Spice and Salty talk about women and firearms again in this girls with guns multi-part series, about the do’s and don’ts from a woman’s (Spice) perspective with tips, tricks and advice about gun selection for her, and helping a woman who isn’t already a gun person become comfortable with shooting them.
What’s not to like about Girls With Guns?
Spice’s hand doesn’t reach comfortably with the finger extended in the normal “safe ready” position, so she wraps the finger behind the trigger. Instructors may cringe, but it is SAFE and comfortable.
Note how spice is holding the Tavor X95 in the picture? It’s “non-standard” because instead of having her finger out running down the outside of the trigger, her whole hand is wrapped around the grip (behind the trigger, where it is perfectly safe).
Why? She has tiny hands, and this is a safer way to hold a gun for her than trying to put her finger in a location where it does not fit (and risk slipping). These are the kinds of things that small women have to make adjustments for when using firearms.
Female shooters have specific needs and requirements, and we talk about that in the podcast.
Alana likes my Glock 17, but she shoots a Ruger personally…
An example of understanding girls with guns the 3BY way
Spice finds the AR-15 to be much more “front heavy” which strains her arms over time, and causes her to be less accurate. However, even though the Tavor X95 is a bulkier and slightly heavier gun than her AR-15’s were by nearly a full pound, she finds that the weight balances abaft the trigger on the X95 as opposed to well out over the forehand grip on the AR-15.
This and other observations abound in girls with guns part 2.
Part 2 was even better. Perhaps my wife has such lukewarm interest in self defense because I have been her only instructor.
I know that I have to back off on things and just let her do it… with firearms, it’s hard because of the obvious need for safety first and foremost and you just can’t scrimp on safety.
I don’t know if you are in a situation where you have good friendly family-owned local gun shops, but I know where I am my favorite LGS is owned by a husband and wife team and run by family… the wife (a 30-something mom) holds “girls nights” at their shop-owned range and it’s quite successful, safe and zero stress.
Perhaps something like that is available in your area?