Women's Firearm Training in Palm Beach County and Broward County
EmpowHER: Women-Only Shooting Lessons Across South Florida
Most women who want to learn to shoot do not stop because they lack the ability. They stop because of who else is on the line.
A lane between two guys who have been shooting since they were nine. A question you wanted to ask that feels stupid before you finish it. An instructor who talks past you rather than to you. None of that has anything to do with whether you can shoot, and all of it keeps women from ever finding out.
EmpowHER is women only. Every student in the session is a woman, most of them beginners, and nobody in the group has been doing this since they were nine either.
One hour. Firearms provided. No experience required. From $75 per person.
Or call or text Mike at 561-213-2974
Why the Women-Only Part Matters
It is a fair question, and the answer is not that women learn differently. They do not.
It is that a first firearms lesson is a vulnerable hour. You are holding something that frightens you, in front of people, doing something you are fairly sure you will be bad at. Most people have basic questions during that hour. Very few will ask them in front of an audience that looks like it already knows.
Change who is standing next to you and the questions come out. Women ask about recoil, about whether their hands are strong enough to rack a slide, about whether they could actually use this on a person, about what happens if their kid finds it. Those are the right questions, and they are the ones that go unasked in a mixed class.
Your instructor is a man, and he is the only one in the session. He is there to teach. Everyone else on the line is a woman learning alongside you.
How an EmpowHER Session Works
Book Alone or Bring People
One on one, a pair of friends, or a group of up to eight. Groups of four or more can have a private section of the range reserved at several of our locations. Smaller sessions run in a standard lane.
Show Up With Nothing
We provide the firearm, the eye protection, and the ear protection. Bring ammunition or buy it at the range. Wear closed toe shoes and a shirt with a high neckline, because hot brass finds low collars.
Leave Having Done It
One hour later you will have loaded a magazine, taken a proper grip, aimed, and fired live rounds at a target. Not read about it. Done it. That is a different thing entirely.
Most women describe the same thing afterward. Not a dramatic transformation, but a small shift in what they believe they are capable of. The gun stopped being a mystery. The question of whether they could do this got answered.
That does not take years. It takes an hour, alongside other women who walked in exactly as unsure as you did.
Or call or text Mike at 561-213-2974
What You Will Learn
- The four rules of firearm safety. Not recited at you. Explained until they make sense.
- Grip. How to hold a handgun correctly regardless of hand size or grip strength. This is where most new shooters are set up to fail.
- Stance. A position that is stable and comfortable for your body, not one copied from a man a foot taller than you.
- Sight alignment. What you are actually supposed to be looking at, which is less obvious than it sounds.
- Trigger control. The single largest cause of missed shots, and the thing that improves a new shooter’s accuracy fastest.
- Loading and unloading. Including racking a slide, which is technique rather than strength.
- Live fire. At realistic distances, with an instructor next to you the entire time.
- Safe storage at home. Particularly if there are children in the house.
Who Books EmpowHER
There is almost always a specific thing that pushed it. Here is who tends to book.
- Complete beginners. Never touched a firearm and not sure they want to own one. That is a fine reason to take a class.
- Women who own a gun they have never learned to use. It was a gift, or it belonged to a husband or a father, and it has been in a drawer since.
- Women who took a class with their husband and got nothing out of it. This happens constantly and it is nobody’s fault. Couples teaching each other to shoot rarely goes the way either of them hoped.
- Groups of friends. Four women who have been saying they should do this for two years.
- Mothers and adult daughters. One of the more common bookings, and one of the better hours to teach.
- Women who live alone. Who have thought carefully about what they would do and realized they do not know.
- Women who have been putting it off. This is most of them. The idea has been on the list for a year and something finally moved it to the top.
No experience necessary. No particular fitness level. No prior interest in firearms required. If you are reading this page, you are already the kind of person who books it.
What It Costs
The price per person drops as the group grows, which is why most women book this with somebody they know.
One on one. $125 per hour. Book as many hours as you want. Fully customized to where you are starting from and the best option if you would rather not learn in front of anyone at all.
Two women. $100 each for an hour. The most common booking, usually a pair of friends or a mother and daughter.
Three or more. $75 each for an hour, up to eight women.
Firearms, eye protection, and ear protection are included at every price. You bring ammunition or purchase it at the range.
Range fees are paid separately and directly to the range, with one exception. We own the Okeechobee range, so there are no range fees there.
Where EmpowHER Sessions Run
Any of our six ranges. Tell us where you are coming from and we will put you at the closest one.
- Palm Beach Shooting Center, Lake Worth. Easiest for Palm Beach County residents in Lake Worth Beach, Boynton Beach, Wellington, West Palm Beach, and Royal Palm Beach.
- Shoot Straight, West Palm Beach. The largest indoor range in the area. Best for West Palm Beach, Riviera Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, and Jupiter.
- Gun World of South Florida, Deerfield Beach. Convenient for Boca Raton, Delray Beach, and northern Broward County.
- Declaration Defense, Pompano Beach. Closest for Coral Springs, Margate, Tamarac, and Fort Lauderdale.
