Yesterday I was out at KR Training helping with the Basic Pistol 1 and Beyond The Basics: Handgun classes.

A few observations from the classes:

• BP1 was probably the most female-heavy class I’ve participated in. 75% of the class was women, and I think that’s fantastic.
• Most of the BP1 students had never fired a gun in their life, or at most perhaps shot a shotgun or rifle once as a child.
• It’s great to see so many people so willing and so interested in personal protection. It also shows there are still people out in this world that care to take responsibility for themselves.
• But yet while I see an increase in women in beginning classes, I don’t see so many in more advanced classes. For instance, in BtB:H there was only 1 female shooter. Not sure why that is. Intimidation factor? that is, feeling those classes are more “gung ho” and “testosterone oriented” in nature? I mean, you just don’t see a lot of women getting involved in Force-on-Force training, likely because perception is it’ll be some sort of UFC-like beatdown. Sure, sometimes it could be that, but typically it’s not… it’s just a lot of role-playing and isn’t all that physical — more mental than anything. Still, here we are. It’s a curious thing to think about and see how we can get more women involved at higher-levels of training.
• Shooting is always more enjoyable when the weather is awesome. 🙂
• I’m seeing a lot of XD(m)’s now. One guy had one of the new .45 ACP models. M&P’s are popular too, Glock’s are present. Other things are just waning. One guy shot BtB:H with a Kahr, which I thought was pretty cool. If it’s going to be your go-to gun, you should train with it.
• Lots of guys were shooting with the XD gear that comes free with the guns. Admittedly, that gear is better than nothing, and fine for such a class. But yes, you have to move beyond that gear, especially if you’re going to carry. Yes, we have a Comp-Tac bias.
• While BtB:H wasn’t about performing reloads, learning how to reload is an important skill. We teach reloading in other classes, so come on back for that instruction. 🙂
• A few repeat students were back for BtB:H and they shot well. Testimony to Karl’s instruction, and the student’s hard work.

Really, a good day. Good classes. Good students. Good weather. Can’t get much better.