A whole day on the shooting range, intensive, understandable and expert coaching by the probably best-known female shooting instructor in Austria – that would be something! However, this October 23, 2023, was reserved exclusively for women, because at the first GLOCK GIRLSDAY sponsored by Glock they were deliberately only among themselves.
Because ten of them had won this probably unique experience. Shooting Influencer and Glock fan Amy9x19 (here is our portrait) had encouraged only women – for legal reasons, only from the age of 18 – to win one of the first 10 tickets to the event via Instagram. All they had to do was comment on the hashtag #GLOCKGIRLSDAY and they had the chance to win one of the coveted tickets.
GLOCK #GIRLSDAY on the shooting range: Amy9x19 teaches women how to use Glock pistols safely
The basic idea of organizer Amelie Eichinger-Noll was to create a safe environment for “women among themselves” to learn how to handle the pistol safely with curiosity, but without pressure or fear. After a short getting-to-know-you session (who is Amy, where does her expertise come from, where the participants came from, how old, whether they already have shooting experience, how the competition came about, where the interest came from, etc.) we went on to the so-called red guns for handling and dry training.
These special guns, which are expressly marked as "practice pistols" by the manufacturer Glock, are Glock pistols identical to the original in size and weight, but also with regard to the movable operating elements, which only lack one characteristic: they do not shoot.
With such models (here as an example a Glock G19 P Gen5), however, the basic operations such as retracting the slide, inserting and sliding out the magazine, the function of the slide catch and also "dry” trigger squeeze can be practised absolutely safely. To avoid confusion with "live" pistols, all training pistols (practice pistols) are factory-equipped with a signal red grip frame and, more recently, a red slide.
In this lesson, Amy explained the most important safety rules on the one hand, and on the other hand she led them thematically into the further topics of handling. The participants learned how to grip the pistol correctly, how the rear and front sights should be positioned in relation to each other when aiming, how to squeeze the trigger and how to stand firmly and safely.
Once all participants were familiar with the safe handling of the red guns, there was a presentation of various Glock models (due to time constraints, a selection of the most popular models had to suffice, as Glock now offers over 90 different pistols in several sizes and all common calibers between .22 Long Rifle and .45 ACP). Here, differences such as size, barrel length, magazine capacity and various sighting devices were pointed out in an easily understandable way and shown to the participants on the models.
Spoilt for choice: which Glock pistol would the women choose for test shooting on #GIRLSDAY?
Each participant then had the opportunity to choose the respective pistols for live firing and safely fire their first shots under Amy's supervision. After the participants had tried out all the desired models, the GIRLSDAY was concluded with a feedback round. (How did they like it, what were their expectations, were they fulfilled, how was the first experience with the gun for the participants).
Finally, each participant was given a goodie bag for the right Glock feeling after the event and the GIRLSDAY was brought to a close with a break, small snacks and drinks in a cosy girls' round with exchange and exciting conversations.
Click here for the portrait of Amy9x19 at all4shooters.com
For more information please visit the Glock website.
