Defensive Pistol from a Woman's Point of View

[TGO Sandy]

This past weekend I had the pleasure of taking the Defensive Pistol Class with Todd and Dustin at CIS. This was the first time I had taken a class other than my handgun permit class and was anxious to learn more from these guys. My husband gave a great review of the class overall so I'll just add some thoughts from my perspective about the class.

First off, any woman who has taken the time to go through the handgun permit class and carries a firearm or has a firearm in the house needs this class. I did take my permit class from CIS and it was great, but the State requirements limit the amount of additional information they can give in the amount of time provided. The HCP class does not begin to train on you on how to use your weapon to defend yourself.

Range practice is good for improving accuracy and building confidence in handling your weapon but Todd and Dustin illustrate real life situations in which you would need to actually use those skills and show that in self defense situations there is no such thing as a scripted environment.

Just think about your day to day activities and what you would do if you were attacked during them. Pushing groceries out to your car, picking your kids up from the mall, having dinner with friends; all of these circumstances have things you're going to have to address to protect yourself and your loved ones.

With no further training beyond a HCP class you will not know how to handle it. Do not make the mistake of thinking that you are protected if you carry a gun. If you do not have the skills to get to and use your weapon effectively, you might as well leave it at home.

The realities of defending yourself with a gun can be overwhelming but with the insight that Todd and Dustin provide in this class, I feel much more prepared to be able to defend myself and my family.

Overall evaluation:

• The class is physically involved but not overly strenuous. Any woman that is normally active would be able to complete the class without too much difficulty.
  

• Todd and Dustin do an excellent job teaching and demonstrating the skills and how to perform them correctly.
  

• They do not yell, embarass or curse at you. Their only criticisms are constructive so that you and everyone else can learn from mistakes. And you will not be the only one who makes a mistake. Even my husband who has taken the class already made some mistakes. You will not be perfect after this class but you will be better.
  

As far as the actual shooting, there are some things that women can do to overcome some of the drawbacks of being, well, a woman.

1. Wrist Wraps. Grip strength will start to fade after a few hundred rounds and limp-wristing will start to cause malfunctions. I bought a wrist wrap support from Walgreens and it helped tremendously.
   ...
   
2. Blisters from the friction itself could cause a problem. My wrist wrap had a partial glove that covered the palm of my right hand and I used silk medical tape to wrap the parts of my fingers that would be in contact with the grips and that kept my hands protected. Don't feel bad about mummy wrapping your fingers, several of the guys were asking to borrow my tape before the weekend was over.
   ...
   
3. Don't forget your left hand. One thing I wish I had was a glove for my left hand with a non-slip grip. I knew the impact that my right hand would have, but I neglected to think about the fact that my left hand would be slamming magazines into the gun all day and then having to rack the slide. My palm is still sore with a bruise from doing that, but a good work glove like Mechanix would have solved that problem.
   ...
   
4. Speed Loader. A speed loader is essential to reload magazines and is very easy to use. I have a hard time loading even one magazine to full capacity without one but I had no problem reloading all day with this.
   ...
   
5. Good Shoes. Don't underestimate the importance of good shoes. The range is not flat and you will be moving. I had a pair of hiking boots that went over my ankles to give support and stability and that helped a lot.
   ...
   
6. Belt and Holster. You want a holster that you can get the gun in and out of. Try it on. Typical OWB holders tend to angle the gun in towards your body because of the way our hips are built. Guys dont have this problem so you might need a different holster if your using your husbands gun like I did. You will probably be wearing more gear than you ever have before, so a good sturdy belt is essential.
   ...
   
7. Appropriate firearm. Last, but possibly the most important, is to take your time and find a gun that works for you. Your husband's/boyfriend's/whoever's gun is probably not the best gun for you. Having a weapon that works well in your hands will drastically decrease some of the problems mentioned above.
   

For this class however you will want a full size semi-automatic pistol. I personally carry a J-frame revolver, but that is not the appropriate gun for a high round count class like this. Even if it is not the gun that you will be carrying, the principles and skills you will learn in this class are invaluable and will translate to whatever you might choose to carry day to day.

Women, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of training to use your gun to defend yourself. I could not believe it when Todd told me that I was the first woman to go through this class. Their ratio of men to women is about 50-50 in the HCP but none of them have gone the next step.

This is not a manly combat tactical class that is only for guys who want to spend a weekend running around and shooting things. This is a real life class that will prepare you to use your gun to protect yourself and your family in real life situations.

Every skill they teach is backed by an actual story of how it is used in real life situations. Even if you only have a gun in the dresser and do not carry it with you everyday, you must know how to use it or you might as well just throw it in the toolbox with all the other tools that you don't know how to use.

A gun will not protect you. You must have the skills to use the tool or it will not work.

Edited March 24, 2009 by Mrs. Tungsten

[musicman]

Kelley will be reading this soon. Good report, and thank you!

[10Kilr]

Great job! I bet David feels more safe already.

[Guest Bronker]

Great job! I bet David feels more safe already.

I'm not so sure about that...I've often questioned the reasoning I've had about arming and training the woman who occasionally must 'put up with' my little deviations.

I'm already afraid of her as is...

Good review, Tungsten Family.

[TGO David]

A year ago, my rationale was that if I got her involved in shooting she wouldn't mind so much when I wanted to buy new guns. Then she started wanting guns of her own.

[Guest Bronker]

A year ago, my rationale was that if I got her involved in shooting she wouldn't mind so much when I wanted to buy new guns. Then she started wanting guns of her own.

Sleep with one eye open...

I'm just sayin'. If the wife isn't happy...

;-)

I remember you and I talking about this class the other day (David), and I'm convinced that my wife and I will do it together next time around. Will you and the lovely bride be taking the defensive shotgun together? Call me if you decide to! I'll watch his schedule for the next pistol class as well. I'm very interested now!

[Guest Todd@CIS]

Mrs. Tungsten...thank you so much for taking the time to write this.

RE: your point #7. You are correct, this "high volume" class was designed around someone using a service-sized pistol. Although the lessons learned transfer to any SD handgun, we are developing a one-day class specifically for the smaller, concealed carry firearm and its use.

[Guest Todd@CIS]

Sleep with one eye open...

I'm just sayin'. If the wife isn't happy...

David should be scared. I happen to know that he was a victim of domestic violence Saturday evening.

David, just let me know if you need a copy of that report...

[poak]

Does "Mrs. Tungsten" know about "Mrs. TGO David"?

[TGO David]

David should be scared. I happen to know that he was a victim of domestic violence Saturday evening.

David, just let me know if you need a copy of that report...

I've probably got a pretty good case there, don't I? She admitted to hitting me in front of the whole class.

Does "Mrs. Tungsten" know about "Mrs. TGO David"?

See... that's why screen names are dumb.

[creeky]

Does "Mrs. Tungsten" know about "Mrs. TGO David"?

That may be why she hit him! LOL!

[Guest Dustin@CIS]

[Guest Dustin@CIS]

[DWARREN123]

Good read and good info!

[Guest SigGrl]

Excellent review, especially from a woman's point of view. Thanks for sharing all of your information! I'll definitely try to take this class.