Vicki and I have been friends since Girl’s Guide began and I am proud to have had the chance to work with her, via NRA Women’s Network, on this video. There are some pretty incredible people that populate the world of firearms, but I have to say that Vicki is one of the most generous and big-hearted ones you could possibly find. I hope you enjoy this piece as much as we enjoyed making it.

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Kel-Tec P-11 9mm

Each gun, just like any other tool, has a specific implementation and as I am sure you know by now, there is a vast variety of them out there for your shooting pleasure. If you are like me, though, all of those choices can start to get a little overwhelming. But fear not! I have some advice that will aid you in finding the right gun. I will also list a few of my favorite female friendly firearms as well as a few recommended by the readers.

Shopping for a gun, as my friend Gracie from Packing Pretty says, is like shopping for a pair of jeans, new shoes or a new bra. You have to try several to be able to find the right one. Guns are very personal pieces of machinery and you need to be feel comfortable shooting the one you ultimately choose. The primary factors that play in to choosing a firearm to purchase are the following: Purpose, Comfort and Cost.

Purpose

What will your gun be doing? Do you want to use it for concealed carry, home defense, hunting, or just for fun? Many guns can be used for more than one purpose (ie, home defense + hunting, concealed carry + etc), but most of them have a specifically designated purpose.  The more involved you become in the shooting sports, you will inevitably find that you need more than one gun to satisfy all your firearm needs. But dont let that overwhelm you. Start here:

Below is a list of some of the best guns for women as recommended by readers.

Concealed Carry

.380 Caliber:Ruger LCP**, Sig Sauer P238**, Walther PPK, Bersa Thunder, Diamondback DB380, S&W Bodyguard, Sig Sauer P232

Smith & Wesson 642 Revolver

9mm: Kahr CM9 or PM9, Smith & Wesson Shield**, Beretta Nano**, Kel-Tec P-11, Ruger LC9, Ruger SR9C,

.45 Caliber: Springfield XDs**, Glock 21,

Revolver: Smith & Wesson 642**, Taurus M327,

**Voted among the best concealed carry for women in an informal Girl’s Guide Poll

Click here for a more extensive list of common concealed carry firearms for women from the makers of the Flashbang Bra Holster (fyi: there is a photo of the bra holster in use on a live female on this page.)

Home Defense

Many people choose a shotgun for home defense, though others prefer rifles or handguns.

Shotguns: Mossberg 500, Remington 870, Browning Citori 725, Winchester SX3

Hunting

This area is pretty technical and I will let the hunters weigh in on this in the comments below.

Fun/Target shooting (paper, steel, skeet and trap)

All of the above!

Comfort

Grip- This is a major factor that I cannot emphasize strongly enough. The gun should feel comfortable in your hand and equally as important, you need to feel comfortable shooting it. If you aren’t comfortable shooting it, you won’t practice and practice is imperative.

Weight- Train with your prospective gun. Shoot and handle it for at least an hour or two to know whether you like the weight of it.

Control/Snapiness- Can you control the gun effectively when firing it? Can you keep the muzzle from popping upward?

Ruger LCP with a Hogue grip

Training will help quite a bit in this area, but be observant of this factor with every gun you try.

Hogue Grips is a fantastic company that can help you with any issues you may find with the grip of the gun you choose. For instance, many people find the Ruger LCP to be perfect for their conceal carry needs, but a difficult gun to grip.  Hogue has created a customized rubber grip to solve that problem.

Cost

The financial piece is a big one for most of us these days. You want to stay within your budget, of course, but the last thing you want to do is compromise safety by buying an inadequate gun. There are a couple of ways to find a reasonably-priced firearm without putting your safety at risk. Namely, I would check out the USED selection at gun stores, look online, hit up gun shows, auctions, estate and yard sales. Any time you are buying a previously owned firearm, I suggest that you have a friend or relative who is knowledgeable about guns check out the used firearm you are eyeing before you buy.

Here is a short list of reputable online firearm dealers:  GunBroker.com, BudsGunShop.com, GunUp.com

Do not forget to include the price of ammo in your decision. For instance, .22 is a wonderful, inexpensive caliber. I love to practice on paper with a .22, but it does not pack the punch that a .380, 9mm or .45  will. Many people like the 9mm because the ammo is plentiful and less expensive than, say, the .45.

