I spent all day yesterday at MCF&G with Revere's Riders helping out at their ladies only pistol 100 course. Students ranged from zero experience to quite experienced and everything in between. The course was essentially equivalent to NRA basic pistol. Everyone brought semi-automatics except one revolver, which didn't come out until late in the day. A few of the guns were small, concealable single stack models. Watching these ladies work their way from the initial safety briefing all the way to pretty advanced concepts, shooting qualifying targets at the beginning and end of the day, really opened my eyes to a few things. This is all obvious and none of it is new, but it can really make an impression to actually see things you've heard happen right before your eyes.
If you know anyone who is planning to get a gun for personal protection, especially if they intend to carry it, the very first thing they should do is come to a course like this. Borrow and bring something that is basic, at least compact in size or larger, and known to be simple to operate and easy and pleasant to shoot. If the hosting organization has loaner guns (more on that later), all the better. If the environment provides the chance to try different guns during the day, that is a huge bonus. For those lower in experience, taking a course like this should absolutely be done before even going to a range and trying different rental guns. A course like this is the place to start. Just bring what you can and make sure it isn't some kind of micro pistol or snubbie. If you've been shooting for years, haven't had training for quite a while, but fancy yourself a pretty experienced shot, you'll learn something, probably a lot, during even a basic course like this. Challenge yourself to improve!
The only thing good about small guns is that they're easy to carry and conceal. Literally everything else about them is a negative. They are harder to manipulate, and much harder to shoot well. It doesn't matter what gun you you have with you when you really need it if you can't shoot it well. It makes much more sense to find one that you shoot well, form a relationship with it--get to know it like the back of your hand--and then work out a way to carry it. Deciding to buy a gun because it's cute, or small, or light, or easy to carry, or a good price, and then sticking it in a holster and going about your business isn't the right thing to do. I bet a lot of guns are bought this way, loaded once, then stuck in a holster (hopefully...), and that's it. This is a big mistake. I wish I had all the money back from small guns I've bought and sold after shooting them very little. I haven't kept any of them.
For a new shooter, you can't beat a good .22 target pistol. I watched a pretty experienced friend, who I know is a great shot (she scored 47/50 during her basic rifle course using iron sights) struggle with a small single stack pistol. She was having a hard time keeping shots even on paper at 7 yards. When the instructors pulled out one of the organization's loaner .22 target pistols, everything changed instantly. She immediately began shooting such tight groupings they asked her if she wanted to teach the class next time! Confidence is such an important thing. When they started passing around these target pistols, you could see the confidence level of the shooters just skyrocket. Everyone should have a .22 target target pistol to maintain and refine their skills.
There is probably nothing more fun you can do at a shooting range then shoot steel targets with a suppressed .22 target pistol. Hearing the action cycling and the impact on the steel both be much louder than the report is pretty awesome the first time you experience it. It's almost sensual. So many cool things to absorb versus mainly the big bang, which is fun but not really generally enjoyable. Suppressors should be cheaper, easier to obtain, and we all should be using them at the range.
Finally, and this is especially true for ladies, turtlenecks are your friend (even during the summer!) when taking training courses
If you know anyone who is planning to get a gun for personal protection, especially if they intend to carry it, the very first thing they should do is come to a course like this. Borrow and bring something that is basic, at least compact in size or larger, and known to be simple to operate and easy and pleasant to shoot. If the hosting organization has loaner guns (more on that later), all the better. If the environment provides the chance to try different guns during the day, that is a huge bonus. For those lower in experience, taking a course like this should absolutely be done before even going to a range and trying different rental guns. A course like this is the place to start. Just bring what you can and make sure it isn't some kind of micro pistol or snubbie. If you've been shooting for years, haven't had training for quite a while, but fancy yourself a pretty experienced shot, you'll learn something, probably a lot, during even a basic course like this. Challenge yourself to improve!
The only thing good about small guns is that they're easy to carry and conceal. Literally everything else about them is a negative. They are harder to manipulate, and much harder to shoot well. It doesn't matter what gun you you have with you when you really need it if you can't shoot it well. It makes much more sense to find one that you shoot well, form a relationship with it--get to know it like the back of your hand--and then work out a way to carry it. Deciding to buy a gun because it's cute, or small, or light, or easy to carry, or a good price, and then sticking it in a holster and going about your business isn't the right thing to do. I bet a lot of guns are bought this way, loaded once, then stuck in a holster (hopefully...), and that's it. This is a big mistake. I wish I had all the money back from small guns I've bought and sold after shooting them very little. I haven't kept any of them.
For a new shooter, you can't beat a good .22 target pistol. I watched a pretty experienced friend, who I know is a great shot (she scored 47/50 during her basic rifle course using iron sights) struggle with a small single stack pistol. She was having a hard time keeping shots even on paper at 7 yards. When the instructors pulled out one of the organization's loaner .22 target pistols, everything changed instantly. She immediately began shooting such tight groupings they asked her if she wanted to teach the class next time! Confidence is such an important thing. When they started passing around these target pistols, you could see the confidence level of the shooters just skyrocket. Everyone should have a .22 target target pistol to maintain and refine their skills.
There is probably nothing more fun you can do at a shooting range then shoot steel targets with a suppressed .22 target pistol. Hearing the action cycling and the impact on the steel both be much louder than the report is pretty awesome the first time you experience it. It's almost sensual. So many cool things to absorb versus mainly the big bang, which is fun but not really generally enjoyable. Suppressors should be cheaper, easier to obtain, and we all should be using them at the range.
Finally, and this is especially true for ladies, turtlenecks are your friend (even during the summer!) when taking training courses
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