NRA Basic Pistol Class

[BillK01]

Took my wife to the NRA Basic Pistol Class yesterday.

Other than making for a long day (8am to about 4pm) - we had a great time and she did really well! I'd highly recommend it - even though I already knew just about everything they covered it was still good to go over a few things. Hate admit it - but she actually shot better than I did! The instructors there told me it's a pretty common occurrence when spouses take the class together for the wive's to outshoot the husbands. :)

Here's a pic of her shooting my Sig P225 (and my Shield on the bench looking on...)

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Mike1956]

I'm glad you all had a good time, but I'm curious...the instructor didn't mention her stance?

[BillK01]

She was leaning back too much - but I stayed out of it.

I believe he mentioned it later - however - they did "ok" the one leg slightly forward position and it seemed every woman in attendance did that for whatever reason. There were actually 7 women (several by themselves) in attendance out of 16 total attendees.

Is there something else you're seeing that is out of whack?

[Mike1956]

She was leaning back too much - but I stayed out of it.

I believe he mentioned it later - however - they did "ok" the one leg slightly forward position and it seemed every woman in attendance did that for whatever reason. There were actually 7 women (several by themselves) in attendance out of 16 total attendees.

Is there something else you're seeing that is out of whack?

The lean-back was what grabbed my attention. Thanks.

[Hoganbeg]

It's good to see more women getting involved. I'm told they learn faster and out shoot us because they don't have to unlearn bad habits and they take instruction better.

Leaning back is a natural compensation for the shift of one's center of gravity due to holding a weight out away from one's body. It seems to be prevalent with women due to them having less upper body strength. At least that's my analysis. It's really noticeable with long-arms!

[Mike1956]

Leaning back is a natural compensation for the shift of one's center of gravity due to holding a weight out away from ones body. It seems to be prevalent with women due to them having less upper body strength. At least that's my analysis. You really notice it with longarms!

It also makes for a very unstable, unbalanced shooting stance.

[Exacto]

I'm glad you all had a good time, but I'm curious...the instructor didn't mention her stance?

The NRA basic pistol class is more about safety, pistol parts and their function, different action types,how to safeely load and unload all action types and the shooting fundamentals. Generally the instructors look for safe gun handling an other safety issues more than perfect stance. The more advanced classes will teach that. Just hit the paper plate.

[Mike1956]

The NRA basic pistol class is more about safety, pistol parts and their function, different action types,how to safeely load and unload all action types and the shooting fundamentals. Generally the instructors look for safe gun handling an other safety issues more than perfect stance. The more advanced classes will teach that. Just hit the paper plate.

I teach, among other things, the NRA Basic Pistol class and rest assured, I focus quite closely on a balanced, stable stance.

[Coltman 77]

Kudos to you and especially your wife for taking the class Bill.

Well done.

My wife(an experienced shooter) helped in an NRA "Women On Target" program some years ago at our gun club.

30 ladies who'd never fired a handgun before, got classroom time and plenty of range time with an individual instructor for each shooter.

The guns and all ammo were provided free of charge by the NRA.

At the end of the day, 30 educated, happy new shooters left our club.

Great program. The NRA is an excellent organization.

[Exacto]

I teach, among other things, the NRA Basic Pistol class and rest assured, I focus quite closely on a balanced, stable stance.

I'm not saying they don't care about a good stance, just that with so many things for that new shooter to absorb, he knows the stance will evolve with the taking of more classes.

[Mike1956]

I'm not saying they don't care about a good stance, just that with so many things for that new shooter to absorb, he knows the stance will evolve with the taking of more classes.

A lot of them care about the hundred bucks, and not much else. There, I said it.

[Exacto]

A lot of them care about the hundred bucks, and not much else. There, I said it.

You could be right about that, but in my experience all the ones I know go way above and beyond what's expected. I even know one that provides the guns and ammo of all different calibers free of charge so they can try a variety of guns. 6 hours in the clasroom and two hours on the range. everybody shoots until they have had enough, and all for 50 bucks. and provides food and drink.

[Mike1956]

You could be right about that, but in my experience all the ones I know go way above and beyond what's expected. I even know one that provides the guns and ammo of all different calibers free of charge so they can try a variety of guns. ^6 hours in the clasroom and two hours on the range. every body shoots until they have had enough, and all for 50 bucks. and provides food and drink.

I know some very good ones, as well. That didn't shine through so well on my previous post. I used to provide lots of stuff, cheap, in my classes, until I figured out that I was offering exactly what many other instructors were offering in my area, only cheaper. Each student fires a minimum of 300 rounds, so even if they use my guns, they furnish their own ammo. We break for an hour at lunch, and everyone is on their own.

[WarMachine]

One day I'm going to take steps to become an instructor. It's good to see more women getting involved in guns. My wife and I renew our CHL's this year. I can't wait.

[mditurno]

I am an instructor as well ... I also repeat the steps of assuming the 'proper' shooting stance over and over as well as demonstrate several times in class and at the range. The thing to keep in mind is that there are always people in this class who have never shot before so it is a matter of building a solid foundation for future practice. That said, at the end of the day my number one priority is gaining comfort with the fact that each student can safely handle a handgun with consistency. The key is slow and thoughtful practice.

Congratulations on the class!

Mike