There is so much to know about this subject and we are really just scratching the surface here. Talk to your friends, send me a message here or on facebook or twitter, and definitely ask the people behind the counter at the gun store if you have additional questions. And if the people behind the counter are not cool, find another gun store. There is no need to put up with prejudice or bad customer service.

Now go practice!! Shooting is a perishable skill and it is key that you maintain your ability. I like to take a class at least every 6 months to keep my skills sharp. If you need a group to go shoot with in your area, check out A Girl & A Gun Shooting Clubs around the country.  And if you can’t find one, start your own! Also, find a list of ranges and class providers here.

NOTE: This article is a work in progress. If you would like to see a firearm or section added, please comment below.

The Wedding Dress Moment

When a gal tries on wedding dresses, they’re ALL pretty, and white, and they make you look like a princess. But there’s ONE that causes light to shine down from Heaven and the angels start singing and you know that its THE ONE.
Same thing happens with guns! They’re all kinda cool looking…they go *bang* when you pull the trigger, but every now and then you’ll run across one that makes you shoot straighter and gives you that feeling of an angelic choir in full “Laaaaaa!” When that happens…..GET THAT GUN!!!  - Lisa Looper, creator of the Flashbang Bra Holster

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Watch out Lady GaGa, there are new “Little Monsters,” and they’re all mine!   Yes, I’ve turned my two daughters into little monsters… shooting monsters that is!  Shooting isn’t something that kids do in our neck of the woods. We live in a suburb of New York City, and firearms are, for the most part, a taboo subject.

When my husband and I applied for our pistol permits back in 2008, I think my girls may have been a little freaked out.  In our county, pretty much all you can apply for is a “Sportsman Residence” license which allows you to target shoot, hike and hunt.  CCW’s are rarely granted because the judges who issue them make you prove “need.”  Yes, it’s a violation of my 2nd Amendment Rights, and I am preparing to petition the Judge assigned to my license for conversion to a CCW, but I digress… that will be a whole other blog entry down the road.

Back to my girls! It all started a few years ago when we went with friends up to a cabin in Upstate New York for a day of shooting. My husband, who had shot competitively on the New York State Junior Rifle team when he was young, hadn’t shot in years after losing the end of his trigger finger in a lawn mower accident when he was 14. (Yeah, I know.) My friend’s dad, who owned the cabin, was a World War II hero, Army 82nd Airborne, retired from the Sheriff’s Department, worked for the FBI, Firearm Instructor… I could go on and on about “Pop” but first and foremost, he taught us about firearms and safety that day, and what a blast we all had.  My girls at the time were 10 and 12, and with his guidance, they shot several types and calibers of rifles and revolvers.  It was a great foundation for us all, and the beginning of what has become a passion of mine!

My 14½ year-old daughter had the opportunity to join me at the range when I earned my ProMarksman NRA rating.  School was still in session, but winding down, and she had an afternoon full of nothing at school, so I took her out early, deciding that not every lesson in life was learned in the classroom.

Me and my Browning.

We were joined at the range my buddy Bob, who usually emailed me before heading to the range because he knows I’m not yet comfortable being there by myself.  Bob has lots and lots of “toys” and usually brings quite a nice assortment of firearms for us to “play” with!  I brought along my Browning Buck Mark Camper .22 pistol, and my newly acquired Savage Mark II (NRA limited edition!) .22 rifle that I purchased from the widow of a club member who passed away last year.

This would be Beth’s second time to the range. She participated last Fall in our Club’s annual Turkey Shoot, where she was the hit of the group going from member to member trying out their .22 rifles – seems everybody wanted Beth to try their rifle.

Beth takes aim.

She had a blast, and it was her first time shooting since she was 10. Bob is an excellent instructor and he’s great with kids. He’ll likely head up our newly formed Jr. Club, since we now have “juniors” who are interested!  Beth shot everything from both of my firearms, to a .38 carbine rifle, to a .357 Magnum, (he loaded the first 2 chambers with .38s so she’d get a feel for it, then the rest with .357s, she did great and loved every second.) She spent the next few weeks of school pleading for me to take her out early, so we could go shooting! Yes… Monster #1 created.

Kristen, my 16-year-old, had all her hard classes in the afternoon, so there was no early dismissal for her. She had to wait until school was done and testing was over, but we found an opportunity last week when she had a day free of testing. We’ve tried to take her to the range before, but something always got in the way. When I got a call from another club member, Mike, letting me know he was going down to the range, we loaded the truck and headed out.

