Women Shooters

Academy Security Training in Firearms Instructor for Northern California

2010-02-10T09:20:00.001-08:00

Company is looking for BSIS-licensed firearms instructor as partner in San Francisco/Sacramento area. Send queries by email only, to admin@security-guard-training.net.
Thank you.

Utah CCW Course on Monday, March 30, 2009

2009-03-29T09:40:00.000-07:00

There is a course on March 30, 2009 at 5pm. The public is invited to attend at Academy Security Training / American CCW in Torrance, CA. Please call ahead of time to ensure seating. Walk-ins are not allowed in this class.

The address is:
Academy Security Training
25202 Crenshaw Blvd., Suite 214
Torrance, CA 90505

For more information, please check the website http://www.americanccw.com/

Monthly Basic Pistol Courses

2008-01-20T11:44:00.001-08:00

The NRA Basic Pistol course is offered monthly in the Los Angeles Metro Area. The time is typically 10:30am to 1:30pm on a Saturday. 2 hours are classroom instruction and there's one hour of range time where you shoot 50 rounds with a Ruger MK III .22LR. The cost is $80.

For a more private lesson which covers the same material, you can schedule any day and time on a one-on-one basis. The cost is only nominally higher at $115.

Call Ruperto at 310-490-3697 for more information. Here is the website with more info:

http://www.besafeguntraining.com

Book Review: Humanizing Gun Nuts:

2007-03-18T19:22:00.000-07:00

Shooters: Myths and Realities of America's Gun Cultures, by Abigail A. Kohn, New York: Oxford University Press, 224 pages, $29.95

If there's a gun in a scene, an old writer's adage says, it had better go off. As that bit of advice suggests, there are few symbols more powerful than guns. They can represent liberation from oppression or serve as a weighty physical reminder of a lurking existential threat. No matter the association, the powerful emotional responses that guns elicit are largely responsible for the stagnant and vitriolic nature of the current gun control debate.

Go to website

Credit Source: Gallery of Guns

More Tennessee women carry guns - Tennessean.com, Christian Bottorff

2007-03-07T18:50:00.000-08:00

For years, Nashville real estate agent Kim Hoard considered toting a gun for her safety at work and while traveling alone with her two children, ages 7 and 10.

She recently took action when she started getting harassing telephone calls from a man who saw her photo in an advertisement.

Hoard is now enrolled in a gun safety class that starts this month, and she is planning to obtain a permit so she can carry around a .38-caliber revolver that is now collecting dust at home.

"I have strangers in my car every day," Hoard said. "I meet strangers in empty houses all day long. For me, it seems like the logical step to protect myself."

Hoard is one of a growing number of women in Tennessee who have obtained handgun carry permits in Tennessee the past two years.

Last year, 9,921 women received permits to carry handguns in Tennessee — a record number. That was almost 500 more than in 2005, and about 80 percent more than in 2004, a year that ended a decline in such permits.

Permits are issued after completion of a handgun safety course, and after background checks and a fingerprint analysis by local, state and federal authorities.

Go to website

More on the revolver versus semi-automatic issue

2007-03-07T09:21:00.000-08:00

1. How easy is the gun to hold?

This question is irrelevant to the revolver versus semi-automatic issue, as differences will be due to the specific model you are evaluating.

2. How easy is the gun to shoot?

This is another question that is irrelevant to the revolver versus semi-automatic issue.

3. How easy is the gun to shoot accurately?

This is another question that is irrelevant to the revolver versus semi-automatic issue.

4. How easy is the gun to load?

Revolvers are generally easier to load than semi-automatic pistols.

With a double action revolver, you start by pressing the cylinder latch which will swing the cylinder open. This is a very easy procedure and does not require muscle power --- unless the latch is stuck or the gun is defective, but this would be an exception.

Then, you insert a round in each of the chambers in the cylinder. Again, there is little skill and muscle power involved in this.

After all rounds are inserted, you press the cylinder back into the frame. The gun is ready to shoot.
With a single action revolver, you open the loading gate, which requires very little muscle power and skill. Then, you insert a round into the chamber aligned with the loading gate. After loading one round, you rotate the cylinder one chamber over, and repeat, until you have all the chambers loaded. The gun is ready to shoot.

The process is more involved and requires more hand and muscle power with a semi-automatic pistol. You have to load the magazine with rounds. The magazine has an internal spring which will provide resistance to each round that you insert. The larger the caliber of the pistol, the stronger is the spring and more difficult it is to load each round. The first round will be the easiest to load but each subsequent round requires more finger muscle power and dexterity.

Most people of marginal finger strength are capable of manually loading the 9th and 10th round in a 9mm pistol’s magazine. Many can’t even load any rounds beyond the 5th round in the magazine. Usually, most people will be able to load the first and second round but it starts becoming more challenging beyond those rounds for some people.

