Vault: Jenn shot a gun for the first time

Summary

The Bert Show: Vault – Jenn Shot a Gun for the First Time

Date: June 4, 2026
Theme: Jenn’s transformative first experience with firearms, group reflections on gun culture, safety, fears, and empowerment.

---

Episode Overview

In this vault episode, the Bert Show cast dives into Jenn’s first time firing a gun—a surprising, transformative experience that challenges her previous strong opinions against firearms. The panel explores how exposure, education, and personal experience can shift perspectives on guns. They share stories about growing up around guns (or not), discuss fears, responsible use, and the feeling of empowerment some experience, all while keeping a conversational and humorous tone.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jenn’s Initial Fear and First Gun Experience

• Jenn confesses her fear and anti-gun stance:
  “I've never been a gun person. I never liked guns. I have always been kind of scared of them… my opinion on guns was always pretty negative... especially people with children having them in the house.” (01:03)
• Game-changing experience over the holidays:
  Jenn visits a friend’s river house in North Florida; tries shooting a .22 rifle and a shotgun at clay pigeons—not at live targets.
  • “I shot a .22 and a shotgun and I loved it.” (01:58)
  • The .22 was “just a little bit above a BB gun,” while the shotgun had a significant kickback, leading to some “words I can’t say on the radio.” (02:32)

2. Empowerment and Enjoyment

• Jenn went from apprehensive to eager:
  • “After a few rounds, I was, like, reloading it myself. The guys were bored… They were like, yeah, let's go drink beer. I'm like, come on, one more, one more, one more. Give me another round. Give me another round.” (02:58)
  • “It, like, tapped into some sort of something, and I loved it... My opinions on guns are, like, completely changing after that one experience now.” (03:09)

3. Contrasting Upbringings & Comfort Levels

• Jeff’s upbringing:
  “My father, my brother had racks of rifles in the house... I learned how to shoot a gun, a bow and arrow and all that stuff in elementary school... So I am totally comfortable with [having] a gun in the house.” (03:23)
• Wendy’s childhood:
  “I grew up with the guns. My dad’s a hunter. There’s always rifles in the house. He was in the military... I just don’t like guns. I don’t even want to be in the same room.” (04:02)
• Safety and fear:
  Jenn credits education and exposure with reducing fear: “I think the more you know about anything, the less you fear it.” (05:39)

4. Parental Approach to Guns

• Stacy’s anti-gun stance for kids:
  “She won’t let the kids play any kind of video games that have guns. She won’t allow them to have toy guns in the house... You could see the fear on Hayden’s face because he knows he’s not supposed to have his hands on a gun. That’s how hardcore she is about it.” (04:38)

5. The Gun as an "Extension" and Debate Around Safety

• Jeff on guns vs. people:
  “A gun is an extension of a person. So if that person is into sporting or that person is into crime, the gun is going to be used for that purpose. The gun itself... is not going to all of a sudden come to life and do something on its own.” (05:46)
• Education and safety emphasized:
  “It’s not just going out and buying a gun. It’s knowing how to be safe with a gun and then using that knowledge... and then go out and use [it] effectively.” (07:13, Amber/caller)

6. Empowerment & Gender

• Amber (caller):
  “When a woman shoots a gun, she feels empowered... I was actually a better shot than [my husband] was. I think it’s just something with empowerment. You can do something that a man does as well as they are, if not better.” (06:06)

7. Pushing Comfort Zones & Group Support

• Jenn encourages Wendy:
  “I would just be interested to see that after you have one in your own hand... If your opinion doesn't change, you know?” (09:01)
• Supportive invitation:
  The group playfully discusses going to a shooting range together to help Wendy overcome her fear.

