Shoot Like A Girl Special Edition
From Our Friends at GLOCK
Brilliance in the Basics - May 2021
The last 15 months have been a whirlwind. Who knew that the firearms industry would be impacted by 8.4 million new firearms owners. Yes, you read it right, 8.4 million. The decision to purchase a firearm should be done with some deliberate thought. Along with the decision to purchase a firearm comes the responsibility to learn safety, learn how the firearm functions and how to shoot it and practice to be proficient. In addition to understanding what it means to be a responsible firearms owner, it is also important to learn about safe securement, cleaning and maintenance of the firearm.

We were not surprised when our friends at Glock announced their new endeavor to help educate responsible firearms owners with their course “Brilliance in the Basics”. This course was developed to help new firearms owners (not just Glock owners) learn everything they need to know to be safe and successful. This basic course is a great course for experienced shooters as well. It is the perfect way to reinstill basic gun handling practices, clean up bad shooting habits and learn more about the Glock systems and history.

Karen and I were honored to be invited to attend one of their first Brilliance in the Basics courses. We met at the Glock training facility in Smyrna GA. The Glock staff and trainers were welcoming and our classmates were just as eager as we were to see what this course was all about. Class started as most do, with introductions. There were a variety of levels of shooters, most with “some” experience. The overall consensus was that most students wanted to be more confident with their firearm, learn about Glock products and learn how to clean them. All personal firearms were secured and we were issued our equipment for class, the Glock G44, .22LR. What a perfect choice. Not only is the G44 a great fun plinking .22LR, but also an excellent training firearm. It mirrors its big sister the Glock 19 in 9mm, allowing the shooter to get as close to the 9mm experience as they can.

The class program itself was thorough. Glock’s trainers took the their expertise that they have been using in the Law Enforcement arena and tailored it for Civilian use. Safety was the foundation and kick off point, followed closely by the nomenclature of the Glock Pistol. We spent a good amount of time learning and understanding the Glock Safety systems. As Shoot Like A Girl Instructors our message is always about the “human” being the safety and “Following the 4” Safety Rules, but so many want to see or understand the mechanical processes around a safety system. Glock’s power-power point with video clips showing the engagement and disengagement of Glock safeties reinforced the written word in our class materials as well as what trainer Chris Adams verbalized. We moved quickly to the Fundamentals of Shooting and then of course, headed to the range.
Glocks range is the perfect space for multi student learning. It allows for 9 shooters on the line, but is also intimate enough that you are never far from the instructor and RSO. This course is a basics course, so no drawing from the holster was taught. We spent our range time working through the fundamentals and how they affect our success on paper. Using the G44 .22LR was the perfect match when it came to our range time, we could feel the size of a Glock 19 9mm without the same recoil, allowing us to really focus on what we were doing physically for success. Look at this from a broader scope, it is a great first experience for a new shooter to learn range etiquette and range commands. Giving them concepts they would need to venture to the range on their own. After lunch we spent time discussing the importance on Dry Firing along with the Do’s and Don’ts surrounding it. Class finished out with the very important lesson on field stripping and cleaning a firearm. This is often missed or glazed over in many courses. Students come for the range excitement and leave only partially prepared if the instructor doesn’t close out the course focusing on maintenance. The Glock field stripping process is unique in that it is the same across all of the firearms the offer. We practiced taking our firearm down to the key 5 pieces and putting it back together again.

We chatted with our classmates before we headed home for the day. Everyone was very pleased with their experience with the Glock training team and onsite at the Glock range. We have no doubt that this experience helped them with the next steps on their firearm journey.

To Sign up for an upcoming Glock Brilliance in the Basics Course or see what other courses Glock offers click GLOCK Training
We highly recommend this course for new gun owners! Learn Safety from the experts at Glock's Brilliance in the Basics Course!
Glock G44 .22LR
December of 2019 was an exciting one for Glock history. They hosted an offsite event with multiple media and industry specific guests. The announcement, Glock had created a .22LR handgun that mirrored the Glock 19. This had been 7 years in the making. The dedication behind creating a firearm that could be used for cross training from a larger caliber, plinking with the family and sport shooting with Glocks GSSF program was evident. We were onsite for the announcement and were offered the opportunity to put our hands on it. Our range time was phenomenal. Karen and I both, spent the afternoon shooting as many rounds as we could. The accuracy and impact even up to 100 yards was exciting and with no malfunctions. Congrats to Glock for their decision on stepping into the .22LR realm with a firearm everyone can use. 
GSSF – Glock Sports Shooting Foundation
Shoot Like A Girl encourages participation in GSSF Shooting matches. Our own Jamie Meyer reached the Masters level this past year, earning multiple awards. You can check out more GSSF here at our FB Live Glock Sport Shooting Foundation - YouTube and in this write up. A Look at a GSSF Match by Jamie Meyer | Shoot Like A Girl

To learn more and sign up for GSSF click Glock Sport Shooting Foundation (gssfonline.com)
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