I am old enough to remember when the average Jane depended on the average John to protect her.  When I was a kid, a woman carrying a concealed handgun with license to boot was a real rarity. But no more. The ladies are taking their self-defense reins in their teeth. You’ve come a long way baby!

I spent 8 years of my Army career as a professional shooter/instructor and have been a firearms instructor for over 30 years. I currently have my own defensive firearms school Arizona Weaponcraft Solutions. During these years I have had the opportunity to train a lot of women  in defensive firearms. In the Army, it used to irritate me to hear men whine that they couldn’t handle the big bad .45 because of the recoil and it was inaccurate, when I was able to train 95lb soaking wet female soldiers to be effective with off the rack 1911a1s. I have found that often women are easier to train than men. They don’t carry that “mucho macho” attitude and you don’t have to “untrain” them first. They tend to listen and learn.

And in increasing numbers, women around America have been listening to what is going on and learning from it. Women have become instrumental in turning the tide of anti-gun legislation, and are taking training to protect themselves against criminals. And because of that, there is a growing market catering to women’s defensive firearms needs.

Training

There are a considerable number of training opportunities for women now. At the national level, the NRA has developed programs specifically for women. Women have begun starting their own female centric programs. Carrie Lightfoot has The Well Armed Woman.  She not only provides a wide variety of shooting equipment geared towards women on her on-line store, but has begun a program teaching women to be firearms instructors. At the local level, ladies like Janine Gabucci Presson who runs Bitterroot Women’s Shooting School in Montana are running defensive firearms training programs for women. These  women oriented training opportunities are springing up all over the country, and there is probably one near you. And if you can’t find one, I am sure the ladies above will be glad to help you.

Products

There are a tremendous number of products that have been developed to enable women to carry concealed. One of the first efforts was the design of purses with built-in holsters for women to carry concealed.

Mainstream manufactures such as Galco offer specialty purses such as the Galco Del series holster purses with built in concealed holsters.

Roma Leathers offers a reasonably priced holster purse with a concealed pocket for handguns. These are only a small sampling of the large number of fashionable but functional pistol holsters for women. Purses are not the only clothing items available for a lady to conceal carry.

Under Tech offers a tank top undergarment with a built-in holster made of 88% polyester. that comes in women’s sizes medium and large. This item is worn by FBI, TSA and the Secret Service

 Under Tech also makes a ladies concealment shorts with a built-in holster band.

Belly bands are a popular holster choice for women and The Big SheBang Hip Hugger is one of them. It Has 3 holster positions, 1 Appendix, 2 Kidney  with  3 additional pockets for magazines, smart phone, lipstick, knife, taser, etc.

Bra holsters are an option for ladies and the Flash Bang series are custom tailored to specific handgun models.

Garter holster are a viable option for ladies when wearing long dresses. Bulldog Cases Lace garter holster is just one example.

These examples of training and products are only a small sample of the resources available to any woman who wants to be trained and equipped with a firearm to protect herself. So if you are, or know of a lady who wants professional firearms training, her resources are almost unlimited.