---

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Jenn’s turning point:
  “When I hit the first target and that clay pigeon blew up, I was like, oh, this is awesome.” (04:13)
• On the initial fear:
  “That first shot that I took, I was so scared of it, I had to, like, put it down. And, like, I was, like, shaking my hands. I was like, okay, I can do this.” (06:48)
• Group’s humor:
  “I'd be nervous if I was Katie Jo. Cause you get heated sometimes.” – Bretzky, joking about guns in the house (03:52)
• Stacy teases about transformation:
  “You may turn into Rambo ‘cuz you got that in you—sleep deprived with a knife in the mouth.” (09:07)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:03] – Jenn describes her background and fears regarding guns
• [01:58] – Jenn’s first shooting experience and her surprising enjoyment
• [02:32] – The shotgun’s kickback and first impressions
• [02:58] – Jenn gets enthusiastic, “give me another round!”
• [03:23] – Jeff discusses growing up with guns and comfort level
• [04:02] – Wendy’s continued discomfort despite childhood exposure
• [04:38] – Stacy’s perspective on restricting children from even toy guns
• [05:39] – Jenn and Jeff on education, safety, and reducing fear
• [06:06] – Amber (caller) shares her empowerment experience as a woman
• [06:48] – Jenn recounts nerves before firing for the first time
• [07:13] – Another caller on the importance of gun safety knowledge
• [09:01] – Jenn invites Wendy to a shooting range, exploring whether firsthand experience changes opinion

---

Tone and Takeaways

• The conversation is candid, personal, and laced with the Bert Show’s signature humor and warmth.
• The cast ranges from gun enthusiasts to those with deep fears, making for a thoughtful and lively discussion.
• The consensus: Respecting fear but advocating that education, experience, and responsible handling can change perceptions—and sometimes be surprisingly empowering.

---

Final Reflection

This episode is a nuanced and engaging look at how a single experience can challenge deeply held beliefs. Through Jenn’s story and the group’s authentic conversations, listeners are invited to reflect on their own attitudes toward fear, safety, and trying new things. The episode exemplifies The Bert Show's skill in making real-life transitions both relatable and entertaining.

Transcript

[Bretzky]

What's going on everyone? It's bluff here. And you know what's more American than America's 250th birthday? Supporting American owned companies like Spinquest, America's number one social casino with over a thousand games like live dealer, blackjack and craps. They're offering new users a 30 coin package for just $10. Go to spinquest.com and sign up today. Spinquest is a free to play social casino void where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details.

[Jeff]

What would you do if your online store converted 36% more shoppers? You could take 36% more vacation.

[Bretzky]

Another pina colada.

[Amber]

Yes, please.

[Jeff]

Open a new retail location with 36% more square feet.

[Bretzky]

Fantastic.

[Jeff]

Hire 36% more help.

[Bretzky]

You're hired and you're hired.

[Jeff]

Shopify has the world's best converting checkout up to 36% better than other e commerce platforms. What you do with those extra sales is up to you. Switch to Shopify [e-mail] setup and get a $1 trial. Shopify.com setup this is the Burt Show.

[Jen]

I've never been a gun person. I never liked guns. I have always been kind of scared of them, to be honest with you. I didn't grow up around them and so I've always been frightened of them and always my opinion on guns was always pretty negative and you know, pretty, pretty opinionated when it came to people with children having them in the house and all these other kinds of things. But something happened to me over Christmas holiday that really changed my mind. I actually shot a gun for the very first time over the Christmas holidays. I was with a bunch of friends and we were at a river house in North Florida, right on the Chipola River. And they've got like this big huge property, lots of acreage out there and they've got all kinds of hunting stuff going on out there. So they do like quail hunts and duck hunts and deer hunts and all this stuff on this property where we were staying. So I went out there with some friends and actually one of my best friend's husband was like, have you ever shot a gun before? And I was like, no. And he's like, come on, let's go. So we went out and it was just the clay pigeons. I don't think I could shoot anything that was like actually alive. But I shot a.22 and a shotgun and I loved it.

[Stacy]

Did you really?

[Jen]

I loved it. I couldn't believe it.

[Stacy]

Did it kick as much as I'm assuming it kicks like it Jacks up your shoulder and all that, or does it.

[Jen]

Well, a.22 is, like, a little bit above a BB gun. So that one. No, not at all.

[Bretzky]

Is that a handgun or is that a.

[Jen]

Like, a long rifle? I know nothing about it.