I started her on the .22 rifle since Mike was practicing for the upcoming Bulls-Eye shoot from 25 yards.  I figured rifle might be the better option and placed her targets at about 15 yards. She got used to the scope quickly, and had some nice groupings for her first day. (Obviously, she takes after me.) When Mike was done, we moved outside and she played with my Buck Mark a bit.

Kristen's turn.

She couldn’t decide whether she liked the pistol or the rifle better, so she shot both. I didn’t get a lot of practice in, because she was just having too darned much fun! After a while, Mike left and it was just her and me.  She was much more relaxed having just me watching her, and she really began to shine.  I took her in close to the target and showed her some basic tactical shooting… well, clearly this was her favorite, and she did well. Yes, Monster #2… created!

As of Thursday, the girls testing will be finished and another school year will be successfully in the books. This frees us up for a summer at the range, which we’re all looking forward to! Being self employed, I have the flexibility to work when convenient; if it’s a beautiful day, I can up and leave my home office and hit the range for a while. (I call it “group therapy.”) One of these times, we’ll even let my husband play… poor guy is stuck at work all day (hey, somebody has to pay for the new toys, right??!!).

On a serious note, I believe teaching my girls to shoot will be one of the most important things they learn. Besides actual shooting, this sport involves safety, patience, responsibility and self confidence. And lastly, as a mother of two beautiful daughters, I hope that the boys they eventually date have seen their Facebook profile pictures of them shooting big scoped rifles.

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Being pretty new to shooting, I decided a good thing to do would be to go through the NRA Marksmanship ratings, one by one. When one of the guys from the club emailed me to see if I wanted to go shooting Thursday afternoon, I jumped at the chance because I’m not all that comfortable being there alone yet. I let my 14-year-old daughter tag along with me, it would be her first real afternoon at the range.

One of my 10 paper plates, showing my grouping for my Pro-Marksman NRA rating

Geared up with my paper plates and my trusty Buck Mark Camper .22 pistol, I set my table to the required 15 foot mark for my Pro Marksman rating. I needed 10 plates, with 5 shots each, with none closer to the edge than a half-inch. I accomplished this easily and earned my first rating quickly!

One of the other gentleman from my club, whom I hadn’t met before that day, mentioned that I should join them on Sunday for the clubs Bulls-eye Competition Shoot. “Me? Seriously? No, I’m too new at this…” His reply? “You’re a natural, see you Sunday…”

My husband and I went down on Sunday, and they talked me into trying it. Gotta say, I had a lot of fun, and, I did OK, even scoring some 10s! I was the only female there (I think I may be the only female in the club!) and I was the only person not shooting with a Red Dot sight, just me and my Buck Mark’s iron sights. We had to shoot one-handed. I’d never done that before. And the targets? They were 25 yards away– yeah, never done that before either.

I’ll go back and join them again on another Sunday. You have to attend 4 shoots to qualify for the prizes, and while I won’t be winning any prizes, I’ll be ready for the next series of shoots later this year! Now to find time to earn my NRA Marksman rating… that’s my next goal!

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Healthy Vision for a Lifetime of Shooting

For many new female shooters, shooting quickly becomes a favorite hobby, and oftentimes a lifelong sport. In order to be successful and tear up the target, however, shooters rely on crystal clear vision. Here are some things to look out for when it comes to your vision, and ways to ensure that you’ll be seeing clearly and shooting well whether you’re in your 20s, 40s, or beyond.

Healthy vision at any age:

The best way to maintain healthy vision at any age is to get a regular eye exam. Other ways to maintain healthy vision are to eat a balanced diet, refrain from smoking, get lots of exercise, and wear sunglasses.

Anti-Impact Glasses from Packing in Pink

Eye protection is absolutely essential when shooting. Every shooter has different vision needs, and there’s no shortage of choices  in lenses and styles on the market today. Shooting glasses, shooting goggles and safety glasses all have different looks and benefits. Each shooter’s selection depends on their vision needs, age, safety requirements, shooting environment and even the type of gun they’re using.

