February Practice

We have started February with a bang.  We had eleven ladies attend Monday and half were new shooters from our 101 class. Take a look at the pictures on our Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1571097183134662.1073741847.1478471462397235&type=1

Joining CCLSC

I have been getting some scattered emails and comments over at our Facebook page lately about joining CCLSC.  I thought I would address the general information in a quick post.

First, you need to live nearby where we are headquartered on the Central Coast of California.
The internet is an amazing way to connect with people all over the world.  In fact, I have met several other shooters through Facebook and different webpages who have many of the same goals for their shooting clubs as we do here at CCLSC.  However, in order to shoot with us on Mondays, you do need to live in our area or at least with in driving distance.  Being involved isn't just about physically attending practice though.  We provide information about women and guns right here on the blog and information can be one of our biggest weapons.  Dispelling myths, answering questions and sharing our shooting ideas are all ways that you can connect with CCLSC without having to live nearby.

Second, you need to have taken or be enrolled in one of the basic pistol courses at our home range.
If you do live in our area, you will need to take the Women's 101 class.  We just started a class last week and it runs for 4 sessions (over the course of four months) for a few hours each session.  You can visit our the website of our home range for more information.

Finally, get involved.
It doesn't just have to be joining the club that means you're involved.  You can get involved in a lot of different ways.  From contributing to those who fight for our right to bear arms, get training, joining the NRA, speak to your friends and family about what you believe in to reading about the issues in today's news.  All of these are great ways to get involved.

If you have questions about CCLSC or what you can do to be involved, please leave a comment below!  Thank you!

CCLSC Hole-oween

This week, we celebrated Halloween a little early, by carving pumpkins.  "Carving" we interpreted as shooting pumpkin targets.  Everyone had a great time! I was having such a good time I didn't get too many pictures of the laughter.  But, here are the CCLSC targets -

Kanani testing the pumpkin targets earlier in the day.

Julie and Michele with their targets.

Chrissy, new to CCLSC Mondays shooting her pumpkin.

Nicole and Shellie watch while Hollie shoots her target.

Marina showing off her target.

Nicole and Shellie with their targets.

CCLSC Shot-tober

I would like to welcome new member Kristi to CCLSC.  WELCOME!

CCLSC is always looking for new lady shooters.  In order to participate, you must be enrolled/competed the Women's 101 class offered at Tacti-Cool Gun's & Gear.  If you don’t want to wait until the end of/start of the New Year, Tacti-Cool offers an “Every Friday class” that meets, you guessed it, every Friday.  The next class is a 4 hour class beginning at 2:00 pm ending about 6:00 pm when the shop closes.  This class is the same material as the Women’s 101 without the benefit of being in an all women environment, range pass or the option to win a pistol. The other drawback is that it is a little more expensive than the Women’s class (which is $100).  The Friday class is $75 and then you pay for your range time, rental, ammo and target.  This adds about $35-40 to the cost of the class.  However, the Friday class is limited to 6 students so you’d have a smaller class instead of the 30 students in 101. 

Mellissa taking aim.

New member Kristi loading her handgun.

Cari shooting the M&P shield.

Nicole shooting her brand new AR-15 for the first time.

Kristi showing Nicole how to load her revolver.

Hollie shooting her XD.

Cari and Heather calculating their scores on their target.

Record Highs

Our latest practice on Monday we welcomed two new CCLSC members Marina and Mellissa.  We also had a record number of ladies joining us at the range!

Erin and Hollie sending their target down range

Michele working with Matt getting ready to fire

Kanani and Mellissa shooting the Glock 19.

Kanani and Mellissa comparing the Glock 19 (9mm) and the Springfield 1911 (.45 ACP). 

Hollie lining up her shot. Her aggressive stance minimizes recoil when shooting.

Michele getting practice with the M&P 9mm. 

Erin and her "splatter" target.

CCLSC Loves New Shooters

Welcome new members Michele and Hollie!  I am so glad that you joined us this week and hope that you received some good tips and information to become better shooters!

Michele shooting the M&P Shield - Nice flash!

Hollie shooting her M&P 9mm.  Working on her grip.

Monday August 11 at 4:30 pm is our next practice at Tacti-Cool Guns & Gear. Let me know if you are planning to attend.  Another reminder will go out again as we get closer, as well as on the day of practice.

CCLSC now has its own Facebook page!  If you are using Facebook I encourage you to “like”

 our page and help spread the word of what we do with your friends and family. If you don’t use Facebook, you can still view our page at the link to the right.

If you have been following us on Facebook, you will already know that I spent this last weekend certifying as an NRA Instructor for Personal Protection Inside the Home.  This two day training had a ton of excellent information and I acquired new skills to add to my tool box of defensive shooting solutions.  Feel free to ask questions, I would be happy to talk with you about the class.

Love loading!

Kanani showing off just a bit, dual weilding
two shields at once.  Not an effective way
of shooting but very cinematic.

Mentoring is one of the best benefits for new shooters - two of our
experienced shooters, Shellie and Julie helping out new member Michele.

 

Back from vacation, Erin puts her sights on target.

I always encourage our members to try new things.
Well, there isn't a lack of new handguns or rifles to try
at CCLSC.  Here, Julie shoots an AK47 pistol.