[Jeff]

So when you say you shot a.22, use.22.

[Amber]

Rifle.

[Jeff]

Rifle, not a handgun. Okay.

[Jen]

And then the other one was a shotgun, like, long one rifle. And that one definitely had some kickback, really. And I think he took a lot of pleasure in giving me that one. He was like, yeah, just try this one. And I said, well, is this one gonna be any different? He's like, nah, not much different. Then when it came back, I was, like, screaming all kinds of words I can't say on the radio. He had a good laugh on that.

[Bretzky]

Were you able to hit anything, like, when they were firing off the.

[Jen]

Yes. I actually got pretty good at the targets after a little.

[Amber]

Yeah.

[Jen]

After a few rounds, I was, like, reloading it myself. The guys were bored with it and done, like, ready to go back. They were like, yeah, let's go drink beer. I'm like, come on, One more, one more, one more. Give me another round. Give me another round.

[Bretzky]

That's awesome.

[Jen]

So it was weird. It, like, tapped into some sort of something, and I loved it. So now I want to, like, go back and shoot more. And I feel like my. You know, my opinions on guns are, like, completely changing after that one experience now.

[Stacy]

You were raised with guns, weren't you?

[Jeff]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, my father, my brother had racks of rifles in the house, and, yeah, they hunted. And I learned how to shoot a gun, a bow and arrow and all that stuff in elementary school. And, yeah, I was raised with gun safety is, you know, because that's my gun safety. But, yeah, so I am totally comfortable with Katie Jo and I have a gun in the house. So, I mean, we're totally comfortable with guns.

[Jen]

See, that still scares me. That would still scare me to have one in my house.

[Bretzky]

I'd be nervous if I was Katie Jo. Cause you get heated sometimes.

[Jeff]

Have you seen Katie Jean?

[Jen]

That is true.

[Jeff]

I met my match.

[Bretzky]

That's a valid point.

[Stacy]

Have you ever shot a gun, Wendy?

[Wendy]

I've never shot a gun. I'm too scared of guns. But I grew up with the guns. My dad's a hunter. There's always rifles in the house. He was in the military, so I grew up around guns. I just don't like guns. I don't even want to be in the same room.

[Jen]

But see, that's what I thought. That's exactly what I thought until I had one in my hand. And when I. When I first shot it, I was like, oh, wait a second. This is kind of cool. And then when I hit the first target and that clay pigeon blew up, I was like, oh, this is awesome.

[Jeff]

I'm petrified. Yeah. Because many people. Guns is a sport. Like, everybody associates guns with crime with crime, but the majority of people use guns for sports.

[Stacy]

Stacy is so anti. I'd love to have a gun in the house, but Stacy is so anti. Like, she won't let the kids play any kind of video games that have guns. She won't allow them to have toy guns in the house. When we were on the Disney cruise, seriously, Captain Hook gave Hayden a gun in his hand to take a picture with. And you could see the fear on Hayden's face because he knows he's not supposed to have his hands on a gun. That's how hardcore she is about it.

[Jen]

Has she ever shot a gun?

[Stacy]

I don't think she has, which surprises me. I mean. Cause she's living, like, the middle of Pennsylvania where that kind of thing, you know, it's pretty common.

[Bretzky]

People shoot other people all the time.

[Jen]

I was scared of him. I was terrified of it. But after that experience, and, I mean, it was like one afternoon for maybe an hour, hour and a half we were out there. And, I mean, I was like, it totally changed my world around. In that whole world, I want to, like, learn more. I want to go to a shooting range here and just, like, to be able to learn about it and be more educated about it. And I think that's why, Melissa, you're not scared of it because you've been around them. If you had your hands on them, you understand.

[Jeff]

But I understand the danger of them, too.

[Jen]

The danger and the safety and, you know, what you need to do to be safe around them and all that kind of stuff. I think the more you know about anything, the less you fear it.

[Jeff]

A gun is an extension of a person. So if that person is into sporting or that person is into crime, the gun is going to. Is going to be used for that purpose. The gun itself in your closet or on a rack or on the table or whatever is not going to all of a sudden come to life and do something on its own. You know what I mean?

