Some video of my girlfriend shooting her new lcp

[Stick]

She's been wanting something to carry for a little while now and decided she liked the lcp and bought one last week.
She had only shot a .22 before this so it was a bit of a surprise to her.
This was her very first shot

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[BillM]

She's doing better than some do with the TOTALLY WORTHLESS sights on the LCP. Hang a Crimson Trace laser on it, you will be amazed at how accurate the little thing can be. My wife tried my LCP, then decided my old Kel-Tec p32 was more to her liking.

 

[B-Towner]

You know, that's great. You two have fun with it.

 

[PhysicsGuy]

She could use a couple improvements in form, but it looks like she likes it!

 

[Stick]

She could use a couple improvements in form, but it looks like she likes it!

feel free to point it out. I wouldn't know what to tell her to do differently
She's only shot a gun a couple times but she seems to be pretty good so far

 

[Gunner69]

Well in the 2nd video she looks down the barrel of a loaded gun with her finger on the trigger twice. That's the first glaring thing.. The LCPs can be kind of a PIA to get a good grip on but she seems to be doing ok in that respect. Try getting her to lean into the target not back as if she is afraid of the recoil, I think she will find it is mor emanageable when the body mechanics are more sound.

 

[rodell]

She needs to stand up straight and not lean back. That's a very bad habit and one I see at the range all the time, particularly among the women.

The best site for reading I've seen for women is Cornered Cat. I use it as a reference when teaching. This is a quote from the opening of that site:

"This site is about women and guns, not about cats. But in a way, it's about the cornered cat in all of us. It's about the determination to get away from an attacker if you need to. It's about making the decision to say, "Not me. Not mine. Not today." And it's about the tools to make that decision stick."

 

[PhysicsGuy]

feel free to point it out. I wouldn't know what to tell her to do differently
She's only shot a gun a couple times but she seems to be pretty good so far

Her body should be straight up, with her shoulders slightly forward, not leaning back. In the second video she seems to have a pretty loose grip with her left hand. She also might benefit from having her grip a little higher up on the pistol, and rotating a little bit so its more in line with her forearm. Also shes a little jerky with the trigger.

With practice and instruction she can gain a little more control of the handgun, and have more confidence.

For free help on the subject, there are tons of youtube videos out there demonstrating proper stance and grip techniques, show them to her, practice them, and see what she prefers.

 

[Stick]

Well in the 2nd video she looks down the barrel of a loaded gun with her finger on the trigger twice. That's the first glaring thing.. The LCPs can be kind of a PIA to get a good grip on but she seems to be doing ok in that respect. Try getting her to lean into the target not back as if she is afraid of the recoil, I think she will find it is mor emanageable when the body mechanics are more sound.

I assure you she never looked down the barrel, she was looking at the side. I can see how it kinda looked that way on the video.
Next time we go out I'll mention the suggestions

 

[hackercat13]

Congrats on getting her to shoot and learn with the LCP. I can't get my Wife to pick up anything more lethal than a bat, but if she was protecting the kids, I'd hate to face her down!

All joking aside, I carry an LCP as my everyday gun, and I love it. She is right though, they bite when you shoot them. It's so lightweight, the recoil is all in your hand. You get used to it.
Good luck!
Chris

 

[Throckmorton]

with a small pistol like that,big targets up close are the way to get hits and gain confidence. I"ve been shooting for years and small guns are for big targets,especailly for beginners.
remind her that if one of her thumbs goes up behind the slide area,it's gonna HURT.

 

[Stick]

with a small pistol like that,big targets up close are the way to get hits andgain confidence. I"ve been shooting for years and small guns are for big targets,especailly for beginners.
remind her that if one of her thumbs goes up behind the slide area,it's gonna HURT.

she found out the hard about where not to put her thumb, i imagine she wont make that mistake again

 

[pioneer461]

Difficult to tell with long hair, was she wearing hearing protection? I love to see smiles on the faces of new shooters.

