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Best way for new female shooter to learn self-defense firearm training

4K views 19 replies 12 participants last post by  thearmedphilosopher 
#1 ·
Hello,

I'm a young woman who recently bought a Glock 17 to keep at home for self-defense. I had taken a weekend intensive prior to knee surgery a few months ago and feel like I would like more training. I don't want to learn any bad habits so I hesitate to just go to a range and shoot on my own given that I have so few hours of training under my belt. Then again, I know I need plenty of practice. I'm athletic though still recovering from the knee surgery but can handle the gun easily nevertheless. I remember well the basics I learned - loading, unloading, racking the slide, etc, but not the finer points about stance, aim, etc. I'm also wondering if it would be advisable to learn how to use a shotgun, and when to do so, given my recovery.

Also wondering where I might find good information about laws in CA. For instance, if an intruder comes into my house, can I shoot him dead on sight or do I have to first give him some kind of warning to leave or else?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
#2 ·
I am sure you can find an advanced handgun course since you had an introductory course. I would find one. There are many, many videos on youtube you could study.
Find a friend with a shotgun and try it out. Or go to a range and observe and meet some folks. Most gun folks like sharing with new folks.
IANAL---CA laws need to be discussed with CA law savy folks.

Welcome to TFF.
 
#3 · (Edited)
If you "fear for your life" you are absolutely free to protect yourself. Even in California. At least what my five Cop friends have told me. Be sure to only use ammunition purchased from a store. As for your stance, I think if your comfortable you'll be a better shooter. I stand square to the target, feet shoulder width and relaxed. Just remember to squeeze the trigger, don't jerk it and run thousands of rounds through it at the range. If you're going to use it for protection you'll want to become so familiar with the pistol that you can operate it in your sleep. Cause most likely you will be. As for the shotgun, not sure why that would be any different than a pistol as far as your knee is concerned. I would suggest starting with a 20 gauge rather than a 12 though. Those 12's can slap you around a bit. If you would give me a rough idea of what part of the state you are living in I may be able to point you toward some good ranges. There's a great one in Brea that's in North Orange County. Just my 2 cents. You'll receive lots of opinions here so try to sift through it all and come up with something that works for you.

Good Luck and Good Shooting
 
#4 ·
I am sure you can find an advanced handgun course since you had an introductory course. I would find one. There are many, many videos on youtube you could study.
Find a friend with a shotgun and try it out. Or go to a range and observe and meet some folks. Most gun folks like sharing with new folks.
IANAL---CA laws need to be discussed with CA law savy folks.

Welcome to TFF.
Jedwill - thank you for the tips. The place I took the intensive at does offer advanced training but only a few times a year. But I will look into other avenues for training. Do you have any YouTube videos you'd recommend? I was looking for some Glock-specific ones (but perhaps it doesn't matter).

Thanks for the welcome! This forum has a wealth of information; I'm happy to have found it.
 
#5 ·
There's a great one in Brea that's in North Orange County. Just my 2 cents. You'll receive lots of opinions here so try to sift through it all and come up with something that works for you.

Good Luck and Good Shooting
Firpo - thank you SO much for all of that information. All very, very helpful. Can you point me to any specific information about the CA laws; for instance, would I get in trouble for shooting to kill rather than disable? I'm a petite single woman so if I ever had someone enter my house uninvited I would definitely fear for my life.

You answered exactly my question about the shotgun; I was under the impression that they require a lot of strength / stability to handle. Glad to hear that they're something I can try even at this point.

And yes, I would LOVE that range recommendation in Brea. As a matter of fact, I do live nearby so that would be ideal. I'd really like a place where I could get some instruction or help if I have any malfunctions.

Again, thanks so much for taking the time to respond.
 
#6 ·
Orange County Indoor Range
684 Berry St.
Brea, Ca

I'm sure they have classes there you can take. Also, they sell memberships which, now I'm guessing here, but seems like if you go 6-8 times in a year it pays for itself. As to answer your remaining question, kill -vs- disable, I've said about all I'm willing to on an open forum. I will say I've told my wife if she ever has to use it that she's to pull the trigger until it stops going BOOM!
 
