Holly MacLeod was introduced to shooting at a young age by her dad, who started her off with pistols and rifles to build comfort with the sport. Now, she is the captain of ASU's Gun Devils shooting sports team and the only woman on its executive board.
MacLeod, a junior studying aerospace engineering and one of the team's star shooters, has joined a tight-knit community of women within the competitive shooting world.
She started on an official team in middle school, and has found friendship and support through the activity. Women in the sport "band together" as a result of there being more men, MacLeod said.
MacLeod has made lifelong friends on her shooting teams, whom she still sees at competitions and enjoys reminiscing with.
"They're my favorite people ever," MacLeod said.
Just recently, she attended the wedding of one of her old teammates, and she remains in contact with the people she would shoot with.
"Spending a lot of time with them made me a little more comfortable overall," MacLeod said.
Macy Morgan, a former ASU student and Gun Devil, had personal experience with that supportive community. She said Gun Devils helped her through a difficult time in her life.
"It was a very rocky road between balancing life and shooting and everything," Morgan said. "Through it all, Coach (Jim) Tweedley was so gracious and supportive, and the entire community of shotgun was so supportive."
Much like MacLeod, Morgan encourages other women to try out shooting and receive firearm training, as it was a place of release and safety for her.
"As a female in shooting sports, I always felt very safe and respected, more so than I did in other areas of my life," Morgan said. "I was never put down for being a female shooter."
Tweedley, the head coach of Gun Devils, praised MacLeod for her skill in the sport and her ability to lead by example, saying she has the qualities of a "master shooter."
He said MacLeod, who has won multiple awards for her team, has control of her skills and emotions, and she stays calm even when something may be difficult for her while training.
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Tweedley encourages young women to try shooting. As with any outdoor sport, it teaches skills like clearing one's mind and concentration that can be carried throughout life, he said.
"There's a community here that is very supportive," Tweedley said.
As team captain, MacLeod provides guidance for other girls trying out the sport.
"It's definitely scary, but I am glad that I can be that person for someone, just to make things more comfortable for them, make them more inspired to come more often, stuff like that, and stay in it," MacLeod said.
MacLeod feels a responsibility to make the women on the team feel more comfortable while shooting, as it can be intimidating competing in a male-dominated sport.
"I will always be there," MacLeod said. "I will hold your hand through this and always help you."
Edited by Carsten Oyer, Jack McCarthy, Emilio Alvarado, Sophia Braccio and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at apruiz@asu.edu and follow @andiruiz2405 on X.
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Andi Ruiz is a lead politics reporter at the State Press dedicated to serving her community with truth and honesty in her reporting. She has been working in broadcast and news since high school and was recently an anchor at The Cut Network during her first year at Cronkite. She is going into her second year at ASU as a Barrett Honors student studying journalism and mass communication.