What to watch out for in your 20s and 30s:

Nearsightedness

The eye’s cornea directs light onto the lens, and the lens focuses the light onto the retina. In an eye with perfect distance vision, the relaxed lens will focus a distant object on the retina. In a nearsighted eye, however, the relaxed lens will focus distant objects somewhere short of the retina. A nearsighted person can usually focus on close objects, but distant objects are fuzzy. Eyeglasses and contact lenses are the most common solutions for nearsightedness.

Farsightedness

In a farsighted eye, the relaxed lens will focus distant objects somewhere beyond the back of the eye. Distant objects will appear fuzzy, and closer objects will be even fuzzier. Eyeglasses and contact lenses are the most common solutions for nearsightedness.

Astigmatism

Astigmatism results when the cornea is not perfectly spherical in shape. The result is a “lopsided,” somewhat cylindrical sphere that does not focus all of the light rays entering the eye onto a single point on the retina. This means that objects at all distances will appear somewhat blurred.  Astigmatism can often occur in conjunction with nearsightedness or farsightedness, but people with perfect distance vision can also have astigmatism. Eyeglasses and contact lenses can correct for astigmatism by focusing light rays on a single plane.

Computer vision syndrome (CVS)

Computer vision syndrome (CVS) may occur from using a computer for long periods of time. To minimize the effects of CVS, make sure the lighting in the room is adequate to avoid glare from the computer screen, and position the screen so that your head is in a comfortable position.

What to watch out for in your 40s and 50s:

As we age, our eyes progressively lose the ability to focus over the full range of vision from far to near. This happens to everyone, regardless of regular distance vision correction, and takes place gradually over time. The cause is presbyopia, a condition in which the eye’s crystalline lens becomes increasingly inflexible.

The eye’s cornea directs light onto the lens, and the lens focuses the light onto the retina. In an eye with perfect distance vision, the relaxed lens will focus a distant object on the retina. When we are young, the lens can change shape (increase curvature) to focus on objects at closer distances. The closer the object, the greater the curvature required. The ability to do this is known as “accommodation.” As we age and the eye’s lens becomes increasingly inflexible, its accommodation declines. Most people first notice a difficulty in adjusting between distances around the age of 45, and by the time they are 65, they will have lost virtually all of their accommodation.

Presbyopia

To overcome presbyopia, many shooters rely on multifocal lenses such as bifocals, trifocals or progressive lenses. Many other shooters switch between multiple pairs of glasses throughout the day. Fortunately in today’s age of modern medicine, there are various ways to overcome presbyopia, such as special adjustable glasses, night vision, scopes and other optical sighting devices.

Glaucoma

While there are several types of glaucoma, the disorder usually occurs from a buildup of internal eye pressure (intraocular pressure or IOP). This increased pressure damages the eye’s optic nerve, disrupting the transmission of visual information to the brain. This disrupt in transmission of visual information can cause a decreased ability to see at the edges of your vision (peripheral vision). Progressive glaucoma can eventually lead to blindness. Glaucoma surgery, lasers, medication and eye drops are the most common solutions for glaucoma, depending on the severity of the disorder.

Cataracts

The eye’s cornea directs light onto the lens, and the lens focuses the light onto the retina. The lens also adjusts the eye’s focus, letting us see things clearly both up close and far away. A cataract is a clouding of the eye’s lens. Cataracts occur when the protein in the eye’s lens clumps together to cloud a small area. Cataracts can grow larger over time and cloud more of the lens, making it harder to see. Cataract surgery, bifocals, magnification and other visual aids are the most common solutions for glaucoma, depending on their severity.

Macular Degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration, also known as AMD or ARMD, is the degeneration of the macula, which is the part of the retina responsible for the sharp, central vision needed to read or drive. Macular degeneration can be either dry (non-neovascular) or wet (neovascular). Neovascular macular degeneration refers to the growth of new blood vessels where they are not supposed to be. The dry form is more common than the wet form, and the wet form usually leads to more serious vision loss. While there is no cure for age-related macular degeneration, there are treatments to delay its progression. By looking out for these vision conditions and protecting your eyes, you’ll be seeing clearly and shooting well at any age.

About the Author

Caitlin is a shooter who works with Superfocus, the makers of an adjustable focus lens for presbyopia that is popular amongst shooters. She is also a member of Steve’s Angels, the moderators of the Superfocus Staying on Target community for shooters overcoming age related vision changes. The Staying on Target community and OnTarget blog provides information and commentary on shooting, aging and vision and is located online at https://shoot.superfocus.com/.

