Training class / gun selection for the lady friend

[jamesmrj]

So here' the deal guys and gals. My girlfriend and have been to the shooting range twice in the two months we've been dating. She's new to shooting, but really enjoys it and is interested in learning more. She'd like to take a class designed for/taught by women.

In doing research, I've found some beginner classes nearby (within an hour or two of College Station), though none geared for women. KR training out of Austin seems to be the best I've been able to find with my weak google fu. If yall (especially you ladies) know of any really good ones I'd love to hear about them.

The second thing is gun selection. She really enjoys shooting my Buckmark .22, but doesn't like my sig 226 9mm. Too much recoil for her. Also, shooting my SP101 with 38's is out since she can't pull the trigger in double action. I'm thinking a .380 would work for her, and she really likes the looks of the Walther PK380. She does plan on eventually getting her CHL, and she will be the one making the selection on the gun. I'm just trying to help her find a good place to start as I have no experience with .380s.

I appreciate all yall's thoughts and ideas.

 

[Jon Payne]

I have been speaking with Corinna Coplin about hosting a Ladies Gunfighting Class in Orange TX. Here's Corinna's bio . Let me know if I can help.

 

[Elbe]

Some resources for your gf: A Girl and a Gun Club, The Glock Girl, and Women's Safety Academy of Texas. Google them. Also, the Cabelas in Ft. Worth is holding women's classes next month. I realize that is too far, however, if you have stores like that in your area you may want to check with them.

Consider emaiing Texas1911, Sig Fiend, the CHL advertisers on TGT, as they might be willing to put a women only CHL class together. Although it would be with male instructors, sometimes the intimidation factor for us new lady shooters is our own husbands and boyfriends and friends that have been doing this a while. My husband is always telling me "you need ___ " in a gun. It drives me nuts. How does he know what feels right to me when I am still learning? So good on you for letting her make the selection of the gun.

 

[Mikewood]

The buckmark is a great place to start. I can't give you the name of a good female instructor because I don't know any. Your GF needs to shoot right now and shoot a lot. 22 is fine. Single actio. 38s are fine. Just get her oi to the range and focus I. Front sight press, hold, relax to reset and press again. Then you need to find a good easy going instructor and take a private lesson. Spend about 4 hours and burn $200 on instruction. It's more about the basics right now and any NRA certified instructor can teach her that. No need for GI Joe or GI Jane.

 

[Texan2]

The owner of this forum teaches firearms classes in Austin and the Travis County area (Dillo Dynamics) and I know they have done classes geared toward women in the past. Ask him....

 

[coachrick]

The owner of this forum teaches firearms classes in Austin and the Travis County area (Dillo Dynamics) and I know they have done classes geared toward women in the past. Ask him....

We have purchased a future class with Dillo for My Darling. She enjoyed my SIG 229 in 22lr; not so much enjoyment with the 38spl in DA, however it was more comfy in SA.

I think My Darling would enjoy a class for women or at least with some other women in it. Should Dillo offer such a class, I think we would choose that one.

Also, Red's North has a ladies' group every other Wednesday on the range. I'm sure there is instruction available...not sure how much it's geared toward newer shooters. Home

 

[SIG_Fiend]

Hi Rick! The nice thing is there are a lot of great instructors out there and locally nowadays. Jon Payne is a great instructor that I highly recommend. There are a number of other good ones here on the board as well, and of course we do our own instruction also.

What I have found when it comes to instructing women (having instructed my fair share), is sometimes it takes a different approach, different demeanor, and instruction method to really ease tension and connect with female students. I've found quite a few women view this whole subject as "guys stuff", and so there can be some subconscious misconceptions, hesitance or biases that take a little work to break through. Thankfully, there are now a lot of women's shooting clubs out there that are helping more women realize this is a genderless subject, and they can do it too. I find that for a lot of women, it seems to be relatively effective helping them understand that they're more than capable of doing all these things. Ultimately the goal is helping instill self-confidence in the student that they understand how to handle themselves and feel confident in their ability to protect themselves. There are many ways to do this through Auditory, Visual, or Kinesthetic stimulus (comments like "Hey great job!", helping them visualize their success, or a pat on the back or "good job" high five or fist bump, etc. ), but the bottom line is that the students gaining self-confidence is ultimately the goal, as opposed to simply being able to "follow instructions".

I'll see if I can get a women's only Basic Defensive Pistol class together within the next month.

 

[ohhrico1969]

The walther is a good choice for her because of it's narrow profile. My wife has a SR9 for that very same reason. She has small hands and it was comfortable for her to hold firmly and manipulate the controls. The most important thing for her is to find a gun that she can hold comfortably. A gun that fits and feels good in her hand. The sig P226 is a"big" gun and the recoil she felt could be a results of it not being the right fit in her hand. this may be a non-issue with a more properly fitting gun for her. I am a believer in carrying the biggest caliber you can comfortably shoot and if the walther is that gun, you should rent one in the 9mm and see how she likes it. And congrats on finding a lay who enjoys shooting. I am blessed that my wife loves to go to the range more than I do! :-) Best of luck.
My .02

 

[SIG_Fiend]

I find that "comfort" is less of a factor than people think. What I find people have the most issues with is getting a solid grip of the gun. Lots of people tend to hold the gun low on the grip, and in a less than optimal position with their support hand, which causes excess muzzle flip, which ultimately feels less stable to the shooter and can increase their "discomfort" or overall feeling towards any gun. Nowadays, there are certainly many excellent options for good quality guns that also have comfortable grips. I say this about comfort not being an important deciding factor, as I've seen far too many people ignore other more important factors to achieve comfort. First, you need a good quality gun that is going to work. Second you need to be able to operate and manipulate it properly. Third you need to be able to do so proficiently. Beyond that, things like comfort are a distant fourth in my mind. At the end of the day, it's a tool, and you need to be able to operate it. You can have the "prettiest" and most comfortable gun in the world, but if it is not reliable or if it is difficult to operate than it's probably not a good choice.

