Your first time shooting a gun, done calmly.
Never held a gun? You are not behind. You are exactly where every confident shooter once started. A first-time shooter class should be calm, private, and paced around you — not around a certificate or a crowded range.
What a first-time shooter class should feel like
Calm. Private. Judgment-free. You ask the questions you have been afraid to ask. You handle a firearm only after you understand what it does and why. There is no performance, no rush, and no one watching who does not need to be there.
A good first class moves at your pace. Some women want to feel the weight of a handgun before anything else. Others want to talk through safety until it feels automatic. Both are right.
What we cover before you ever touch a firearm
- The four safety rules in plain language
- How a handgun works
- Grip and stance without live fire
- What recoil and noise actually feel like
- Hearing and eye protection
You learn the mechanics first, seated and in conversation, so that by the time you reach the range the firearm feels familiar instead of foreign.
What to expect on the range
- Dry practice first, then live fire only when you say you are ready
- One instructor, small group, everything provided
- Firearm, ammunition for the lesson, eye and ear protection included
- Wear closed-toe shoes, a crew-neck top, and hair tied back
You will dry-practice the motions first. When you are ready, you will fire live rounds with an instructor beside you. The goal is not a score. It is that you leave knowing exactly what happened and why.
Why women only
The room changes when it is only women. Questions come faster. Posture softens. No one is performing for anyone else.
No husbands. No boyfriends. No exceptions.
This is not exclusion for its own sake. It is a deliberate structure so that you can learn without the social noise that often comes with being the only woman in a class.
Who teaches
Wade Morrell is a United States Marine, a law enforcement officer with more than two decades in policing. Maddie Morrell is the face and voice of EMPRESS, the one who answers your note and walks you through what comes next.
Together they built EMPRESS so that women in Central Ohio could learn firearms the way they actually learn best: calmly, privately, and without ego.
Is this the same as the Three-Day Course?
The first-time shooter experience is Day One of the Women's Beginner Firearms Course (Three-Day). If you leave wanting more, the next two days continue the same calm, private arc: safe handling, more time on the range, and how to carry and live with a firearm.
You can also continue with Private Firearms Instruction for Women, or explore concealed carry fundamentals once the basics feel solid. Read more about the full curriculum and our concealed carry class for women in Central Ohio.
Everything you might be wondering.
I have never touched a gun. Is that okay?
Yes. This class is built for the very beginning. You are never handed a firearm before you understand it, and you move at your own pace.
Do I need to bring anything?
Nothing. Everything is provided: a firearm, ammunition for the lesson, eye and ear protection, and instruction. Just wear closed-toe shoes, a crew-neck top, and tie your hair back.
Will I have to shoot if I am not ready?
No. Live fire happens only when you say you are ready. There is no pressure, no timeline, and no expectation beyond your own comfort.
Where in Central Ohio are classes held?
Classes are held privately across Central Ohio. The exact location is shared after booking, once the details are arranged personally.
Can my husband or boyfriend come?
No. Classes are women only, by design. No husbands, no boyfriends, no exceptions.
Reserve your seat.
Write to us with a little about yourself and what you would like to understand. Every course is arranged personally, and we will take it from there.
Spring 2027 Priority List
Priority list members get first choice of spring seats 48 hours before dates are released to the public. Up to five women per cohort. They go fast.