@SuperfocusShoot

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These two 14k gold vermeil necklaces are the first Girl’s Guide to Guns-inspired creations in my jewelry line. You can purchase them at my Etsy store here:

The Sig Necklace

https://www.etsy.com/listing/64566169/sig-necklace

The Glock Necklace

https://www.etsy.com/listing/74253688/the-gold-gun-necklace-as-seen-on-whitney

Both necklaces are also available in silver.

Use the code GIRLSGUIDE for *Free Shipping!*

If you’ve got suggestions for future pieces, let me know: Natalie{at}girlsguidetoguns.com

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My adventure started when the fabulous Tracey Splechter from Outdoor Connection contacted me with interest in learning more about GG2G and to tell us about her company.  She thought, rightly so, that rather than simply having phone conversations, an actual hunting experience would be best. Lucky for me I would be going with 5 other women — honestly, other than going with my dad or brother, this was the best way for me to jump in! What kind of hunt would I be going on? A wild hog hunt!

Er. Not quite.

It was going to be a weekend experience Gray Ranch in Oklahoma — just a few short hours from my home state of Texas. And I was nervous. Not about the hunting part, but more about the going hunting with 5 experienced women part. Yes, it was like making friends in grade-school all over again — Would I look too much like a city girl? Would my gear work for the job? Would they like me? Would I be the only one who didn’t take a hog?!

What I found were 5 incredible women who I now call friends and with whom I absolutely hope to hunt again. And it was a lot like summer camp — just with guns and hunting and some beer and wine thrown in for good measure (after the firearms were safely put away, of course)! Two are from Prois Hunting Apparel — Kirstie Pike, the founder, and Katherine Browne, her awesome colleague. They kindly provided me with some Prois gear for the weekend and let me tell you — it was fantastic (I’ll have a review soon). Ladies, if you need camo that’s made for women by women, definitely keep Prois on your shopping list. Another fabulous female huntress who was with us — Mia Anstine — runs Wolf Creek Outfitters with her husband as well as keeps her fans informed with her personal blog, My Many Outdoor Adventures. Oh, and she’s hilarious. Hearing her stories of her pet turkey, Tom, kept us laughing at all hours. And finally Tracey — the woman who put it all together — and her sister. OK, I did learn that her sister was somewhat of a newbie like me, but still, she had done this at least one more time than I!

Fortunately, despite my anxiety about hunting, Tracey kindly accompanied me to our stand on the first night and after sharing stories and giggling for a couple hours, she actually spotted a group of hogs coming our way!

Since it was my first hunt, Tracey also let me take the first shot. OK, actually she had to walk me through it a little bit so I wouldn’t freak out. Here’s the thing: I don’t take this “killing a living creature” thing lightly and I wanted to ensure that I had a humane kill. I also wanted to get one that would provide me with good meat to eat. I only support hunting for sustenance and fortunately the majority of hunters are the same way.

In any case, I lined up my shot, took a deep breath, and after I had let all the air out squeezed the trigger and BAM… I got one! Although I was shaking from all the adrenaline and freaked out because the hog I got ran for about 5 seconds before toppling over, I was also happy to have gotten one! My first hunt ever I got a hog on the first night!

When the guides came by to pick us up just after nightfall, we brought the hog (which turned out to be a boar) back with us and the guys weighed it and field dressed it.  And they also soon told me it was, in fact, a humane kill.  Whew!

Posing with my 118 pound boar!

Although I realize that field dressing is something I’ll eventually have to learn, I left it to the experts this time.

The rest of the weekend was, in a word, fabulous. I immediately felt like “one of the huntresses” with my very own hunting success story and despite the 4:30am alarm clock looming above us the next morning, we happily ate, drank, and told stories late into the night. The next day Katherine, who I’ve decided is my sister from another mister and one of the first women I will call when the zombie apocalypse happen, and I got to do a little horseback riding with the guides. We were officially just riding unofficially in search for hogs, but we only saw traces of them. Oh well, we both had a blast and looked awesome while doing it.

Katherine geared up for some hogs complete with rifle, sidearm and knife.

Although only Kirstie also ended up getting a hog, I think we were all happy by the time Sunday afternoon hit and we were all packing up.