How about doing her a favor and enroll her in a professional self defense class? Plinking is fun, but if you care about her safety, a professional class is an excellent idea. That way she won't develop bad habits that may be passed on by others. Such as her grip on the pistol. Sign up for a class for both of you and make it a date.

 

[Stick]

Difficult to tell with long hair, was she wearing hearing protection? I love to see smiles on the faces of new shooters.

How about doing her a favor and enroll her in a professional self defense class? Plinking is fun, but if you care about her safety, a professional class is an excellent idea. That way she won't develop bad habits that may be passed on by others. Such as her grip on the pistol. Sign up for a class for both of you and make it a date.

Yea we both had hearing protection. The self defense course is a good idea, i'll look into that

 

[AMT]

I'd suggest taking her shooting often to get her used to anything that she decides on shooting. The self defense class would be a good idea to get her the basics (whatever that may be for her).

I've not had any training. Was up shooting in the sticks and some *wierdo* (for lack fo a better term) tried telling me "according to Massad Ayoob...." (he praised everything about him and worshipped the ground he walked on) and he tried giving me some "pointers" - I wasn't standing correctly, my grip was all wrong, and just about everything else in between. I had set up a target to practice a quick draw and fire. I hit the silouette in the face, forehead (noticing I was going up, I dropped it a bit) and hit it in the throat. The guy proceeded to try and tell me that everything I was doing was wrong... I shook my head and walked away. This was the way I'd been shooting for 30+ years. Was everything that I was doing wrong? Possibly. But I was comfortable and happy (with my accuracy) with it.

Suggestion/point being... go out and go often. Practice, practice, practice. Suggestions of basic stance, grip, etc and let her figure out what is most comfortable for her. And then she'll get good and accurate.

 

[pyromancer]

Suggestion/point being... go out and go often. Practice, practice, practice. Suggestions of basic stance, grip, etc and let her figure out what is most comfortable for her. And then she'll get good and accurate.

+1 In my experience instructing women in how to do something, particularly if you are telling them they are doing something wrong, can lead to failure. Let me have fun and get used to the gun. Give suggestions on what she could possibly do to get better at it, and let her enjoy her self.

My buddy tried to illustrate to my girlfriend how her shotgun stance sucked by loading a slug into the 12g and letting her shoot it. After that she wouldn't touch it for two months. All he accomplished was making it so I have to spend more time with her to dispel her fear of the gun. She really enjoys shooting 9mm though.

 

[twoclones]

She needs to stand up straight and not lean back. That's a very bad habit and one I see at the range all the time, particularly among the women.

Very common problem for new female shooters. I had good luck correcting that by discussing what I was going to do in advance then pushing on their shoulder with the point of my finger when they need correcting. After a couple of times, when I lift my hand they start moving forward.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

feel free to point it out. I wouldn't know what to tell her to do differently
She's only shot a gun a couple times but she seems to be pretty good so far

Have her lean forward a bit, aggressively. Knees slightly bent and springy stance. Also move that target up a LOT closer, and get some realistic Speedwell bad/good guy targets. There will be no bullseye on the street or in a home break in, only an indistinct clothed form coming at her. . She should not be shooing that gun beyond 15 feet IMO until she has a lot of rounds under her belt. I regularly train my lady at point blank range.. 3 feet from muzzle to target, and have her unload it as fast as possible. this is by far the most likely scenario for a gal. After you get her better trained teach her to shoot to the left or right while seated (as in a car-scenario)

Also, (eventually) train her to shoot with one hand/either hand. it's very unlikely that she will have time to use both hands if suddenly attacked on the street. Keep this training close range, maybe 3 to 10 feet at first. This will be the most realistic scenario and it will build confidence, faster

 

[Blitzkrieg]

A few Speedwell targets



These will get her used to the idea of shooting real bad guys, vs a simple bullseye. Be aware that many ranges don't allow these kinds of targets, but you have a shootin spot so it does not matter. I back mine up with large cardboard chunks or old used political type plastic signs

 

[hackercat13]

Man, I'd hate to be the guy in those first 2 photos. Everywhere you go, people are either looking at you funny like you're a criminal, or visualizing you full of holes because they shot you up last weekend!