- Our private outdoor range, Boynton Beach. Three bays and nobody else on the property.
- Our private outdoor range, Okeechobee. 1.25 acres with a wrap-around berm. No range fees, since we own it.
Reserving a Private Section
For groups of four or more, we can reserve a private section of the range so your group has the space to itself. That is available at Declaration Defense in Pompano Beach, Gun World in Deerfield Beach, and both of our outdoor ranges in Boynton Beach and Okeechobee.
Sessions of one to three people run in a standard lane, the same as any other customer at the range. If having the space to yourselves matters to you, bring a fourth.
Who You Will Be Training With
Mike Kneuer has spent twenty-two years carrying a firearm daily and the last several teaching other people how to do it properly. He competes in USPSA, constantly furthers his education by taking other top level instructors courses, and has put thousands of hours in with students ranging from people who had never touched a gun to daily carriers with bad habits they could not see.
A certification is a starting point, not an achievement. It means someone passed a course, and it says nothing about the years since. What Mike brings to your session is a working knowledge of what actually goes wrong for shooters and how to fix it.
He does not lecture and he does not perform. Most of the hour is you shooting and him watching, with short corrections between strings. If what you are doing works, he leaves it alone. If it does not, he tells you plainly and shows you the fix. Nobody gets yelled at and nobody gets talked down to.
- NRA Certified Pistol Instructor
- Tactical Hyve Level 1 Instructor
- Stop the Bleed Instructor
- USCCA Member
- USPSA Competitor
- 22 Years Concealed Carry
Mike teaches a lot of first-time shooters and most of them are women. He has heard every version of “this is going to sound stupid, but” and none of them have ever sounded stupid.
What Students Say
“I’ve been training with Mike for self-defense, and I can honestly say he’s one of the best instructors out there. He’s patient, knowledgeable, and really takes the time to make sure you feel confident and safe. Mike explains everything clearly, focuses on proper technique, and always makes sure you understand why each step matters.”
-Tia B.
“I had such a great experience with Suburban Protector! I took shooting lessons with Mike and it was an absolute blast. I’m fairly new to this, but Mike was incredibly patient, clear, and informative every step of the way. I learned so much (from proper aim to confidently handling the weapon) and left feeling much more comfortable and confident. The range itself is fantastic, and being outdoors makes the whole experience even more fun. Mike is the guy. He is truly the best firearm instructor in South Florida!”
-Deniz K.
“Incredible instructor and great place to go shooting. It’s for all levels of shooting. For private groups, it’s the best. Mike is always next to you and providing step-by-step guidance. We will be returning and highly recommending to family and friends.”
-Sandra M.
Common Questions About EmpowHER
$125 per hour one on one, $100 per person for two women, or $75 per person for three or more, up to eight. Firearms, eye protection, and ear protection are included. You bring ammunition or purchase it at the range. Range fees are paid directly to the range, except at our Okeechobee range where there are none.
No. The instructor is Mike Kneuer, an NRA certified pistol instructor who teaches a large number of first-time shooters. Women only refers to the students. Every other person on the line with you is a woman, and most of them are beginners too.
No. We provide the firearm. If you own one and want to learn on it, bring it, since training with the gun that is actually in your house makes more sense.
Yes, and most women who book this are in the same position. The session is built for it. Nothing is assumed.
For groups of four or more, we can reserve a private section of the range at Declaration Defense in Pompano Beach, Gun World in Deerfield Beach, or either of our outdoor ranges in Boynton Beach and Okeechobee. Sessions of one to three people run in a standard lane like any other customer.
One hour. That covers safety, grip, stance, sight alignment, trigger control, and live fire with individual correction throughout.
Any of our six ranges. Palm Beach Shooting Center in Lake Worth, Shoot Straight in West Palm Beach, Gun World in Deerfield Beach, Declaration Defense in Pompano Beach, or our private outdoor ranges in Boynton Beach and Okeechobee.
No. You can book alone or with one friend. Bringing more people lowers the price per person and makes a private range section possible, but none of that is required.
Closed toe shoes and a shirt with a high neckline. Hot brass finds low collars and it finds them at the worst possible moment. Tie long hair back.
That is a completely legitimate outcome and it happens. Knowing how a firearm works, how to make one safe, and what to do if you encounter one is worth an hour regardless of whether you ever buy one.
No. Plenty of women take one session and that is the whole thing. Others come back for private lessons or go on to concealed carry certification. There is no pressure either direction.
Book Your EmpowHER Session
One hour. Women only. An instructor who is paying attention to your hands rather than to how fast you are picking it up.
From $75 per person. Book alone, bring a friend, or bring seven.
Or call or text Mike at 561-213-2974
PALM BEACH COUNTY: West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Lake Worth Beach, Jupiter
BROWARD COUNTY : Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Tamarac, Margate
MARTIN COUNTY: Stuart
OKEECHOBEE AREA: Okeechobee, Fort Pierce
Can’t travel to our Okeechobee range? No problem. We bring professional firearm training to Palm Beach County and Broward County at convenient local range locations. Wherever you are in South Florida, expert gun training is close.