#7 · (Edited)
Hi Brea and welcome to the forum.

Ca. laws are really all screwed up. if you are in your home though and someone breaks in - you shoot them and aim well so you kill whoever it is. Dead people can't sue you and they can't testify.

Because Ca is so screwed up with the gun laws, you should probably look into getting legal insurance. I just saw a list published a few days ago comparing the different companies / organizations that provide such legal insurance.

In Ca. even if someone breaks into your home with a gun and you shoot and kill them it is quite possible that you could get charged with a crime even though your gun is perfectly legal and you are perfectly within your legal rights for having killed the criminal. The insurance would cover ALL you legal expenses for a proper defense and some of the policies even would cover lost wages. As I recall, the policies were quite inexpensive also - something like $120 a year.

Because you live in Ca., I think that such a legal insurance policy is probably a good idea.

Always remember though that if you don't shoot to protect yourself from someone or multiple criminals breaking in your home then you could end up a very seriously injured victim with no help for paying medical expenses or even worse you could end up dead after feeling a lot of pain. Don't take such chances with your life. If the bad guys break in, shoot them, kill them. If there are more than you can kill before you get shot and killed, you went down fighting, not as a victim to the slaughter and you took some of them out in the process.

No matter how fast the police can get to your home after calling 911, they can't get there faster than a bullet gets to you.

Something very similar happened to an elderly lady in Atlanta just a few months ago. She parked her car in her driveway right around sunset. Three people came at her to rob her and who knows what else - two guys and a woman and at least one of them had a gun. She shot and killed one of them before she died from being shot. She simply refused to be a defenseless victim. Her house had been robbed 3 times already. Her family is proud of her even though they certainly do miss her. She got at least one of the bad guys.
 
#8 ·
As a California native who left 22 years ago, I can tell you that there is no place in this country more screwed up in regard to guns and self defense than that former Great State. The Peoples' Republic of California requires that decent people walk about defenseless, without even a firearm in the car, and the bad guys know it. The only place to be safe in the PRC is to be somewhere else, preferably in a state where the Constitution is still respected as a meaningful document.

But some people remain behind, decent people who are a tiny minority, and like you they need to protect themselves. It's illegal to do so there - you're supposed to retreat to the farthest corner before resorting to lethal force, and you will probably go to prison for a while no matter what the facts may be if you happen to need to shoot someone to save your life. You're required by law to let the bad guys take from you everything you have, so long as they don't pose an immediate threat to your life. Everything I have earned and purchased in my life cost me a part of my life, and I have to assume that any bad guy who is willing to use force to take a part of my life is probably equally willing to take all of it. I consider shooting to protect property to be identical to shooting to protect life, and that would mean life in prison in the PRC.

But my Dad often told me, "I'd rather hire a lawyer to defend you, than 6 men to carry your coffin." You do what you feel you need to do, if leaving that godforsaken hellhole isn't an option.

That being said - and I hope for your safety that you'll listen and abandon that doomed place - an outfit called Front Sight in Pahrump, NV offers lot's of weekend training courses that are reasonably priced and seem to be fairly comprehensive. I haven't taken any of their courses yet, but I plan to. I'll warn you - once you're on their mailing list, the spam is fast and furious. But they run out of steam after a few months.

Another place to look is the US Concealed Carry Association - USCCA. I joined about a year ago at the cheapest level - free - and that got me access to a year of pdf magazines, all of which were loaded with good information. Recently I upgraded to a Gold membership, which does cost real money, but it also comes with insurance to help cover my legal defense if I ever use a gun in self defense. Here in AZ, where we still live by the Constitution, it is still possible to get sued, and even though it will be tossed out of court, it's still going to cost some money. Where you are, saving your own life will probably bankrupt you, so a little insurance might be a good investment.

