day.
My daughter, Jessica, has been shooting since she was 10. She and my son, Cody, have spent many mornings in duck blinds, goose fields and deer stands with Dave and me. They also shot trap on a Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) team in high school. From 2000 to 2008, we spent every Sunday at Sportsmen’s Gun & Reel Club watching them shoot and then traveling to shoots where they competed.
A few years ago, Jessica started joining me for Ladies Night. She often shot my Syren L4S, which she enjoyed. But there was one small problem – it was a right-handed gun, and she is a lefty. Then, last summer, while I was at the Ohio State Trapshooting Championships, I visited the Guns Unlimited building. There it was! They had a left-handed Syren L4S for sale on the used gun rack. I called Jessica and told her about it, but the timing wasn’t good for her to buy it. I was a little sad when I put the gun back in the rack. I told my husband that if that left-handed L4S was still in their rack when we returned to their building a few weeks later for the SCTP Nationals, I might buy it for her as a housewarming gift.
Well, three weeks later, when I returned, there it was –the left-handed Syren L4S. I took this as a sign that it was meant to be Jessica’s gun. So now, we both shoot an L4S for sporting clays.
What do you like best about your Syren?
Jessica: I love that Syren offers a left-handed gun for a woman. I grew up learning how to shoot right-handed guns or over-and-unders because left-handed guns were rare. I also love the soft recoil and how easy it is to use.
Maggie: Syren makes guns to fit a woman, and that’s what convinced me to buy one. I’ve been through the hassle of trying to shoot shotguns made for a man. I’ve had to cut off stocks, add weight, delete weight and go through other striations to make a gun fit me properly. The Syren L4S fit me immediately. I also like the reduced recoil of shooting a semi-automatic, especially since I am more sensitive to recoil as I’ve gotten older.
I’m also pleased with the friendly, helpful service team at Syren/Caesar Guerini. I’ve talked with their gunsmiths on the phone and at several shoots. They are always helpful and extremely knowledgeable.
Is there anything either of you would like to add?
Jessica: It still amazes me when I have conversations with others that I have just met or even whom I have known for some time and I bring up that I hunt/shoot, they are shocked. I am a middle school intervention specialist working at a Catholic school. I have past and present students who shoot/hunt, and I love talking to them about how shooting events went or if they went hunting over the weekend.
Maggie: Thirty years ago, when I was wearing “hand-me-down” men’s hunting clothes, I never would have thought I’d see ads for stylish women’s hunting clothing and shooting apparel. I’d also never have anticipated that gun manufacturers, like Syren, would make shotguns that actually fit us. That is definitely progress!
Check out Syren’s L4S shotgun here or use the dealer locator to find a store near you.
If you’re looking for a group of other female shooting enthusiasts, Syren’s website has a page full of resources and it runs a special Facebook group for Syren owners.
Michelle Cerino, aka Princess Gunslinger, first entered the firearms industry in 2011 as co-owner, president and trainer at a national training company. She immediately began competing in both 3-Gun and NRA Action Pistol, becoming a sponsored shooter. Michelle is currently a columnist and Managing Editor of Women’s Outdoor News, as well as owner of Pervenio LLC. She also manages social media for Vera Koo and FASTER Saves Lives. Michelle encourages others to step out of the comforts of home and explore. View all posts by Michelle Cerino
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