[Stacy]

Here's Amber. Good morning, amber. You're on Q100.

[Amber]

Hey, how are y'? All? Jeff, I'm glad you're back. Thank you. I was kind of letting y' all know that I think When a woman shoots a gun, she feels empowered. And then lots of times, because I was the same way Jen was and Wendy for a long time. And I'm divorced now, but when we. I used to go to the cabin and hunt with. Not hunt with my husband. But at the time, he let me shoot the gun. And it was awesome. I was like, jim, I was like, oh, my God, this is just killer. And I was actually a better shot than he was. Never shot again. It's just like. I think it's just something with empowerment. You can do something that Amanda and you can do it as well as they are, if not better. So I think it's awesome. So, again, I understand exactly. I mean, I don't shoot a gun all the time, but it is awesome.

[Jen]

Yeah, I'm definitely gonna get to a shooting range here and learn more about it and that kind of thing. It blew my mind because I was so afraid. Like, that first shot that I took, I was so scared of it, I had to, like, put it down. And, like, I was, like, shaking my hands. I was like, okay, I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. And thank goodness. It was like my best friend's husband that was there was like, just do it. I'm like, okay, I can do this.

[Stacy]

Hey, Jason. Good morning. You are on Q100.

[Amber]

Hi. Yeah, I think a whole lot of people that have never shot guns or have never been around guns are just very scared because they don't know that, you know, gun safety comes along with having guns. It's not just going out and buying a gun. It's knowing how to be safe with a gun and then using that knowledge to. To be someone that can teach others how to be safe with guns and then go out and use effectively.

[Wendy]

Well, I've been around guns, and I'm still freaked out even being around guns now. Like, I don't even wanna be in the same room as a gun. I don't wanna have to see a gun. I don't wanna touch a gun. So I grew up with guns in the household, and I'm still afraid.

[Stacy]

Really.

[Jen]

I think it would change if you actually fired one.

[Amber]

I don't know if.

[Bretzky]

I wish I could remember.

[Wendy]

I don't know if I could be in a shooting range.

[Jen]

Come on.

[Bretzky]

I wish I could remember the name of that place. Cause those guys were great. Remember, I did it live on the air because I had never fired a gun up until a couple years ago. And those were handguns.

[Jen]

That's what I want to shoot next

[Bretzky]

yeah, I'll try to find it because I have a gift certificate Phil Tyranna actually gave me because he went with me, remember? And he was like. He saw how much I loved it, so he gave me a gift certificate that I still have kicking around the house somewhere. So I'm gonna find that out. It was up in Marietta, right off Cobb Parkway. Like in a strip mall almost really. But the shooting range was like underground, you know, and you shoot in it.

[Jeff]

I have a feeling in Georgia there's a lot of shooting ranges.

[Jen]

Yeah, there's a few options, I'm guessing.

[Stacy]

Frankly, I am glad you didn have access to a gun the last couple of weeks.

[Jen]

Well, if I go, Wendy, would you come with me?

[Wendy]

Maybe. I don't. Yeah, I'm. I'm really petrified. Like somebody had one literally in their car and they had a license for it. I had to get out of the car.

[Jen]

That's how Stacy is.

[Jeff]

If Katie and I and Jen take you to a shooting range, would you go? Maybe I'll go.

[Wendy]

I. I'd shake the entire time, but I'll. I'd. Yeah, I'll go.

[Jen]

Because I would just be interested to see that after you have one in your own hand, you actually shoot it yourself. If your opinion doesn't change, you know,

[Stacy]

you may turn into Rambo cuz you got. You got that in you. Sleep deprived than any of knife in the mouth.

[Bretzky]

It's the birch show. What's up everybody? It's Bretzky. And America is turning 250. And I can't think of a better way to celebrate that than playing on an American owned social casino. Spin quest.com with all of your favorite games. Live craft bubble craps like live blackjack. There's no better place to play for free and win real cash prizes. Spin quest.com Spin quest is a free to play social casino void where prohibited. Visit spin quest.com for more details.