Posing with all the ladies. Yes, I'm the giant among them all.

———————-

So ladies, if you’re interested in trying out hunting for the first time — definitely consider an all female hunt. And check out Outdoor Connection (www.outdoor-connection.com)– they can pretty much arrange for the hunting or fishing trip of your dreams, as they have trips literally all over the world. And since one of the top folks there is a woman, you know you’ll be getting something that’s female arranged & approved on many levels.

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Karen and Jessica of WTA with Natalie and Katie of GG2G

Natalie Foster: Karen, I’ve been looking pretty hard and I can’t seem to find a solid definition for “tactics”. How would you define it for someone who knows nothing about tactical training?

Karen Bartuch: Funny, I’ve recently looked it up because I say it so much that it somehow loses it’s meaning or I just take it for granted.  The source I found said “tactics” is defined as, “small scale actions serving a larger purpose”. So it’s smaller parts and smaller strategies that work on the big picture. You’re doing little team movements, room clearing and that kind of thing to see if there’s a hostage inside- it’s a hard word to describe. I see it like plays if you were on a football team or basketball team. It’s different plays that you practice as a team. You can call different plays; for instance, you have a hostage rescue play, you have a close quarters battle play, it’s just different plays that you practice as a team that you call out based on what the circumstances call for.  It’s not necessarily rehearsing, it’s more like you can read a situation and adapt properly. And you know your team well enough that you know what the one person’s gonna do and how you should react. You really need to trust your team members, too, because if you’re turning your back you need to know that your team member has your back in the opposite direction. It’s a hard word to define. It’s like “Leadership”. Everyone knows what it means but if you ask someone to define it, they’d probably have a difficult time with it.

NF: Talk a little bit about your personal history- your background.

KB: I went to Northwestern for my undergrad and out of college I had a couple of different sales jobs and I wasn’t too happy in Corporate America. My brother was a police officer and he loved going to work every day. He loved working out, he loved shooting and I thought, “That’s what I want.” I wanted to wake up and want to go to work every day. I was into fitness myself and I had gone shooting a couple of times and I thought the police would be a good thing for me. I wanted to do something where I actually felt like I was making a difference and selling pharmaceuticals or payroll and taxes really wasn’t making that difference for me. So I took the police test in 2001 and came on in 2002 and I’ve been there ever since.

NF: How many women are on the Chicago PD with you?

KB: There is about 3,200 of about 12,000. We’re almost one quarter female.

Karen (left) participating in handgun drills with WTA members.

NF: At some point in there you started the Women’s Tactical Association. How did that happen? Tell me about it’s birth.

KB: It was a culmination of a couple of different things. I had started to go to training on my own. I wanted to be a better shooter and I knew we were going to the Glock system and I wanted to transition from my current weapon, which at the time was a Sig, so I started going to classes. I’d look around the room and I would be the only female in the class or one of two girls along with 50 guys. That was one reason. I was also starting to put together training for our SWAT team while I was working for the Superintendent.  A lot of the training I was putting together really appealed to me. I thought, “I want to go repelling, I want to go shoot rifles.” I wanted to go do all the things I was sending them to do, so that was another reason. The final thing was that I was actually involved with a shooting on the job. The guy ran from the police and shot at two of our officers and he holed himself up in the basement of a large apartment building. He just had pockets full of ammo and he just kept reloading mags and he kept shooting at the police. I found myself in this situation and I really didn’t know the best way to handle it.  I think Chicago Police Officers are good in that we are aggressive and we want to go after the bad guy and run right up to him. But in that situation, that wasn’t necessarily the best course of action. Had it not been for the guys on SWAT who showed up I think a lot of us would have ended up getting hurt because we wanted to run straight to where the shots were being fired, which is good on one hand but in that situation it was just not the right thing to do. A Sergeant from the SWAT team showed up and he had former military experience and the way he took control of that scene and all 50+ officers that were there – I said to myself. “This is what I want to do. I want to be able to get on scene and know exactly what I should be doing and make sure that I’m safe and everyone around me is safe.” So after that I called a meeting. I gathered a group together and created this organization, The Women’s Tactical Association. My Sergeant said, “You’ll be lucky if you have five people that show up,” and we had 30 women show up at the first meeting.  Ever since then we knew we were on to something and we’ve had meetings and training since then.

NF: How long ago was that?

