Victoria Kogan

Victoria Kogan

Victoria is active in competition shooting, and she is an active member of A Girl & A Gun Women’s Shooting League. Victoria is passionate about teaching others to be confident and competent with firearms.  As well as being a manager at Shady Oaks Gun Range, Victoria is a Texas License to Carry Instructor, NRA Range Safety Officer, NRA Certified Instructor for Basic Pistol, and an IDPA Safety Officer.

Victoria’s advice for beginners:

1. You absolutely must know and follow the four gun safety rules.
2. It’s best to learn the basics of how to shoot before purchasing a firearm.  After you have some experience and familiarity, you’ll have a better understanding of what you like and how to find a firearm that fits your hand.
3. My most successful beginner students have followed the crawl-walk-run advice:
   • Crawl: Small Caliber – It’s generally easier to start with .22LR and mastering that before moving on to a higher caliber.  While this isn’t the best choice for self-defense, it will establish good fundamental habits, develop confidence/competence, and is more affordable.
   • Walk: Full-Size Gun –  The next step would be to practice with a full-size gun.  When you have an explosion going off in your handgun, weight and size are your FRIEND when learning how to manage recoil. 
   • Run: Compact Gun – Those cute little pocket pistols are designed to save your life and be easy to carry/conceal.  The trade-off is that they are generally not fun to shoot.  The “snappy” recoil can be a challenge.  It’s also difficult to be accurate, especially at distance, because the shorter barrel amplifies shooting errors.
   • You have to work your way up to a small gun.
4. Revolvers are awesome and fun to shoot. However, those little snubby revolvers can be a beast for a novice, especially if you’re trying to shoot the 50-round LTC Qual. They can also be quite painful. They are great for self-defense; horrible for novice training.
5. If License to Carry is your goal, please note it’s not necessary to qualify with the gun you intend to carry. You can shoot the LTC qualification with .22LR!!!

Trying to make an appointment with me?

In the calendar below, you might have to click ahead to the next month. Please be patient as high demand for lessons often means I’m booking about 3-4 weeks out.

Schedule a Private Lesson:

Click on any of the green dates on the calendar, and you will see the available time slots for Victoria. Then click the “Book Now” button to book your appointment today! (Please see note above.)