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A volunteer instructor coaching a first-time shooter on the range at last year's event

Ladies Day · 15th annual · Taylor, Michigan

A free shooting lesson, just for women

Your own patient coach, one on one at the range. The pistol, the ammo, the ear and eye protection: all provided, all free. No experience needed.

Saturday July 25 and Sunday July 26, 2026

Pick your sessionSee how it works
  • Everything provided, even the ammo
  • No experience needed
  • Ages 12 to 112

Featured on Fox & Friends. Covered by NRA Women, The Outdoor Wire, and BridgeDetroit.

15 years

running, every summer since 2012

12,000+

women trained, completely free

1,800+

women attended last year alone

1 on 1

your own instructor, at your pace

Why this event exists

The line starts before the doors open

In 2012, Detroit firearms instructor Rick Ector read about a woman attacked and left for dead on a Detroit street. His answer was to teach women to defend themselves, and to charge them nothing.

Fifteen summers later, more than 12,000 women have taken the lesson. Last July, over 1,800 women came through Recoil Firearms in one weekend and fired more than 30,000 rounds. Volunteer instructors travel from across the country to coach, one woman at a time.

Grandmothers and college students. Nurses, veterans, and women who had never touched a gun before that morning. Every summer they line up around the building, and every summer they walk out standing a little taller.

Women lined up around the Recoil Firearms building waiting for their session
The line outside Recoil Firearms on event morning, July 2024.

"From 12 to 112 years old, they are welcome."

Tanisha Moner, who leads the event and is the current NRA Women Woman of the Year, speaking to NRA Women

How it works

Your session, start to finish

  1. Register and get your e-ticket

    Register for one session and your e-ticket arrives by email. That is all you need to bring.

  2. Get your waiver done before you walk in

    Every attendee must complete the safety waiver before getting in line. The signing link reaches you by email before the event; complete it as soon as it arrives.

  3. Check in

    Show your e-ticket at the door a few minutes before your session. With your waiver already done, you are in. Sessions start on time; arrive after yours begins and you will be moved to the next session with open spots.

  4. The classroom

    A welcoming briefing that covers the essentials before you ever touch a firearm. Between waivers, the classroom, and the range safety briefing, plan on about an hour and a half here:

    • Safe gun handling
    • Conflict avoidance
    • Fundamentals of pistol shooting
    • What happens after a defensive use of force
    • The range safety briefing

  5. Meet your coach

    You get your own volunteer instructor on the range. They are educators, not drill sergeants, and they go at your pace. Many are women.

  6. On the range

    One lane, one coach, and the fundamentals, hands on. Your turn depends on the line, so early birds finish fast and later spots mean a bit of a wait in good company:

    • Stance
    • Grip
    • Loading
    • Aiming
    • Trigger control

  7. You fire 20 rounds

    Most women arrive never having held a pistol. They leave having put 20 rounds through one, safely and confidently. That first target usually goes home as a keepsake.

Reserve your session
An instructor coaching a woman at her lane during the event
A smiling attendee with her instructor after firing her first rounds
An instructor walking a student through her shots at the firing line
The full firing line during a session, with instructors at every lane
Coaches and attendees working together across the range lanes
A group of attendees proudly holding up their first targets
Three friends showing off their targets in front of the Recoil Firearms backdrop
An attendee smiling at her lane after her first shots at the pink target

Every photo on this page is from the real event at Recoil Firearms.

The people behind it

You'll be in good hands

Rick Ector, founder of the free shooting lesson for women

Rick Ector

Founder, Legally Armed In Detroit

Firearms instructor, NRA board member, and the reason this event exists. Rick started the free lesson in 2012, and the volunteers who run it today are proud to carry his work forward.

Tanisha Moner, event lead and current NRA Women Woman of the Year

Tanisha Moner

Event lead, chief volunteer

Tanisha took this lesson herself in 2014. Today she is a certified pistol instructor, leads the event, and is the current NRA Women Woman of the Year.

Volunteer instructors gathered outside Recoil Firearms

50+ volunteers

One coach per lane, every session

Certified instructors and range safety officers donate their whole weekend, some driving in from other states, so every woman gets a coach to herself.

"Rick Ector has changed the lives of tens of thousands of women."

Doug Hamlin, NRA Executive Vice President and CEO, after visiting the 2025 event

July 25 and 26, 2026

Pick your session

Sessions start every 90 minutes from 9:00 AM through 6:00 PM, both days. Registration takes about a minute and never asks for payment. On event day, give yourself a couple of hours all in.

  • Register once, for one session
  • Your e-ticket arrives by email
  • After you book, invite friends to join your exact session
  • Waiver required before you get in line: the signing link reaches you before the event
  • Plans change? Reschedule from your confirmation email
  • Registering a daughter age 12 to 17? She attends with you

Please only register if you can make it, and arrive on time. Every no-show takes the spot of another woman who wanted to be there, and if you arrive after your session starts you will be moved to the next session with open spots.

Recoil Firearms
22509 Ecorse Rd, Taylor, MI 48180

All times Eastern. The time you pick is when your session starts; plan on a couple of hours at the event all in.

This is a beginner shooting lesson, not a CPL class, and no certification is issued. Want your Michigan CPL? Find a CPL class near you.

Questions, answered

Made possible by

With a special shout out to Metro Detroit News on Instagram. A Legally Armed In Detroit event, founded by Rick Ector. Hosted by Recoil Firearms, which closes its doors to the public for the whole weekend.

Thank you to the crew

The instructors, range safety officers, and volunteers who give up their whole weekend so every woman shoots free.

  • Rick Ector, Founder
  • Tanisha Moner, Event Lead

After your first 20 rounds

Most women walk off the range asking the same thing: what's next? Here is the honest answer.

Your next step

The CPL class is one day. That's it.

Here is the truth: a lot of students show up to their CPL class having never fired a gun in their life. Do the free lesson first and you will walk in with more trigger time than many of your classmates.

The class itself is one Saturday in the same kind of warm, supportive room. We provide the pistol, and we guide you through every single step, from the classroom to the range to the license paperwork, whatever your skill level. You already did the hard part.

Find a CPL class near you

And everything in between

One-on-one coaching, child firearm safety, ladies-only courses, advanced training: hundreds of classes from vetted Michigan instructors, bookable in a couple of taps.

Browse all classes

Instructors: be part of it

The event runs on volunteer coaches. Donate a session or the weekend, and if you teach professionally, put your own classes in front of thousands of students on CCW Hub.

Volunteer to coachList your classes

1,800 women came last year. This year, bring a friend.

Sessions fill fast once word gets around. Register now, then send your friends an invite to join your session.

Pick your session, free