Teaching Women To Shoot

I love to read and have a shelf full of firearms books that I can hardly wait to read along with some instructional DVDs.  I’m always on the lookout for more knowledge.  A book I recently finished and highly recommend is “Teaching Women To Shoot” by Vicki Farnam & Diane Nicholl.  It’s a quick read with 111 pages and full of excellent information.  Vicki Farnam and her husband John have a firearms training business called Defensive Training International (DTI).  I am taking their 2 day “Instructor” class in a few weeks.

This book provides one with a breakdown of the differences between men & women – not just the physical differences but the differences in the way our brains work.  This book, I believe was intended for the male firearms instructor to help him understand and teach a female student.  It explains in detail the issues ladies typically have shooting due to our small hands and grip strength.  Finding a pistol that fits our hands and have the ability to shoot accurately can be difficult and Vicki offers many suggestions.  She gives you verbal skill tips on how to explain the fundamentals and especially how to explain obtaining a good sight picture and sight alignment.  Additionally there are many illustrations that demonstrate the differences in the male/female shooter in relation to equipment and pistol fit. 

I really liked the exercise she has male instructors do in her class on how to Teach Female Students. She places some sponges around the pistol handles and then hangs a bag of ammunition on the pistol. The male instructors hold the pistol at eye level for a few minutes and shoot several rounds.   This exercise allows men to experience what many ladies feel when they try to keep their pistol at eye level even for short periods of time and provides them with an appreciation of how important it is for the pistol to fit their hands.

This book is an excellent resource for a male firearms instructor wishing to improve his teaching skills for female students.  I think it’s also an excellent read for any of our lady shooters out there who would like to understand why pistol fit and caliber choice can be so important for accuracy and long term enjoyment of shooting.  It provides wonderful “whys” to the fundamentals and helpful tips with verbal skills and motivation. It’s direct, informative and worth your time.☺