Larry J. Nichols
As instructors, it’s important to understand the substantial differences in how males and females think and process information.
Years ago, I was commissioned to instruct actress Debbie Reynolds (1932-2016) on how to handle and fire a Smith & Wesson® Model 15 revolver for a movie she would be starring in as a policewoman. Later, I also taught actress Lucy Liu how to handle and fire an H&K MP5 submachine gun for an action movie in which she would be starring. My primary job was to teach them how to properly handle their prop and skillfully move while firing. My main goal was to make them look professional and great on film. That was the easy part; they would be shooting blanks, so it did not matter if they could hit what they were shooting at or not. And, of course, I had a great time working with these delightful ladies. Unlike Hollywood’s movie stars, our female officers will need to be taught not only proper safe gun handling and tactical movement, they will also need to be taught the eight fundamentals of marksmanship. After all, they will be shooting real guns loaded with deadly ammunition and they will need to know how to hit whatever they shoot at within a timely manner.
Teaching the Female Mind
As we all know (or should know), males and females are different in mind and body and, as law enforcement firearms instructors, we must teach our students’ minds and bodies. The order in which we teach the necessary physical and mental subjects to women must make sense and have a natural progression. When teaching females, and some males, they want to know what it is, what does it do, and why they need to know what it does. Most females are not mechanically inclined, as well as some males. Now, before I get too involved with this subject, we all must have some basic understanding of the difference between the male brain and the female brain. Women are smart and they generally learn very quickly. Once they can mentally see and recognize the order in which essential steps must be taken, they then understand why they must do them in a particular fashion. As instructors, we must realize just how much difference there is between the male and female brain.
Males and females have two brains, a left and a right, with tethers connecting the two. The female brain is designed with several more connectors than the male brain, allowing females to handle some specific tasks more easily and have difficulty with others. Because of the added connectors in the female brain, most females are better at multitasking than males. Everything a woman sees and hears reaches her brain through an emotional filter. Her emotional filter can have a positive, or a not so positive, effect on her reaction to what you say and how you say it. Therefore, what you say to her and how you say it will have either positive or negative consequences to what you are trying to teach her. Women are more responsive than males to the manner and pitch of our voice, as well as our facial expressions when we are speaking to them.
The male brain is organized in such a way that it gives men an edge in dealing with mechanical devices such as firearms. Overall, men have a greater desire for knowledge and skill at managing and mastering the mechanical world – more so than women do. When a man picks up a firearm, he does not hesitate trying to figure out how it works. A woman will usually want to know what each button or lever does before she attempts to handle the gun. Woman want to feel comfortable with a new firearm before they handle it. She will need to understand how it functions and how to properly maintain the gun before attempting to shoot it. Women are very methodical when executing newly learned physical skills and when expressing themselves to another person.
Firearms Safety
Firearms safety and range safety rules are always first and foremost. Take the time to demonstrate and explain all of the safety procedures and why everyone needs to comply with all of them 100 percent of the time. Everyone must realize there are no safe guns, only safe or unsafe people: People make guns dangerous. In reality, there is no such instance as an “accident”; there is only negligence. Someone’s negligence is the actual cause of so-called accidents.
The topics and subtopics which should be demonstrated and explained by the instructor as to why the safety rules must be complied with 100 percent of the time are as follows: (1) safe and proper gun handling procedures; (2) range safety rules; (3) safety rules while on duty; and (4) safety rules at home.
Becoming Friends with Her Firearm
It will be advantageous for the instructor to take the necessary time to educate the female officer all about her new friend. The instructor should start with the make, model and action type. He should also clarify the caliber and the proper nomenclature and function of all the external parts of the firearm she will be using. A demonstration of how to fieldstrip the firearm; pointing out all of the safety features designed into it; explaining in detail how they work; and why she needs to know that information will ease the nervousness associated with handling a firearm. Enlightening students about ammunition; its combined parts (bullet, case, powder, primer); how they relate to each other; and what each part does will also assist with putting the student at ease. Providing an in-depth presentation on the cycle of operation of her firearm will help her understand how this mysterious mechanism functions. The cycle of operation of semiautomatic pistols is feed, chamber, lock, fire, unlock, extract, eject, and recocking the firing system.
Teaching the Female Body
When teaching the physical components of marksmanship, the instructor must be detailed, organized and patient when demonstrating the elements of shooting. Do not forget to tell your student WHY she must perform each element as instructed. Depending on the organization or the instructor, there are five or more fundamentals of marksmanship. I teach eight – stance, grip, sight alignment, sight picture, natural wobble area, trigger press, breathing, and follow-through.
- Shooting Stance: A position which affords the shooter balance, upper body stability and immediate fluid movement when necessary. When instructing your female officer in the preferred shooting stance, be detailed with your description, your demonstration and your reasons why. I always start with positioning the feet, the knees, hips, back, shoulders, head, and then the arms.
