SOUTH BEND — Several women faced their fear of handling a gun at a training session called Women on Target in South Bend Saturday. It's a training session that skims the surface about owning a firearm.

"We had a problem with some dogs in the neighborhood and I had to go after them with a couple sticks, I was able to get the dogs to run off but if I had not or they had been attacking something if I had a weapon it would be nice to grab it and use it with confidence and safety," said Lynn Patrick of South Bend

The class is a first step for women who don't want to be afraid to load, point, and shoot.

"My neighbors had a break-in a couple of months ago and I was so worried, my husband bought the gun but I don't know how to use it," said Yuko Dehays.

Members of the FOP filled the tables with different types of guns to test out, from glocks to revolvers, or women could bring their own gun.

"A year ago I was in an attempted carjacking," said Elizabeth Mooney. And since then, she has been carrying a gun. At 82 years old she feels she could be seen as an easy target, so she wants to be ready in case there is a 'next time.'

"What would I do? I would take it out and use it if necessary," said Mooney.

Personal protection was just one of the reasons for taking the class.

Sherri Wilson doesn't plan on getting a gun, but she still wanted to know how to shoot one.

"It's on my bucket list, I'm going to be 50 this year and it's just one of the things I've been wanting to learn how to do," said Wilson.

Now that she has firearm training under her belt, it's time for the next big adventure.

"Next I'm going to learn how to ride a motorcycle, I already went whitewater rafting, I've seen the Grand Canyon, so we'll see, sky diving sounds pretty good," said Wilson.

The Women on Target class was so popular this year, it had to be divided into two sessions.