KB: That was June 25, 2009, the WTA Birthday.

NF: How many members do you have?

KB: Right now we have over 500.

NF: And who can join?

KB: Actually, this year we did do a civilian membership. Prior to that it was just law enforcement and military. But we do have a lot of civilians that want to train and they should be able to protect themselves as well, which is why we opened it up to them this year.

NF: Is it just for women or is it a male and female thing?

KB: Oh we’re definitely open to male members. We actually have quite a few. Probably because our training is the cheapest out there. A lot of it’s free and it’s really some of the best training that’s available. That was one of the things we wanted to do – keep the training affordable. I mean you could mortgage your house going to some of this training and the cost of ammo certainly doesn’t help, and you’re taking time off of work. We like to keep the prices down low. Of course, I’d rather be spending the weekend with my family, but for my job I know I have to keep up with what I’m doing. Shooting is a perishable skill. If you don’t do it every week or month or however often you need to do it, that skill is going to go away and when you need it, it’s not going to be there. We like to get your heart rate up, stress you out a little bit, maybe throw a flash-bang in so that you’ll be prepared for shooting under pressure.

NF: Tell me about the training. What kind of classes do you offer?

KB: We have four tenets that we adhere to. We focus on fitness, firearms, tactics and combat mindset. We have firearms training regularly. We have open range dates throughout the month where we do pistol or rifle. We also do various specialized classes – shooting is probably the main thing that we do.  I would say that tactics is the next biggest thing that we try to do a lot of – close quarters battle, hostage rescue, room entry, ballistics shield – we try to do one of those at least one to two times a month. We also have some classes that you may not find anywhere else.  For example,  in June we’re having a lock-picking class. We’re going to learn about pad locks, door locks, safes. It’s going to be a lot of fun.  With the fitness part, we have a lot of gals who teach martial arts or crossfit so we offer boot camp classes on Sundays at our Police Academy for anyone who wants to come and train. It’s a really good workout. It’s about an hour and a half long – it’s kind of a kick-your-butt cardio class with some good tactics in there, like hand-to-hand combat. I like to call it self-offense rather than self-defense because we’re not gonna wait for someone to come after us. We’re gonna be the ones that strike first. In some situations it’s ok to be the person to hit first. You can tell when someone’s going to attack you. We do a system that is a form of Wing Chun Kung Fu. We’ve adopted this system because it doesn’t really matter how big you are or how strong you are, this stuff just works. I’ve used it, we have other girls who have used it on the streets and it just works. You don’t have to be the biggest guy, you don’t have to have tons of muscle – it’s all skeletal, so if you can know how to do it properly, it just works.

WTA Hand to Hand Combat Course

NF: Where do you see the WTA going? Where is it headed?

KB: One of the goals for this year was to grow the membership. We had a great offer from 5.11 where you got the knife, a hat and a coupon. That drew a lot more members. Hopefully it’s also because we’ve gotten the word out. People now realize we’re not going anywhere. Another goal is to get many of our members trained up as instructors. Especially in firearms. We did an internal poll and what we found is that females want to be instructed by other females. Especially when it comes to firearms. When I was training we had some instructors that made firearms just an unpleasant thing. After we left the academy I was happy to never go back to the range again just because of the way the training was.  It’s a totally different mindset now. We love shooting. Another thing we’ve been getting into is product development – just kind of by accident. We had a product development meeting with 5.11 out at their headquarters in Modesto, CA, and talked with them about some improvements that could be made on their current products. They were great; they really listened. They put out a great spring catalog with a lot more women’s products. We’re actually in it, too. Their tactical pants are great. They used to be very high waisted, but they’re great now. We asked them to lower it because, of course, part of the reason is aesthetics, but if you’re wearing those all day it’s not comfortable. And if you have to unholster, you’re weapon’s not really in a good position because your arm has to be bent up high to get your weapon out of its holster. It really came down to function and they listen. They have a great Women’s Tac Lite pant that we love.  We have some other stuff on the horizon like a resources page and a recommended reading list and book discussion group. We’re following the Marine Corps model as far as that goes. We really want to change the mindset not just of females but of everyone. You don’t necessarily have to want to be on SWAT, but if you work in a city like Chicago, no matter where you go you’re gonna need some tactics whether you like it or not.

NF:You think it is important for even the casual shooter to get out there and do?

