Friendly and Certified Firearms Training for Women Since 2011

Concealed Carry

Review: Liberty’s 50gr Carry Ammo

I asked a couple of our favorite instructors and friends to test out Liberty Ammunition’s Civil Defense and Ultra-Light 9mm +P rounds and give us the down-and-dirty on it. It’s incredibly lightweight, which makes it attractive for EDC, but how does it perform?

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Basics of Marksmanship

Dry Fire Safety

Dry-fire practice is one of the best ways to develop your shooting skills at home on your own time and without the cost of range

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Basics of Marksmanship

Safely Passing the Gun

Becoming ambidextrous is a worthy goal for any serious pistol shooter. Very few people are naturally ambidextrous, meaning they can use both hands equally well.

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Healthy Living

Lead Management Made Easy!

Gun safety is undoubtedly the primary focus of all shooting activities, both on and off the range. However, one element of gun safety that can

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Gun Choices

Red Dot: For the Aging, for the Long-Term, for the Win

Another idea I had to overcome was the idea that students MUST learn to shoot with iron sights first.  But I’ve changed that viewpoint.  I feel it is important to understand how both sighting systems work but if a student wishes to shoot a dot for whatever reason that is their decision.  It is not mine.  Many of my clients are at the point in their life where readers are required and just like me cannot see their front sights.  If a dot makes shooting easier and more enjoyable than I say go for it! As long as they understand that they must still employ proper shooting fundamentals.  For those thinking red dots are a fad; I can say they are here to stay!

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Basics of Marksmanship

Pistol Presentation

We spend a lot of quality time working with newer shooters on the handling and manipulation skills necessary to load, make ready, and shoot safely.

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Learn to Shoot

How to “Press Check”

Treat all guns as if they are loaded. But what if you’re not sure? “Press checks” can confirm or clarify the condition of the firearm

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Basics of Marksmanship

Loading to Capacity

Semiautomatic handguns come in a wide range of single and double-stack magazine capacities. Subcompact single-stack semiautomatics like the GLOCK 43 have a total of 6+1,

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Basics of Marksmanship

Understanding Double Feeds

A malfunction in a semi-automatic handgun can be any stoppage that interrupts the cycle of operation. Stoppages can be caused by operator error, the ammunition

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Guns, Gear, & Ammo

Let’s Compare: Mantis X10 vs Mantis X

I first tried the MantisX Firearms Training System back in 2017 and very much enjoyed it, and encouraged friends to purchase one as well. So, when I had the opportunity to try the Mantis X10 Elite – Shooting Performance System, I was excited to see the changes. And after all, my friends are waiting to hear if they should upgrade.

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Learn to Shoot

Are You Being Profiled?

After a Girl’s Night Out of shooting, AG & AG member Kara was excited to join her chapter members for dinner at a nearby restaurant.  Although Kara concealed her range bags in her vehicle, parked close to the front in a well-lit high-traffic area of the parking lot, and did everything right to prevent the “random” occurrence of parking lot break ins, it still happened. 

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Guns, Gear, & Ammo

Your Feedback Matters: Simulators

Virtual simulators can provide an added value for a range or firearms training environment. Similar to a high-end video gaming system, a simulator can also provide an educational experience for some students. Please give us feedback on your experience using these systems.

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Guns, Gear, & Ammo

Documenting Your Firearms

There are many reasons why asking gun owners to draft a comprehensive list of their possessions strikes fear in their hearts. Not only would their

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Guns, Gear, & Ammo

Minimizing Lead Exposure

Lead enters your body in two ways: ingestion, such as touching your food with your hands containing gunpowder residue; or inhalation if you are shooting

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Being Your Own First Responder

Applying the Tueller Concept

At the 9th Annual A Girl & A Gun National Conference, RISE 2021, instructor Morgan Ballis of Defensive Tactics and Firearms led 48 women through exercises to test Dennis Tueller’s research on the human response time. He set out to test the ability of A Girl & A Gun members to cover 21 feet so that they could relate this information to potential threats. By understanding their own abilities and limitations, the women could determine their own minimum safe distance if faced with a hostile threat. In addition, the women would learn their ability to effectively employ a handgun from a holster while taking into account how quickly a potential threat can reasonably cover an estimated distance. This knowledge would allow them to better articulate their actions if their decisions during a self-defense encounter were ever called into question.

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Basics of Marksmanship

Holstering a Pistol into a Purse

Maintain a proper grip while placing your pistol in a holster within a purse or bag. If holding your pistol carelessly, the middle finger could slide inside of the trigger guard and result in a negligent discharge. By defaulting to a master grip with the trigger finger in a register position and the rest of the fingers around the grip of the pistol, you exhibit control and safety at all times.

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Basics of Marksmanship

Understanding Recoil

With every trigger press, a controlled explosion takes place in the ammunition cartridge. The series of events that propel the bullet out the pistol barrel creates a rearward thrust called recoil. The kinetic energy of this process is transferred from the firearm to the shooter, which is the “felt recoil,” also sometimes referred to as “kick.” Recoil is affected by a number of factors.

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Basics of Marksmanship

Racking Your Pistol Slide

Many women lack the arm and hand strength of men, and this can be very evident at the gun counter. It is not only frustrating for some women, but it can be embarrassing, too. However, knowing the right techniques, women can rack the slides of most guns very easily.

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Being Your Own First Responder

Review: Left of Bang

In Left of Bang, authors Patrick Van Horne and Jason A. Riley outline the principles of the US Marine Corps’ Combat Hunter program. This program gives soldiers a way to identify and communicate pre-incident indicators. Being able to do this before an attack, or left of bang (as pictured on a linear timeline) can mean life or death in combat. While the authors use the context of combat, they do provide civilian examples at times in the book. At several points I noted how observing villagers in Afghanistan isn’t much different from observing people at the local mall. The framework of this program can definitely apply in many different walks of life.

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Basics of Marksmanship

Shooting on the Move

Shoοting while moving is an advanced skill that requires practice and training; however, it is an important skill that most shoοters will want to work on. It is unlikely there would a defensive scenario when you would stand face-to-face with a gunman like a old Western duel. Get off the X! Move! Get to safety as fast as possible. If you’re a competitor, there may be stages when you move then shοot, but there may be some that require shοts while moving, too.

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Basics of Marksmanship

Firing a Shot

Just as any professional basketbaII pIayer spends decades going over the basic mechanics of shοoting a free throw, a gun owner must repeatedly practice these basic mechanics of firing a shοt.

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Basics of Marksmanship

Your Pistol’s Safety Features

Most pistols have safety features to help prevent an accidental or negligent discharge. Some safeties are external and easily seen on the gun, while some are internal safeties that prevent a round from being fired if the gυn is dropped or struck. Early revolvers did not have any safety mechanism, so the hammer rested down on an empty chamber so the handgun would not fire, but most modern double-action revolvers have an internal safety, either a transfer bar or hammer block, to prevent firing without a trigger press.

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