CCLSC shot after practice!
Left to right -
Back: Kanani, Hollie, and Julie. Front: Shellie, Erin and Michele.

Tip of the week: Training versus Practice – I am taking a little break from my SA (situational awareness) soapbox to share with you the differences between Training and Practice.  Training is defined as the acquisition of a certain skill or learning a new skill.  Practice however is the repetition of something (usually one’s training) in order to get better or improve one’s performance.  Both are necessary for improving your shooting skills. Put simply, Women’s 101 and Advanced Pistol are both training classes, while CCLSC Monday’s are practice. Practice is essential to reinforcing your training.  You will need to practice what you have been trained to do so that you can perfect those skills – Perfect practice makes perfect.  Practice will also increase your muscle memory so you can perform those same skills under stress and pressure.

If you would like any extra help to perfect your shooting during practice, let me know and I am happy help.  Monday’s are also a great place to get extra feedback on your shooting.

Lastly, the Austin Sure Shots publish a quarterly magazine and put a call out to the ladies’ shooting clubs across the county to feature in their next issue.  So, I submitted CCLSC’s information.  The Austin Sure Shots are a women’s shooting club in you guess it, Austin Texas.  They offer training in shooting, self-defense as well as general information about shooting and guns in general.  There is a lot of good information each quarter in their online magazine.  They also feature a section for Training in every edition.  Take a look at their website – http://www.sureshotsmagazine.com/

Sure Shots are also on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/austinsureshots 

Girls! Girls! Girls!

Welcome new members Julie and Lindsey!  CCLSC is growing and this week we had a record attendance with seven ladies, filling all three lanes at the range.  The Women's 101 ladies worked on their marksmanship while preparing for their last class in May.  In each of the women's classes that Tacti-Cool hosts quarterly, the last class is reserved for a "shoot out", where each student gets the chance to demonstrate their skills and the best score will win a pistol.

This week the advanced students had the opportunity to get some special instruction building on our draw from the holster.  Matt gave us a few new drills including moving while drawing from a holster, widening our peripheral vision by looking left and right for a threat, and "multitasking" while shooting.  Multitasking is noticing when our weapon is empty and the need to reload, not looking down when holstering our weapon and keeping our eyes open for additional threats.  Essentially, this means eliminating tunnel vision that often occurs when you are focused on the target in front of you.  As we discovered there is a lot to think about as we become more proficient with our basic skills.

Matt giving Shellie direction for the next drill.

Julie and Erin working on their marksmanship.

Heather introducing Lindsey to firearm safety and shooting. 

Shellie mentoring Erin and getting her acquainted with her M&P 9mm.

Julie working on her five spot target.

Ali practicing her drills.

Apparently Kanani is a "full body" talker.  She must have been on a roll to be that blurry!
CCLSC is a great way to spend a Monday evening!

What I learned this week is we want our movements to be as natural as possible.  Additionally, by shooting in different environments both at the range and outdoors, each poses a different situation where we can and need to adapt our shooting strategy.  This ultimately will simulate real world circumstances as it applies to defending one’s life. By taking the opportunity to train and practice we will become more efficient, even in times of extreme stress.  The muscle memory we establish, both good and bad will be what we rely on in an emergency, so train accordingly.

CCLSC Rocked the Range

Welcome new CCLSC members Erin and Jennifer!  Both ladies are first timers to practice and Women’s 101 students.  Thank you both for joining us last night!

I want to give a big thank you to Matt at the shop for helping us out and giving us advice for the Advanced Pistol students.   We learned the “why” of body position and creating a fluid movement when drawing from your holster.  Matt also covered reloading your weapon and the importance of having a full magazine.  The experience was incredibly valuable.  If you have already taken the advanced class it would have been a good review of your skills.  I don’t need to sell any of the ladies in attendance last night the value of CCLSC!

As a disclaimer, CCLSC was given special permission to practice the aforementioned advanced pistol skills.  Do not attempt outside of the guidance of Tacti-Cool staff.

Shellie showing new CCLSC member Erin her 9 mm and .22 M&P's.
Experienced shooters mentoring new shooters is one if the positive benefits of CCLSC.

Shellie taking aim with her newly acquired skill.
She showed us all who was boss - great shooting!

Those two shots at the center-top of the bulls eye, one is Matt's on the left and
in the SAME hole Shellie shot moments later.  Did I mention these were shot one handed?

Rarely does Kanani get a chance to "be in a photo" since she's one taking them most days.
Thanks Shellie for taking this weeks photos!

The 1911 - a classic choice for CCLSC.

Ali getting a few pointers from Matt.
Another benefit of CCLSC, getting some exclusive "tips from a pro" during practice.

Matt, giving us some pro tips for an efficient draw from a holster, low ready position and reloads.
Here, Ali is practicing from low ready and taking aim.

Ali working on her new skills.

That about does it for this week's training and practice.  CCLSC provides an exclusive experience for those who attend and we are only just building steam for better opportunities.

New Classes & New Club Members

After the start of the Women's 101 and Advanced Pistol classes we had a great turnout this week for CCLSC - Welcome Ali, Dianna, Erin, Manette, Nicole and Shellie!