Daria Bruno of Lock, Stock and Daria, Saturdays 11am-Noon on 920 WHJJ Radio

Daria Bruno, youngest child of 6 and only daughter of a prominent Providence, RI surgeon grew up with no intimate knowledge of guns. Her father, a World War II navy officer, owned a couple of antique firearms and her brothers shot .22 rifles at summer camp, but theirs was no gun family. The young Daria had no desire to shoot or own a pistol or rifle.

After graduating from Classical High School in Providence, Bruno enrolled at Boston’s Emerson College, where she majored in Mass Communications. A high school internship had sparked an enduring interest in radio and after graduating from Emerson she became a disc jockey for a Fitchburg, MA station. Once she got on the air, she was hooked it became her whole focus in life.

Her career eventually brought her to B101 (WWBB 101.5-FM) in Providence where she became a morning staple during the 1990’s. She left in 1999 and she and her two daughters and then husband worked in radio before buying a furniture business. The south was not Rhode Island.

“Down there” she says, kids are weaned on guns, they know how to operate them, they know how to be careful and respect them. They are educated about being safe. Known as “Sportsman’s Paradise”, hunting is like a religious experience. Guns even permeate business, Bruno says. “Up here, you might do a deal over a golf course, down there, you do it in a deer stand”

Bruno’s first experience was with a .357 magnum. A friend asked if she wanted to try shooting. Bruno was more than eager. After a safety lesson, eye and ear protection, she aimed at a tin can and missed. It was just like was a kid and it was the Fourth of July. “I completely love it. I liked the action, I liked the way it felt in my hand. I just thought it was the coolest thing. A .357 will rock your world. Soon Bruno was buying guns of her own and with a little practice, her aim improved.

Returning to Rhode Island, Bruno found herself in good company. She joined the Smithfield Sportsman’s Club and starting shooting on there NRA sanctioned pistol team. With woman being the fasting growing segment of the shooting sports, Bruno became a Life Member of the NRA and is now a National Rifle Association-certified instructor. She can teach and offers basic pistol classroom instruction and live fire. Bruno also hunts. She has hunted deer and wild boar in Texas. She is not a trophy hunter but prefers to eat the meat.

Perhaps inevitable given her other passion, Bruno has debuted what apparently is the nations only gun talk show hosted by a woman: Lock Stock and Daria, Stick to Your Guns Radio which airs 11am-noon Saturdays on conservative station WHJJ-am. Bruno shares her views on the air. “Americans should not be disarmed. If the police and military can have firearms, so should the law abiding public. I am a firm believer in our Second Amendment right.

Bruno’s gun-talk show Lock Stock and Daria can be heard live or through previous podcasts at www.sticktoyourgunsradio.com or www.lockstockanddaria.com