NRA Women on Target handgun class, Colorado Springs
When: Sunday, May 5th, 2024 8:30am 'till 4:00pm.
What: Basic introduction to handgun shooting for Women. Think of it as "NRA Basic Pistol Lite".
Where: Classroom and range held at the Cheyenne Mountain Shooting Complex (I25 exit 132A).
Cost: $25 includes ammo, targets, lunch and use of supplied handguns.
More information: Registration and information and NRA page about WoT
Flyer with more information.
O2
FAQs:
Class not sufficient to meet Concealed Carry training requirements
We don't have enough female instructors to make the staff 100% women, so there are some carefully-selected male instructors that assist. If you're uncomfortable with male instructors, please let the staff know and they'll assure you have female instructors only. We understand.
If you have your own gun, feel free to bring it. Please assure it's unloaded and you have absolutely no ammo on your person before you enter the classroom (in other words, all standard NRA classroom rules apply). During the classroom and the initial range portion of the class you will only be able to use the class guns, but afterwards during the "open range" session you can break out your own gun and use it.
Open to all women, from those that have never handled a firearm to those with experience. No matter what your experience level we'll do our darnedest to make you a better shooter than when you walked in!
Ps. If you have any questions you can call the number on the flyer or I might be able to answer them here. Keep in mind I'm not the organizer.
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Further down the discussion the following question was asked and my answer gave more details about the class, so I moved my response up here to the base note.
Originally Posted by SideShow Bob
Am I mistaken in thinking this is similar to the NRA "First Shots" class ?
Good question!
Though it shares similarities with "First Steps" as any beginning class does when it comes to discussions of safety, fundamentals, ammo and different firearm actions, the "First Steps" curriculum covers only one, specific firearm whereas Women on Target (WoT) is completely the opposite, allowing the student to shoot literally dozens of different firearms! This allows the women to compare factors such as fit, recoil and ergonomics of different firearms to see what they like and don't like about each. WoT also doesn't teach firearm cleaning; it's a get-someone-shooting-safely introduction and nothing more.
Also, unlike a "normal" NRA class, the event is subsidized by the NRA, allowing the organizers to keep the cost low - $25 gets you lunch and [virtually] unlimited ammo, basic ear and eye protection and a goodie bag.
We start the line with just .22s - revolvers and semi-autos. Then we stock the line with everything from 380s at the left to 1911s in .45 ACP at the right. This keeps things simple: Can you handle the recoil of this gun? Move to the right. Too much? Move left.
We encourage the participants to take pictures of the guns they like, so they won't forget the model and caliber when they start thinking of purchasing a gun.
I find it one of the most rewarding events to assist with. I've seen the most tentative of women during the .22 shooting at the start of the session dragging their friends to the far right of the line to shoot the .45 "Because it's so much fun!" by the end of the day.
Some of my observations over the years:
- Almost everyone likes the 1911 .45ACP
- Almost everyone hates the .40
- The most common caliber for a husband to buy his wife is a .40 (if I had a nickel for every time I heard "My husband bought me a .40")
- I take my hand strength for granted; I'm always surprised by women who can't fire a revolver double action and some that can't even cock a double action revolver's hammer (single action, with it's longer hammer spur isn't a problem).
My two warm-and-fuzzy moments from yesterday:
- "My husband taught me how to shoot, and I've never been able to hit the paper before!"
- [Left-handed woman who was taught by her right-handed husband]: "Is there a way to lock the slide back without transferring the gun to my right hand?" (I show her) "You're a genius!" (no, I just know how to run guns both left and right-handed, like any instructor should).
Unfortunately, my ultimate job at WoT is to get women interested enough in shooting that they continue on and become shooting instructors themselves - which will eventually get all us guys get "fired" and it becomes a 100% women event. I'll be both happy and disappointed when that day comes.
O2
Ps. If you haven't figured it out, IMHO "Husbands" (and boyfriends) can be the most damaging thing a woman can encounter when starting out on her firearm journey.
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Originally Posted by SideShow Bob
