As an A Girl & A Gun Member, you have access to one of our most powerful training resources, our Shooting Journal. Over the years, this book has evolved from a short collection of tips and drills to a 200-plus page manual for shooting skills and personal development. The A Girl & A Gun Shooting Journal contains knowledge appropriate for all skill levels. For those new to the shooting arts, this book is a guide for building essential pistol skills and introducing the core values that drive A Girl and A Gun Nation. Experienced shooters gain from the deep dive into curated articles on specific topics and are challenged by more advanced drills. This book has been a vital part of many Chapters’ monthly meetings and used individually for shooters looking to take progressive, logical steps toward achieving personal goals.
Color Tracks – A Roadmap to Growth
Not sure where you are or what to work on next? That is precisely what the Color Track system and the Shooting Journal were created for. A Girl & A Gun utilizes a Color Track System to gauge where an individual is in their shooting journey. This system is based not on years of shooting experience but on the ability to perform technical skills and general firearm knowledge. The Color Track System is laid out like a roadmap listing skill sets that progress from new shooter basic safety knowledge to fundamental pistol skills, holster skills, movement, and finally to tactical or competitive shooting skill sets. Each color in the system represents a phase of learning, encompassing a checklist of topics appropriate to that phase of development.
Ready to level up? Once all elements of the Color Track are skills that a shooter has mastered, it’s time for the Color Track Confirmation Drills. Each drill set was explicitly chosen to apply the skills and techniques attained in the previous color track. Included drills are national standards such as the FBI Qual and the legendary Ken Hackathorn, Hackathorn Standards. Emphasis is placed on safety, technique, and setting a high but attainable standard at each color track level.
12 Months of Training
The journal begins at the logical beginning of a shooter’s range experience – load and make ready and ends twelve chapters later with movement and holster work. The journal is an excellent guide for those with goals to build a thorough shooting and gun handling knowledge base. Each month, or chapter, includes an in-depth article explaining the skill set of focus. To put that knowledge to work, each skill set is accompanied by dry fire and live fire drills for each appropriate color track. This enables beginner, intermediate and advanced shooters to have a training program that fits their needs. These practice routines are paired with an 8.5″ x 11″ custom target designed to go with that month’s drills.
Tracking Your Progress
Goal setting and progress tracking are valuable tools in personal development. The Shooting Journal includes a variety of worksheets and organizers to collect, memorialize and reflect on the journey. The Shooting Journal data forms can look like homework but are far from a chore. With each trip to the range and data logged, these forms are a source of inspiration and motivation and become addicting to use. Use the journal as an annual workbook or dip into it periodically, making notations over time, and see just how far you have come!
It’s More Than Shooting!
Pulling the trigger and achieving extraordinary split times is just one facet of what A Girl & A Gun is all about. Our mantra, “It’s More Than Shooting,” speaks to our commitment to community and developing skills beyond the range to support a safety-first lifestyle. The Shooting Journal dedicates each month to exploring core AG & AG values such as Growth, Adaptable, and Real to inspire members at a personal level for life on the range and beyond. The Shooting Journal includes articles on emergency first aid, pregnancy, gun cleaning, hydration, transportation and storage, and more.
A Girl & A Gun is committed to raising the bar for women in shooting sports. As our organization grows and evolves, expect our Shooting Journal to as well!
The Shooting Journal is available for active A Girl & A Gun Members for FREE download or in-print purchase. Just one of the many perks of being part of the country’s fastest-growing women’s shooting organizations! LEARN MORE
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