Best of luck to you, and welcome to the forum. I hope you'll stick around and learn a bit - there are some really awesome people here, and they're worth getting to know.:D
 
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#9 ·
Firpo - thank you SO much for all of that information. All very, very helpful. Can you point me to any specific information about the CA laws; for instance, would I get in trouble for shooting to kill rather than disable? I'm a petite single woman so if I ever had someone enter my house uninvited I would definitely fear for my life.

You answered exactly my question about the shotgun; I was under the impression that they require a lot of strength / stability to handle. Glad to hear that they're something I can try even at this point.

And yes, I would LOVE that range recommendation in Brea. As a matter of fact, I do live nearby so that would be ideal. I'd really like a place where I could get some instruction or help if I have any malfunctions.

Again, thanks so much for taking the time to respond.
When I went through training to be a nuclear security officer, what surprised me was how much the women enjoyed the 12 gauge shotgun.
Your stance when shooting the shotgun makes a huge difference on how it will feel to you. A plastic stock on the gun makes the recoil more noticeable. Hold it tight into your shoulder, and squeeze the trigger. Don't forget to lean forward, not straight up. Leaning forward allows your body to move with the recoil.
 
#10 ·
Lots of fantastic advice has been posted in this thread!

Although I grew up shooting rifles and shotguns since 12 years old, it wasn't until my adult married life that I bought my first handgun. My wife had never shot any gun but was wanting to learn (now she owns more handguns and shoots them better than I do). We found a great range close to home and ended up buying a life time membership which allowed us to buy several guns a year at dealer cost, free range usage, discounts on ammo and supplies, free gun rental, and most important 150 hours of free training. This range offers classes for brand new never owned a gun shooters, to self defense and advanced tactical classes, and of course CCW classes.

My point is find a good range in your area and look at membership packages. (I know the prices have gone through the roof and I was lucky to have bought mine back when things were calm.) You might find something like a 12 month package that provides ample range time and instruction. Sign up for appropriate classes and shoot as often as you can and afford (at least monthly). You are going to meet some of the greatest people in the country at the range, gun shops, and Internet forums like this one who are willing to help and support you.

You might want to look at CCW classes since they should cover the legal aspects for your state. I would expect in CA that there are CA law/legal classes specifically.

Good luck
 
#11 ·
The advice already given is spot on! look at CCW, Advanced Training, and Legal classes in your area. That will give you a great start, but also check into Women's shooting/ Gun Clubs in your area, you should be able to find a few smart cookies and good habits between the two.

Once you've taken a class or 2 and got the basics down pat. it becomes time to build on those good habits and start to refine them. In home drills can help to build muscle memory that will refine your handling/manipulation of the firearm.

For this buy yourself a set of Snap Caps. These dummy rounds can help you safely practice/simulate all kinds of things from quick magazine changes and slide manipulation to clearing jammed rounds and target acquisition /dry firing exercises. Ask your firearms instructor for advice on different kinds of drills and possibly (with a grain of salt) look at youtube for some ideas.

Live to train, your trained to live.
Good Luck
 
#12 ·
Just as a side note though the OP hasn't posted back, firing a 12 gauge shotgun in your home as self defense isn't highly recommended if you value your hearing. After killing an intruder you do have to call 911. It would be good to be able to hear what that operator is saying on the other end of the phone. 12 gauge shotguns make one heck of a loud bang inside.
 
#16 ·
The way my place is set up that's not much of a worry, 3 out 4 walls are solid concrete. Besides this magnum is getting fired down the hallway in a safe-ish direction.

But I digress, a Glock 17 and 1 extra magazine should be plenty of home defense fire power in the hands of a well trained person. Your run of the mill criminal isn't going to stick around for more than a few shots, at that point they start to run. Any others dumb enough to stick around, well that why you have 2 mags.
 
#18 ·
I would advise you to contact your LGS and see what information they can give you about training. Although they are a bit more expensive, you might consider taking a training vacation at Frontsight in NV or Gunsite in AZ. They offer multi-day beginner, intermediate, and advanced training.
 
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