Our Talk with the Miculeks: The First Family of Shooting
Tom McHale 05.09.13
We had the opportunity to catch up with Jerry, Kay, and Lena Miculek recently to ask them about life as the First Family of Shooting, family rivalries, and how often Jerry has to sleep on the couch. As you’ll see, the Miculeks are some wild and crazy folks!
My Gun Culture: Here we are with the Miculek Family–Jerry, Kay, and Lena. Lots of folks know you as the First Family of Shooting. How did that come about?
Kay Clark Miculek: Well, technically…Jerry married INTO the First Family of Shooting. My father, Jim Clark , Sr., was a gunsmith and now Clark Custom Guns is run by my brother. The Clark family had actually been branded as the First Family of Shooting. So anyway, Jerry decided to practice with my brother one day, and we decided to keep him!
MGC: I know I promised you that this interview was more about entertainment than scoop, and that I wouldn’t try to trip you up with any hard questions. But I kinda lied. The other day, the President signed an Executive Order granting the First Family Secret Service protection for life. Since you’re the First Family of Shooting, I have to ask if all y’all will be the ones providing this security? And will Smith & Wesson supply all the gear?
Jerry Miculek: I’m up for hire you know! I’m “Johnny on the spot” so show me the money and I’m your man!
Kay: We’ll need a whole bunch of those seven-round magazines though…
MGC: We’ll probably be able to get you an exemption on the new seven-round magazine limits.
Kay: Or we can all just use wheelguns!
MGC: Jerry, there’s this rumor on the internet that you can empty a revolver in .57 seconds. I’m thinking, heck, I can even do that. You just open the cylinder and dump the rounds out. I could’ve told you that a long time ago and saved you a lot of trouble!
Jerry: I think I can still beat you though. By the time you get that thing open, I’ll be done! So I got ya beat…
MGC: So Jerry, tell us about the Miculek revolver grip. How did that come to be?
Jerry: It kind of originated when Jim Clark, Sr. and I were traveling and competing in the Masters event. I was shooting a revolver and beating the pistol guys. I was taking Smith & Wesson grips and altering them with Bondo and tape. I screwed little pieces and parts on them and they looked really, really ratty. Jim told me to go see this gentlemen, Guy Hogue, who actually makes grips that look a whole lot better than that trashy one on my gun. So I went to see Mr. Hogue and out of his kind heart, he made me a couple of sets of custom grips. He’s a super nice guy along with the rest of the Hogue family. Anyway, he was kind enough to throw me a bone and make me grips because be thought I was an enthusiast at the time. We started selling them as they seemed to fit the need for a lot of folks.
MGC: I can see how Smith & Wesson might have liked that you switched to professionally made grips. As a marketing guy myself, I can see how they would be a little stressed out having their team shooter run around with a beautiful Smith & Wesson revolver equipped with Bondo and duct tape on the grips…
Jerry: Yeah, it looked a little cheap, but it got the job done.
MGC: The latest info we have is that you and your wife have different gun selections with Smith & Wesson, with her using an M&P and you being more of a revolver guy. Is there friction in the family over this? Does Jerry sleep on the couch a lot?
Kay: No there’s no friction!
MGC: Let me rephrase that, does Jerry sleep on the couch a lot?
Kay: (Laughs) Not at all! That’s what keeps our marriage strong! I can still beat him occasionally as he’s got a six shot revolver and I have a 17 round M&P. So now and then I can rub it in that “I beat you again!” We won’t count the part where he had 3 reloads and I’m just pulling the trigger…
MGC: So Kay, is your M&P competion gun stock, or did you get the Smith & Wesson Pro Shop to jazz it up? I hope you didn’t let Jerry work on it as he probably would have put Bondo and duct tape all over it!
Kay: Well, Jerry might have tweaked the internals a little bit, but I said no to Bondo!
MGC: So Lena, you were born, born on the range. And now you’re cruising all over the country racking up championships. What’s on your schedule in 2013?
Lena Miculek: I have 22 matches scheduled so far. I’m also an instructor with Babes with Bullets so I have 4 or 5 three to four day classes. So my schedule is crazy, but I love it. Most of my matches are 3 Gun so I can get out there and do what I really love. Actually I just competed in the 3 Gun Nation Shootoff and I was able to take the Ladies Division win. So I’m on sort of a 3 Gun high right now.
MGC: Did your mom compete in that?
Lena: Yes!
MGC: So you’ve been kicked out of the house?
Lena: Well we both made it to the finals!
MGC: You’re dodging the question. Did you beat your mom or not?
Lena: Yes!
MGC: Kay, what drove you to start Babes with Bullets?
Kay: It started off as training for ladies interested in competition, but so many new shooters were interested that now it’s more oriented to that. Smith & Wesson has generously provided guns, so bottom line – these ladies can come to the classes, try out the gear and make an informed decision for when they decide to buy something.
MGC: Jerry, I saw an episode of Sons of Guns, where one of their gunsmiths raced you. He was shooting a full auto rifle against you shooting a semi-auto AR-15. And you dang near beat him!
Jerry: Yeah, but if you go back and look at the footage, his first shot was in the ground, while mine was actually on target. So he was just shooting towards the target zone, while I was actually hitting something! Ummm, they didn’t edit that correctly…
MGC: To get that kind of trigger finger speed, you must have some sort of custom Nautilus Finger Training machine. What’s the secret?
Jerry: I just have a lot of excitement in my life. I’m an excitable guy. When I get excited, things just happen quick!
MGC: Well, since you’re going down that path… With such a well-developed finger you must have other interesting skills…
Jerry: ???
MGC: No, not that! Your mind is in the gutter!
Kay: I’ve tried to teach him to type, but that was a failure…
Lena: You should see him with elevators. When he has to wait, he keeps pushing the button over and over and over really fast. Like it will make a difference…
Jerry: Yeah, I can lock up the elevator.
MGC: What else do our readers need to know?
Jerry: Send checks and donations!
Kay: Yeah, we’re not a non-profit organization! We’re just kidding! We’d love people to check out our new Team Miculek website and of course encourage the ladies to get involved with Babes with Bullets.
We’d like to thank all the Miculeks for a great time. Unlike real First Families, the First Family of Shooting has a great sense of humor!
You can learn more about their happenings at Miculek.com and ladies, be sure to check out Babes with Bullets!
This article originally appeared on MyGunCulture.com and is republished with permission.