The use of a speedloader can facilitate the loading of a semi-automatic’s magazine. However, this is not part of the pistol and it’s not a good idea to rely on a speedloader, which can be lost or misplaced.
Thus, the advantage goes to revolvers on the question of ease to load.

5. How easy is the gun to unload?

The advantage remains with revolvers over semi-automatic pistols.

Unloading is basically the reverse of loading, as discussed in the prior question.

A double action revolver is unloaded without muscle power and very little skill. The cylinder latch is pressed and the cylinder swings open. The user presses the ejector rod down into the cylinder and all the rounds and spent shells, if any, fall out of the cylinder. The gun is unloaded.

A single action revolver is unloaded by first opening the loading gate. Then, the user presses the ejector rod to remove each round or spent shell, one at a time until the cylinder is completely empty. The gun is unloaded after all of this is done.

With a semi-automatic pistol, there are two levels of unloading. The first level of unloading is actually quite fast and easy. You press the magazine release on the frame and the magazine drops. You catch it and put it aside.

However, the gun may not be unloaded yet. If you were firing some rounds before removing the magazine, there may still be a round in the chamber even though the magazine is not in the mag well of the pistol. You will need to pull the slide back to eject that loaded round. This will take a little muscle power, depending on the gun. And you will need to use your fingers to keep the action open by activating the slide release --- again requiring a little muscle power.

Furthermore, for complete unloading, technically, you need to remove the rounds from the magazine. And you will have to deal with the tension of the spring in the magazine, which does take a bit more muscle power and dexterity than with a revolver.

6. How easy is the gun to store?

This is another question that is irrelevant to the revolver versus semi-automatic issue.

7. How easy is the gun to obtain training with?

This is another question that is irrelevant to the revolver versus semi-automatic issue.

8. How easy is the gun to obtain information about?

This is another question that is irrelevant to the revolver versus semi-automatic issue.

9. How easy is the gun to obtain parts and service for?

This is another question that is irrelevant to the revolver versus semi-automatic issue.

Women enjoy the power of firearms - ABC News

2007-03-06T13:12:00.000-08:00

Gun manufacturers are banking on women, from the soccer moms to professionals. Many women at the Blue Ridge Gun Range in Chantilly, Va., and elsewhere around the nation are packing heat for sport, self empowerment and protection.

"I am a short chubby housewife. I'm not as scared of the bad guys because the guns are my great equalizer," said Jacque Blundell of Arlington, Va.

The gun industry is catering to women with everything from more girly guns and apparel, to all female hunting trips to free ladies nights at the range.

It's clear the feminine touch is adding up to big business.

"A quarter to a third of all our customers here are women shooters," said Keith Weaver, employee at Blue Ridge Arsenal.

Five years ago the National Rifle Association offered just 13 firearms training classes for women, today there are more than 200 nationwide.

"If you look at statistics, there are more crimes of passion committed by men than there are women, but I say that everyone has their emotions and one of the things you learn when you take firearms classes is you learn to control your emotions," said Sandra Forman, President of the National Rifle Association.

Go to website

Credit source ABC news

Revolver Versus Semi-Automatic Pistol

2007-03-06T13:03:00.000-08:00

This is a classic issue for all newbies: Should I purchase a revolver or semi-automatic? There is no universal answer that is correct. We cannot say that the revolver is ideal for a female beginner. Or the semi-automatic pistol is ideal.

Ultimately, the answer is based on personal preference. As a newbie, that determination will come from some education on the relevant characteristics of these guns.
After learning the facts, you will decide what is right for you.
We will not discuss all aspects of these guns but can focus on characteristics that the female beginner will find relevant. From the prior chapter discussing what to look for in guns, the attributes of guns most relevant to the revolver versus the semi-automatic decision are:
· Ease of Use
· Durability
· Reliability
· Maintainability
· Safety Features

East of Use

Let’s review the basic questions presented in the prior chapter with regard to the issue of ease of use:
1. How easy is the gun to hold?
2. How easy is the gun to shoot?
3. How easy is the gun to shoot accurately?
4. How easy is the gun to load?
5. How easy is the gun to unload?
6. How easy is the gun to store?
7. How easy is the gun to obtain training with?
8. How easy is the gun to obtain information about?
9. How easy is the gun to obtain parts and service for?

Go to website

NRA has many female-oriented programs

2007-03-04T10:21:00.000-08:00

The National Rifle Association is a wonderful organization for addressing the needs of women shooters. Myself, I'm a NRA-certified instructor for the Refuse To Be A Victim seminar, and that program was originally created exclusively for women by women NRA members, and although it's expanded to include all members of the community, that's the origin.