 

[Elbe]

... And congrats on finding a lay who enjoys shooting. I am blessed that my wife loves to go to the range more than I do! :-) Best of luck.

hnoes:

 

[ohhrico1969]

... And congrats on finding a lay who enjoys shooting. I am blessed that my wife loves to go to the range more than I do! :-) Best of luck.

hnoes:

ohhhhh magoodness!!! im so sorry!! No disrespect was intended. spell check mishap!! I meant to say LADY!!! LADY!!

 

[jamesmrj]

Thanks for all yall's input. I'll be looking into your suggestions.

And ohhrico i figured it was a typo and thought nothing of it. Though I did get a laugh out of your freak-out about it.

 

[Elbe]

ohhhhh magoodness!!! im so sorry!! No disrespect was intended. spell check mishap!! I meant to say LADY!!! LADY!!

No disrespect taken ohhrico1969, I laughed too.

 

[mroper]

Tracy (female) at Shiloh shooting range offers Ladies Only CHL class and other classes.

 

[ohhrico1969]

I find that "comfort" is less of a factor than people think. What I find people have the most issues with is getting a solid grip of the gun. Lots of people tend to hold the gun low on the grip, and in a less than optimal position with their support hand, which causes excess muzzle flip, which ultimately feels less stable to the shooter and can increase their "discomfort" or overall feeling towards any gun. Nowadays, there are certainly many excellent options for good quality guns that also have comfortable grips. I say this about comfort not being an important deciding factor, as I've seen far too many people ignore other more important factors to achieve comfort. First, you need a good quality gun that is going to work. Second you need to be able to operate and manipulate it properly. Third you need to be able to do so proficiently. Beyond that, things like comfort are a distant fourth in my mind. At the end of the day, it's a tool, and you need to be able to operate it. You can have the "prettiest" and most comfortable gun in the world, but if it is not reliable or if it is difficult to operate than it's probably not a good choice.

Although I can't disagree with your points mentioned above, I can't discount her choosing a gun that is comfortable in her hand. I have found few people are going to shoot any firearm enough to become proficient with it unless it is comfortable for them to shoot. If they do not shoot enough, the gun can shoot like a laser and it does not matter they will not hit anything with it. Therefore, grip comfort is not a non-issue, it is a very important issue and if they choose a major manufacturer the likelihood of them getting a "reliable" gun is higher. Although these are manufactured devices and there are no guarantees.

 

[SIG_Fiend]

Although I can't disagree with your points mentioned above, I can't discount her choosing a gun that is comfortable in her hand. I have found few people are going to shoot any firearm enough to become proficient with it unless it is comfortable for them to shoot. If they do not shoot enough, the gun can shoot like a laser and it does not matter they will not hit anything with it. Therefore, grip comfort is not a non-issue, it is a very important issue and if they choose a major manufacturer the likelihood of them getting a "reliable" gun is higher. Although these are manufactured devices and there are no guarantees.

Well what I was getting at was more the fact that I've come across a large number of people that seem to have some misconception that if the gun is not "comfortable" that it somehow means they won't be able to operate it or shoot it well. Although there are some ergonomic considerations to take into account, here's a good example. Most people, for the most part regardless of hand size, can operate a Glock just fine. You'll find people all day long that will complain about the feel of the grip (certainly not the most comfortable one out there), the grip angle, etc. This is all detracting from the simple truth that, it's a mechanical device. As long as you can get an effective grip on the gun and operate the controls, you can shoot it. I guess the main point I'm getting at is, I wouldn't let comfort be the only reason, or the primary reason for choosing a defensive firearm. There's certainly nothing wrong with considering it as a factor. It's just important for everyone to remember that they should, at least IMO, primarily be looking for something durable and reliable that they are able to operate. If you find something that meets those goals and is comfortable, heck that's even better!

Where I'm coming from with this is I've come across countless women, I'm talking hundreds of women, looking for defensive/carry handguns. I've sold several thousand firearms, many of which were to women for carry guns, and I've instructed my fair share of women. I can't tell you how many I've seen that have come up with some very odd, extremely difficult, and in some cases unrealistic decisions for defensive guns due to the misguided recommendations of friends or significant others. Everything from petite women with little upper body strength carrying 3" 1911's so stiff that they cannot physically operate the slide, to in the purse carry with a Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan .44mag (no joke!), to some even weirder stuff. I just try to help people avoid the issues I've seen so many others deal with.

 

[Paul Gomez]

Check out KR Training - Central Texas' best firearms training school. Karl Rehn & Penny Riggs do a wide range of classes and host many traveling instructors at their range. Penny does great work with female shooters.