- The Firing Grip: The most important feature of the firing grip is uniformity. The firing grip must be the same on the firearm every time you fire. The firing grip must be forceful, with both hands applying equal pressure, not allowing the handgun to slip in the hands during recoil, and not interfering with the independent movement of the trigger finger. A strong firing grip is critical to ensure the proper functioning of the semiautomatic pistol. Without a solid grip on the pistol frame and locking of the wrist, the shooter may induce a stoppage in the pistol. No matter what gripping technique you are teaching, the proper placement of the shooter’s thumbs and fingers on the firearm are important. Again, the instructor must be detailed with his/her description and his/her demonstration, along with the reasons why. I normally begin this block of instruction by having my student watch me place my training handgun in my dominant hand, as high as the design of the pistol will allow. I demonstrate and explain the placement of the dominant thumb, trigger finger, middle finger, ring finger, and the little finger. Next, I demonstrate and explain the placement of the support hands, thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger and little finger. The heels of both hands should be touching with both hands applying a forceful grip on the pistol and the shooter’s body from the diaphragm up pressing slightly into the handgun. The importance of a rock-solid firing grip being applied on the pistol cannot be overemphasized.
- Sight Alignment: Accurate sight alignment is defined as “the top edge of the front sight level with the top edge of the rear sight, with an equal amount of light on both sides of the front sight, as it appears in the notch of the rear sight. Eyes must be focused directly on the front sight, with the rear sight a blur, and the target not in focus at all.” Error in sight alignment is the #2 shooter obstacle and the second element most likely to cause a poorly hit and/or missed target. The preciseness of sight alignment will depend upon the size of the target and the distance the target is from the shooter.
- Sight Picture: Sight picture is positioning the correctly aligned sights on a specific spot on the target the shooter wants to hit. The distance the shooter is from the target will determine how much area on the target the front sight will cover. If the target is within six feet, the front sight will cover approximately .330 of an inch, much wider than the width of the typical front sight. At ten yards, the typical front sight will cover approximately .650 of an inch of space on the target. That is why seeing a black front sight at close range on a dark target is very difficult, but slightly easier at a greater distance.
- Natural Wobble Area: When aiming at a target while looking through the sighting system of a firearm, the front sight post (or red or green dot, or crosshairs in the scope), rotate unevenly across the aiming point of the target. That is called the natural wobble area and cannot be completely stopped by the shooter. Inexperienced shooters find their natural wobble area sizable, moving from side to side in a figure eight pattern across the aiming point on the target. With proper training and practice, the natural wobble area can be reduced in size, but it will never stop. The reason it cannot be stopped is because there are several natural biological functions occurring in our bodies which prevent us from holding a firearm absolutely stationary. To shoot and hit within your natural wobble area, you must focus your eyes directly on the front sight, while looking through the rear sight, or mill dot, while smoothly and continuously pressing the trigger flat and straight back until the handgun fires – never force the shot.
- Trigger Control (the number one shooter error): Trigger control is more of a psychological problem than a physical one. The shooter must have control of her emotions before she can effectively control her physical movement. Trigger control is broken down into two phases. First, the independent action of the trigger finger steadily pressing the trigger straight to the rear and follow-through.
- Follow-through: Follow-through is the action of continuing to do what you were doing just prior to the shot being fired. Follow-through is directly connected to proper trigger control and maintaining a firm and consistent grip on the pistol. Becoming proficient with trigger control will require the shooter to control her emotions and the physical tendency to wrench the trigger. As always, the instructor must be detailed with his/her description and demonstration, along with the reasons why.
- Breathing: Proper breathing exercises play an important role in accurate target shooting, as oxygen is needed in the system for the mind, muscles and eyes to function properly. The system I use when teaching new shooters is to take a couple of deeper than normal breaths; an additional breath when bringing the pistol up from a rest position to a firing position; expel the breath about halfway while aligning the sight; hold the breath; and press the trigger. Maintain the shooting position for a few seconds, relax and repeat this procedure for each shot fired.
In conclusion, female officers will hear what you are saying and they will generally do exactly what you tell them to do. Make sure what you said is what you want them to do. Make sure you covered everything precisely the way you want them to respond to your instructions. The instructor must always use the proper terminology and nomenclature when teaching any subject. Never try to “wing” any subject you are teaching. Know the subject matter and be prepared to answer all questions which may result from your training methods. Your students will judge your knowledge of the subject more by what you say and how you say it, than by how well you can perform it.
Larry J. Nichols retired in 2011 after 27 years of honorable service as the Senior Rangemaster/Armorer for the Burbank (CA) Police Department. He served five years with the Orange County (CA) Sheriff’s Department as their Firearms Instructor/Armorer before moving to Burbank, California.
Larry has over 40 years of experience as a professional firearms instructor, with over 31 years as a law enforcement lethal, less lethal and less than lethal force instructor. He is internationally noted for his innovative and pioneering work in the planning, development and implementation of realistic law enforcement firearms training programs. He enjoys receiving feedback from his readers and he can be contacted at gunnyretired@gmail.com.