Here is a link to the NRA site that caters to women shooter's interests.

Go to website

What to Look for in Handguns? - Introduction

2007-02-26T08:03:00.000-08:00

The primary attributes that everyone regardless of experience looks for in a handgun, apply:

1. Purpose – Does the gun meet the intended purpose of the gun, whether it’s home defense, personal protection, concealed carry, hunting, plinking, competition, practice or whatever. The appropriateness of the caliber needs to be considered.

2. Quality – How is the fit and finish, and the the robustness of the materials used? Is it designed and manufactured well?

3. Price – Budget is a constraint for most people. This is the major determinant for most people in making tradeoffs with all the other features listed here. You may not be able to afford the best quality or the one that is most accurate or easiest to use. Also, don’t forget to consider the price of ammunition for your gun candidate.

4. Accuracy – Does it shoot where you point it, or close enough?

5. Ease-of-use/handling – Is the gun convenient to handle and operate?

6. Durability – Is it resilient over the long-term?

7. Reliability – Can the gun operate effectively a high percentage of the time?

8. Maintainability – Is the gun as close to maintenance free as possible?

9. Vendor support – Does the manufacturer or gunshop provide a service warranty on the product, and for how long?

10. Safety features – Besides complying with law, is there sufficient safety features of the gun?

11. Appearance – Is the gun attractive?

You will need the assistance of a gun-knowledgeable associate or firearms instructor to help you ascertain how your prospective guns rate on the attributes above.

Features that tend to be most relevant to women, and which we discuss more extensively in this chapter, include the following:

1. Ease of use
2. Grip size
3. Overall gun size
4. Recoil
5. Caliber
6. Maintainability
7. Safety features
8. Training

We are not saying that these features are specific to only women, nor are we saying that these are the most important features to all women. We have found that these features tend to be the ones most important to a majority of the women we have talked to. As such, you can take the list above, or a photocopy of this chapter, to the gunstore with you when you purchase a handgun.

Why Many Guns Aren't Right for Women?

2007-02-25T10:56:00.000-08:00

Many guns are not right for people in general, for many different reasons, and women in particular have characteristics that make certain guns inappropriate for them. That is why there is a need for this book --- to help you sift through all the guns that are not right for you in order to select the guns that do make sense for your needs.

Here are reasons why many guns available in the marketplace aren’t right for many (but not all) women:

Most handguns are sized for the average American man, who are generally larger than women, with larger hands and longer fingers. That applies to both the grip size, where the most obvious size issue crops up, and to the overall size of the gun.
Some handguns have a heavy trigger pull that is too much for many women who might not have the finger strength required to press the trigger.
The springs and tensions of semi-automatic pistols require hand and finger strength that many, if not most, women do not possess. For example, it is extremely difficult for most women to manually load the last few rounds of a magazine for a major caliber pistol. In fact, it is difficult for many women to load even the fourth and fifth round of a magazine.
Most women typically have a difficult time with the recoil of a major caliber pistol.
Some guns require more training and expertise to operate than what a large percentage of women are willing to acquire.

Keep in mind that although there are many guns that aren’t appropriate for you, there are many that are.

It’s a matter of educating yourself about what goes into the selection of the right gun for you!

Ebook: Women's Guide To Buying Your First Handgun

2007-02-23T23:04:00.000-08:00

It's part of the Firearms/Pistol for Life Series. Here's a little summary:

Many books on handguns are not for beginners, and especially beginners who are women. This book fills that void by providing advice to female beginners who are considering purchasing a handgun. The book does not delve into the history, philosophy, psychology and politics of guns. It is meant to be a quick, practical guide that gives advice on attributes and features of a handgun that need to be considered by women. The classic decision between revolver versus semi-automatic pistol is discussed, and recommendations of make and model available in the marketplace are given. Also discussed are issues of whether to buy new or used and whether to order on the Internet or locally. Finally, all the steps are summarized about what you need to do before and during the shopping process.

You can order the book from Powells.com at the following link:

http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=91-9780977208838-0

Opening Comments

2007-02-23T16:06:00.000-08:00

Welcome to this site especially for women shooters! Advanced shooters and beginners are welcome!

Please share with me methods and techniques that are relevant to shooters who are female. I've created this site today and it'll be a few days before I get this up-and-running on a regular basis.

My name is Ruperto and I'm firearms instructor at Be Safe Gun Training, in Torrance, California. This is a suburb of Los Angeles. Here are some websites associated with this business:

http://www.BeSafeGunTraining.com
http://www.AmericanCCW.com
http://www.PrivateGunLessons.com
http://www.HomeGunDefense.com
http://www.GuardCard.net