KB:Sure, why not? Anyone can come home to find that someone’s broken in to your home. If you want to learn how to protect yourself then I’d say that tactics is definitely something you’d want to entertain.

NF: You know, when I’ve done it I walk away thinking, “This is just so fun!” And it’s a great work out in itself. You feel so accomplished at the end of the day. You know you’ve gained so much knowledge and skill – but again, you do have to keep it up.

KB: Oh yeah, definitely. I’m reading Dave Grossman’s book on combat and that’s what he says. You’ve got to keep up the training because once your mid-brain takes over you forget pretty much everything you’ve learned. It’s gonna be pretty much all muscle memory. So if you haven’t gone there before physically, you’re not gonna be able to do it when it all hits the fan.

NF: How often do you use your tactical training?

KB: As a police officer, every single day. I’ve switched jobs from working in the Superintendent’s office to Intelligence, where I used it every day because we served a lot of search warrants, and now I’m back on patrol. I’m by myself in a car and every day I get calls – someone inside an abandoned building, burglaries – I use it all the time.

Room clearing.

NF: Wow, so you didn’t really have those tactical resources available to you, so you went out and sought it.

KB: Well, they would offer things sporadically every now and then at the department but nothing on a regular basis. And really, I had no idea that this whole tactical community existed. Once I broke into that and found other like-minded people it was just amazing.

NF: I know you are based in Chicago and that’s where you hold all your training, but do you plan on expanding your training to any other cities? Specifically, and selfishly, Los Angeles, of course?

KB: Just pick out a range and we’ll come out there. Yeah, we get a lot of requests especially from Seattle, Washington. We’ve been getting requests to come out there. There are some gals up there who actually want to start their own chapter. I think that’s something we definitely need to get together. One thing I’d like to do is put together a packet on how you can start a chapter or your own group within your own town. I would love to be everywhere all at once but this is a full time job on top of my other full time job. It doesn’t take much and if we could support them somehow from Chicago then we certainly would. I would love to travel all around the country and train people.  It’s a blast. It’s hard work, but it’s a blast and it’s so needed.

NF: This has been so interesting, Karen. Thank you so much for your time. Any final thoughts?

KB: I just think it’s important to be doing this and that we change minds, both in men and women. We love what you are doing, too. We’re making history here! And no matter who pulls the trigger, the effect is the same.

Here’s to our friend Karen! She’s the modern day Joan of Arc, without question. And a special high-five goes out to all of the wonderful and brave ladies over at WTA. We look forward to great things from you!  We’d especially like to thank our fantastic mutual friend and very favorite novelist, Brad Thor, for the introduction. You were completely right.  -nf

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I wasn’t quite sure where to start on my quest for my first concealed carry handgun, so I headed down to the range and chatted with the guys there about some solid recommendations.

As we’ve mentioned before in our posts, it is critical to try out a gun before you buy it. No one can do it for you. This is a very personal experience and only you can know which one fits you best. If you take the time to do it right, your weapon will be the  firearms equivalent of your favorite pair of jeans: cute, comfy, and reliable. That said, here is my list of a few choices to get you headed in the right direction. If you don’t see your fave on the list, leave it in the comments section below.

Kahr PM 9mm

Kahr PM9

Suggested Retail: $786.00

Caliber: 9mm
Capacity: 6+1, 7+1 (magazine with grip extension)
Operation: Trigger cocking DAO; lock breech; “Browning – type” recoil lug; passive striker block; no magazine disconnect
Barrel: 3.0″, polygonal rifling; 1 – 10 right-hand twist
Length O/A: 5.3″
Height: 4.0″
Slide Width: .90″
Weight: Pistol 14 ounces, Magazine 1.9 ounces
Grips: Textured polymer
Sights: Drift adjustable, white bar-dot combat sights
Finish: Black polymer frame, matte stainless steel slide
Magazines: 1 each: 6 rd flush floorplate & 7 rd extended grip

Glock 19 9mm

Glock 19 (Laser not included. I just thought it looked cool.)

Suggested Retail: $511.00

HK P2000 SK 9mm

HK P2000SK

Suggested Retail: $797

Seecamp .32 caliber

Seecamp .32

Suggested Retail: $446.25

More information available here: https://www.seecamp.com/

Sig Sauer P238  .380

Sig P238

Suggested Retail: $693

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